ALBUM UPDATE - July 29, 2024

Gabe Witcher! Greg Leisz! Jay Bellerose! Lee Pardini! Paul Bryan! Rusty Anderson! Nova Devonie! Elaine Summers! I'm so blessed to have these amazing musicians on my forthcoming record!

GIG ALERT 1: Thing Festival will be my first festival show in many moons. I’ll play a 45-minute set on the mainstage on Friday, 8/9/24. Info and tickets HERE.

GIG ALERT 2: Mark your calendars for Thursday, November 7, 2024. I’ll soon announce a club show in Seattle. UPDATE: Tickets on sale now.

GIG ALERT 3: Elaine and I will return to Vashon Center for the Arts on March 29, 2025. Tickets will go on sale in January.

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This past week, the final brushstrokes were applied to my new album. The last overdub was laid down on Wednesday by fiddle virtuoso Gabe Witcher of Punch Brothers fame. If you know, you know—the group features some of the most skilled musicians on the planet, including mandolin maestro Chris Thile. Outside of The Punch Brothers, Gabe is a first-call session cat appearing on records by Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, Elton John and Willie Nelson among many others. In the film world, he gets the call from folks like Randy Newman, T-Bone Burnett and Gustavo Santaolalla. Gabe was even hand-picked by Don Was to play in the house band for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday extravaganza at the Hollywood Bowl.

Gabe is not the only player from Willie’s all-star house band on my new record. Multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz lent his pedal steel mastery to “Sundown at Francis Nash.” Greg’s discography is a mile long and includes countless household names. He’s worked with Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell, to name a few. Regular readers of Love Songs Etc may remember me mentioning Greg and his work on The Thorns’ record in this post from May 17, 2023.

Greg Leisz and Paul Bryan at Western Electric Studio.

Then there’s the man I’m lucky enough to have occupying the drum chair on my record. Jay Bellerose’s discography is every bit as jaw-dropping as Gabe’s and Greg’s. Producers T-Bone Burnett, Joe Henry and Larry Klein repeatedly turn to Jay for his unique approach to studio drumming. He’s perhaps best known for his work with Robert Plant and Allison Kraus. Their instant classic Raising Sand took home the Grammy for Album of the Year. This Summer, you can catch Jay touring the States with the unlikely duo. Jay played on a bunch of The Droge & Summers Blend tracks, including “The Choice” and “Rooftop.” He also contributed to my singles “Fading Fast” and “Lonely Mama.”

Lee Pardini, whose keyboards are all over my new record, is currently a member of Chris Stapleton’s band. Prior to recording and touring with Chris, he was a member of Dawes and worked with Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters. In addition to working as a band member and side musician, Lee also makes records of his own for the GroundUP label. Here he is ripping some serious jazz. This jam features my album’s co-producer, Paul Bryan, on bass.

Speaking of Paul Bryan, my faithful co-producer and bassist has lent his talents to an impressive list of artists over the years. He has toured or recorded with Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint, Lucinda Williams, Mavis Staples and Billy Preston. In addition to playing in Aimee Mann’s band over the last couple of decades, he has also served as her producer on several albums, picking up a Grammy in the process. Like Lee, he is also well-versed in jazz and makes records under his own name. Here is the single from his latest release.

As I mentioned above, Paul Bryan played with Billy Preston. Billy was considered the fifth Beatle. But that is not my new record's only connection to the Fab Four. When I asked Paul who we should get to come in and play electric guitar, he immediately thought of Rusty Anderson. I was not familiar with Rusty and asked what his background was. Turns out he has been playing with Sir Paul McCartney since 2001! If he’s good enough for a mop top from Liverpool, he most certainly is good enough for me. And, of course, he did not disappoint. He added lead, slide and rhythm tracks on “Fade Away Blue.” His pocket and tone were, as you’d expect, impeccable.

Rusty Anderson at Western Electric Studio.

Nova Karina Devonie may not have a bunch of household names on her resume, but she is every bit as gifted as the other cohorts contributing to my album. Her beautiful accordion tracks brought my song “Taking Leave of My Senses” to life. Back in the day, she made a mark with the western swing band Ranch Romance. They released a few records on the Sugar Hill label and toured with k.d. Lang. These days, she is half of the duo Miles and Karina.

And last but certainly not least, there’s Elaine Summers. Of course, she is known for her work with an artist you are likely familiar with… ME! We’ve toured the world and elsewhere together, and she’s had a hand in all of my records dating back to my debut, Necktie Second. She’s also an accomplished solo artist in her own right. Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard signed her to his Loosegroove label back in the late nineties. Elaine’s harmonies shine as bright as ever on my new album. Paul referred to Elaine’s vocals as our secret weapon. Besides serving as vocalist and executive producer, she co-wrote seven of the album’s ten songs.

Now that tracking is complete, we’re putting the final touches on the mixes. Next, we’ll settle on a sequence and ship it off to Dave Cooley for mastering.

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this album. I know everyone says this about their latest work, but I genuinely believe it is my best record to date. I could not have done it without the contributions of all the amazingly talented folks I mentioned above. And I can’t wait to share it with all of you. I don’t have a release plan yet. But when I do, readers of Love Songs Etc will surely be the first to know.

Peace & Love Songs,

Pete