May 14, 2025 • 27 mins
Pete Price's musical journey began in a church choir where elderly parishioners would compliment his singing after service. That early encouragement sparked a lifetime devoted to music that's taken him from singing an octave too high in his first band at age 12 to performing with the Fry's Band for crowds of 5,000 people thirty years later.
As Pete reveals in this intimate conversation, his path wasn't always straightforward. Recognizing his shyer temperament didn't suit the frontman role, he taught himself guitar and found his true calling in harmonies and instrumental work. The Fry's Band evolved from an acoustic trio specializing in vocal harmonies during the "unplugged era" of the 90s to a versatile five-piece electric outfit that maintains those signature harmonic elements while expanding their sonic palette.
A turning point came when Pete sent a song to a friend who had Nashville connections. Watching professional musicians transform his composition in a Nashville studio "lit a fire" under him, resulting in an explosion of creativity that produced two acclaimed albums: "Department of the Interior" and "Pictures in Time." Pete's thoughtful approach to songwriting—crafting lyrics that offer genuine insights from his life experiences—demonstrates his belief that music should create meaningful connections. His newest single "Better Angels" tells an unresolved story of post-breakup courage that showcases his storytelling abilities.
Drawing inspiration from Bob Dylan ("you don't have to have the greatest voice but you need something to say"), Jackson Browne, and the Allman Brothers, Pete has crafted an Americana sound that moves fluidly between folk, rock, blues and light jazz. Whether performing with the Fry's Band, his duo 39 North, or in solo appearances featuring his original music, Pete embodies the joy of authentic musical expression. As he puts it: "Music is super important to me... it gets me up every morning to go down and work on my music." Listen to his story and discover the hidden treasures in his songs at petepricemusic.com.
Want to be a guest on Living the Dream with Curveball? Send Curtis Jackson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1628631536976x919760049303001600
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with
Curveball, if you believe youcan achieve.
Welcome to the Living the Dreamwith Curveball Podcast, a show
where I interview guests thatteach, motivate and inspire.
(00:23):
I interview guests that teach,motivate and inspire Today,
straight from Ferguson, missouri.
Born in Ferguson Missouri, I amjoined by singer-songwriter
Pete Price.
Pete has been the leadguitarist of the Fries Band for
30 years, so we're going to betalking to him about his
(00:43):
extensive musical career,everything that he's up to, who
influenced him and everythingthat he's going to be up to in
the future.
So, pete, thank you so much forjoining me.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
It's my pleasure, curtis Nice, to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Why don't you start off by telling everybody a
little bit about yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
yourself.
Okay, my musical career kind ofstarted very early in singing
in church and my dad was anEpiscopal minister and he tried
to channel me into things thatwere productive, because I was
pretty rambunctious as a kid.
And so he got me into churchchoir and I found out that I had
a little bit of talent and Ienjoyed it and so I got several
(01:36):
solos and it kind of felt nicewhen the old ladies would come
up after church at coffee hourand say, oh, you sounded so nice
up there.
And so anyway, one thing led toanother and I joined my first
band in sixth grade, so I guessI would have been around 12.
(01:57):
And I joined as the lead singer, and it was actually before my
voice changed.
Joined as the lead singer, andit was actually before my voice
changed.
So I sang many of the popularsongs like Hang On, sloopy and
Well Respected man, an octavehigher, which was maybe a little
bit weird, but it was all Icould do.
(02:19):
So I decided that because youknow, when you are leading the
band and being a front man,you've got a lot of
responsibility to keep the partygoing and stuff, and I'm a
little bit more of a laid back,shy kind of person and decided
that, you know, fronting a bandwas probably not my cup of tea,
(02:41):
but I really enjoyed being in aband.
So I started learning how toplay the guitar and so I, you
know, learned a bunch of folksongs and Bob Dylan and you know
popular songs back in the late60s, you know, worked my way
(03:02):
into being able to perform on myown kind of playing that type
of music.
And then, you know, toward themid to end of the Colorado, and
(03:30):
uh, spent about 13 years out inColorado and and played in a
couple of different bands outthere and uh, so that was a lot
of fun.
Um, finally, in the mideighties, uh, moved back to Ohio
and uh, uh, I had a youngfamily at that point and so I
was out of music for a while but, you know, still had the love
(03:51):
for it and so, probably aroundyou know, I would play as a solo
at open stages and that sort ofthing.
And then, around 1990, I had anopportunity to join the Fry's
band and the Fry's band startedout as like an acoustic trio but
(04:17):
we specialized in vocalharmonies, kind of like Crosby,
stills and Nash in the strippeddown version of their act, kind
of like Crosby, stills and Nashin the stripped-down version of
their act and veryacoustic-oriented.
But we were very popular duringthe unplugged era back in the
(04:37):
90s and eventually we kind ofgravitated toward more of an
electric sound, toward more ofan electric sound, and now we're
a five-piece band that stillhas the emphasis on vocal
harmonies but we're a lot moreversatile and we play a lot more
(04:58):
, a lot larger shows.
Now.
You know a lot of communityconcerts and you know shows
where we're playing to anywherefrom 1,000 to 5,000 people.
So that's been a great lot offun for me.
And about five years ago afriend of mine and I that I went
(05:23):
to school with decided to starta duo and there were songs that
I wasn't able to play in theFries and I was starting to
write a lot more music.
So he and I started a duocalled the Fairview Stringers
and we played up until this yearand he wound up moving to
(05:45):
Wisconsin.
So I've started a new duo witha member of the Fries, henry
Mays, and we call ourselves 39North.
So we're actually playingtomorrow night as a matter of
fact, but it's a duo and Henry'sa very versatile musician.
But it's a duo and Henry's avery versatile musician.
(06:21):
He plays keyboards, banjo,mandolin, acoustic guitar and
just is really, really amazingBlows.
We weren't able to play any kindof gigs and so I got back into
my songwriting quite a bit.
I had a friend that we went ona cycling trip over to Italy,
(06:48):
cycling trip over to Italy, andwe found out that we were both
musicians and he was a moreestablished songwriter than I at
that point.
But you know, we sort ofpromised that if we wrote
anything good we would share itwith one another.
And so I wrote a song calledBefore I Go and that song is on
my first album which is calledDepartment of the Interior.
(07:09):
Before I Go.
I sent off to James Mills, whowas my buddy, and he liked it a
lot.
He asked if he could make somemodifications to it and turn it
from a five-minute song intoabout a, you know,
three-minute-plus song to makeit more commercially viable.
(07:33):
And I said, sure, that's fine.
You know, the song was probablynot going to go anywhere with
the connections I had at thatpoint, the connections I had at
that point.
And so he revamped the song andsent it to me and I liked it
and he said I'm going to takethis to Nashville because I'm
(07:54):
working on an album and if you'dlike, you can drive down and
attend the session.
So I was all over that.
I mean, you know, I hadn'tactually, you know, seen a very
professional recording sessionlike a Nashville recording
session with a lot of the heavyhitters on the different
(08:15):
instruments.
So I drove down there andwatched one of my songs come to
life and that just lit a fireunder me and I came back home
and just sort of exploded withcreativity and wrote over the
course of the next nine or tenmonths I wrote enough songs and
(08:39):
material to complete an album,enough songs and material to
complete an album.
And so I started recording myown album much at the same
studio down there in Nashville.
Better Image Studio andDepartment of the Interior came
(08:59):
out I believe in 2021.
And it was pretty successful.
It had a good run.
And I decided I put together aband and we couldn't figure out
what to call it and the bassplayer said, well, why don't we
just call it the Price Brothers?
And I said, well, if that's thebest you can come up with, I'm
(09:22):
okay with it.
And so the Price Brothers tocome in and record all the parts
(09:48):
for my second album, which iscalled Pictures in Time, and
Pictures in Time came out lastyear and so far it's doing
pretty well, I think that it'sto me.
I really like the songs.
I don't think that it's gottenquite the approbation that the
(10:09):
first album had gotten, but I'mreally happy with it and it sort
of tells a story about aprotagonist who is going through
life and is in his early stages.
He's having a lot of problemswith relationships and time
management and you know, familyissues and stuff like that.
(10:31):
And so the first four songs orso on the album deal with, you
know, just starting to figure itout.
And then the middle four songsare about, you know, really
having some successes andinterpersonal successes and you
know, forming relationships andthings like that.
(10:53):
And then the final four songsare, you know, kind of having it
figured out but also knowingthat you know there's a whole
lot in life that you'll neverknow and you just always have to
a whole lot in life that you'llnever know and you just always
have to be a student of life.
So it kind of is a chronologyof a person's life, sort of a
spiritual seeker's life intrying to become a better person
(11:18):
and to live a better life.
So, and you know, live a betterlife.
So and you know I'm stillplaying my solo stuff I have a
engagement coming up where I'mgoing to be opening for John
(11:38):
Batdorf, who was very popular inthe 70s and 80s in a duo by the
name of Batdorf and Rodney, andso I have an opportunity to
open for him in May, and then 39North has quite a few gigs this
summer and into the fall, andthen the Fry's band is very busy
(12:01):
throughout the summer and intothe fall as well.
So I've got a very fullschedule of musical performances
and really no plans at thispoint to begin a new album,
although you know it's always onthe horizon and hopefully, you
know some of the inspirationwill hit me at the odd time.
(12:23):
So that kind of brings you upto date.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Absolutely.
It sounds like you're a verybusy man.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yeah, I sure love playing music and you know it's
nice to see those faces outthere and you know, when you
play something that they reallylike, it kind of hits you in a
good spot.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, tell us about.
You know if somebody walked upto you and said hey, pete, you
know what genre is your musicand you know the overarching
genre is Americana.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
And I, you know, I've been doing some reading about
folk music and I've alwaysconsidered my writing to be sort
(13:41):
of in the folk, folk rock vein,but narrowly defined.
You know, folk music is more ofa traditional kind of music and
is, you know, songs that havebeen around for generations.
So I think that musically mysongs sound like that but
lyrically it's really like to me.
I've lived a pretty long lifenow and I've gained some
insights on how to be successfulin, you know, living and
(14:06):
managing a life.
And so often you know I'llbuild a song around you know,
some insight that I've, somebreakthrough or insight that
I've learned in my life, and ifjust one or two people it
creates a spark or, you know,turns on a light for them, then
(14:29):
I feel like you know I've beensuccessful.
So many of my songs have theselittle hidden treasures in them
that if people listen closely tothe lyrics, you know they'll
find there's a lot of good stuffin there.
But yeah, americana folk rock,you know, some of my stuff kind
(14:56):
of moves toward maybe a littlebit of light jazz and certainly
blues, maybe a little bit oflight jazz and certainly blues,
and I guess it's all kind oflike roots music and I don't
write in any one particulargenre consistently.
I like to move around and ifsomething hits me and it sounds
(15:21):
better with kind of a jazz or aswing kind of rhythm, then I'll
go that way and see if I canbuild a song out that way.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Absolutely so.
Talk about some of the, becauseI was reading over your bio and
you have a pretty good,impressive, long list of people
that you were influenced by, solet the listeners know who
influences you to do what you do.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Okay, you know, probably my first big influences
as a songwriter was Bob Dylan,and I, you know, came away from
listening to Dylan thinking thatyou know, you can, you don't
(16:10):
have to have the greatest voicein the world, but you really
need to have something to say.
Dylan has always, you know, hadsomething to say, and sometimes
it's been kind of controversial, but he's always been his own
person and he's, you know, he'ssailed by his own star.
(16:34):
So Dylan was probably one ofthe biggest influences on my
music overall.
And then other singersongwriters like Jackson Brown
and James Taylor, greg Allman,john Fogerty with Creedence, you
(17:01):
know, and Dan Fogelberg.
There's a bunch of thosesinger-songwriters that I just
really love and it's a type ofmusic that I still play a lot
and gravitate toward as far as asongwriter is concerned.
(17:22):
And then the Allman Brothers.
They took a lot of old, olderblues tunes and it was back in
the early 70s when, you know,blues wasn't really that popular
from a, you know, from amainstream it.
(17:42):
It, the Allman Brothers kind ofbrought the blues tour to a
wider audience and they did itin a way that, you know, the
songs still sounded verytraditional.
And then they also wrote abunch of their own songs, songs.
So you know, and the fusion ofblues with jazz and rock was
(18:11):
kind of new at that point and itreally it was something that I
just really enjoyed and ithelped me to become or at least
aspire to be a better guitarplayer, to learn you know how
(18:33):
they played those licks and youknow how they made those sounds,
and so it made me work a lotharder as far as a guitar player
and got me out of, you know,just playing an acoustic and
playing chords and singing andaccompanying myself.
I became a lot more interestedin being in a band and playing
lead guitar and so that kind ofgot me started there.
(18:57):
So those are some of theinfluences that I can sort of
let you know that they've beenimportant in my life.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Okay, well, let the listeners know about any
upcoming projects that you'reworking on that they need to be
aware of.
You know kind of talk aboutwhat expired, what it's inspired
them and what listeners canexpect when they listen to it.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Okay, I've got a new single that's going to be
released in early May from myPictures in Time album and it's
called Better Angels and thepremise of the story is you know
, there's this fella who wentthrough a breakup with his girl
(19:48):
and it's a story as old as timereally.
But he went through a breakupwith his girl and he just can't
get over her.
You know he can't get her outof his mind and you know it's
been you know five, six monthsdown the road and you know a lot
of water under the bridge.
(20:08):
But you know he decides thathe's got to make an effort to
try to get her back, and youknow it may not happen, but he's
got to at least try.
And so he picks up his phoneand he dials her number and you
(20:31):
know it takes all the couragethat he has to.
You know just kind of eat crowand call her up and just say,
hey, honey, you know this wasall my fault, this is all on me,
and you know, is there anypossibility that you could give
us another chance?
(20:52):
So the phone rings and you knowit rings about five or six
times and all of a sudden itgoes to voicemail, and so you
know the song is unresolved.
We don't know as listenerswhether he gets back, if she
(21:13):
ever calls him back.
We don't know any of thosethings and so it doesn't
necessarily have a happy ending,but it doesn't have a sad
ending either.
It's just kind of unresolvedbut kind of a fun song.
It was a song that didn't haveany kind of personal, like I
(21:40):
didn't have any personal part inthe story.
I think of course everybody'sbroken up and tried to get back
together and stuff like that.
So there's a little bit of thatthat's personal.
But I just wanted to go throughthe exercise of writing a story
song.
And also it's a little bit morecountry oriented.
(22:04):
It's kind of a country rockoriented song and so I don't
know.
I like it, I think it's gotbroad appeal and I'm hoping that
the song does well, that it'swell received.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah, and I'm definitely sure it will be
Thought you'd contact them forso people can keep up with
everything that you're up to.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Yeah, it's real easy just to go to the website and
you know everything.
All the links are there to youknow.
Go to the YouTube page andcheck out the different bands
that I work in and you canlisten to all the music that I
work in.
And you can listen to all themusic.
(22:48):
There's a music player down inthe lower right-hand corner so
that you know you can clickthrough and browse the songs
that I've written and also learna lot of background on.
You know why I wrote the songand what it means to me anyway.
So those are all good things.
And then you know, as far asother projects, like I said
(23:12):
before, I don't really have thetime right now to start another
album, but I'm always gettingsongs that kind of bubble up and
I write them down.
Or, you know, maybe it's just aline or something like that and
I just kind of keep all thatstuff cataloged and written down
(23:35):
so that I've got a whole bunchof not only you know melody,
lines and hooks, but also youknow ideas for songs.
So you know, I'm sort of in thepoint of just gathering
information right now and, youknow, hopefully in another six
or seven months, when theperforming season slows down,
(24:00):
I'll have a chance to startworking on putting together
another 11 or 12 songs foranother album, so hopefully
that's on the horizon.
And then you know, in themeantime I'm just going to
continue playing with my duo andwith the Fries band and then
(24:22):
also take any opportunity that Ican for solo appearances.
I've worked up a pretty goodsolo act with all my original
songs now, so that's been a lotof fun and it's very rewarding.
It's really fun to play yourown music.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
And what was the website?
You know, play your own music.
And what was the website?
It's wwwpetepricemusiccom.
Perfect, close us out with somefinal thoughts.
Maybe, if that was something Iforgot to talk about that you
would like to touch on any finalthoughts you have for the
listeners.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
I just want to thank you for having me on your
program and thanks to all thelisteners out there who have
tuned in to listen to this.
Music is super important to meand I just love performing and
writing and arranging and, youknow, doing all the things that
(25:23):
are involved with music.
It just it gets me up everymorning to go down and work on
my music.
So I hope everybody hassomething in their lives that
animates them the way that musicanimates me.
So, anyway, thanks very muchfor having me on Thank you for
(25:45):
being so kind to come on.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Ladies and gentlemen, petepricemusiccom, please go
sure to check out everythingthat the Friars Band and Pete is
up to and, you know, be sure tocheck out that new single when
it comes out.
All the Americana lovers outthere follow rate review.
Share this episode to as manypeople as possible.
Follow us.
(26:07):
Leave us a review on yourfavorite podcast app.
Go to wwwcurveball337.com formore information on the Living
the Dream with Curveball podcast.
Thank you for listening andsupporting the show, pete.
Thank you for all that you doand that great music that you
put out, and thank you forjoining me.
You show Pete.
Thank you for all that you doand that great music that you
put out, and thank you forjoining me.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
You're very welcome, Curtis.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
For more information on the Living the Dream with
Curveball podcast, visitwwwcurveball337.com.
Until next time, keep livingthe dream.
Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with
Curveball, if you believe youcan achieve.
Welcome to the Living the Dreamwith Curveball Podcast, a show
where I interview guests thatteach, motivate and inspire.
(00:23):
I interview guests that teach,motivate and inspire Today,
straight from Ferguson, missouri.
Born in Ferguson Missouri, I amjoined by singer-songwriter
Pete Price.
Pete has been the leadguitarist of the Fries Band for
30 years, so we're going to betalking to him about his
(00:43):
extensive musical career,everything that he's up to, who
influenced him and everythingthat he's going to be up to in
the future.
So, pete, thank you so much forjoining me.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
It's my pleasure, curtis Nice, to be here.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Why don't you start off by telling everybody a
little bit about yourself?
Speaker 2 (01:12):
yourself.
Okay, my musical career kind ofstarted very early in singing
in church and my dad was anEpiscopal minister and he tried
to channel me into things thatwere productive, because I was
pretty rambunctious as a kid.
And so he got me into churchchoir and I found out that I had
a little bit of talent and Ienjoyed it and so I got several
(01:36):
solos and it kind of felt nicewhen the old ladies would come
up after church at coffee hourand say, oh, you sounded so nice
up there.
And so anyway, one thing led toanother and I joined my first
band in sixth grade, so I guessI would have been around 12.
(01:57):
And I joined as the lead singer, and it was actually before my
voice changed.
Joined as the lead singer, andit was actually before my voice
changed.
So I sang many of the popularsongs like Hang On, sloopy and
Well Respected man, an octavehigher, which was maybe a little
bit weird, but it was all Icould do.
(02:19):
So I decided that because youknow, when you are leading the
band and being a front man,you've got a lot of
responsibility to keep the partygoing and stuff, and I'm a
little bit more of a laid back,shy kind of person and decided
that, you know, fronting a bandwas probably not my cup of tea,
(02:41):
but I really enjoyed being in aband.
So I started learning how toplay the guitar and so I, you
know, learned a bunch of folksongs and Bob Dylan and you know
popular songs back in the late60s, you know, worked my way
(03:02):
into being able to perform on myown kind of playing that type
of music.
And then, you know, toward themid to end of the Colorado, and
(03:30):
uh, spent about 13 years out inColorado and and played in a
couple of different bands outthere and uh, so that was a lot
of fun.
Um, finally, in the mideighties, uh, moved back to Ohio
and uh, uh, I had a youngfamily at that point and so I
was out of music for a while but, you know, still had the love
(03:51):
for it and so, probably aroundyou know, I would play as a solo
at open stages and that sort ofthing.
And then, around 1990, I had anopportunity to join the Fry's
band and the Fry's band startedout as like an acoustic trio but
(04:17):
we specialized in vocalharmonies, kind of like Crosby,
stills and Nash in the strippeddown version of their act, kind
of like Crosby, stills and Nashin the stripped-down version of
their act and veryacoustic-oriented.
But we were very popular duringthe unplugged era back in the
(04:37):
90s and eventually we kind ofgravitated toward more of an
electric sound, toward more ofan electric sound, and now we're
a five-piece band that stillhas the emphasis on vocal
harmonies but we're a lot moreversatile and we play a lot more
(04:58):
, a lot larger shows.
Now.
You know a lot of communityconcerts and you know shows
where we're playing to anywherefrom 1,000 to 5,000 people.
So that's been a great lot offun for me.
And about five years ago afriend of mine and I that I went
(05:23):
to school with decided to starta duo and there were songs that
I wasn't able to play in theFries and I was starting to
write a lot more music.
So he and I started a duocalled the Fairview Stringers
and we played up until this yearand he wound up moving to
(05:45):
Wisconsin.
So I've started a new duo witha member of the Fries, henry
Mays, and we call ourselves 39North.
So we're actually playingtomorrow night as a matter of
fact, but it's a duo and Henry'sa very versatile musician.
But it's a duo and Henry's avery versatile musician.
(06:21):
He plays keyboards, banjo,mandolin, acoustic guitar and
just is really, really amazingBlows.
We weren't able to play any kindof gigs and so I got back into
my songwriting quite a bit.
I had a friend that we went ona cycling trip over to Italy,
(06:48):
cycling trip over to Italy, andwe found out that we were both
musicians and he was a moreestablished songwriter than I at
that point.
But you know, we sort ofpromised that if we wrote
anything good we would share itwith one another.
And so I wrote a song calledBefore I Go and that song is on
my first album which is calledDepartment of the Interior.
(07:09):
Before I Go.
I sent off to James Mills, whowas my buddy, and he liked it a
lot.
He asked if he could make somemodifications to it and turn it
from a five-minute song intoabout a, you know,
three-minute-plus song to makeit more commercially viable.
(07:33):
And I said, sure, that's fine.
You know, the song was probablynot going to go anywhere with
the connections I had at thatpoint, the connections I had at
that point.
And so he revamped the song andsent it to me and I liked it
and he said I'm going to takethis to Nashville because I'm
(07:54):
working on an album and if you'dlike, you can drive down and
attend the session.
So I was all over that.
I mean, you know, I hadn'tactually, you know, seen a very
professional recording sessionlike a Nashville recording
session with a lot of the heavyhitters on the different
(08:15):
instruments.
So I drove down there andwatched one of my songs come to
life and that just lit a fireunder me and I came back home
and just sort of exploded withcreativity and wrote over the
course of the next nine or tenmonths I wrote enough songs and
(08:39):
material to complete an album,enough songs and material to
complete an album.
And so I started recording myown album much at the same
studio down there in Nashville.
Better Image Studio andDepartment of the Interior came
(08:59):
out I believe in 2021.
And it was pretty successful.
It had a good run.
And I decided I put together aband and we couldn't figure out
what to call it and the bassplayer said, well, why don't we
just call it the Price Brothers?
And I said, well, if that's thebest you can come up with, I'm
(09:22):
okay with it.
And so the Price Brothers tocome in and record all the parts
(09:48):
for my second album, which iscalled Pictures in Time, and
Pictures in Time came out lastyear and so far it's doing
pretty well, I think that it'sto me.
I really like the songs.
I don't think that it's gottenquite the approbation that the
(10:09):
first album had gotten, but I'mreally happy with it and it sort
of tells a story about aprotagonist who is going through
life and is in his early stages.
He's having a lot of problemswith relationships and time
management and you know, familyissues and stuff like that.
(10:31):
And so the first four songs orso on the album deal with, you
know, just starting to figure itout.
And then the middle four songsare about, you know, really
having some successes andinterpersonal successes and you
know, forming relationships andthings like that.
(10:53):
And then the final four songsare, you know, kind of having it
figured out but also knowingthat you know there's a whole
lot in life that you'll neverknow and you just always have to
a whole lot in life that you'llnever know and you just always
have to be a student of life.
So it kind of is a chronologyof a person's life, sort of a
spiritual seeker's life intrying to become a better person
(11:18):
and to live a better life.
So, and you know, live a betterlife.
So and you know I'm stillplaying my solo stuff I have a
engagement coming up where I'mgoing to be opening for John
(11:38):
Batdorf, who was very popular inthe 70s and 80s in a duo by the
name of Batdorf and Rodney, andso I have an opportunity to
open for him in May, and then 39North has quite a few gigs this
summer and into the fall, andthen the Fry's band is very busy
(12:01):
throughout the summer and intothe fall as well.
So I've got a very fullschedule of musical performances
and really no plans at thispoint to begin a new album,
although you know it's always onthe horizon and hopefully, you
know some of the inspirationwill hit me at the odd time.
(12:23):
So that kind of brings you upto date.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Absolutely.
It sounds like you're a verybusy man.
Speaker 2 (12:30):
Yeah, I sure love playing music and you know it's
nice to see those faces outthere and you know, when you
play something that they reallylike, it kind of hits you in a
good spot.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, tell us about.
You know if somebody walked upto you and said hey, pete, you
know what genre is your musicand you know the overarching
genre is Americana.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
And I, you know, I've been doing some reading about
folk music and I've alwaysconsidered my writing to be sort
(13:41):
of in the folk, folk rock vein,but narrowly defined.
You know, folk music is more ofa traditional kind of music and
is, you know, songs that havebeen around for generations.
So I think that musically mysongs sound like that but
lyrically it's really like to me.
I've lived a pretty long lifenow and I've gained some
insights on how to be successfulin, you know, living and
(14:06):
managing a life.
And so often you know I'llbuild a song around you know,
some insight that I've, somebreakthrough or insight that
I've learned in my life, and ifjust one or two people it
creates a spark or, you know,turns on a light for them, then
(14:29):
I feel like you know I've beensuccessful.
So many of my songs have theselittle hidden treasures in them
that if people listen closely tothe lyrics, you know they'll
find there's a lot of good stuffin there.
But yeah, americana folk rock,you know, some of my stuff kind
(14:56):
of moves toward maybe a littlebit of light jazz and certainly
blues, maybe a little bit oflight jazz and certainly blues,
and I guess it's all kind oflike roots music and I don't
write in any one particulargenre consistently.
I like to move around and ifsomething hits me and it sounds
(15:21):
better with kind of a jazz or aswing kind of rhythm, then I'll
go that way and see if I canbuild a song out that way.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Absolutely so.
Talk about some of the, becauseI was reading over your bio and
you have a pretty good,impressive, long list of people
that you were influenced by, solet the listeners know who
influences you to do what you do.
Speaker 2 (15:49):
Okay, you know, probably my first big influences
as a songwriter was Bob Dylan,and I, you know, came away from
listening to Dylan thinking thatyou know, you can, you don't
(16:10):
have to have the greatest voicein the world, but you really
need to have something to say.
Dylan has always, you know, hadsomething to say, and sometimes
it's been kind of controversial, but he's always been his own
person and he's, you know, he'ssailed by his own star.
(16:34):
So Dylan was probably one ofthe biggest influences on my
music overall.
And then other singersongwriters like Jackson Brown
and James Taylor, greg Allman,john Fogerty with Creedence, you
(17:01):
know, and Dan Fogelberg.
There's a bunch of thosesinger-songwriters that I just
really love and it's a type ofmusic that I still play a lot
and gravitate toward as far as asongwriter is concerned.
(17:22):
And then the Allman Brothers.
They took a lot of old, olderblues tunes and it was back in
the early 70s when, you know,blues wasn't really that popular
from a, you know, from amainstream it.
(17:42):
It, the Allman Brothers kind ofbrought the blues tour to a
wider audience and they did itin a way that, you know, the
songs still sounded verytraditional.
And then they also wrote abunch of their own songs, songs.
So you know, and the fusion ofblues with jazz and rock was
(18:11):
kind of new at that point and itreally it was something that I
just really enjoyed and ithelped me to become or at least
aspire to be a better guitarplayer, to learn you know how
(18:33):
they played those licks and youknow how they made those sounds,
and so it made me work a lotharder as far as a guitar player
and got me out of, you know,just playing an acoustic and
playing chords and singing andaccompanying myself.
I became a lot more interestedin being in a band and playing
lead guitar and so that kind ofgot me started there.
(18:57):
So those are some of theinfluences that I can sort of
let you know that they've beenimportant in my life.
Speaker 1 (19:09):
Okay, well, let the listeners know about any
upcoming projects that you'reworking on that they need to be
aware of.
You know kind of talk aboutwhat expired, what it's inspired
them and what listeners canexpect when they listen to it.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
Okay, I've got a new single that's going to be
released in early May from myPictures in Time album and it's
called Better Angels and thepremise of the story is you know
, there's this fella who wentthrough a breakup with his girl
(19:48):
and it's a story as old as timereally.
But he went through a breakupwith his girl and he just can't
get over her.
You know he can't get her outof his mind and you know it's
been you know five, six monthsdown the road and you know a lot
of water under the bridge.
(20:08):
But you know he decides thathe's got to make an effort to
try to get her back, and youknow it may not happen, but he's
got to at least try.
And so he picks up his phoneand he dials her number and you
(20:31):
know it takes all the couragethat he has to.
You know just kind of eat crowand call her up and just say,
hey, honey, you know this wasall my fault, this is all on me,
and you know, is there anypossibility that you could give
us another chance?
(20:52):
So the phone rings and you knowit rings about five or six
times and all of a sudden itgoes to voicemail, and so you
know the song is unresolved.
We don't know as listenerswhether he gets back, if she
(21:13):
ever calls him back.
We don't know any of thosethings and so it doesn't
necessarily have a happy ending,but it doesn't have a sad
ending either.
It's just kind of unresolvedbut kind of a fun song.
It was a song that didn't haveany kind of personal, like I
(21:40):
didn't have any personal part inthe story.
I think of course everybody'sbroken up and tried to get back
together and stuff like that.
So there's a little bit of thatthat's personal.
But I just wanted to go throughthe exercise of writing a story
song.
And also it's a little bit morecountry oriented.
(22:04):
It's kind of a country rockoriented song and so I don't
know.
I like it, I think it's gotbroad appeal and I'm hoping that
the song does well, that it'swell received.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Yeah, and I'm definitely sure it will be
Thought you'd contact them forso people can keep up with
everything that you're up to.
Speaker 2 (22:28):
Yeah, it's real easy just to go to the website and
you know everything.
All the links are there to youknow.
Go to the YouTube page andcheck out the different bands
that I work in and you canlisten to all the music that I
work in.
And you can listen to all themusic.
(22:48):
There's a music player down inthe lower right-hand corner so
that you know you can clickthrough and browse the songs
that I've written and also learna lot of background on.
You know why I wrote the songand what it means to me anyway.
So those are all good things.
And then you know, as far asother projects, like I said
(23:12):
before, I don't really have thetime right now to start another
album, but I'm always gettingsongs that kind of bubble up and
I write them down.
Or, you know, maybe it's just aline or something like that and
I just kind of keep all thatstuff cataloged and written down
(23:35):
so that I've got a whole bunchof not only you know melody,
lines and hooks, but also youknow ideas for songs.
So you know, I'm sort of in thepoint of just gathering
information right now and, youknow, hopefully in another six
or seven months, when theperforming season slows down,
(24:00):
I'll have a chance to startworking on putting together
another 11 or 12 songs foranother album, so hopefully
that's on the horizon.
And then you know, in themeantime I'm just going to
continue playing with my duo andwith the Fries band and then
(24:22):
also take any opportunity that Ican for solo appearances.
I've worked up a pretty goodsolo act with all my original
songs now, so that's been a lotof fun and it's very rewarding.
It's really fun to play yourown music.
Speaker 1 (24:43):
And what was the website?
You know, play your own music.
And what was the website?
It's wwwpetepricemusiccom.
Perfect, close us out with somefinal thoughts.
Maybe, if that was something Iforgot to talk about that you
would like to touch on any finalthoughts you have for the
listeners.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
I just want to thank you for having me on your
program and thanks to all thelisteners out there who have
tuned in to listen to this.
Music is super important to meand I just love performing and
writing and arranging and, youknow, doing all the things that
(25:23):
are involved with music.
It just it gets me up everymorning to go down and work on
my music.
So I hope everybody hassomething in their lives that
animates them the way that musicanimates me.
So, anyway, thanks very muchfor having me on Thank you for
(25:45):
being so kind to come on.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
Ladies and gentlemen, petepricemusiccom, please go
sure to check out everythingthat the Friars Band and Pete is
up to and, you know, be sure tocheck out that new single when
it comes out.
All the Americana lovers outthere follow rate review.
Share this episode to as manypeople as possible.
Follow us.
(26:07):
Leave us a review on yourfavorite podcast app.
Go to wwwcurveball337.com formore information on the Living
the Dream with Curveball podcast.
Thank you for listening andsupporting the show, pete.
Thank you for all that you doand that great music that you
put out, and thank you forjoining me.
You show Pete.
Thank you for all that you doand that great music that you
put out, and thank you forjoining me.
Speaker 2 (26:27):
You're very welcome, Curtis.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
For more information on the Living the Dream with
Curveball podcast, visitwwwcurveball337.com.
Until next time, keep livingthe dream.
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