January 26, 2005

Interview with Martie Peters

We all have a path we travel in life, we dream of who we want to become as children, struggle to find ourselves in adolescence and with any luck find a niche to flourish in as an adult. Martie Peters has found his niche and has believed enough in himself and his music to continue following his heart in the down times and stay grounded and realistic in the good.

The new MPG album is a huge step in Martie’s progression and the start of what I hope to be a long line of great music. I know that Martie is very excited for people to hear the new songs and to show them first hand that he is a rock and roll star, just liked he dreamed of, fought for and maintains!

The newest album simply titled “MPG” is fresh out for you to enjoy, but if you want to try it out be sure and stop by the Juke Box section here!

1. Listening to your lyrics it seems that I have known your voice forever but I have not, and with that in mind I would like to ask you to introduce yourself, Martie Peters, the man behind the music.
I was born and raised in the Copenhagen area (the capital of Denmark) and this is where I got into music in the mid 1980's. I started my own band (called Sateria) with some good friends and we fooled around as a coverband for a few years until one day we thought we were kinda cool so we wanted to become more serious and write our own songs. We were hit and inspired by the hardrock wave of the 80's and we ended up as a glamband and we tried to look as Poison and Pretty Boy Floyd. We did record an album but it never got released, however last year someone told me that it was up for sale at Ebay, so obviously it's out there as a bootleg called "Cold Beer... And A Hat Full Of Fun". In 1992 the scene changed and so had we, I needed to do something else so we parted ways and I formed a new band called PUSH in 1994. We released our debut album in 1996 on a small Danish label and then we signed to Z Records in the UK where we released 3 albums from 1998 to 2002. The band split in 2001 and the last PUSH album was done with some help from some friends before I left the label in 2002.

I guess you can say I have paid my dues musically - which is why I feel ready to be on my own.

2. I think it is also fitting to ask you to introduce your new band, MPG (The Martie Peters Group), and perhaps tell us some of the story of how the line-up came to be.
Well, this was always meant to be a solo album and I wanted to cover as much ground as I possibly could, so I invited different musicians to join me. Martin Slott who played guitar on two PUSH albums is the main guitarist, René Shades plays guitar on a couple of tracks - he and I were together in the Sateria days and he was recently part of Mike Tramps tourband. Anthony Lledo is a multi-musician who plays keyboard, bass and guitar on the album, I have known
him since we were in high school together. Drums are played by Jesper Werner, another guy I was in high school with. When we had finished the album it was time for me to put together a band for when we hit the road. Martin Slott on guitar, BJ on bass (he also plays on two tracks on the album), Jakob Schlein on drums. We have played a few warm up gigs and this outfit is tight and dangerous!!

3. Your new album MPG is causing something of a buzz in the music world, what feedback have you been getting from those who have heard the music and what are your hopes for this January release?
Well, I wanna sell some albums, ha, ha! So far the feedback has been tremendous, when I was picked up by MTM, I was thrilled that they loved the material. I have played a few tracks for long time PUSH fans because some were worried that I might turn into a singer/songwriter but when they heard that I still kick a**, they were delighted as well. And that really is the best
criticism you can get, when diehard fans are pleased, then I know that I am still doing something right!
MTM have good distribution here in Europe and my hope is to hit the road about the time the album comes out so we can boost album sales a little bit. Hopefully this will rebuild my name and image within the rock world.

4. This is your first solo album and as such it must be very rewarding and satisfying to you. How has the recording process been for you on this album, is it something you've enjoyed, and do you plan on more releases under the MPG name?
It's been great! Very relaxed, whenever someone had the time and was in town we met for sessions. The album has been in the works for more than a year but there were never any signs of panic, I was just happy that I could do whatever I wanted to and get my way with almost everything, ha, ha!! MPG is my new band and I hope to release many albums under this name!

5. There are 11 tracks on this album and a bonus 12th on the Japanese version. Is there one of these songs that is your favorite that you could share the story with us and why it is special to you?
The opening track "The Beast Inside" came out very well. The big chorus just works so damn good and Slott's guitar solo on this one rocks! The main secret though, is the clever keyboard playing by Anthony, changing chords at times when the guitars stays raw lifted the song into the skies - this is classic heavy metal when we play it live!!
Another one that I am very pleased with is the ballad "Takes Some Time". The same personnel as on "Beast" and the same magic feeling musically. The lyrics are very personal and describe what I have been through recently in my private life.

6. Are you planning on any touring to accompany the release of MPG? Along with that, what areas would you really enjoy touring to help support this album?
As I said, we hope to tour Europe around the time of the release, which is January 31st, so people should watch out for us - we intend to kick some serious behind!! I would love to tour the US but it is so hard to go financially. But never say never, if the chance comes along I will grab it. And
I am always open to ideas...

7. Prior to this release you spent almost ten years with the band PUSH before deciding to go solo. What can you tell us about this decision and how you feel about it looking back?
We had taken PUSH as far as we could. There is no way we could have done some of the stuff that I am doing now + I felt pretty locked in that band. I did most of the songwriting anyway so I thought, what the hell, I might as well do it on my own. We argued a lot and it just killed my creativity and I think that some of the other guys suffered as well because it was my ideas we pursued most of the time. But it was a good ride, we certainly had some fun, and we had our moments musically. I am very proud of most of the songs from the album "On The Run" from
2000 - that was our best moment. And we all enjoyed a drink as well...

8. Is there a possibility of another PUSH album in the years to come?
Right now I would say NO way, but as I said before, one should never say never... I doubt the demand will be there though! I have my new band with Slott, I heard Kasper is doing something, who knows what DaRic is up to these days, we'll see, he, he!

9. You have had the chance to perform with one of the great icons of AOR music, Mike Tramp. Would you tell us a bit about that experience and what it meant to you?
I have known Mike since 1989. René Shades and I contacted his mother here in Copenhagen, because we wanted some tricks on how to become rockstars (can you believe that??) and she invited us on a trip to Hamburg, Germany to see White Lion and meet Mike and the band and we have been close ever since. I have done backing vocals on some of his albums since 1999 and then recently we go the chance to open for him and his band here in Denmark. It was a great experience, just a shame that the release of my album wasn't earlier so I could have joined him for the whole tour!

10. What other artists out there would you like to work with someday? Perhaps you could give us the line up for your dream band.
It's no secret that I am a big Rod Stewart fan - I would love to write a song for him one day, maybe even sing a duet... There are many people who would be fantastic to work with - but to tell you the truth - to have my own band, release albums with my own music and to tour is a dream come true!! I really couldn't ask for more than this.

11. Your step to go solo is a big move in a successful music career. As someone with experience what words of wisdom do you have for today' aspiring musicians; those individuals looking to follow in your footsteps and make a name for themselves in the music world?
You really gotta believe in what you do - if you don't believe no one else will. Don't follow trends, just follow your heart. I have been making hardrock when it was so out of fashion that people laughed in my face. But I stuck with it because it's who I am, you can't change because of someone else. Now times have changed and all of a sudden it is ok to be in a rock band again. I don't really care, as long as I feel good about what I do - that would be my advice!

12. And, last but never least do you have a closing message to all of your fans?
First I want to thank you Kathy for spreading the news about MPG!!
To the fans: I hope you enjoy the album when it comes out in January. If we play in a bar/club near you, come out and have a drink with us - I promise a night of pure rock and roll - after all, that is what we live for!!

See you soon,
Martie

Posted by Kathy at January 26, 2005 05:20 PM