Biography/Career
Tym Priest was born in Miami, Florida on October 27. Thomas and Kitty Ann Priest had prearranged to adopt Tym immediately after his birth and provided a wonderfully nurturing and love-filled home in which to grow. At the age of 2, his family moved West to Phoenix, Arizona and again at age 5 to Fresno, California. It was during these formidable years that his love of music, nature and writing began to become obvious to his family, teachers and friends. Growing up in the agriculturally rich, nature – filled Northern California town only a short distance from the Yosemite Mountains and National Park was the perfect environment to nurture his ever – growing interests. After hearing the same song several times and expressing his captivation and infatuation with the tune, his parents bought his first 45 rpm record. Paul Simon’s hauntingly beautiful “The Sounds of Silence” with Art Garfunkel’s signature harmony vocals sparked a musical and creative fire that would be impossible to extinguish. Surrounded by the eclectic music of the early and mid 1970’s, Tym soaked up the vast musical genres that poured from the radio stations during those wonder years of his childhood. On Christmas Day in 1975 he received two 33 rpm LP records from relatives, one of which was Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy”. The other would change his life forever. Setting the needle down ever so gently on side 1 of John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” album, Tym could instantly and completely relate to the vivid imagery of nature that was conjured up from the lyrics and perfect musical accompaniment that overwhelmingly engulfed all of his senses at once. The musical passion that Simon and Garfunkel had ignited was now a raging wildfire. Although he did take piano lessons briefly, Tym seemed content to absorb and learn from all the various music styles filling the airwaves during the 1970’s.
In 1978, Tym's Dad announced to the family that they would be moving again. Tym was filled with sadness at the thought of leaving his home, the nature and nearby mountains and the friends that he had now known for most of his life. But he was also filled with the excitement of moving to the city of his favorite NFL football team, the Dallas Cowboys. Tym loved Dallas immediately and had no problem assimilating into his new surroundings. He was instantly popular and was one of those rare people that could bridge effortlessly between all of the various school cliques. Tym was able to continue his sports prowess and played soccer (Right Wing) and baseball (Pitcher, Short Stop) outside of school. He played on the golf team at W.T. White High School with Scott Verplank, who is now a very successful player on the PGA Tour. Most importantly, Tym's obsession with music was now at a paramount level. His nickname on the golf team was "Judas" after what Tym often, jokingly, told people was his uncle's band - Judas Priest. With Dallas being a major stop for every touring band, Tym was attending concerts on a regular basis. His musical tastes had continued to branch out and now included the harder rock forms and heavy metal. However, his overwhelming devotion was still with the acoustic guitar wielding singer/songwriter genre of music. Unfortunately, Tym's enjoyable stint in Dallas was to be short-lived.
In the Summer of 1981 Tym's family again pulled up stakes and moved South to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Tym was already familiar with this area of the country, having made almost yearly visits to his Grandparents' cattle farm in Moulton, Alabama and the Hardin Family Reunions at nearby Fall Creek Falls State Park in Pikeville, Tennessee. Although he was back among the mountains, this was a very tough move for Tym, as he loved the fast-paced lifestyle that a major American city like Dallas had offered. To make matters worse, albeit with good intentions, with Tym's high academic achievements in mind it was decided that he was to be enrolled at the Baylor School for his junior and senior years to help prepare him for college. The Baylor School was a private, all boys, college preparatory school with a long and rich history. Originally a military school, it still maintained many aspects of that rigidity and was attended by some of the area's more wealthy and influential citizens' sons. Besides the culture shock of moving from Dallas to Chattanooga, Tym now found himself in an environment that was completely foreign and not to his liking at all. Trying half-heartedly to make the best of the situation, he turned to the familiar outlets of sports, music and writing. He played on the soccer and golf teams earning letters for both and did immensely enjoy the art and writing courses that he took at Baylor. Admittedly, Tym never really tried to fit in at Baylor and most of his friends were from the nearby public high school. The whole situation caused Tym's playful rock and roll attitude to turn into a full blown rebellion. He saw a lot of preferential treatment and lienancy for the sons of the elite and players of the only sport that mattered at Baylor, which was football. His once easy-going, happy-go-lucky demeanor was becoming increasingly introverted and confrontational. Without fear or care of the consequences, Tym routinely and publicly locked horns with the movers and shakers and even more seriously with the faculty at Baylor. However unintentional and unbeknownst to Tym, these outlandish actions and outbursts of injustice, while considered despicable and intolerable by the establishment and entitled, were secretly heralded as long overdue and were becoming the stuff of legends.
Books Of Our Lives
by Tym Priest