Here’s “Tears Were Mine”, the third single from my new album, “Exact Change”:
It’s kind of a love lost & transcendence song, of the True Fiction sort. I hope you enjoy it.
If you are a Bay Area person, and you’re looking for something fun to do tonight, I’d like to invite to a little show in Fairfax, at Peri’s Tavern. I’ll be playing a solo electric set at 9pm, followed by Michael Michael Motorcycle and Milk for the Angry ~ two great bands full of friends.
If not tonight, I hope to see you all somewhere soon, in the world or online.
After a very sweet and communal release party last Thursday, my new album, “Exact Change” has hit the streets!
CDs and Digital Downloads, as well as free streaming, are all accessible on Bandcamp, my favorite place to discover music online:
Song by song, the album will appear on the major streaming sites over the next several months. But for now, it feels great to keep it between us, available directly from me via Bandcamp.
This is a solo performance album, but a potent and supportive team circled ’round and made this album possible:
Alex Rather-Taylor and Miles Wick produced and engineered the recording.
Ethan Turner mixed the album, with style and generosity.
John Greenham did a zen-like job at mastering.
Parker Richard designed the album art – wait ’til you see it!
Ian Tuttle Photography took a pile of inspired photos, to lend wallop and magic to the album release. The stop-motion you see here was shot and assembled by him!
Luke Westbrook was there to listen and offer ideas at every stage of the process.
My backers on Patreon were the first to hear all these tunes, and that circle of support made the album viable
The Sparkling Water Band gave many of these songs their first live public performances. I look forward to playing all these songs with you guys, and hearing what surprise you breathe into them every time.
It takes a village.
I look forward to hearing what you all think of “Exact Change”. Thank you, as always, for your ears and your support.
Yours in music,
Chris
Ps- Here are a couple moments from the release party last Thursday, 7/6 at Peri’s Tavern in Fairfax, photographed by the inimitable William Wayland.
My friends, we’ve made it. It’s summer, and it’s also time to release a new album, very soon!
This one’s called “Exact Change” – 12 new songs, performed solo and recorded live by my dear friends Alex Rather-Taylor and Miles Wick. “Exact Change” brings us to the end of the Ancient Baby trilogy, with a distilled collection of story songs dealing with a range of American themes: the postal service, making a living in music, dating online, weddings gone wrong and other situations that you might find familiar.
Pre-sales for the whole album went live today on Bandcamp. You can get the album as a digital download or as a CD (with album art designed by Parker Richard), and you’ll get immediate downloads for the two singles that have been released so far : https://peckthetowncrier.bandcamp.com
If you’re in the SF Bay Area, I hope you’ll join us at the **album release party** on Thursday July 6th at Peri’s Tavern in Fairfax. I will start the night with a solo set at 9 PM, playing the new album in entirety. Then, I will be joined by the Sparkling Water Band and special guests for a groovy second set.
Today’s single release, “Truther Babe” is kind of a mischievous rom-com that hopes to mend some divides of our time, as a conspiracy-minded lady begins an online dialog with a New York Times-reading man.
I hope you enjoy this tune, and if the spirit moves you, I hope you’ll share it with some friends who might relate.
Song by song, the new album will hit the big streaming sites over the next 6 months, but for now it feels great to keep it between us.
Thank you, as always, for your ears and your support.
Here is the first single from the “Exact Change” album. It’s called “Young Inside”, and I hope it makes you feel that way:
“Exact Change” is a solo album, by which I mean it’s twelve new songs, recorded live and solo, with no overdubs. It was recorded and produced by my close friends Alex Rather-Taylor and Miles Wick, across three sessions in 2021 and 2022, in Sonoma CA and Elgin TX. These guys made me feel so at ease, and capable of doing new things in front of their microphones.
On a technical note, this album was recorded onto a DSD digital one bit recorder, through microphones that Alex hand-wired together out of kits that he bought from the Microphone Parts company in Sebastopol CA. The signal went through a Soundcraft 200b mixer, and then a DAV Audio preamp, and into the KORG DSD.
All of this to say, Alex and Miles and our fourth musketeer Luke Westbrook assembled a very hip recording rig, and I feel blessed that I got to work with such sensitive, musical, and tasteful collaborators on this album.
When it came time to mix, I called on my friend and mentor Ethan Turner, who put the music through his hand-built plate reverb, among other magic tricks at his studio, Owl Mountain.
To finish things, John Greenham mastered the album, with a light, zen-like touch.
I’m now figuring out what kind of hard copies I’m going to make of the album, and where to throw the release party in the fall. Stay tuned, as more news and music on this front will be coming soon.
Thank you, as always, for your ears and your support.
Hearing Is Feeling ep.3 is live! A great conversation with songwriter Sarah Rose Janko of Dawn Riding, filmed in New Orleans. We discussed her origins as a songwriter, her connection with New Orleans and the SF Bay Area, and her direction going forward.
This past November, Dawn Riding released a potent new album called “You’re Still Here”. Have a listen, I think you’ll dig.
This Summer, I drove through 18 states. Rather than scheduling a string of performances to carry me through the trip, I decided to look for people to interview in every town.
When I got to Santa Fe, I looked up Cameron Forsley right away. Cameron had lived in the Bay Area for 10 years plus, and had collaborated with a host of artists in his time here.
Cameron has made a lot of art for me: album covers, posters, stickers, t shirts, a tattoo on my right shoulder, even the cover of a book that I never published in paper form.
After all this, I thought I knew Cameron very well. But he’s a deep cat, and in this very nourishing conversation, he revealed more of his story, and his perspective.
Please enjoy episode 2 of my Youtube interview series, “Hearing Is Feeling.” I hope you find Cameron’s company as enjoyable as I do.
This is it, thee day when the “Sparkling Water” album becomes available on every streaming platform:
In addition to Youtube, you can find the record on Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music and all the rest. Just type in “Chris Peck” and the music will find you.
May it refresh you & give repose.
For those of you who are in the Bay Area, we have a show coming up February 18th at Smiley’s in Bolinas. This will be a trio show, with Tommy O’Mahony on bass and JT John on drums. We’ll be playing two sets, from 5-7pm, on the outdoor stage. Heatlamps, great menu, free show if you don’t need to reserve a table, all welcome.
Thank you for your ears and your support, old friends.
Yours in music,
Peck
As a post~script, I’d like say: Of all the ways that you can listen to music online, Bandcamp is the platform that takes the best care of musicians. It’s also the place where you can find the greatest number of my albums in one place, past and present. If you haven’t before, please drop in with me there!
Here we are. 2022. As I drifted off last night, I thought about the numerics of our new year. Three 2’s, 1 zero. When last did we have a distribution like this? 1999 had three 9’s and one 1. 2000 was like that too. But now, after 2022, there won’t be another number like that until the end of this millennium…if we stick with this calendar system.Oh, well. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. How was 2021 for you? I reckon it was a highly concentrated year. A lot of relief and foreboding packed in there, no? Maybe not sad to see it go, but I do enter this new year with an enlarged heart, and I have 2021 to thank for it.As the river of cultural change rises and quickens, I lean towards tradition, and towards remembering. In that interest, here is the latest episode of “Hearing Is Feeling”, focused entirely on The Plant aka the Record Plant, a soon-to-be-reopened recording studio in Sausalito, that has seen an astonishing amount of classic albums made inside it’s funky redwood slatted walls. I could have gone much deeper with this episode, but it came together as more of an intro for the uninitiated.
Some months back, you might have caught my post here about a multi-movement piece called “Rooftop Suite.” This piece was commissioned by video artist Jim Vecchi, who will eventually use it as a part of his sprawling and wonderful video installation “At My Window”. For now though, he’s ok with me sharing the music. At times, it’s got sort of a 70’s detective show vibe, and there’s a long middle movement that gets into something swimmier. It’s now mastered and done, and I hope you enjoy the journey, all 22 minutes of it. Perhaps it’s good for a long drive, or a stretching session on the floor.
As we shake off the last rags of our restful holiday and move into the new year, I feel hopeful about these things: home, travel, divisions healed, intuitions followed.I will be in touch again soon with news of new recordings and releases. It’s a joy to stay in touch with you here. Thank you for your eyes and ears and support.
Here we go people, the “Sparkling Water” album is out! May it refresh you & become a part of your flow.
Until the new year, the album will be available on Bandcamp only, or direct from me, as a digital download or on a limited edition CD. If you have trouble using the Bandcamp player (above), just drop me a line, and I’ll get the music to you pronto: peck.towncrier@gmail.com
We’ll be celebrating with a full~band show this Saturday, 11/13 at Smiley’s in Bolinas, from 5-7pm. Outdoors, all ages, all welcome, free admission if you don’t need to reserve a table.
I only get to write a post like this every few years, so it’s time to recognize my friends who made it possible:
Andrew Erickson recorded some sparkling drums, bass, piano and vocals. Adam Bowers agreed to wear a cowboy hat as he laid down his simultaneously sensitive and macho Steel Guitar and Backing Vocal parts. Sean Nelson, Adam Bowers, Noah L Wheeler, Angeline Saris, James M Harman and Curtis Aikens gave many of these songs their first incarnation, on the bar stage at Terrapin Crossroads. Kimberly Ortman sang with effervescence on “Nocturnal Girl”, turning a lonely ballad into a sweet duet!Tomas Deltoro-diaz mixed the album in a five day marathon hang down in Bakersfield, reviving my worldview in the process. Bro, let’s climb a mountain of empty La Croix cans together again soon. John Greenham mastered the album and let me talk his ear off about Pat Metheny. Ian Tuttle took the crazy cover photos, with his signature spirit of improvisation, mirth and mischief. Lindsay Rickman came through huge on the costuming, for the umpteenth time, sewing the CD suit in her secret lair and bringing a long time dream to life. Parker Richard designed the packaging for this CD, and for the last two albums as well, teaching me many mutant life hacks along the way. Luke Westbrook, Miles Wick and Alex Rather-Taylor listened to a great many drafts of the album, giving me an inner circle of insight, encouragement and advice. Steffen Franz and Ben Lang, thanks in advance for helping me figure out what comes next ~~~>And lastly, big up to my Patreon supporters who listened to every version of the record as it came to life, and made me feel like this project was valuable and do~able.
So. The year was 2020. I was recently returned from a trip to Kenya, where I witnessed freedoms I’d never known. The news all pointed to a virus. My friends, most of them, dug in with a conspiratorial mindset.
Lockdown began, and I grappled with my sense of purpose, which flickered like a shop sign with a short circuit, dancing between “OPEN” and “NOPE”. What am I good at? What matters? How am I going to spend this time?
By summer, I knew I’d make another album. Album 21. The title came first: “Sparkling Water”. I moved all my instruments into my living room, and left the place a mess for the better part of a year. Some friends dropped by to help: Adam Bowers on steel guitar and backing vocals, Andrew Erickson recorded drums, bass and piano for several songs. Sean Nelson drummed on a couple early versions, which we captured live. Those takes had a mojo of their own, but my recording methods were too rough for a keeper, sadly. Miles Wick came over and sang lead or harmonies on a couple working versions also. I love his singing, and although those performances didn’t end up on the record, I always learn a lot from his style as a singer. Additionally, Miles turned me on to a lot of records that influenced the vibe for this whole album: Tony Scherr among them. My old friend, Luke Westbrook sat and listened to every draft of this record, at one time or another, and was very encouraging in his critique. To return the favor, I listened as he read aloud from his quarrelsome Facebook threads about the New World Order. I think he has elevated the form, no joke. All the while, 12 generous people backed me on Patreon and listened to solo or band versions of every song, as well as a lot of songs that will probably surface on the next record (another story for another time).
By April 2021, all the performances were tracked and I drove down to Bakersfield to mix the album with my longtime collaborator, Tomas delToro-Diaz. A depression, a fog, lifted on that trip. Bakersfield is a LOT different from the Bay Area, and it was that variety that underscored a lesson for me: I thrive on novelty, dynamics, changing skies.
Back home, I struck a deal with longtime mastering engineer/mentor John Greenham, and he went to work on the tracks. Summer came and I made weekend trips to Sacramento, to work with clothing maker Lindsay Rickman, bringing a long time dream to life: a full-body suit made of CD-R’s. Every time we took it out of the shop, people stopped us, calling from across the street. What is that? What are you doing?
In July, I called photographer Ian Tuttle. We drove up Bolinas rd. and listened to a Jaco Pastorius CD, as we searched for a suitable body of water to take some pictures. He too had felt parched for new experience in the past year. The whole evening was like a cool drink of unflavored La Croix, straight from the perspirating can. Again, people called out to us, from across the lake this time. What are you doing? You’re an angel! Thank you, space man!
I got the band back together, and subjected them all to my unnecessary anxieties. Who knew it would be so scary to come back to band leading, even on the side patio of a local bar? The gig went great after all, even in the midst of heavy smoke and languid heat. Andrew Byars and Michaela Thomas opened the show, setting us up for a lovely evening. Ancient Baby, or “Chris Peck’s Sparkling Water”, as we’re now called, made me proud and did the new material more than justice. They made it sparkle.
Fall fell, and I sent some photos and text to designer Parker Richard, who has done the layout and design for my last 3 records: Ancient Baby, LOAN’s Blue Phase, and now “Sparkling Water”. We messed around with fonts and found the perfect one: Snell Roundhand, which made the whole CD package feel like a formal invitation.
I placed an order for 100 CD’s. Which brings us to the present: Band reformed, new album on the way. Next show: Smiley’s Schooner Saloon in Bolinas, on November 13th at 5pm. It’s an outdoor stage, visible and audible from the street, so even my truther/anti-vax friends (most of my friends if I’m honest) can come to the party if they want. I like it that way. Complimentary cans of La Croix will be provided.
Anyhow, here’s where you can hear the first 3 singles from the album, and pre~order it, if you’d like ❤
Peck 