Stone Gossard’s new solo record, Moonlander, is rolling out now at PEARLJAM.COM. He’ll be streaming one song a week until the album’s release on June 25. I served as executive producer, and contributed backing vocals, guitars, percussion and one mix. Regular readers of the All Droge News Compendium know that this project has been brewing—on and off—for many years. I am thrilled this work is finally seeing the light of day.

“Sunday Painter,” an instrumental outtake from a few years ago found a home as the soundtrack for the trailer of Sam Jones’ new venture, Off Camera. Off Camera is a website, magazine, tv show and podcast featuring long-form conversational interviews. I found the latest interview with Robert Downey Jr. so facinating, I actually watched it twice. WATCH IT.

I recently composed original music for a national ad for State Farm. The spot is called “State of Remeberance” and is cute as hell. WATCH IT.

In other ad news, I worked on a new batch of national tv spots for McDonald’s. You can see the long-form versions of all the ‘Suppler Stories’ HERE on their new, super-groovy website.

FX’s Legit, starring Jim Jeffries, featured “Going Whichever Way the Wind Blows” over the end credits of a recent episode.

With each Quarterly Report I’m more and more astounded with A Lot Like You’s life span. The film’s got legs. And a knack for winning awards. Most recently our tireless director, Eli Kimaro, picked up the the Jason D Mak Award for Social Justice at the DisOrient Asian American Film Festival in Eugene, OR. READ THIS POST on the ALLY blog for a great summation of where we’ve been and where we’re headed.

BLEND UPDATE: Since we had written a batch of new songs, Elaine and I decided to expand The Droge & Summers Blend from a 5-song EP to full-length. We enlisted veteran engineer, Russ Fowler, to cut basics and help flesh out our existing tracks. Now that Russ has returned home to Atlanta, plenty of work remains. After I post this update, my intention is to completely unplug from everything else and focus on the record until it is done. We’ll see if that happens.

STUDIO NEWS: We recently plunked down for a new ProTools HDX rig complete with 32 ins and out via 2 HDios. The sound is fantastic. Other recent additions include a Taylor 655ce 12-string, a Beyer m160 ribbon mic, an ADL 1000 and a cigar box ukulele I stumbled across in Athens, Ohio.

Okay. That’s it for now. Time to go make music.

Until next time,

Pete

I’ve had a hard time carving out time to write my Quarterly Report. Here is a quick look at some of what’s been going on.

Today, I’m working on a friend’s record. The project is hush-hush. As soon as he is ready to let the cat out of the bag, I’ll spill the beans.

I am in the middle of creating music for two national TV spots. Until the spots air, I’m sworn to secrecy.

Now, onto what I can tell you about. Back in June, I knocked out music for another McDonald’s tv spot. You can view the the extended web cut HERE.

In August, I composed an original score for Ward Serrill’s short, Catching Fire. We submitted the film, which tells the story of Peter Scott’s work at Burn Labs, to GE’s Focus/Forward Filmmaker Contest. We made it to the semi-finals. You can view and vote for the film HERE.

I performed at an event called SMooCH (Seattle Musicians for Children’s Hospital) at The Triple Door on December 7. Also on the bill: Brad, Rachel Flotard, CFO, The Young Evils, Stag, Carrie Akre and the Sangster Family Band. We raised about $150K!

In A Lot Like You * news, we picked up another award. Our director, Eliaichi Kimaro, was on hand to receive Toronto’s Female Eye Film Festival’s Best Documentary statue. Have a LOOK. In more festival news, the film will screen for opening night of the SEATTLE ASIAN AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL. on January 25. For the small screen, an hour-long cut is ready for its television debut where it kicks off a new season of PBS‘s AfroPop on January 22. Check local listings. And, an interview with Eli was featured on the front page at www.npr.org a while back. Check out the story HERE.
There is so much more… for all the latest A Lot Like You news CLICK HERE.

BLEND UPDATE: Like I said in my Spring Quarterly Report, Volume Two from The Droge & Summers Blend is coming along slowly, but slowly. We’ve made a few brush strokes here and there, but for the most part the record has been put on ice. In the words of Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, “Someday, this war’s gonna end.” In our case, it’s more like, “Someday, we’ll find time to finish our record.”

In line after Blend is my yet-to-be-named collaborative project with Keith Lowe. We are exploring our mutual love of ambient music. I have other collaborations brewing for 2013 too. More later.

In Puzzle Tree Studio news, we recently consulted with an acoustician on revamping our control room. We flipped everything around 180 degrees and it sounds amazing. We’ve also acquired some new toys: a Goodall guitar, a Yamaha U3 piano and a sweet Lawson mic.

Until next time,
Pete

Regular readers of the All Droge News Compendium—ADNC for short—know that in addition to composing the score, I am also one of the film’s producers.

ABC’s Castle used the Droge & Summers Blend song “Sad Clown” in the background during a bar scene. I tuned in, but got so sucked into the plot that I didn’t even notice my own song playing.

Vanity Fair featured a track from the A Lot Like You soundtrack album in a behind-the-scenes video glimpse into a photo shoot with Sam Jones and thirteen top character actors. HAVE A LOOK.

Ron Gatty’s new digital single, “All in the Dream” is out now. (I executive produced and mixed the track.) It was love at first listen and I’m proud to have played a part in bringing this beautiful song into the world. Director John Jeffcoat created a stunning music video for the track. HAVE A LOOK.

A Lot Like You * is going strong almost a year since its world premier at SIFF. Momentum keeps building as we win awards and receive glowing press. After presenting our director, Eliaichi Kimaro, with their Best Documentary award, the SFIAAFF jury had this to say: “This layered documentary starts with a familiar exploration of mixed-race identity as the narrator searches for her roots, but brings the discussion to surprising levels of personal and political self-awareness. Fresh and inspired, tender and uncommonly smart, A Lot Like You triumphs as an exemplary work of first-person documentary for the 21st century.”

LIVE PERFORMANCE ALERT: I will play a short set before a screening of A Lot Like You in Portland, Oregon on Sunday, May 20 at The Mission Theater. Doors are at 6PM. Tickets & info HERE.

For all the latest A Lot Like You news CLICK HERE.

BLEND UPDATE: When friends ask how the next Droge & Summers Blend EP is coming along, I say, “Slowly, but slowly.” One reason for the relaxed pace is that I am making time to experiment with techniques I learned from Tchad Blake last year at Mix With the Masters. Also, I am “pre-mixing” some of the basic tracks before we start lobbing a bunch of overdubs into the fold. And thanks to Jay Bellerose, Scott Weddle, Jen Condos, Dave Hull and Matt Chamberlain, I have some very inventive and inspired performances to make the most of. Even though these tracks are getting a little long in the tooth—we cut the basics back in 2009—Elaine and I are as excited as ever to flesh them out.


Until next time,
Pete

Regular readers of the All Droge News Compendium—ADNC for short—know that in addition to composing the score, I am also one of the film’s producers.

I finished out 2011 creating music for a series of television commercials. Three original pieces span eleven broadcast spots and three webisodes. You may be familiar with the client—they’re called McDonald’s. Spots are airing nationally now. HAVE A LOOK.

A lot is a lot happening with A Lot Like You.* We won the only award handed out at ADIFF in New York, and we won Best Documentary at MIBFF in Montreal. Director, Eliaichi Kimaro was recently interviewed by BBC Radio and Warren Etheridge for his in-depth interview program, The High Bar. Plus, there’s a huge spread coming in The Seattle Times on January 28th. And there’s so much more. VISIT THE ALLY BLOG for all the latest.

I mixed and executive-produced a track for singer-songwriter Ron Gatty. I am currently playing matchmaker in hopes that John Jeffcoat will direct a video for this beautiful song.

Elaine Summers and I made a video for Vashon Island Pet Protectors that features a new song called “With a Little Help.” WATCH IT.

Shawn Smith’s CEDARWOOD EP was released late last year. Here is what Shawn had to say about how the record came about: “Sometime in 2007, Stone Gossard invited me down to the studio for 4 days of recording. The group was Stone, Pete Droge, Lonnie Marshall and Shawn Smith (me). Maybe it was 3 days, I can’t quite remember. I was the singer, Lonnie played bass, Stone and Pete played guitars as well as sharing drum duties. I played drums on one. Stone brought in the music and then we all added our parts as we recorded. I wrote all the vocal melodies and lyrics. It was very organic and if memory serves, one of the more enjoyable recording sessions I’ve ever been a part of. This group of songs, these mixes, are what I walked out of the studio with after our session. They haven’t been touched since.”

Two tracks from the A Lot Like You soundtrack album are featured in a new trailer for the documentary film, Christiania. Visit their KICKSTARTER PAGE to check it out.

I contributed vocals to a benefit album called The Shakers’ Sessions. The album is out now. For more info CLICK HERE.

Today, I am working on a song that I co-wrote with Yoshi Breen and Elaine Summers called “Nothing in the World.” Yoshi’s new side-project band wanted to cut the song and feature me as a guest. While the basic tracking took place in southern Holland, I chimed in with production ideas from Vashon Island via live stream. As soon as I am finished adding my vocals and guitars, I’ll send files back so they can finish up their bits and release the song later this year.

As soon I get “Nothing in the World” off of my plate, my attention will return to The Droge & Summers Blend. We are chipping away at Volume Two, the long-awaited follow-up to Volume One.

Until next time,

Pete

*Regular reader of The All Droge News Compendium—ADNC for short—know that in addition to composing the score, I also served as one of the film’s producers

I recently spent a week in the south of France attending Mix with the Masters. The teacher for the week-long seminar on record production was TCHAD BLAKE. I returned to my studio re-energized and inspired beyond belief. I hope to find time to share thoughts about this life-changing experience. In the meantime, a PHOTO.

The mini-documentary Something in the Water will air nationally on the PBS show American Masters. The piece, directed by Ward Serrill, turns a lens on the current Seattle music scene. In addition to composing a bit of original music, I kept an ear on all things music and audio. Air date is Friday, October 21 following the television premier of Cameron Crowe’s Pearl Jam doc PJ20. Check local listings.

A Lot Like You director Eli Kimaro screened the film and gave the keynote address at Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence’s annual conference. View her keyote address HERE. Regular All Droge News Compendium readers know that in addition to creating the music, I also served as one of the film’s producers. ALLY also made it’s Canadian premier at the Montreal International Black Film Festival. Here are some upcoming screenings:
OCT 2: FILMWAX FILM SERIES (Brooklyn, NY) Eli attending. Info HERE.
OCT 5: LOCAL SIGHTINGS FILM FESTIVAL (Seattle) Tickets HERE.
OCT 5: ARTISPHERE (Washington DC) Eli attending. Tickets HERE.
OCT 7: ASIAN ARTS INITIATIVE (Philadelphia) Eli attending.

GREAT CAUSE #1: A track I worked on with Stone Gossard ages ago was recently unearthed and included on a great 3CD set call Live from Nowhere Near You-Vol 2. All proceeds go to Outside In, a Portland, Oregon non-profit focused on providing aid and counseling to homeless youth.

GREAT CAUSE #2: I just mixed a live in-studio performance of my song, “Under The Waves” that is to appear on a charity record called Joey’s Song. Look for it next year.

GREAT CAUSE #3: I am about to begin work on a new song called “With a Little Help” with my partner in crime, Elaine Summers. The song will provide the soundtrack for a short video we are making that will screen at Vashon Island Pet Protectors annual fundraising event, The Fur BalI. Tickets HERE.

The Caspar Babypants record that I played on is out now. You can buy it HERE. Piper O’Neill made a groovy animated video for the song I played on. Check it out HERE.

There are other irons in the fire—post about them as they shape up.

I’m going to knock this report out faster than usual. Punctuation and grammar perfection be damned. Who’s got time for such trifles? It’s summer. And if I’m not hunkered down in the studio, or setting up vacation replies on my email accounts, I should be outside enjoying the cold. (You Seattleites know what I”m talking about.)

We made a nice little video for the A Lot Like You soundtrack album. The film’s editor Eric Frith put it together using photos from the album art shoot taken by director Eli Kimaro. WATCH IT

I talk about how working on the film A Lot Like You led to profound changes in my personal life in the bio for the soundtrack. READ IT

The Droge & Summers Blend is back on the front burner. Elaine and I have picked five songs that will comprise Volume Two. All five tracks are in various states of undress.

I’ll be composing original music for a Ward Serrill directed mini-documentary that will air nationally on the PBS show American Masters.

Dutch songwriter and recording artist Yoshi Breen stopped by The Puzzle Tree Studio for a writing session. We hit it off and wrote what we believe is a cool song. Not sure how soon we’ll be able to get this one recorded.

Singer-songwriter, Todd Mayo has a great track brewing at The Puzzle Tree Studio. This is the first bit of production I’ve done in a long while. Not sure whether this will come out soon as a single, or later as part of a collection. In any event, keep an eye on the All Droge New Compendium (ADNC for short) for updates. Until then: A CLIP

Branden Harper and I were happy to be guinea pigs in Michael Cozzi’s new studio. His drum room sounds amazing. Michael has a great Tumblr page chronicling the building of his new studio HERE. See photos of the session on my blog, PUZZLE TREE JUNK DRAWER.

Caspar Babypants Sing Along comes out on August 16. I played on the album’s closing track, “Baby Cloud.” A video is in the works. (Caspar Babypants is Chris Ballew of The Presidents of the United States of America making kid music.)

Seattle International Film Festival was a whirlwind. ADNC regulars know that my film, A Lot Like You, made its world premier there this Spring. My reputation as a recluse is in serious jeopardy. I more than fulfilled my party quota for the year. Here is a bit of the press I did for the film: INTERVIEW LINK

Until next time,

Pete

I am thrilled to announce that A Lot Like You will world premier at the 37th Seattle International Film Festival.
May 24, Havard Exit, 7PM. (Soundtrack in stores same day.)
June 12, Admiral Theater, 1PM.
Tickets on sale now at SIFF.NET.

What do you get when you drop Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready into a recording studio with ungodly amounts of echo being filtered & fedback in real-time by an Eno-infatuated Pete Droge? Watch these videos on Mike’s new blog to find out:
VIDEO 01 • VIDEO 02

Chris Ballew aka Caspar Babypants asked me to contribute guitar to a song for possible inclusion on his next album, Away We Go. I usually don’t go for kids’ music, but I am a Caspar fan. I suggest you check him out, whether you’ve got young ‘uns or not. VIDEO LINK (In case you don’t know, Chris is the frontman for the Presidents of the United States of America.) I posted a photo from the session on my blog, THE PUZZLE TREE JUNK DRAWER.

I am thrilled to announce that the A Lot Like You team has given me a promotion from Composer, to Composer and Producer. It’s my first production credit on a film. I can’t wait to meet someone at a party and have them ask me what I do so I can answer in my best Orson Wells-esque voice, “I’m a film producer…. I produce motion pictures.” Stay tuned for festival news and screening dates.

My new album, A Lot Like You—Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will be in stores May 24. Like my last couple of albums, it’s being distrubuted by Think Indie, a consortium of independent record retailers determined to bring music lovers back to the stores that make a difference. I encourage you all to support cool record stores by finding one near you and paying it a visit on Record Store Day (April 16.) Check out THIS VIDEO of Ozzy commanding you to support Record Store Day. Lord knows, you can’t disobey Ozzy!

The Droge & Summers Blend song “Two of the Lucky Ones” was hand-picked by the Patagonia Music Collective to be part of their New Music Stream. We are in good company alongside Fleet Foxes, Twilight Singers, J Mascis and others. PMC has also gathered an impressive collection of exclusive tracks from artists like Bonnie Raitt, Jack Johnson, Phillip Glass & Pearl Jam to benefit environmental charities. For more, click HERE.
I will join Jack Endino, John Goodmanson & Matt Bayles on the “Local Producers Panel” at the 12th annual Pacific Northwest Studio Summit at EMP on May 7. Visit Grammy365.com for more.

At this very moment you’re feasting your eyes on a winner. This website was awarded “Best Music Webiste” at the 10th Annual Independent Music Awards. Thanks to our friends at THIS BY THEM for creating our beautiful online home.

Peter Stroud stopped by The Puzzle Tree on a night off from his tour with Sarah McClaughlan to compose some music with me. I will post photos from the session on my blog THE PUZZLE TREE JUNK DRAWER very soon. In the meantime you can check out some shots from the A Lot Like You album art photo shoot.

Evening Magazine is airing a story on me and the music I make for film and television. The profile airs tonight (Feb 9) at 7PM on Seattle’s King 5.

Elaine Summers and I will play a few songs for “Love Me Some Townes Van Zandt” night at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle on March 7. Click HERE for details.