Spice Up the Gumbo

A slow bluesy track with sparse instrumentation overlaid with a hollow-body Heritage 535  and a Telecaster guitar licks. Rainy day blues - 'nuff said.

Rainy Day Blues

Another Trans-Atlantic production from  1717.17 Studios courtesy of Train Wreckords in Wellington Florida. Glen Evertson produced this gem in his home studio and used a Gibson acoustic, a Duesenberg Joe Walsh Signature Model and a Les Paul for the blues lead. Mark Lee played a Strat on the second lead and Keith Nelson also played a Strat on the third lead. Shan Frogel on Bass and Charles Lugo on Drums. I sang Lead and vocal "yelps". 

Charlie, drums
Shan,bass
Peter. Vocals
Glen, Back up vox, 1st lead guitar ... (So Far it's Rumour Hazit...)
Mark, 2nd Lead Guitar
Keith, 3rd Lead Guitar

DEMO ONLY - NOT FOR SALE

Let It Rain

Let It Rain by Eric Clapton

My version of Cat Stevens classic tune "Wild World". A bit of reggae influence here borrowed from Maxi Priest. 
(demo only - not for sale)

Wild World

A cover of the Muddy Waters classic written by Willie Dixon.

Hootchie Cootchie Man

My version of Bob Dylan's epic tune "Knocking on Heavens Door" from Nashville Skyline.
(demo only - not for sale)

Knockin' On Heavens Door

I love this moody love song by Bill Withers ... a bit jazzy
(demo only - not for sale)

Ain't No Sunshine

Good Time Charlies got the Blues ... this is a live cover version with  Keith Rothco singing lead and Bill Canty and myself on Harmony. I'm playing the lead. Keith sent this to me recently and I must admit, it's a lovely mix. Live at O'hara's Club in Palm Beach around 1982. Keith is finger picking the main guitar, Bill is playing rhythm and Rick Rossano on Bass guitar.

"Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues" is a song written and performed by American folk singer Danny O'Keefe. It was first recorded by O'Keefe in 1967, but not released. It was recorded by The Bards and released in 1968.

Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues

"They say that Blues is a woman, I believe that's true ... Cottonmouth Blues".
(For those familiar with 'little weed' ;)
This original blues song was written / arranged by me. I'm playing lead / rhythm guitar on an Epiphone Les Paul Modern 6 string played through a Fender Blues Jr. (cranked). Recorded / produced by Stuart Epps at his studio in Cookham UK. On Bass and Keys is Paul Hirsh. Martin Ditcham is playing the drums.

LYRICS:
Well it seems that I've smoked too much again
And I've wound up with that old faithful friend
That old faithful got me, pro'bly got you too
Cottonmouth Blues

Well I'm dry, I'm so thirsty I could die
Yeah I'm high, got the feeling I could fly
the whiskey bottles empty, should have brought me two
Cottonmouth Blues

Well it seems, my woman left me for another man
Yeah my baby, left me for some other man
They say that Blues is a woman, I believe that's true
Cottonmouth Blues

Copyright June 2024 P Trappen BMI Music 

Cottonmouth Blues

This original blues song was written / arranged by me and recorded / produced by Stuart Epps at his studio in Cookham UK. 

Paul Hirsh is playing Bass and Keyboards. 
Stuart Epps is playing/programming the drums. 

I am playing the slide guitar / rhythm guitar on a Martin 00028 6 string Eric Clapton Signature model acoustic with a bit of copper tubing for a slide and also playing the Harmonica solos.

I wrote the song this year (2024) while learning to play the slide guitar after being inspired by two friends at the Navigation Blues Jam in Nottingham: Doc Shellard and Simon Rose (thanks chaps).

Loosely based on Rollin' and Tumblin' a blues standard first recorded by American singer-guitarist Hambone Willie Newbern in 1929.

Copyright June 2024 P Trappen BMI Music 

Jack of all Trades

A song I wrote about a girl that was, in my eyes, unapproachable. But love conquers all as they say.

I play all guitar parts on a Heritage H-535. 
There's Martin Ditcham on drums 
Paul Hirsh on bass and keys. 
Recorded and Engineered by Stuart Epps at his studio in Cookham UK. 

This was created while I was learning the chord pattern of Am7 to Am6 and seeing the similarity with the D9 chord. I loved the break with an apeggio on the inverted Diminished chord pattern. 


Copyright June 2024 P Trappen BMI Music 

You Got Me Dancin'

I think everyone feels like this sometimes. The old Norse God Loki is constantly playing tricks on me.

Engineered / recorded by Stuart Epps at his studio in Cookham UK. 
Paul Hirsh is playing the Bass and Keyboards. 
Martin Ditcham is playing the Drums. 
I'm playing a Heritage H-535 hollow body guitar playing through a Fender Blues Jr. (cranked). 

Mixed and Mastered at Hired Guns Studio using Cubase and the iZotope oZone Mastering plugins. 



Copyright June 2024 P Trappen BMI Music 

Livin' With A Curse

A revamped version of my song Mesmerized. A cool jazzy feel with lyrics reflecting a deep attraction to a beautiful woman. 

Recorded in my home studio using Cubase 10 and various midi plugins. Guitar parts are done with a Heritage H 535. 12 string rhythm guitar is a Guild Jumbo.

Copyright 2022 P Trappen BMI Music 

Mesmerized Revamp 24

With the rise of Billy Strings (who comes from my hometown) I thought back to the Gathering Roadhouse where Keith Rothco and I played 5-6 nights a week back the late 1970's. Keith was a bad-ass flat-picker and I honestly had trouble keeping up with him. We also played a variety of popular songs of the day which lent themselves to an acoustic duo. Such as: Crosby Stills and Nash, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, NRPS, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, and fiddle tunes, Dock Watson & some Blues. This recording was done on a reel to reel and later transferred to cassette, which I was able to rescue to digital... so, the fidelity is not too good but I have cleaned it up a bit. 

Beaumont Rag

A wonderful live cover of Neil Young's "Sail Away" sometime in the early 1980s by this 4 piece combo utilizing 3 part harmonies. Trappen's singing lead on this one, with Keith Rothco and Bill Canty singing harmony and supporting on acoustic guitar. Rick Rossano on Bass guitar. 

Rust Never Sleeps is the tenth album by Canadian American singer-songwriter Neil Young and his third with American band Crazy Horse. It was released on June 22, 1979, by Reprise Records and features both studio and live tracks.[5] Most of the album was recorded live, then overdubbed in the studio, while other songs originated in the studio. Young used the phrase "rust never sleeps" as a concept for his tour with Crazy Horse to avoid artistic complacency and try more progressive, theatrical approaches to performing live. (*from Wikipedia)

Two songs from the album were not recorded live: "Pocahontas" had been recorded solo in August 1976 during the Hitchhiker session, with later overdubs in September 1977 at Triiad studios for the album Oceanside/Countryside, an early version of Comes a Time. "Sail Away" was also recorded at Triiad as a solo track, and received full band overdubs during the Comes a Time recording sessions in November 1977.[30]

Sail Away

Welcome to the Hotel California!  My version of this classic Eagles tune, although a few steps lower than Don Henley's high vocals. I recorded this in my home studio using Cubase and a Roland xp50 sequencer for everything but the guitar and vocals. Qute a bit of work to get the drums and bass just right but worth the effort.


(demo only - not for sale)

Hotel California

Desperado by the Eagles live at the Gathering Restaurant West Palm Beach, FL 1978-1980 featuring Keith Rothco on guitar & Pete Trappen on vocals and guitar

DEMO ONLY - NOT FOR SALE

Desperado

Reminiscent of the wild 1960s free love era. She's a wild child and free to roam. A rockin' tune with Harmonica, slammin drums, Vox organ and acoustic bluesy guitar. You can't stop dancing to this groovy music baby yeah! Get your paisley shirt and bell-bottom jeans on for this one, it's far out!

She's wild, wild at heart 
So wild, wild at heart
She's wild!... wild at heart
So wild wild at heart
She's wild, wild at heart
I tried to catch her but she's way too smart

SOLO (harmonica)

She's new, she's my new guru
She's new, she's my new guru
She's new? she's my new guru
Yeah she's new aw yeah
I tried to tell her but she already knew

BREAK 

She's wild, wild at heart 
So wild, wild at heart
She's wild!... wild at heart
So wild, wild at heart
She's wild, wild at heart
I tried to catch her but she's way too smart

SOLO (harmonica and acoustic guitar)

She's wild, wild at heart
I tried to tame her but she broke my heart

c)2020 - 2022 p. trappen umpteen music bmi

She's Wild At Heart

This song was recorded in 1979 in South Florida at a small warehouse recording studio (Brightwater?). With (now famous) Scott Henderson on Lead Guitar who was smokin' hot that day and accomplished this solo in 2 or 3 takes. Which is what I had anticipated after watching him play at local bars in those days. Soon after this he entered the Guitar Institute in L.A. where he eventually became a teacher and then went on to greatness playing with Chick Corea and Jean-Luc Ponty before making a name for himself with his band Tribal Tech. Also on this track: Steve Owen doing a tremendous job on Bass and the late, great Harry Johnston on Drums. This is / was a difficult song to pull off in a short 5 hour session with time changes in 7/8 and 4/4 time with an unusual bridge. 

The song refers to a little-known law that would allow someone to receive a "misdemeanor" charge for using MaryJane. And also, the boredom of small town America. I wrote the song, played Rhythm Guitar and sang Lead vocals. Rescued from a cassette tape and remastered.

c) 2020 p. trappen umpteen music bmi
photo by Geoff Livingston

Section 47

Recorded in 1977 at Uncle Dirty's Studio Kalamazoo Michigan.  This was a regional hit over the summer that year. The guitar riff came to me in a dream and I woke up to write this song. We did this in an afternoon on a 16 Track 2" tape reel with a $500 budget. The version you hear here was copied from the 45 rpm record so, you can still hear some pops and needle noise. As I had no management or money to promote the record it didn't go far. 

Hal Beveridge on Bass guitar and Tim Quinn on Drums, I played a Les Paul through a ProCo Rat foot pedal, sang lead and harmony vocals and overdubbed the cowbell. 

The intro song is called "Blue Dot Cafe" and was part of the original 45 record just because. 

c) 1977 and 2020 p. trappen umpteen music bmi

Oil On The Beach

It was 1987 at the 264 Club Palm Beach Florida. We were the house band and this is just one example of the great times we had there. The club officially held 72 people but on any given Friday or Saturday night there were 150 of us whooping it up. Rick Rossano on guitar, Kevin Kaufman on bass, George Anderson on drums and I was playing a Vox Jaguar organ and singing lead vocals. What great memories...

Good Lovin'

A song fitting for our times. A song I wrote and recorded on my 'Frequent Sea' LP released in 2001 (2 weeks before 9/11). I played all parts and sang lead vocals with Shan Frogel joining me on a very nice Bass guitar part. 

Lyrics based on the book Fahrenheit 451, a dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in 1953. Often regarded as one of his best works, the novel presents a future American society where books are outlawed and "firemen" burn any that are found.

I'm the Fireman come and take a look
I'm the Fireman come and watch me cook
i'm the Fireman, I've come to burn your books
I'm the Fireman ...

Don't you dare speak out, I will silence you
Don't you dare have doubts, I will execute
Don't you move about I will punish you
I'm the Fireman, I'm the Fireman

You don't have to worry about me ...
You don't have to worry about anything
You can watch it all on TV
You don't have to worry about anything!

Frequent Sea

I'm The Fireman

A song I wrote and recorded in my home studio in WPB FL ... released in 2001 on the "Frequent Sea" album. The backing track is done on a Roland XP50 workstation - drums, bass and sitars etc.  I overdubbed the 12 string Rickenbacker lead & rhythm guitars and vocals. I learned a lot from this project, it wasn't easy programming each beat and note. It still sounds good though, I think, but the bass guitar part is a little pedestrian.

Rainbow Child

The 3rd tune off my "Chasing the Sky" album. A happy-go-lucky tune about a chance meeting I had in college. This one features Doug Gluckin on Saxophone(s). Also, Gerry Krause on Bass and Mike Willemin on Drums and Percussion. All vocals and guitar(s) by yours truly. Listen for the dog barking in the breaks ... good fun.

cover photo by: Kevin Phillips

Chasing the Sky

Talk To Me Lady

From my Frequent Sea album recorded in my home studio, released in 2001 - one week before 9/11. I considered this to be my masterpiece as in all the aspects were to my best ability. That being production, songwriting, sequencing and performance. The critics at the time were not so kind saying it was "too slick" and "been done before" and "no pre-chorus". Well, I said, soorrry ... For one guy, playing all the parts in his bedroom studio I think it still stands up today - so there. I've remastered this to bring the maximum volume down to suit most media players.

You're Breaking My Heart

Here we have my version of Van Morrison's great classic tune "Into the Mystic". This was recorded live, straight from my mixing board one night at a club in Michigan. This was released with permission on my "Chasing the Sky" album. One of my favorite songs in the whole wide world...

Into The Mystic

My acoustic version of "I'm Only Human" by Rag'n'Bone Man. Just me and my Martin guitar... great great tune.

I'm Only Human

A romantic farewell song from my CD 'Chasing the Sky' with a Tropical Rock feeling.  The CD was recorded and produced in my home studio and released in November of 2007.  The album features guest musicians Gerry Kraus on Keyboards and Bass and Mike Willemin on Drums & Percussion.  All other parts were performed by me on lead & rhythm guitars, harmonica, bass, & sequencer keyboards.

Lyrics:
Sailing away, it's time to save the day
Nothing to say, I know you want me to stay
You had me with goodbye
Now I'm just chasing the sky
…Chasing the sky

Full speed ahead, it’s not supposed to rain
Something you said, it sounded so inane
I know you meant to say
Something more, in a different way
…In a different way

Here comes the rain, to spite the weatherman
This is insane - I'm doing the best that I can 
You used to be like me
Storm clouds are wild and free
…Wild and free

SOLO

Sailing away, it's time to sail away
I’m breaking the chains, you know I wanted to stay
You had me with goodbye
Now I’m just chasing the sky
…Chasing the sky

(c) 2007 P. Trappen Umpteen Music BMI
cover photography by Kevin Philips

Chasing The Sky

A song for all those guys who see a beautiful girl on the beach, in the hallway or shopping for groceries. This song features Doug Gluckin on Saxophone, Gerry Kraus on bass and Mike Willemin on Drums and Percussion. All other parts were performed by me on lead & rhythm guitars, harmonica, bass, & sequencer keyboards.

Lyrics:
Talk to me lady, 
Converse with me a while
Pardon me for saying so but 
You’ve sure got style

I’d like to get to know you 
Let’s cut right to the chase
I’m a man and you’re a woman
We’ll sail into a beautiful place

Ooh my lady – sha-la-la-la-la-la
Ooh my lady – sha-la-la-la-la-la

Come see the sun set, 
Come take a walk with me
I don’t know what we’ll do but darling
You and I will be

I’d like to get to know you 
I don’t know what to say
I’m a man and you’re a woman
We’ll sail into a beautiful place

{Solo Break}

Ooh my lady – sha-la-la-la-la-la
Ooh my lady – sha-la-la-la-la-la

Turn off your cell phone
Let’s walk along the beach
The moon is rising over the ocean
The pleasure’s all in reach

I’d like to get to know you 
Let’s cut right to the chase
I’m a man and you’re a woman
We’ll sail into a beautiful place


(c) 2007 P. Trappen Umpteen Music BMI
cover photography by Kevin Philips

Talk to Me Lady

A classic cover of Jack Johnson's tune from my CD 'Chasing the Sky'. I've given this a bit of Blues feeling that works well.  The CD was recorded and produced in my home studio and released in November of 2007.  The album features guest artists on several tracks.  All other parts were performed by me on lead & rhythm guitars, harmonica, bass, & sequencer keyboards.

cover photo by: Kevin Philips

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

This classic blues tune was written by Willie Dixon and made famous by Muddy Waters and many others. This is my version, a quick demo done in my home studio. The guitar is a Fender Strat which is recorded clean without any effects. At one point my headphones slipped off and caused a slight hiccup but I think it sounds pretty good. All parts played by yours truly ...


demo only = not for sale

I'm Ready

Michigan based Peter Trappen is a seasoned musician with over 40 years of experience, holding a degree in Audio Mastering from the Berklee College of Music. With a Grammy nomination in 2001, Peter's bluesy backwoods vocal style evokes the essence of Jim Morrison & John Fogerty in a smoky roadhouse, complemented by his masterful finger-picking on both acoustic & electric guitars, reminiscent of Eric Clapton & Mark Knopfler.

From humble beginnings, with a beat-up acoustic guitar at age 8, to forming his first band by 12, Peter's musical journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. His diverse career spans playing TropRock in South Florida, to sharing stages with iconic bands like The Beach Boys, Poco, and The Byrds with his band, The White Owls.

Adept at programming keyboards & loops, Peter built his home studio in the late '90s, where he continues to produce & record. His recent collaborations in England with producer Stuart Epps, bassist Paul Hirsh & drummer Martin Ditcham have further solidified his reputation as a versatile & innovative artist. Peter's music, published with BMI Music, reflects his deep-rooted passion & unique style, attracting fans & media from all over the world.

Peter Trappen

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