If you got to play a round of golf with Jesus, just one 18- hole round, what would you ask him?  This dream-sequence song is a miracle wrapped in blasphemy, filled with non-sequiturs and improbable vignettes.  Drew Nugent provides coronet fills against a hyperactive theramin.  Joseph Finder plays the part of Moses.  Vanessa Silberman programmed the percussion and synth parts in addition to mixing and mastering.   

I had 10 co-writers who answered the “what would you ask Him?” question, including an anonymous golfer who I was paired with for 18 holes on Hilton Head Island.  Another writer is my brother, who took me golfing on Hilton Head and in Pinehurst, NC, a mecca of golf on Route One.  The responses of all of these collaborators informed the content as well as shape of the song, and I’m grateful to them all! Many of them followed up with suggestions, encouragement, questions, and improvements.

Golfing With Jesus

Entertainment is a hard business. Some of the hardest-working entertainers are circus clowns. A dying breed, they must travel from town to town putting on the same show. They are trained and paid to look clumsy, unintelligent, and rude. Most of them are not. The athleticism required for pratfalls and other site gags goes unnoticed amidst the laughter.				
Not unlike gypsies, clowns can lead hard uncertain lives, yet they must smile. They must make others forget their worries while they forget their own. The laughter is often at their expense. No wonder clowns can be transient and unpredictable when they are not in costume.
Drew Nugent and Peter Evans have had a taste of the entertainer’s life. They both have acquired a cadre of friends who perform for others.  They know what it is like to play a beautiful love song while it is tearing them up inside. They wrote this song from the heart.			
Inspired by a photo workshop at the American Treasure Tour in Oaks, Pennsylvania, the lyrics to “All My Pals Are Clowns” were started on the back of a dinner menu at a post- workshop meal. Peter shared the lyrics and his photographs with Drew shortly thereafter, who exclaimed “I know JUST what to do with this”. They hope you’ll agree that this performance of the song proves him right.

All My Pals Are Clowns

Gratitude and good fortune sleep together inside the soul.  Whether listening to this song during a gloomy day full of disappointment, or during a stroll on a glorious Spring morning, you’ll feel awakened into thankfulness before we reach the Coda.

We’ve written some tearjerkers during the 7 years we’ve been writing music together, but this isn’t one of those.  This tune has a jaunty melody made for marriage to the upbeat style that is the core of stride jazz music.  With echoes of Ragtime and elements of Swing, vintage meets contemporary in this recording.  Drew plays his 1923 C.G. Conn “victor” model cornet in one of the finest recording spaces in the Delaware Valley, replete with all of the digital bells and whistles to make it sound its finest.  No pops and scratches from a vinyl 78 here!

Okay… one, two, three.. get happy!!

Happy to be Lucky

Hard to Get Home is a tall tale street band folk song where Tom Waits meets David Bromberg.  The loose-limbed recording could have been done in a LIVE Room at the Saint James Infirmary, with Dr. John prescribing the meds.  It is just that sick. 

Reaching back into delta blues tradition with Evans’ vintage 1931 National steel guitar and Nugent’s 1923 C.G. Conn “victor” model cornet, the approach is intentionally imperfect and improvisational.  The travel fantasy lyrics are replete with bad dream sequences of insolvency, temptation, perdition, and seduction.  But (spoiler alert) all is not lost. There’s redemption before the coda, when the tune goes dancing home, sweet home.

Recorded in May, 2022 at Elm Street Studios, Conshohocken, PA
Peter Evans: steel guitar, vocals & songwriting
Drew Nugent: piano, trumpet, shout & songwriting
Michael Jerome: percussion & songwriting
Jim Stager: bass & shout
Nancy Senior: accordion and assistant engineer
Vanessa Silberman: producer, mixing, mastering & songwriting
John Senior: engineer

August 5, 2022

HARD TO GET HOME

It can be tempting to stay warm and comfortable at home, but Peter Evans did not stay in his.  Instead, he went in search of a new home that was refreshing and that felt even safer than his old one.  Home For Now is a feel-good song of renewed hope and gratitude for finding a home in someone’s loving arms and in the eternal beauty of nature.  Its sweetness and warmth feels like sipping hot tea on a chilly day - in “hood-up” weather. 

With the earthy echoes of his folk-rock heroes of the 1970’s; Neil Young, James Taylor, and Jackson Browne, Evans found safe ground to share fearlessly from his heart.  A singable, tender melody allows harmonies to flow like gentle breezes. Vibrant instrumentation, anchored by Dan McLoughlin, provides warmth to the composition so that we can appreciate the merits of a transient “for now” version of home, even though we want to remain in ours forever.

Credits:
Dan McLoughlin: Piano, Bass, organ, studio engineering
Vanessa Silberman: Co-writer, Producer, programming, mixing, mastering
Nick Potters: Drums
Peter Evans: Co-writer, vocals, guitar, field recordings

Home For Now

A white-knuckled grip on our intention to achieve material goals can strangle life’s joy.  The verses were inspired by writings of the Dali Lama and John Lennon.  Although they had the music for this song for months, co-writers Bradley Kohn and Peter Evans remained unsatisfied as they began and set aside one lyric set after another.  Then, one sun-filled afternoon at New West Records, Peter and Brad tapped an undiscovered spring of common wisdom and the right lyrics finally poured forth.  Smile.  Love.  Dance

Dancing Shoes

Picture gentle breezes, the sound of water in motion, abundant sunshine above swaying trees, a cool drink and happy music.  Idyllic settings can be fleeting, but Peter Evans and Vanessa Silberman have created a sonic spot that will take you back to your blissful place.  Written in Venice Beach, CA, the song celebrates the edge of the city where it meets the beach; a zone where  transient “pigeon men” perch on benches, play music, and engage passers-by.

A joyful tribute to Jimmy Buffett, “Beautiful Day” is flavored with a Caribbean jambalaya of instrumentation.  Drew Nugent takes center stage with his coronet, blasting out notes of pure joy and exuberance.  A solid bass and drum kit combo supports layers of vocal harmony, harmonica, marimba, guiro, and guitar licks.

So grab your sandals, put on your headphones and kick off your stress in Paradise.

CREDITS:
Recorded May, 2023 at Bunker Studios, Brooklyn, NY
Peter Evans: vocals, guitars, harmonica, percussion, arrangement and co-writer
Vanessa Silberman: co-writer, producer, mixing, mastering and engineer
Drew Nugent: horns
Carissa Johnson: bass
Andy Plovnick: Drums and assistant engineer

Beautiful Day in Paradise

My sister Wendy used “nutsy cuckoo” as a pet expression when we were growing up.  It faded from my memory until I was visiting Key West and I heard roosters crowing in the darkness.  I woke up from my dream and blurted out “They’re making me nutsy cuckoo!”, wrote the phrase down and started writing this song the next day.  Some songwriters call this a “catalog song”, a stringing together of similar things into a list. “I’ve been Everywhere”  and Dave Frishberg’s “Marooned in a Blizzard of Lies”, which became a musical model for our catalog of kvetches. 

I say “our” because co-writer Jennifer Lighthall joined in the effort for several days in Key West, FL.  She had been kept awake by the roosters, too.  Jen helped to identify and remind me to write down the little annoyances that crossed our paths in our moments together, and ones that tripped across our paths of recollection.  You’ll hear cock-a-doodle-doo-ing as well as a bunch other grumpy old guy gripes I hear myself complaining about. Maybe you kvetch about some of them, too.  

The Bunker Studio in Brooklyn saw retro jazz man Drew Nugent from Philadelphia reunited with Producer Vanessa Silberman.  They had previously worked together on Second Hand Man (2020), All My Pals Are Clowns (2021), Hard to Get Home (2022), and Beautiful Day in Paradise (2023).  Vanessa brought in locals Carissa Johnson and Andy Plovnick to cover bass and drums.  The Bunker had a great vibe, allowing us all to have fun with this track.  

Although the song gets caustic it is light-hearted and bright at its center, because I almost always don’t stay mad for very long.  Hoping the same is true for you… Peter.

Nutsy Cuckoo

There’s an old Vaudeville joke that goes; “If at first you don’t suc-ceed, keep on sucking until you do suck seeds”. 

When someone else imposes their will on your life, it sucks.  You might yearn to be yourself, but at school, on the job, at the club, in church or in your family, there are people in authority who tell you to do the “right thing” and, worst of all, tell you how to do it.  You might decide that your path to success depends on following someone else’s rules, even though it makes you miserable.

Do you suffer in silence, or do you risk offending others by choosing your own rules and guardrails?  Peter Evans is a dangerous heretic!  That’s what some people will tell you.  Some would paint him, with all due respect, as a rebellious badass.  His anthem for change, “Be Respectful” outrageously challenges familiar definitions of civility.

Peter credits his autistic son, Jamie, for inspiring him to write this song.  Now an adult living independently, Jamie steadfastly refused to follow rules as a child, even though he sought the approval of others.  He grew to define his own form of success and his unique sense of what is the “right thing”.  


Credits: 
Peter Evans, vocals, guitar & percussion, co-writer
Vanessa Silberman, Producer, mixing, programming & mastering, co-writer
Drew Nugent, voices, horns & shouts
Baird Standish, Mandolin, electric guitar & shouts
Jim Stager, bass & shouts
John Senior, engineering
Nancy Senior, assistant engineering & shouts
Decker Patterson, assistant engineering & shouts

Recorded at Elm Street Studios, Conshohocken, PA on August 5, 2024

Be Respectful

Drew Nugent, Peter Evans & Shayna Zaid penned the lyrics to this Jack Purvis jazz classic.  It was recorded in February, 2016 at Votiv Studios in Los Angeles, and will be featured on the Evans/Nugent/Zaid EP "Clockworks" later in 2016.  The mix is by Jim "Jiff" Hinger.  Michael Jerome is the percussionist.  Drew does lead vocals, piano and trumpet.  Evans, Cynthia Carle (Producer) & Zaid are on backing vocals. 

When You're Feeling Blue

Global warming in Northern Maine cuts both ways.  Winters there can be brutal, so warmer is good, but care for the land is sacred because the land has been the source of people’s livelihoods for so long.  Timber, dairy farming and potatoes drive the economy in Aroostook County along Route One.  These industries all have carbon footprints, which add to the greenhouse effect.  

And speaking of greenhouses, the hottest cottage industry is growing pot now that it has become legal to do so in Maine.  When it is too cold to tend potatoes, you can always look in on your hydroponics! Apparently, the proceeds can help to save the farm and to ease the farmers’ aches and pains.

Since the end of World War II, more and more Maine potatoes have been processed, instead of eaten fresh from farm to table as they were before our freezers started to resemble small closets.  So the question becomes how to keep up the production of these commodities while mitigating the environmental impacts of the harvest.  How will the spuds run to get to your table asap, unprocessed and fresh?  And will consumers be willing to give up their tater tots and frozen fries to help save the planet?

SPUD RUN

Finding new horizons isn't difficult once you are on the move.  This post - breakup song is about finding new love and the confidence new love brings to continue life's journey with gratitude and optimism.  Produced by Vanessa Silberman.

Time to Go

TIME TO GO

Peter Evans, a jazz/blues/folk artist from metropolitan Philadelphia, has a lifetime history as a musician, studying guitar and voice initially with Philadelphia Folksong Society co-founder George Britton in the 1960’s.  Peter has maintained his love of the music as an a cappella singer for the past 40 years, including performing with the Yale Whiffenpoofs, for whom he served as musical director.  

Peter’s songwriting has recently been informed by a project he started in March, 2018 on US Route 1, the first Interstate highway in the United States.  Ever since his days at Yale, he’s wanted to take pictures on Route 1, but that impetus has evolved into a nascent website, Route1Views.com, a geo-specific, interactive social website, celebrating the people who have lived and worked along the road.  “We are more divided as a country now than at any other point in my lifetime”, says Evans.  “Perhaps with the exception of 1968.  If in some small way Route1Views helps us to realize how much we share and how we are connected, then all of the effort will have been worth it.”

Peter A. Evans

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