PETER CASE - Singer Songwriter Extraordinaire!
Good Day Hamilton and Beyond....
When I was asked to be a blog author for Jamilton, I was blessed with the freedom to express my personal views about the music that I love. I admit that I get this selfish rush that goes thru my melon everytime I prepare for an entry. Its mainly because all of my inputs are subjective darlings of yours truly. However, I do admit that I try to practice measures of broad interest so all of you readers will enjoy the story lines. Then, the other side of my evil mind says, "Who Cares!!!!! If they don't know, they will learn!!" - So be it! However, as crazy as I think I am, I will assure all of you that I am NOT the 3rd piece to the Nostradamus Anti-Christ Trilogy.
As you know from previous blogs, I am a Peter Case fan. Not just a peripheral fan, but a TRUE Peter Case fan.
I was first introduced to Peter Case's music thru the Plimsouls. They were a fantastic 4-piece Power Pop Rock N Roll band from the West Coast, who were a proto-type Pop band that created their own style. I am sure that Mr. Case listened closely to the Raspberries, and Big Star, but their is a unique musical style of Peter's that seperates him from the rest.
Peter Case is a music fan. Once you speak with him, you can tell that he knows his stuff. When Peter name drops, there is substance to the stories. Quite honestly, how many musicians do you know that can rhyme off song after song from acts like Perth County Conspiracy? Then in the same breath, he can tell you stories about touring across the US in the mid to late 70's with his punk/pop band, The Nerves.
Peter Case was born in Buffalo. The geographical friendliness of his hometown, in relation to cities like Toronto, provided Peter a terrific opportunity to have the best of both musical worlds. He was coming up to Toronto to see bands like PCC, plus also keeping his finger on the pulse with everything cool in the US. So, when Peter moved to the West Coast, he had already formulated a strong musical foundation. Jack Lee of the Nerves penned the classic, "Hanging On The Telephone". It later became a huge hit for Blondie which was featured on their Parallel Lines record.
Afterwards, Peter started the Plimsouls and he became a strong musical fixture in America. I had the pleasure of seeing the Plimsouls open up for The Tubes in Toronto back in the 80's. As much as I was keen on seeing the post WPOD insanity of the Tubes, I was really thrilled to see the Plimsouls play live. Peter and the boys were great! Song after song, they peaked my interest, and I knew that the following day, I would go to visit Rob Sweeney at Star Records and try to learn more about this cool band.
The Plimsouls were slightly ahead of their time in a sense. As much as they were the perfect power pop band, they also had musical influences from the garage rock sounds of the 60's. They covered Mouse and The Traps "Lie Beg Borrow and Steal" which became a classic for whole Garage Rock Revival of the 80's later on.
Once the Plimsouls were done, Peter ventured off and became a solo artist. Slowly we saw more shows with Peter sans band. A troubadour, a poet, a songwriter, a complete entertainer.
His stacked list of releases is accompanied by his latest release on the very cool YEP ROC label. LET US NOW PRAISE SLEEPY JOHN (paying homage to Sleepy John Estes) is another example of Peter Case as the complete singer/songwriter. He touches on subjects that accompany music perfectly. There are plenty of songwriters that seem to have careers that have a single dimension. They can build a whole library based on that one girl who left the relationship, and then there is a dude like Peter Case that takes you all over the emotional spectrums. Politics, love, drugs, children, and of course girls are subjects that Peter wraps music around. The coats of talent clutch you and leave you wanting more. It happens with every Peter Case record that I hear.
His newest release also features Richard Thompson......pretty cool, eh?
A few years ago a mindblowing tribute to Peter Case was released. Check out CASE FOR CASE...It features John Prine, Steve Wynn, Dave Alvin, Victoria Williams, and many other reputable names. If there was ever to be a footnote on Peter's influence on Popular Music, then this tribute says it all.
You have the opportunity to see Peter in action on Wednesday October 17th at Pepper Jack's Cafe. Its a NO COVER show in conjunction to the Wednesday Night Open Acoustic Stage at PJ's.
He is a Million Miles Away till Wednesday Night.
See you there..
Lou
