Peter and The Pets
WARNING: This post has 500 links in it and I expect you to follow every one of them. ;-)
When I was 16 I worked in a record store in Ann Arbor, MI called Schoolkids’ Records. I was totally enamored of a band called the Replacements who came to visit A2 and Schoolkids’ often because Paul Westerberg was dating a woman who worked there (they were later married, and then later divorced). My underaged friends and I often snuck into a local bar, Joe’s Star Lounge, to see them. I should say that this was under the watchful eye of its wonderful owner, Joe Tiboni, who made sure we didn’t drink but got to enjoy the music (sorry, Joe, we brought our own).
ANYWAY, The Replacements played there a lot before they broke big and I remember them covering a song called “Another Girl, Another Planet” that I thought was amazing. I thought it was by them but soon came to find out from their manager at the time, Peter Jesperson, that it was by a band called “The Only Ones”. Sorry, Mpls friends, at this point I am done talking about The Replacements.
not The Replacements
Being the burgeoning, always-hungry music nerd that I was at the time, I bought their first record, loved it, and then bought every single Only Ones record I could get my hands on and devoured them.
At this point, I should probably acknowledge that if you’re not already a fan, you may find that the Only Ones are a bit of an acquired taste. But frankly, I find that a fair amount of things I really like, music, food, and art-wise, are things that I’ve had to warm up to.
I will say this, though, this man right here is one of the most unique and intelligent songwriters I’ve ever come across. He writes incredibly candidly about the human condition with a recipe of wit, venom, and more than anything, LOVE. His manner of songwriting is utterly unique. If you don’t already know him, I’d like to introduce you to him, his name is Peter Perrett.
Note: I don’t know if those glitchy streaks on this pic are intentional or not. I like them, though. Also, what a cool dude.
So, teenage me absorbed all of this music, some of it dark, some of it heady, all of it lyrically very measured and considered despite the fact that he was battling various addictions when he was making it in the late 70’s early 80’s. The only thing I can connect him to as far as guessing at his influences would be The Velvet Underground. A funny aside: Chris took the notion to bash Lou Reed on Facebook and had to reckon with Peter Perrett chiming in and chiding him for it, HAHAHA! At least Peter was gentle, he seems to like Chris, as so many of us do. Anyway, he’s pretty darned unique. I listened to these songs until they become like old friends, with all of their flaws and facets. These were formative years for me, and I have to say that Peter Perrett is one of those artists who I feel has become part of my DNA, I absorbed so much of his work. There are many lines from Only Ones songs that pop into my head almost daily (for example: “I don’t have the energy, you might say things get pretty tranquil with me” hahahaha!). Too many great lines to even begin rattling them off here, but those of you who are in the choir I’m preaching to know this. ;-)
Me at the tender age of 16 or 17, circa 1985, happily doing grunt work and getting a great music education at Schoolkids’ Records in Ann Arbor, MI.
Pic by my old pal Jim Erwin
As a photographer (yes, even when I was a teenybopper), one of my favorites by the Only Ones was the B-side to “Another Girl, Another Planet”, a song called “Special View” about spying on his lover with a telescope (not as creepy as it sounds).
But Peter’s work stopped rather abruptly in the early 80’s when the Only Ones broke up. It had stopped before I’d ever even discovered it. I knew he was still out there, he would briefly appear in some obscure music news, and then disappear again. Any news about him was always accompanied by updates on his struggles with addiction. This being said with no judgment from me. As most of you know, both Chris and I walked the same path in another era.
What does “Sick as a Perrett” even mean?
But Peter Perrett is a smart man, and he somehow managed to defy the odds. He credits this to, lovably enough, LOVE. Peter has been married to the love of his life, Xena Kakoulli, for over 50 years now.
From an interview he did a few years ago, after the release of his first record in MANY, MANY years:
“It was my family who drew me back into music," Perrett says. "They rehearse upstairs from where I live. I'd hear them rehearsing and they'd come down and say 'Why don't you come up and play, Dad?' "
Perrett hadn't picked up a guitar in years. "I got refocused and disciplined," he says. "My life had changed, and I started living a more orderly existence." Songs poured forth: 40 of them from the summer of 2015, pared down to 10 for just his fifth album in 39 years.
"I've always believed in quality rather than quantity," he deadpans.
About that “fifth album in 39 years”: So, fast-forward A LOT to 2017. I had long since given up on expecting any more music coming down the pike from Peter Perrett. I had tracked him down on social media and was very happy to find him alive and well, but I was pretty sure I’d just have to be content to keep those old records close at hand and be satisfied with that. When a friend and co-worker of mine mentioned that Peter had a new record out, I felt both excitement and trepidation. What if it was awful? My friend assured me that it wasn’t. Chris tracked it down on vinyl shortly thereafter. It’s called How the West Was Won and it’s stinkin’ GREAT.
In true form, he comes out SWINGIN’ with his assessment of the state of the United States:
It's how the West was won
It's how the West was won
Head on the spike of a gun Like you’ve always done
It’s 100% Peter Perrett, with the wonderful addition of his sons, Peter Jr and Jamie (“If my sons were rubbish musicians, I wouldn’t play with them”) and better audio production than ever. I can’t recommend it highly enough (link below). Shortly thereafter Peter released “Humanworld”, which I love even a little MORE than its predecessor because the human world was really starting to go off the rails when he was writing for this one, and he has a lot to say about it. The song The Power is in You is beautiful and hopeful, reassuring us that we humans can turn this mess around because the power is in us, and then it goes straight into a song called Believe in Nothing that pretty much expresses the polar opposite. Personally, I really relate to that mental ping-pong with regard to our current mass predicament. I listened to the whole record while driving around the other day, and it just made me happy, even the darker bits.
I could go on all day about how happy I am that Mr. Perrett is still himself, that he has retained the best of himself and of his craft through all of these years, but I feel my work here is done. In the interview linked below, Peter says, “Unfortunately telling the truth is like an affliction. I find it impossible to tell lies.”
I’m guessing that this is why he’s still able to make music that matters. At least it matters to me. :-)
photo by Phil Sharp
If you are interested in these new releases, please consider BUYING them. I don’t begrudge anyone using spotify, but we all know that musicians who aren’t Taylor Swift don’t get ANY money for their work that is available there, so when we can we should do the right thing, yes?
Here’s a great interview with Peter, rife with wry, wonderful one-liners.
extraordinary-story-ones-peter-perrett-man-whos-just-discovered-internet/
From another interview: “I’m what most people term an extremely political animal”