Published: July 18, 2010 5:46 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight July 2010 Edition
Pete Kendal
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Pete Kendal
Check out our new interview with the UK Singer/Songwriter/Guitarist Pete Kendal who explores his role in the music industry in this week’s music spotlight.
Isaac: Let’s get started with this interview. When and how did you first become interested in music? How long have you been playing music?
Pete: My mother used to have the radio on at home in the background most of the time and my first memories of music were of hearing the pop songs of the time playing on the radio. I would have been 7 or 8 years old I guess. I was given a guitar for Christmas when I was about 10 and I’ve been hooked ever since.
Isaac: Who would you say are your biggest musical influences and why?
Pete: Well, so many people say the Beatles are their biggest influence and I’m no exception. I do however remember a time before Beatles and I was initially very influenced by the guitar playing of Hank Marvin of the Shadows and also by Elvis, the Everly Brothers and Paul Anka.
Isaac: What has been the greatest highpoint in your career so far?
Pete: My career has been outside of the music industry unfortunately but I have always played guitar and written songs. I have had some success in international song contests. I had a finalist entry in The Great American Song Contest in 2009 with my song, “Where on Earth” and have had various honourable mentions in other contests over the years including the annual Unisong competition.
Isaac: What has been the greatest disappointment in your career so far? What did you learn from that experience?
Pete: I suppose that my greatest disappointment has been my own failure to dedicate myself totally to pursuing a career in music when I was starting out. I guess that I sacrificed my dream and committed myself to an unsatisfactory and unfulfilling conventional business career.
Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?
Pete: I really don´t know. What I really mean is that I don´t really know what type of music that I do play. When I have to categorise individual songs by genre I have a big problem because I cannot listen to them objectively and judge where they figure in the general scheme of popular music genres. To me, they are all different and impossible to type set.
Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?
Pete: It takes, above all else, a need to be creative and a belief, against all odds, in the product that emerges. There is no guarantee of any success, in fact, the probability is that cost will always exceed income – but you carry on regardless in the belief that one day you will write a truly great song that will conquer the world.
Isaac: What do you think you will create that will make your performances and who you are stand out in the music industry?
Pete: It´s that great and elusive song again and the desire to influence an established performer to want to use the song to make a hit record. My strength is in writing and producing. I need a strong vocalist to be inspired by my material and take it to a higher level to produce a synergy of added value.
Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do one cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?
Pete: One of my all-time favourite songs is Peter Green´s “Man of the World”. It is such a haunting song and succeeds in telling PG´s sad life story in the space of about 4 minutes. It is a staggering achievement and if I did a covering version I would try not to change a thing. You cannot improve on perfection.
Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?
Pete: You have to be a dreamer. Songwriting is really just a manifestation of daydreaming. Mostly it´s not too serious. If you take it too seriously it all falls apart.
Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.
Pete: It´s like living in two different worlds. The family, work, and everyday life are reality and the music is fantasy and escapism. The two worlds have an uneasy but generally tolerant relationship so long as neither oversteps the mark!
Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?
Pete: The Indie concept is a great liberation for writers and artists who have not yet been able to make a living from their music. The age of electronic communication enables unknown musicians to get their music heard on the air in a way that was totally impossible just ten years ago.
Isaac: Where can fans access your music online?
Pete: My music can be heard on Jango, NoisyPlanet, MyMusicSite.com, Banana Peel Radio, 1FM and Indie104. It used to be on UnderWorldMixRadio.com but last time I looked I seem to have been dumped!
