Peter Elkas Online

Strong Enough To Light Up the Horizon OR Austin-tascious

2006-08-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,

I should have been in touch a lot sooner, but me and the boys have been recording a new one, and boy, I think you'll like it. Mr. Charlie Sexton is the producer on this one. He came up to Toronto about a month ago where we recorded ten bed tracks. The vibe is very live and fun, the band having recorded almost completely off the floor (live). I don't want to reveal too much because, well, just because. You know what I mean. I'll put together a studio retrospective when it's all done. There was a lot of documentation and so you'll get the full picture soon enough.

I'm currently in Austin, Texas where we are finishing up the recording and mixing. I arrived the day before my birthday. We set up in Charlie's house, where it is very relaxed, and got to tracking the last few (actually quite-a) instruments and vocals. You may not know or remember Charlie Sexton, but he is one of the most incredible musicians you will hear. He's a guy who was taken under the wings of the Vaughn brothers, Stevie Ray and Jimmy, here in Austin, back when he was just young. He went on to do his own stuff, play in the Arc Angels, and then become a highly sought after collaborator and producer. He's been regaling us with stories from playing with Bob Dylan. He's a hilarious mimic, by the way; his Springsteen is amazing even if it is a little offensive to yours truly. In any case, Charlie's the man. He hung out at Ted's Collision with us every night after our Toronto sessions. 'Ted's! Ted's! Ted's!' we would chant upon nearing the day's end.

The players on the record are the usual 'holics: Doug, Jeff, and Gavin. They all kicked gigantic ass. I was the weakest link, by far, and should be completely ashamed to put my name on the cover. Unfortunately for them, I ain't ;)

Anyway, I want to load up a bunch of photos and stuff for y'all to check out (yes, I say "y'all" now - as well as "reckon"), then I will elaborate on what's been taking place.

I'm here for another couple of days, then I'll return to the grind. My grind is barely a pat, but it's my grind.

I sincerely think that you will like what we have done. I can't wait and am extremely excited for you to hear it.

Y'all's truly

Peter xox

Recording with Mystery Producer, Going to England, but not with Robert Englund.

2006-05-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Woah! Been a while eh? Let's not get any more comments about work ethic, 'cause the proof's right here in this pudding. I don't work hard on blogs.

So what's new is that I am going to be recording very shortly. What's been taking so long is that there is a special someone coming in to produce this album and it's been taking quite some time to figure out. At first it looked like he was doing it for sure, then like he maybe couldn't, now looks like for sure. In any case, I'm excited to work with this man. He is a phenomenal guitar player, and great producer. Projects in which he has worked include: The Arc Angels, Bob Dylan, Lucinda Williams, Los Super Seven, and more. He's also a handsome devil. I want to see if you can figure out who it is. I would just tell you, but I feel like I will jinx the thing if I do. So try to guess and pipe in here or on myspace, or yell it out the window. There are too many options these days. We are getting into the studio this summer for sure and it will be the soul record I have always wanted to make. I can't wait.

There won't be too many shows to speak of this summer because of the recording. Sorry. Come to the Rivoli in Toronto on June 22 though if you can, and looks like a show in Ottawa at Maverick's on June 30th with the Burt Neilson Band. Good times for sure.

Also, guvnas, I am going to play solo across the pond in London, England for three shows at the beginning of June. Check the site and myspace for details. I must say, I am very excited. The only other time I was in London was in grade 10 for a class trip. I ran across the street at one point, nearly being struck by a double decker bus. Mr. Newman yelled, "IDIOT!!!" He already had a major hate-on for me, telling me I was queer for wearing a baseball cap on the plane and playing volleyball (not on the plane, but for the school team). I should have told him to go fly a kite at the time, but I was probably already planning my campaign to run for student body president the next year (in Quebec, grade 11 is senior year; one then goes on to CEGEP, two years between high school and University) and so I think I just kissed his butt and agreed that I was, in fact, a weirdo and an idiot. I guess it's possible that I may share the stage with Ron Sexsmith there in London, as he is playing the Bloomsbury theatre on the 7th and said that he'd try to get me on the bill. That would be neato to say the least.

This weekend I'll be sitting in with the Joel Plaskett Emergency on Keys and 2nd guitar! Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. I can't wait to see that guy. He's been touring his butt off and will be kicking butts as well.

I'm gonna go now, Keep it real and read the latest issue of Wax Poetics. It's got Bill Withers on the cover and a great interview. You may have thought, as I did, that Bill was no longer with us, but he ain't not. He's just been keeping keeping-on like I had hoped he might be, being a normal guy.

Mr Newman, go fly a kite.

Peaghter

Bluebird North Tour

2006-02-27T10:32:00.000-08:00

Hi guys, I'm home. Just cleaned up my apartment. My parents sold their home in the West Island of MTL, and so my tiny living room now looks like the one I grew up with, only sort of trash-compacted (the actual trash helps roud-out this look). I spent a good part of last week hangin' with some great artists on a touring songwriter's circle called Bluebird North.

Hosted by Shari Ulrich, this leg of the tour featured me, Emm Gryner, Dave Gunning (possibly related to Ben Gunning), and Andy Stochansky. The Montreal date also featured Jonathan Cummins and Cardinal Offishal.

It really was a great time, considering the fact that I really only knew the other artists on a heardofthem basis. There were many laughs and over two days together I earned the reputation of a drinker who could sink the boat at any time. Great. First impressions don't really last though, do they?

Alanna showed up at the Ottawa show and we did Turn Out Da Litez with piano. It was a special one even though our harmonies rubbed a little here and there. We'll get those bugs out though.

I have to go right now and I want to post these photos. They are from the Ottawa show at the National Archives and one is a bunch of us rockin' milkshakes afterwards.

bye ai yaye!

Pete

Song suggestions and Live stuff

2006-02-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Just so you know, I am seriously considering the suggestions that a few of you have posted for song re-recording. Awesomely enough, they are all songs I thought of too. Also, I gave the live material to the chap who is resposible for posting it, so look forward to it soon.
P

Go ahead and Fuse me

2006-02-11T07:45:00.000-08:00

On February 7th, Alana Stuart and I recorded an episode of a show called the FUSE on CBC radio in Ottawa. The idea is that one artist collaborates with another in front of a studio audience and they broadcast it. I don't think that our show will air until the spring or something, but it was a great experience. Jeff and I went down and practiced with Alana, Heather, Ben Mullin (guitar), and Pho (turntables) the night before and then again during the day of the session. We then recorded for about 90 minutes (60 of which will be broadcast). I think it went very well. Alana's songs came together great, and having four part harmonies on some of my stuff doesn't hurt. Especially when Alana's singing. Even the interview portions weren't so brutal. I tend to worry about an audience's capacity to care about what my writing process is, or what drove me to take on a solo project etc, but I think I might have kept it light enough to keep eyes from rolling. Anyway, the photo you see is taken from the session. Enjoy and be good.

Peter

Photo of Alanna

2006-01-27T13:47:00.000-08:00

I love this photo. Beautiful Gal. Just thought I'd share it with you. Don't forget about telling me what song you would like to hear re-recorded on the next album. You might think that's a bad idea. Just remember: many, many, many people never heard those songs.

Petah

Man, I can't stop publishing friggin' blogs!!! AND Question for you people.

2006-01-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

Here is a shot of Alanna and I fronting our soulrock band called ELKAS.

So, as I was saying in my last entry, we're making a new record that should be pretty neat when it's all done. There are about 13 songs sitting there right now. I'm not sure that all the members of the family are there. I need at least one more really upbeat thing. It's pretty mellow as of right now. Here are some titles:

Sweet Nancy
Wall Of Fire
Willpower
Fall Apart Again
Sunlight
Darling, See
We Can Always Take it Easy
Beating Heart

and many more!

Anyway, I hope that you like it. I was thinking of re-doing something from Party Of One, because that thing never really saw the light of day.

QUESTION
In fact, maybe people can let me know what song you would most like to hear re-recorded if any at all. I would prefer to have all new stuff, but let me know. Some have said to do In My Den again. I dunno what do you think?

I guess it can feel like homework AND New Band name

2006-01-27T11:58:00.000-08:00

Maybe I don't enjoy typing as much as I once did, or I just seem to doubt that people really read this stuff, but I don't know the real reason why I never update this blog. Anyway, here's an entry:

It's now 2006 and been quite a while since Party Of One became available to Canadians. It was released in September of 2004, and it was sat upon for nearly a year before then. That said, I am excited to tell you that I have been working on a new album for a little while now. As far as when it will come out, I am not totalini sure. I hope that it will be your summer music, and with the way the music's developing, I think it would fit that bill. That show 'Falcon Beach' seems to think Elkas music is frolic-worthy; 'In My Den' is appearing in the 6th episode (I think) of this, their first and most excellent season. I hope that the main hunkerino is totally rockin' a wakeboard while it plays. Anyway, if you catch it, let me know.

I tend to get thinking that not much has been happening, but there have been things. Party Of One will be released in France soon on a label called Bad Reputation. Apparently, they listen to music on baguettes over there. Neat, eh? A deal has also been struck with a German label called Tapete. The band is getting tighter all the time. It's still me, Doug Friesen, Jeff Heisholt, and Gav Maguire (Jeremy Little from the Burt Neilson band has subbed for Doug on bass a couple of times when Doug had better things to do - Doug's gotta start recognizin. namsayn?). Most recently we opened for Feist and my buddies Paso Mino in Ottawa, and we had our friends Alanna Stuart and Heather Piche singing with us. They were sounding amazing and adding a foxiness that is all too absent from our show. Alanna sang lead on some verses - we traded off for Turn Out the Lights. She also appeared with us at Maverick's the week before. It was very much a dream come true to have back up singers. It's such a thing that one imagines while daydreaming in the back of a stinky van, plotting a solo career, thinking it ain't never gonna happen. Alanna is unofficially joining the band, so expect to see and hear her along with us on our next tour. No big plans for that yet. The record will come out first, and then we'll hit the road. I am trying to write some things with her in mind, so this next record will be pretty vocal heavy.

The other thing is that when Feist introduced us at the Capital in Ottawa (she and her band were just amazing, by the way), at the last moment I asked her to introduce us as 'ELKAS'; not Peter Elkas, or the Elkaholics (which I do still love, but people don't get the pun). So that's going to be it. The band is called ELKAS, like Van Halen, or Feist for that matter. So let's get 2006 started off right and start saying things like: "I can't wait for the new ELKAS record", or "Who's coming with me to see ELKAS? I got a bunch of free tickets and there's nothing better to do", or, if you are a band member, "I play in ELKAS. The lead singer is Peter Elkas, but he's not the boss of me. In fact, Doug goes where Doug damn well pleases. If I want to go to the National Gallery, then that's where the hell I'm going", and lastly, "EL-KAS! EL-KAS! EL-KAS!" at shows, namsayn? You've always wanted to chant it like that, but you thought that my head would get bigger. Now you can say it loud and proud even if you are only a fan of, say, Doctor Jeff.

I'm going to go and add another post right now so that it looks like I'm posting tons of shit on this thing. Somebody said that my work ethic was embarrassing, and that I should pull the blog if I don't update it. Well, my work ethic is embarrassing; I will admit that. Hopefully you'll forgive me and keep coming back. I want to completely re-vamp this site. It's going to be freakin' amazing. Not unlike the promises that Omnibot™ once made and fulfilled, this thing will make your goddam bed, get you a drink, rub your feet, listen to your day's stories (really listen - like, even form opinions that it will keep to itself until prompted for input, because www.peterelkas.com is not overbearing and actually cares about your feelings), offer to go back to the car for the thing you forgot, take your tired, hungry, snarkiness with a grain of salt, because it will know that you didn't mean it, put up with you when you're drunk (and high - you know how you get when you're stoned - it's impossible to have a conversation with your paranoid ass), and pretty much "be there" for you. I dislike that expression, but it's what people say when they mean emotionally available.

See you in the next entry.
Peaghter

Still Aflame

2005-11-18T17:04:00.000-08:00

Hi all y'all,

I am a tad embarrassed to check in after so long. I've been busy working on new stuff. It looks like I've got about half the record recorded, and am working on the other half. All the boys have been working on it with me: Jeff, Gavin, Doug, Don, and Ian McGettigan producing. I think it's going to be a little more acoustic than the last one, but it grooves a little more. Lyrically things are strange because it seems like relationship stuff is a little boring to me these days and I'm nervous to tell you what I think about social issues. Maybe it will just be a party record. I dunno. I just got the reissue of Springsteen's Born To Run with the Hammersmith Odeon concert from '75. I have been waiting my entire life for such a thing. I have clung to a shotty hi-8 bootleg of a '78 concert in Passaic NJ for years as my portal into Bruce's youth. You should check this BTR thing if you can.

My roommate Tim and I wrote a pilot for a show based on a family of suburban toughs which took up a little of my time. Shows have been fewer and further between as P.O.O. gets older, but it looks like this next one is going to get a bit more of a push, so I'm sure I'll be in your faces again before you know it.

The band is getting tighter (both socially and musically) all the time, but you know what? We still don't have a proper name.

Let's get some suggestions happening.

Go for it.

begin.

Now.
p

Back from the west

2005-07-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,

I'm just back from the West touring with KOS again. It was a good time. I bounced around BC on those little propeller planes and rode on their tour bus for a spell. Crowds were good to me. I was solo again. I gotta tell you that I am really looking forward to the band tour that we're doing in September. We are also going to be in the studio recording new schtuff in a bout a month. In the meantime, I'm taking some time to write and starve. Got a new love, so expect some lovey things on the next one.

I'll try to keep in touch a little more.

ciao
Peabo

I've been tied to a chair.

2005-05-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

Hi friends,

I'm sorry that I haven't been updating the site at all in the last while. I am sitting in Halifax right now, a few hours from taking the stage at the Rebecca Cohn theatre with Joel Plaskett for a 'family and friends' show. I'm not doing any of my own tunes tonight, but it's going to be a great way to wrap up our alone and toghether tour.

It was a pretty long 7 weeks. I don't think I've ever done such an intensive tour before. Joel and I were rocking a bitchin' 89 Camry (grey on grey). I think what I'll do is I'll copy some stuff out of my diary (which I, of course, bailed on halfway through the tour) onto this blog. It'll be easiest that way.

Right now I have to go, I promise to report back very soon.

Pete

tsunami relief party SATURDAY JANUARY 29th.

2005-01-27T09:55:00.000-08:00

Hey dudes, I will give a run down of the KOS shows in a minute, but check this out:

Monumental Sans Frontiers

Please join us at Monumental Sound Saturday January 29th at 8:00 for a concert to raise money for the work of Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders. As you know the generosity demonstrated to the victims of the tsunami has been overwhelming. Médecins Sans Frontières is working not only to support those touched by this immense disaster, but to remind you that there are other disasters around the world that don't have a news camera on them. In the Congo, 150 000 people, the same number that was killed by the tsunami, die every 5 months, and this is only one example of a nightmare our fellow human beings are enduring out of the view of CNN and CBC. MSF responds to all crisis around the world, and we would be delighted if you would help us, help them.

The concert will feature

Skydiggers and Cash Brothers

Peter Elkas

Jessy Bell-Smith

DJ Sky

To get in, the first 100 people to make a donation of $25 or more to the MSF general fund (https://securemsf.ca/forms/donateNow/main.aspx?lng=en) and then email a copy of your reciept to party@monumentalsound.com get on the list and you will receive an email invite to the party. We'll send out another email when the list is full.

Three down and like, 10 to go.

2005-01-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

Anyone catch any of our shows with KOS so far? St Cath was meeehh, London was woooo!, Kitch was hmmmm.

What do you think? What's your favorite way to digest these tunes?

Let me know, it's important stuff.

Pete xoxoxxo

Hey, I'm still alive

2005-01-04T07:46:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

I'm off on tour again with K-OS for three weeks. all the dates are posted in the tour section. You should come by if you are near any of these dates. One that was just added is tonight, the 4th at Isaacs in Ste Catharines at Brock U. We will have the whole band for the 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th. Other shows will be Duo action - me and the doctor. Hope that your Holidays were all kick ass and everything. I will try to update this thing a little more frequently this year. There will be a lot going on. I will let you all know as it happens.

See you soon!

Peabo.

"Chaos with KOS" OR "Where the hell was Pete in Waterloo?"

2004-11-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,

I guess I haven't updated this bastid in quite some time. Need some pictures on this bastid.

So dates with K-OS: some of the most fun I've had on tour. I was either completely solo or duo with Jeff Heisholt (tha Docta - on keys and backup vocals). We were opening 2nd after Shawn Hewitt (great singer - also alone or with his pal, Jones) and then some nights with Graph Nobel and her buddy Adrian. In any case, it was a serious pleasure to share the sage with such serious musicians. If you caught any of these shows, hopefully you agree that K-OS' band is top notch. I think that the listings on this site were not quite up to date as they may have changed aong the way.

My apologies to Juan who expected me to be at Laurier in Waterloo on the 5th, I wasn't there because I had been double booked.

There were some other dates that had been added later as well, such as Guelph and Fanshaw in London which were not posted; sorry.

Anyway, The first of these shows took place in Vancouver where, upon celebrating alone backstage after an okay solo set in front of 1200 people (I didn't barf), I cut my finger on a goddam Heineken top and had to check out the emergency room. It wound up being fairly minor, but I think the staff wanted to make sure that I didn't need stiches. St-Paul's 'Emerg' (which is what we say in Canada, we do not say 'ER') was both figuratively and literally sobering. There were some serious down-and-outters in that place that had it much worse than ol' Peabo.

After that, I started to get used to what the bill was about. K-OS wanted a real music event, and that's what he got. He trusted his audience enough to know that, for the most-part, they would listen to the openers. They did.

Doctor Jeff (not anyone from the emerg, but Jeff Heisholt) said, in reference to our instrumentation, that when you take away drums from a crowd that mostly appreciates beats, that the music may fit into a broader range of tastes. I liked that theory; it seemed to apply at all the gigs.

Jeff and I tried to see how messed up the car could get, so we vowed not to clean up until the last show. It got to be like the trash compactor thing from Star Wars. In fact, I had to fight an Ewok or something.

There is actually a lot to mention from this tour. We got to jam with the band on the last show where I tried to have a guitar duel with Russel, Kevin's guitar player, and he would have none of it. I tried to squeeze in a 'bwouain' in the midst of his 'nirdiddledadirnirnirdweeewiddlediweeeesquouain!', but I don't think it phased him one bit. Jeff rocked K-OS' organ and we had a blast.

I hope that if you have picked up P.O.O. that are enjoying and sharing it with your friends. I guess people might be burning it and such, but maybe you might want to buy it as a Christmas gift for somebody. Trust me, it makes a difference to me if you buy it. I think you know that in the end, I just want as many people to hear it as possible, but if you worked really hard on something, and I thought it was worth owning, I would buy it from you.

I will sign off with that, I will be at the Commodore ballroom in Vancouver again this weekend (Friday the 19th) with K-OS, as well as in Kingston on November 30th with Joel Plaskett (both solo).

Juan, don't be mad m'fren.

Hope to see you soon,
xxxxoxoxo
P.

Last day at work

2004-10-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

So it looks like this is my last day at my job for a while. I'm going to try and focus mainly on music. I was just down in the courtyard up here at the MedicAlert building on Sheppard ave in Toronto realizing that I will actually miss my time here. Everyday I take the subway to its bitter end at Don Mills station and then walk over the Don Valley Parkway where I inevitably begin singing . I don't know if it's all the brains zooming by in the cars beneath me, but something happens on the overpass where I am filled with ideas for lyrics and melodies. Typically, I don't take note of any of it and then it's forgotten. What I wish I could forget is the movie 'Forgotten' which I saw in Kingston last weekend. It's like a bad episode of X Files. Maybe I'll just keep coming up here to cross the overpass anyway.

So me, Doug, Gavin, and Jeff are going to open for Colin James on Sunday in Bala.

I know what you're thinking: "Pete, why don't you challenge him to a guitar duel?" Well, fine. I will.

When he busts out his first lick, I will say, "Colin, why'd you lie?!" (like his song), then I'll call his lick and see it with a riff. He won't know what to do. He'll be all like, "It's been 5 long years since I've heard a riff like that!" (like his other song), then he'll self-destroy (Benvie says that his ex-girlfriend's dad insisted that there was no such word as "destruct").

In any case, I'll give him something to have the blues about.

Beyond that, We're opening for Ron Sexsmith on some dates in October. Check the tour page.

Is P.O.O. still in your player? Listen to it backwards, there is a secret message. It says, "Stop trying to tell me the bright side of Lenny Kravitz".

Go outside.

P xoxoxoxo

Back from tour with album in stores OR Album release coming up at Revival in Toronto.

2004-09-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

HEy friends,

Well, I just came back from tour with Matt Barber as an opener and as a member of his band. Gotta love the double duty; more opprtunity to play guitar which is why I'm in this to begin with. The East was beautiful but rather uneventful this time 'round. Plaskett filmed his DVD at the Marquee in Hali; that was quite radical, dude. Looks like Party Of One is finally officially out in the stores. I hope that if you are in need of a copy that you might cruise down to your local whatever and pick it up. Boy, am I regretting the album cover. I should have figured that even a minimal Rob Samberts reference in a review or by drunk bachelor partiers in New Brunswick would bother me. Who, but an egomaniac like me, puts their own goddam face on their album anyway? Oh well. Hopefully the tunes make an impression. Maybe I can shave the cover.

So we're doing this release party weekend starting the 14th of October with some dates before that. I hope that you will come to some of the following dates:

Thursday, September 30 - Montreal - Pop Montreal (Umbrella Music Night) - P'tit Campus 10:30 (Full band of Elkaholics)
Friday, October 1st - Kingston - Grad Club - (with Waking Eyes) - (Full on Elkaholism)
Sunday, October 3rd - Kingston - Alfie's opening for Craig Cardiff - (solo)
Thursday, October 14th - Toronto - Revival on College Street - OFFICIAL PARTY OF ONE RELEASE PARTY featuring DJ McGettigan.
Saturday, October 16th - Toronto - Horseshoe Tavern opening for Skydiggers
Sunday, October 17th - Toronto - In-Store performance at Soundscapes Music on College street (probably 8ish).
Wednesday, October 27th - Ottawa - Capitol - Opening for K-OS
Thursday, October 28th - Toronto - Opera House - Opening for K-OS
Friday, October 29th - Montreal - Club Soda - Opening for K-OS

All these dates should be cool. I am so happy to be doing the K-OS dates. Something different for me. That guy is very open minded. And what a record his new one is.

So, got any favorite tunes from P.O.O.? Questions about the recording? Any actual musical conversation? What will we all be for Halloween? I will be bawled out by angry parents saying I'm too old to be trick or treating.

Let me know what you think.

P. xoxoxo

Long Time Coming

2004-09-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

So I just got the final, manufactured copies of P.O.O. I am so excited. There is a hilarious printing error that I hope you won't notice. Maybe you will. Anyway, I am taking off on tour with Matt Barber and the Union Dues back East (check the dates on the tour page) and I'll have the full length album available for sale off stage. This time, for sure. Just so you know, I will be appearing solo for the most part.

I was wondering how to make this Blechg more interesting (that's what MAD magazine would call it), and so somebody mentioned ask questions, that way people leave comments and such (I'm trying to say and such instead of and shit lately).

What type of questions should I ask?
Go.

C'est What?

2004-08-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hi people,

If you came to the show on Saturday at C'est What thank you very much for listening. It was great having Dave Clark up there with us playing the drums. He definitely took us on an incredible adventre or two at points during the set. The guy can show you things about the tunes that you didn't even realize. What a priviledge to play with that kind of player. Also, his hat rules. at one point during my unbelievably slick stage banter (I should be speaking at corporate events for crying out loud; did you hear how cool it was the way I said 'thanks' a whole bunch of times? or here's a song called"____"? Man, too awesome), I made an inside joke about Doug and I know that some people were a little offended, thinking that I was abusing my bass-man. The professor and I are all cool and I don't think he's fat. It harks back to abother gig in London where I said that he 'is the heaviest bass player around', meaning he's great, and then realized that it could be interpreted as he's fat. So, kiddingly, I said 'in more ways than one'. He laughed, I laughed, everyone laughed, maybe because it was obvious that I didn't mean it that way. In any case, I wasn't trying to be mean when I said it this time. I will not try to replicate spontinaiety ever again. Also, chill out.

In other news, I may be going back East (back East, out West, down South, and up North okay? I don't want to hear any of this out East. Nobody says down North) with Matt Barber in September opening solo as well as being in the Union Dues. Should be fun, when I get dates, I'll let you know.

Ciao, Pete. xoxoxo

Plaskett + Elkas = Plaskas

2004-07-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

The tour with Joel was great. If you were at any of the shows, thanks for coming and hopefully you enjoyed this rare opportunity to see Joel and I play solo. I must say, Plasky has become quite the story teller. The Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield where one could hear a pin drop was a definite highlight. Hugh's room in Toronto where I tried to string the stories of my tunes together so that it made a mini folk-opera (this failed to be entertaining even to me - hopefully folks were into the performance anyway), was a veritable treat to play. The heartbreak of running over a squirell in the prairies was disolved through Joel's re-telling of the story on stage and adaptation of the song 'Work Out Fine' to reveal the rodent's perspective ("the car showed up, the car showed up, I never thought it would crush me..."). Truth be told, it's still dying on the highway. There was nothing we could do.

I know that we hope to do it again, keep your ears and eyes open for any signs of it in the coming months.

Love and sandwiches,

Peabo xxxx.

Maple just got hotter. I mean fatter.

2004-07-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

Yo! I am very happy to say go look at www.maplemusicrecordings.com and watch the little flash movie. You'll see a certain beardo making his mark. This is fun.

SHOW WITH SLOAN July 31 at Kee to Bala in Bala, On

2004-07-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Hi lovely ones,

I will be appearing with Sloan in Bala on July 31st. My band will consist of the Professor (Doug) and none other than Nathan Lawr on drums!

Come on down and party with rich kids!

I am allowed to sit at the cool table.

2004-07-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

Friends,

I would like to officially announce that I have signed with Maple Music Recordings, home to Joel Plaskett, the Dears, Pilate, and many more. They have agreed to give the Party Of One full length a home and feed it breakfast every day.

I can't tell you how excited I am about this, as I have been waiting my ass off for the record to come out.

So it will appear in stores in September, but I will have copies with me at shows beginning with my tour with Plaskett. This means that if you reside between here and Saskatoon, you can procure yourself a copy before the end of July.

I hope this music will become part of your personal soundtrack. The kind of thing where you are walking down the street eating a sandwich and you hear that "papa papa popo popo" opening drum roll of party of one, and all of a sudden you are in super cool slow motion and every bite is some kind of deliberate, kick ass thing.

Can't wait.

SHOWS

2004-06-24T12:12:00.000-07:00

Okay,
I'm playing with Matt Barber on August 14th at C'est What in Toronto
as well as with Royal Wood on August 27th at Rivoli in Toronto

Should be cool.

I played last night at this Pontiac Quarterly egghead event which fun, but so goddam mellow, even for me (the theme was 'sedation', go figure). My friend K-Os was there with his girlfriend who was saying that the song Party Of One would be a good soundtrack for suicide. She did mean it as a compliment. Safe to say, that's one of the heavier things I've heard about my music. I don't intend to cut down on the 'whoa-is-me' because that's what I like, but if this sentiment is shared, don't get any wise ideas about the point of no return with me as your audio-guide to the next level (which may very well only be 6 feet below the ground we dig for oil in, anyway).

Show at the Drake Hotel Tonight, June 23!

2004-06-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hey dudes,

I guess I'm playing a little show tonight at around 10:30 at the Drake Hotel here in Toronto on Queen street. Should be good times. My friend Rob Benvie is reading from his new book, The Safety Of War. Come on down and check it out.

Full band, dudes. It'll be fun. Come on, seriously.

Peabo.

First post by me

2004-06-18T06:20:00.000-07:00

Hey Friends,

Looks like I'll be leaving inspirational nuggets for you to celebrate after my death.

Today's word is: "funcentive"

A guy at my work actually wrote that on a white board during a brain-storming session. Brilliant.

A la prochaine,

Peabo.

Welcome to the Peter Elkas Web Log

2004-06-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

This is the place to get the news, views, and goods. Here's what's coming up...

From here, I'll let Pete take it away.

Webmeister