Peter Stein

So perhaps you want to know a little about my history, it might be interesting for listeners (if youre happy to do something that is) My main interest in life has always been songs and music and guitar. I bought up a family for a lot of my life, but still did stuff during that time as well. It started when I started recording songs with a guy in Perth in the early 70's called Malcolm Devenish. Hes since passed on but he was a great recording engineer and did a lot of sessions with bands like Rose Tattoo. I played in a band then called Cahoots. I also played with Al Kash and Bob Fortesque from a band called BLACKFEATHER. We also did a show with ROY ORBISON to about 20,000 people back then. I recently hooked up again with Al and he lives on the Hudson and plays with Levon Helm from the Band in or around Woodstock New York State. I moved to Melbourne and got a young singer to record some of my songs because I had the recording bug, His name was and I spose still is VINCE JONES. I still have those tapes but theyre a bit worn now. I was kind of experimenting a bit with jazz structures. I like lots of different forms.

Now I spent ages in Melbourne and then moved to Sydney and wrote some songs for Col Joye in the early 80's. Barry Crocker recorded one of my songs called TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE THIS WRONG WORLD RIGHT around that time and I also had BARRY LEEF and ERINA CLARKE record a lot of my songs. They were mostly demos but I dug doing it. Sometimes something good would happen with a song. I won lots of prizes for songs but cant recall them all.They dont mean a lot I realised but its fun having people think you're doin something worthwhile. A chic called LOTTA ENGBERG got a no 3 I think it was in Sweden for the Together song Barry did. It was a pretty lush version. A song i wrote ended up in a musical then called RASPUTIN. The papers said John English wrote it but I did. Also around that time I dropped a tape of a song I did to BOB DYLANS people and they called me up which was a surprise to me and so I had a meet with him about the song backstage in 86 I think it was.

So I was doin a lot of other stuff too like try to make a living and bring up kids but always kept my eye on the songwriting ball. It can be challenging to keep your art alive! I never gigged much, dunno why. I think I felt recording could capture a song exactly the way you want it. Also I felt I was still learning. In 98 I met THE BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA and they did a song of mine called NOTHING IN THIS WORLD WITHOUT A HEART. That was a thrill because I admired them so much. I think they got a grammy for that album. Trying to remember it all. Recently I got a song in a film called GODSPEED by Houston King which was also a thrill. It got pretty good reviews at Cinevegas last or this year. It was a song called NOT AFRAID ANYMORE, HOWLING BELLS did one of my songs.

As said I used to get other "better" singers to sing my stuff but then thought "hey I might have a good character voice" If Leonard Cohen and Dylan can sing their songs, why not me? So the enclosed song is me singing. I like some 40's style chord progressions and could if you want sing a song I wrote which is Cole Porterish called WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ROMANCE? (indeed) Lately as said I spent time in Berlin and while I was there for 6 weeks wrote about 100 songs, not all of them great but Im happy with some of them. If I could share some of them and perhaps sing some I feel happy with Id appreciate it. Its good to have people hear what you do

Songwritings a tricky thang and one goes thru stages. Ive found to just say it like it is somehow, just say what it is youre trying to say. Keep it simple although sometimes chord progressions can be complex. Its all a bit like life eh?! simple and complex