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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette names The Road to Ubatuba as one of the “notable” local releases of 2006.

Available online at Amazon, CD Baby and iTunes. And in stores at Acoustic Music Works in Squirrel Hill, Joseph-Beth Booksellers in South Side, Paul’s Compact Discs in Bloomfield, and Borders Eastside, Monroeville, North Hills, South Hills and The Mills.

Travel to the song links for Peter’s comments and lyrics + 30-second soundbites, too.
The Road to Ubatuba back cover
Travel to the song links for Peter’s comments and lyrics + 30-second soundbites, too.
Peter’s songs published by Chewed Pencil Music Inc. (ASCAP).

Where does The Road to Ubatuba take you?

In the case of Peter King’s new CD, it leads to a sizzling, surprising amalgam of folk, jazz and blues. Ten original songs offer melodic invention and lyrical insight, spanning a map of the world (Brazil in the title cut, “The Capital of Idaho” and “Women Overseas”) and a map of the heart. The disc also offers fresh arrangements of Robert Johnson’s “Walkin’ Blues,” Gordon Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain” and the traditional “Corrina, Corrina.”

Guitarist/vocalist King, whom In Pittsburgh Newsweekly called a “musical master,” receives inspired assistance from some of Pittsburgh’s finest, including ex-Rusted Root percussionist Jim DiSpirito, Salsamba saxophonist Eric DeFade, harmonica player Marc Reisman, known for his work with the Houserockers and Ernie Hawkins, and bassist/producer Mark Perna, who has performed with local legends from Don Aliquo, Sr. to Leslie Smith to Ken Karsh.

The foundation of Peter’s distinctive style is unusually broad and rich, ranging from singer-songwriter gigs to formal training in classical composition and jazz guitar. He has performed at the Three Rivers Arts Festival, Smoky City Folk Festival, Shadyside Summer Arts Festival, Calliope House concerts, Rosebud and many Borders stores in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Ohio. His teachers include Brazilian/jazz guitarist Marty Ashby, who heads MCG Jazz, Duquesne University guitar chair Bill Purse, and the legendary arranger John “Doc” Wilson.

Peter has earned the respect of presenters, critics and a cross-section of in-the-know Pittsburgh songwriters and musicians. Here’s what they’re saying:

“Intricate guitar work, exciting singing and evocative, richly melodic songs.”
 — Philadelphia City Line News

“Proof yet again that we don’t have to look any further than our own back yard for great talent.”
 — Shadyside Summer Arts Festival

“Peter can pen a lyric with all the poignant whimsy of James Taylor and play with the dazzling dexterity of Django.”
 — Jack Erdie, Three Penny Opry concert series

“His acoustic jazz, blues (and Latin!) infused original songs coupled with well chosen traditional and pop covers make for a great evening of live music.”
 — Eve Goodman, ModernFormations concert series

“Peter’s a great guitarist and songwriter. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this CD.”
 — Marc Reisman

With The Road to Ubatuba’s arrival on April 28, Peter King’s musical journey could shift into high gear. Interviewed about the CD, Peter is philosophical concerning its prospects.

“One of the themes that comes up often in my songs is the passage of time,” he says. “There’s one song, “White Blossoms,” that’s sort of based on the old “Rubaiyat,” a poem by Omar Khayyam about living, loving, drinking wine and generally just focusing on the moment.

“That’s kind of how I feel about this record. I had such a kick doing it, playing with all these great musicians. Whatever happens or doesn’t happen, I just want to keep making music that I’m proud of and passionate about. And, hopefully, music that makes people feel good.”

For more information about the new CD, contact Peter; also see the April 27, 2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article. Missed the CD release party? No worry; see the slide show.

Saturday, March 28, 2009
“Ubatuba + 3: The next CD? We’re done!”

I keep writing about how I’m working on another CD. Now I’m beaming as I type these words, because I am proud and excited (and relieved) to be able to tell you that my new CD is finished.

As in “Done. Completed. Finalized. Ready. Worked over within an inch of its life.”

As with any loving daddy looking at his newborn, you’ll forgive me if I say it’s pretty terrific!

But (there’s always one of those, isn’t there?) while the music is primed to pop, a few details need to be hammered out. Just a few, including artwork, pressing, promotion, scheduling a CD release party, etc. It’s a whole new world of things to drive me crazy! Nevertheless, I am thankful and somewhat delirious that the hardest part is done.

Look for the new CD sometime in the fall. It features my core band of Marc Reisman, harmonica, and Mark Perna, bass, plus Mark Weakland on drums. It also features some of Pittsburgh’s best soloists, including saxophonist Eric DeFade, clarinetist Lou Schreiber and keyboardist Max Leake. And let’s not forget the terrific guest singers: Heather Kropf and Autumn Ayers.

As for the songs, you’ve been hearing some of them live for two and a half years — evolving as we change the arrangements or I alter a line or two of lyrics: “That’s My Girl,” “Connoisseur of Lawns” “Cindy,” “Time is Watching” and “No. 1 in Liechtenstein” among them. I’ve also worked out an arrangement of Van Morrison’s great “Brown Eyed Girl.” Trust me — it’s something of a re-invention as opposed to a rehash.

Can’t wait till the fall.

In the meantime, my first CD, “The Road to Ubatuba,” is still alive and well and available right here on CD Baby (!).

As always, thanks for listening,
Peter

Monday, April 28, 2008
“Ubatuba + 2: The next CD? I swear it’s coming!”

Today I’m celebrating another birthday, as well as the second anniversary of the release of The Road to Ubatuba. As you can see from reading “Ubatuba + 1” below, I had hoped to have my next CD finished by now. However, the course of true love (love for music, in this case) ne’er runs smooth.

We tried to do the CD live in the studio, somewhat in the manner of a jazz quartet, even though my style is at least as much informed by folk, blues and pop as it is by jazz.

It was a noble, perhaps quixotic effort. But we — myself, producer/bassist Mark Perna and engineer extraordinaire Doug Wilkin — weren’t satisfied with the results.

Recently, we switched to the more standard “pop” way of producing, with isolated instruments and the capability to punch in and out (overdub) at will.

We’ve discovered the beautiful, crystalline sound of each instrument when it’s fully isolated, and we’ve also found that you can still swing even when you’re overdubbing. I’ve also realized that the click track is my friend! What I had previously thought of as a soulless machine that destroyed the idosyncracies of each musician’s sense of time, I now think of as a really good swing drummer — say Philly Jo Jones or Louis Bellson — who never lets you drag the tempo. But you’re still free to play with time in subtle ways. Yeah, we’re learning as we go, and we’re finally getting somewhere!

Besides, if you look hard enough, on every rusted guitar string there’s some silver coating: I have been playing my newer songs both solo and with a band (Perna on bass and Marc Reisman on harmonica) for more than a year. They’re road-tested. De-bugged. Not like Windows Vista. They don’t need service packs.

Some of you have heard these songs: “ “Connoisseur of Lawns,” “Let’s Go For a Ride,” “Cindy,” “Time is Watching” and “Number One in Liechtenstein” among them. I’m grateful for the response I’ve gotten from audiences when I’ve played them.

Speaking of audiences, the last year has been a good one for live gigs. I opened for national acts including Willy Porter and Todd Burge. I played my first house concert, part of the intimate, homey Resaca Series in Pittsburgh’s Mexican War Streets. (Where else can you be crooning a quiet ballad as a dog wanders by?)

And I found myself in rotation at the Backstage Bar at Theater Square, one of Pittsburgh’s hippest, most casually elegant venues, where the food is good, the staff is friendly and efficient, and management treats the musicians well.

One other thing I mentioned in “Ubatuba + 1” is my desire to converse more with you, the fans that enable my music-making addiction.

I want to post more messages on my site (call it a blog if you must) and read your responses. That’s proved tough for me to do, though, because I’ve been dependent on a dedicated but overworked Webmaster to post things for me.

However, I’ve been struggling with the basics of HTML and Dreamweaver, and I’ve finally reached the point where I can post this message myself.

Look out! That means any time the spirit moves me, I can pontificate for the benefit of my wife, sister and whoever else might possibly care. If that includes you, pontificate back. I’d love to hear what you have to say.

In the meantime, if you haven’t heard The Road to Ubatuba, of which I remain quite fond, now’s your chance to buy it — before the new CD comes out, before, um, Halloween, and before, um, well, uh, now’s your chance to buy it!

How’s that for a sales pitch?

Best,
Peter

Saturday, April 28, 2007
“Ubatuba + 1: Thoughts on an anniversary”

Today, April 28, means something to me for a couple of reasons. It’s my birthday, for one thing. For another, it’s a year to the day that I launched my CD The Road to Ubatuba with a well-attended and, I think, well-played and appreciated gig at Club Cafe. We sold cartons of CDs, if that’s any indication — they arrived by UPS just in time.

Certainly the band was killer — regulars Mark Perna on bass and Marc Reisman on harmonica, as well as saxophonist Eric DeFade, percussionist Jim DiSpirito and drummer Jeff Berman. I’m confident we’ll all share the same stage again some day, and I might just bill them as The Really Good Band. That’s because many people said to me, “Peter, that was good. That band was REALLY good!” And I mustn’t forget Eve Goodman, who gave the evening a first push in the right direction with an excellent solo set of her own.

But enough of that magical night. I’m not writing this for the sake of nostalgia, but rather to update some of you who like my music about what’s transpired in the past year and what’s coming in the future.

“Ubatuba” has done better than I could have realistically hoped. It’s been heard (and sold) around the world, from Australia to Montenegro to Montreal. It’s served as a calling card that has opened doors for me to play some wonderful concerts and club dates. It has also helped introduce me personally to some wonderful people — fans, fellow musicians and new friends.

And “Ubatuba” is still selling — oddly enough, the cool thing about being an “indie” performer is that you don’t explode with a hit and risk fizzling out from there. If you’re lucky, you get to watch your music percolate gradually through the Internet, where it doesn’t seem to get old quite so quickly as yesterday’s teen-pop sensation. (In other words, I’ll never sell a million, and I’ll never be mistaken for a teen.)

Anyway, about the coming year: I’m writing new songs for the next CD, which my producer, the aforementioned Mark Perna, assures me will get done come hell or high
Monongahela.

I’ve written about seven tunes so far, and I’ve revamped one of my old, old tunes. I’m also working on a version of a traditional tune, in the spirit of the last CD’s “Corrina, Corrina.”

Some of you have heard me play these tunes at gigs. Please feel free to let me know what you think, and why, as you’re a kind of a focus group, if you don’t mind my thinking of you that way.

In the coming months, I’m also planning to participate more in my Web site. The music, of course, is the main thing, but as an ex-music critic, I guess I can’t keep my mouth shut or my hands off the keypad entirely. There’s some interesting facts and stories and tall tales surrounding the tunes I play and the places I’ve been and the things I’ve seen that I’d like to tell you about.

I don’t want to hog the conversation, though, so I’m counting on you to message me
back.

While I’m talking about the past year, I shouldn’t forget to mention one other significant event — I got married. Before January 20, whenever I introduced the song “Silly Goose,” I would explain that the title referred to a term of endearment for my significant other. Now, I’ve had to change the banter a little, because my S.O. has become my beautiful wife.

So when you put all that together, it’s been a good 12 months. Here’s to another 12, and to you — the people who get a kick out of the music I make.

I can’t thank you enough for listening.

Best,
Peter

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