By Sara Jarrett
Oregon Daily Emerald
Playing to a quiet, coffee-drink
ing crowd is never easy. When
your music is best suited for the
crude, drunken atmosphere of a
bar, it’s especially hard.
To local folk singer Peter Wilde,
though, it’s just another gig.
Witnessing Wilde in action —
he’s a songwriter who adds rock,
pop, country and bluegrass ten
dencies to his repertoire — makes
it evident that die musician has
years of experience under his belt
Wilde even persevered when the
Jan. 8 crowd at The Buzz was
sparse and their double lattes did
n’t provide quite enough oomph to
make them sing along to his song
“Parasites,” about getting the afflic
tion in Mexico. He actually seemed
to relish in the fact that he might
have disturbed the minds of these
bookworms.
Besides, “you get used to nobody
singing along, ” Wilde said while sit
ting in Sam Bond’s Garage, the
Whiteaker neighborhood venue
where he regularly performs.
His songs are about his life, but
the personality behind his poetry
draws listeners of all sorts. Wilde
has a story to tell for every song he
has written, which makes his mu
sic easy to relate to because it’s
about real life.
Since 1991, Wilde has recorded
six CDs. Only his latest two, the
1997 recording “Carnival” and the
1999 release “Peters Cheap and
Easy,” are available for purchase at
retail stores. Others are available on
his Web site, www.efn.org/~peter.
“Carnival” pushed him into the
Peter Wilde in action
Catch the local folk singer at two
separate venues during February.
The Buzz in the EMU
When: Saturday, Feb. 5 at 9 p.m.;
free to all ages
Sam Bond’s Garage, 407 Biair
Bhfd.
When: Sunday, Feb. 6,20 and 27
at 8:30 p.m.; ages 21+
Alt-Americana category because it
is more varied than his previous
compilations, with the all-inclusive
sounds of “bluegrass, rock and folky
solo stuff,” he says. The recording
is also unique because the studio
project included 30 different guest
artists that could never play togeth
er in a live performance.
His Alt-Americana style — so
dubbed because of its traditional
roots, modem flare and sometimes ec
centric outlook—has changed over
his nine-year song-making career.
“I have become more and more
focused with performing rather
than with environmental issues,”
he writes in an e-mail dialogue dur
ing a recent 16-day, 12-gig solo tour
through Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho
and Utah. “I still play benefits, sup
port actions and perform at protests,
but when I write songs and think
about writing songs that are specifi
cally directed toward certain social
issues, I draw a blank.”
On the third message in the se
ries of e-mails from the road, Wilde
reveals that he is traveling in a car
that was given to him by local
I
%
Catharine Kendall Emerald
(Peter Wilde has been playing his guitar in Eugene since 1991 and has recorded six CDs during that time. Wilde, who also plays at
various clubs around town, plays what reviewers call an “Alt-Americana” style of music.
Communist Kevin Hornbuckle.
The vehicle probably isn’t the best
for this trip, Wilde admits, but it
makes a good tale.
“I’m working on my rags to riches
story,” he notes. “I figure touring the
Rocky Mountains in January with a
car with no heat will be great on the
late-night shows someday.”
These troubling conditions are
offset by Wilde’s popularity at the
area’s various establishments, how
ever. In Lander, Wyo., for instance,
he meets a couple who drove 163
miles to see him perform. Their
friend had called from the bar the
night before and held the phone up
so they could hear the music.
Though the mini-tour wasn’t all
packed houses, huge CD sales and
visits with old friends, Wilde is
currently reveling in the relative
success of this latest voyage. He
has come a long way from the 12
year-old boy who sat in his bed
room and listened to the likes of
the Grateful Dead, Joni Mitchell
and John Harford.
Appreciating music was the ex
tent of Wilde’s involment with the
art until attending Colby College in
Maine. In the midst of pursuing an
American studies degree, Wilde,
then 17, found time to play in a col
lege rock band. He soon realized
that he wanted to try a professional
music career.
This desire, however, was out
weighed by his need to find a city
with a strong sense of community.
In 1991, Wilde embarked on a jour
ney to the West Coast and found
what he was looking for in Eugene,
Because of the city’s activism and si
multaneous small-town managea
bility, Wilde says he can see himself
staying here for a long time. Some
times, though, he thinks about mov
ing to a bigger place like Portland
with more music marketability.
For now, Wilde makes ends
meet between recording projects
and performance gigs by continu
ing to work as an arborist, pruning
trees in residential areas.
“It’s fun, pays well and I can
work on my own schedule,” he
says of his side job.
Wilde is content in Eugene as he
dreams of getting college radio air
time and drawing a crowd of 100
people wherever he plays. Mean
while, the songwriter waits for
someone to make a hit covering
one of his songs.
Despite these musings, Wilde
doesn’t think he will make a for
tune with his music because “you
just get jaded after 10 years. ”
Time will tell if he is simply be
ing modest or not. One thing about
Peter Wilde is certain, however, he
is content as a musician and does
n’t plan on money, or anything else,
getting in the way of his happiness.
This Saturday come celebrate
the Chinese New Year! * t
Music starts^ @ 8:30 pm with Top 40 hits and Hip Hop
Great Specials all night long
$ 1.00 off @ door with U O ID