Health Update
Slowly but slowly my health is improving. (Health backstory HERE.) Assuming the trend continues, it shouldn’t  be too long before I’m ready to begin pre-production on my next record. In the meantime, I’ve been dusting off the old live chops.

Live & In-Person
On November 8 Elaine Summers and I will play a couple of songs at The O Space to help celebrate the release of Vashon Calling, an album to benefit Vashon Events. The album and show will feature a fine array of Vashon musicians: Chris Ballew, Ian Moore, Martin Feveyear, Danny Newcomb, Rusty Willoughby & Jennifer Potter, Jeff Kanzler, Kat Eggleston, Saint Ophelia, JD Hobson, Sarah Christine, Allison Shirk and Madeleine Wolczko will all grace the O-Space stage.  Info HERE. 

We played a wedding gig earlier this month. Yeah, you heard me right…a wedding gig! The groom surprised the bride with a live performance of their favorite song, “Island,” performed by the original artists!  It was heartwarming to watch the happy couple snuggling in the front row while she smiled and wiped away tears of joy.

Back in August I played a couple of songs at a private dinner salon.  About fifteen of us gathered to break bread and play music at the historic Dockton Store. I used the opportunity to world premier two songs: “You Called Me Kid” and “My Mind’s Eye.” It felt great to play the new songs. We’re looking forward to booking a few low-key house concerts around Vashon Island as soon as my health allows. (Sign up for my Newsletter to be among the first to know when shows are announced.)

Speaking of house concerts, imagine you and nine pals cozied up in a stunning west side home on idyllic Vashon Island, enjoying wine, appetizers and a super-intimate set by yours truly and my trusty sidekick Elaine Summers.  This experience could be yours! We’re auctioning off a house concert at this year’s Fur Ball.  (The Fur Ball is Vashon Island Pet Protectors’ big fundraising event that takes place on Saturday, October 26.)  Tickets and info HERE. If you are unable to attend the auction but want to try and snatch up that house concert, email cats@vipp.org to arrange making a proxy bid.

Necktie 25th
In my last Quarterly Report I mentioned the possibility of a 25th anniversary edition of my debut album, Necktie Second.  Well, my health is not to the point where I can tackle that project this year, so Necktie 25th will have to wait. Necktie 26th doesn’t have quite the same ring to it.  Maybe we wait for the 30th anniversary? Or just call it Necktie Deluxe and put it out whenever it’s ready? In any event, there are piles of VHS and Hi-8 video tapes from that era. At some point, we’ll get it all digitized and start lobbing clips out to my YouTube channel. 

Amazon Music’s Expert Listen
I am featured on Amazon Music’s brand new Expert Listen playlist. Dial it up to hear me give my expert opinion of the Tom Petty track “You Don’t Know How It Feels” from his classic album, Wildflowers. I’m in pretty good company.  A couple of tracks after mine is some lesser-known expert named Sir Paul McCartney.  #sarcastichumblebrag.

KEXP Sound & Vision
Drew Pine stopped by the Puzzle Tree Studio studio to interview me for KEXP’s Sound & Vision. The show, set to air in late October or early November, will feature a segment on Vashon Island musicians.  In addition to going out over the radio waves, Sound & Vision is available in podcast form.

UPDATE 12/10/19:  The episode is now live.  Check it out HERE.  Or look for it in your favorite podcast app. The segment with my interview begins at around 36 minute mark.

Songwriting
Elaine and I have been chipping away at writing material for my next record.  For years, songwriting took a back seat to record production and scoring work, so it feels great to be back at it with the same kind of single-minded focus I had when I was younger and life was simpler.

As much as I love creating music for film & tv, and producing other artists, nothing thrills me more than conjuring a good old-fashioned song from thin air. Actually, conjuring may not be the best word. While the process can feel magical at times–especially those moments when inspiration strikes–most of the time is spent laboriously crafting lyrics and phrasing. This process is especially slow due to my limited energy these days, but that makes it all the more satisfying when we cinch one up.

Despite the glacial pace, we are making progress. Taking stock of our bounty recently we found we have enough completed songs for a double album. (I doubt I’ll make a double album, but you never know.)

Well, that’s all the news that’s fit to print.

Peace & Love,

Pete