Band Members (Live Performance) Me (guitar, piano, vocal)
Band Members (Recording)
Me (all of the above & bass guitar)
Itinerant Wandering Family Members including but not limited to: David Charles Easton Reynolds Hough (perc)
Bethany Hough (backing vocal)
Cecil Grubbs (cuteness)
Oddments and Hangers On (sonic bedlam)
Strangers who appear to have musical talent and are foolish enough to loiter near my studio.
Influences
Like just about every other artist, I'm influenced by everything around me, but I suppose my two strongest influences could be neatly lumped into two groups: Music I Really Like and Music I Really Hate.
Music I Really Like
I learned how to write songs by studying Jimmy Buffet and I suppose some of his warts rubbed off on me. Like Buffet, I tend to write songs that are more literal than lyrical, with the occasional exception thrown in to confuse anyone who's paying attention. MOR music from the 70's & 80's definitely left its mark along with Progressive Rock (think Asia, Yes, Crack the Sky, ELP, Alan Parsons) and later Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and B.B. King. Lesser-known maniacs like Tom Smith and Jonathan Coulton have also added a little spice to the sauce. There's also some classical influences still lurking from my high school days and my continuing fascination with classical guitar.
Music I Really HATE
Current sing-it-through-your-nose, New Nashville country drives me right up a wall. So does rap and Hip-Hop, the same way disco did earlier in my life. Once a song or sound from a genre that I abhor makes its way into my head, it sits in there, festering, until I write a parody of it. The more I hate the original sound, the more outrageous my parody. (Some of the very worst are so bad that I won't even play them for the dog.)
Pretty good recipe for Eclectic Stew, I'd say.
Sounds Like
Sounds like you took my collection of CDs, MP3s, vinyl, tapes and memories, threw them into a sonic blender, held the frappe button down for 20 minutes and served over a bed of crisp lettuce and saurbraten. yum-yum
For some reason, my parents wanted children. I was the result. You could cut them a little slack; they really didn't have much practice.
Sometime between birth and middle age, I discovered that I'd rather make music than sleep, eat or pretty much anything else. Those three things, sleeping, eating and making music, have taken up most of my time since. On some occasions, I've been able to eat and make music at the same time, which has greatly increased the opportunities I've had to sleep. I've also done a few other things, but let's just talk about music.
I've got a strong singing voice. Coincidentally, it also seems to be a strong yelling voice, equally at home in getting my 88 y/o father's attention, or that of my kids. I play guitar in both Spanish and Hawaiian styles, fake keyboards well enough to play for people who are paying more attention to their beer than me and have been known to pick up and play a bass guitar without hurting myself. I started out playing professionally at the Riemer Student Center of Clarion State College (now Clarion University of Pennsylvania) before the days of disco, DJs and karaoke. In other words, about 30 years ago. I've been involved with the Science Fiction community for nearly 20 years. I've been Filk GOH at Lunacon, Confluence, Duckcon, and Keycon and was the Pete half of the infamous 'Tom and Pete' show Back in the Day. Several years ago, I was the opening act for a concert by The Vogues in Oil City, PA. I'm still tracking down gigs, mostly in Western Pennsylvania, but I'm always interested in new territories and new venues. From my home in Western PA, I'm fairly close to most places. Pittsburgh (Go Steelers!) is about 90 min.; Erie is 2 hrs; Cleveland is 3; Philly is about 4; NYC is 6; Atlanta & Chicago are 13. I've been to all of 'em and played gigs at most.
Check my blog for details on things like set-lists, space requirements, my general ideas about performing and so forth. You can ask me specific questions through MySpace mail or by using this link:
Send Mail to Pete
If you'd like even more info, here's a link to my electronic presskit on Sonicbids. This includes another sample set list, stage requirements and some other details. (Clicking here opens another window. . . )
View Pete Grubbs's EPK
I've recorded 3 collections of music which are currently out of print. There are 2 new projects in the oven as I write this, but they're waiting until I get the remodeling done so I can re-install my studio (moving sucks).
MySpace being what it is, if you've got a question, don't hesitate to ask.
You know the Bible 100%!
Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!
Awk -- the one weekend when you'll be playing in western N.Y. is the one weekend I'm subbing in at The Company. *Ah, but I may make it to one of your August shows.* See you at Confluence ...
Thanks, Pete! It was a pretty memorable trip for us. And we are STILL catching up on sleep! Hope you are very well and thriving these days. Best wishes to you from the Brooklyn Eggplants
Pete, Devera is GORGEOUS. Her late father was Vincent Edwards, an actor who starred in the "Ben Casey" television show and who was a good friend of Elvis and the late Nick Adams. The guys in Black Angel have been lucky to work with some very talented, very beautiful women......Check out the Black Angel Girls (by clicking them on our friends list and you will see what I am talking about if you haven't already). Thank you for being our friend and best wishes.
J. C. Martin Black Angel Santa Barbara, California
You never heard of Rupert? Well, it's the biggest city in PA next to Philly, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Wilkes Barre, Scranton, whoops,...I'm not gonna have room.. it's a tiny village next to Bloomsburg in Columbia Cty... Hope to see ya out there someday... Dave
So I'm at work and I'm bored and I thought I would stop by and say "Hi". I've been pretty busy lately. Plenty of interesting things going on but that would be too much for just a comment.
