Music can be a powerful thing. Nashville singer / songwriter Mick Fury proves this after he was inspired to bring a song he wrote to life, “Front Porch of America”. After 14 days and 8,500 miles across the country, Mick Fury released a short documentary, and we chatted with the singer to learn just how his journey unfolded.
What sparked the idea for the Front Porch of America Project?
The simple answer is when my friend Sean Patrick McGraw and I wrote “Front Porch of America.” Music is the launching point for everything in my life. You know when you go on social media and you see your friends and family yelling at each other over politics and calling each other names? I didn’t like seeing that, and honestly I didn’t think it was how people actually felt. I wanted to find out what was really happening in America, and I decided the only way to do that was go out on the road and find out for myself. Thus the idea was born to drive 8,500 miles in 14-days all around America and talk to folks from their own front porches to try and see their perspective.
What topics are addressed?
We have 2 seasons of Front Porch of America, 8 episodes in total, so a bunch. Everything from the division between liberals and conservatives, small town vs cities, why Standing Rock was important, and everyone’s favorite topic Donald Trump.
What was the most difficult part of the project?
This is a tough one to answer because we faced a TON of challenges. The biggest probably being that I’m a struggling Nashville Singer/Songwriter, and I was determined to finance this all myself. I paid for all it by playing gigs, and was only able to hire my filmmaker Terry Little and bring along my friend Adam James to assist. We could only carve out a 2 week time frame in which to fit this journey into our lives, and we wanted talk to Americans from all parts of the country, so we averaged driving about 600 miles a day, along with interviews and shooting music videos. As you might imagine, that left precious little time for sleep….
Did it go the way you thought it would?
I’d have to say Yes and No. Yes, because I was able to have great conversations with a wide range of people, which I thought would be true. Americans are capable of this no matter what the media tells us. NO also though, because folks had a lot of different concerns than I had anticipated, and a lot of times rocked me with their thoughtful answers to my questions. People are really amazing when you take the time to listen them. We were also able to shoot 8 really incredible music videos, which I didn’t know if we’d have time for.
Did this lead to any ideas for future projects?
Driving around the country and talking to people inspired me in so many ways. When I came back to Nashville, it inspired a slew of new songs. It also has inspired me to encourage folks to listen and to be empathetic towards each other, and that has my mind turning with a lot of ideas for projects that spark kindness. Something cool will happen with that in the future for sure!
You can check out the first season of Front Porch America HERE!
Follow along with Mick Fury and his next adventure below:
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