Pete Price Music

Song Notes; Pictures In Time

 The songs from Pictures In Time constitute a rough chronological progression through the life of a person who has searched for life’s meaning. Moving through early trials and false starts into a life where love, forgiveness, and peace of mind find greater abundance. All the while, facing an uncertain future where solid answers are elusive but the desire to follow the path and to give it one’s all remains.

 House of Mirrors is a song about what holds us back in life. There can often be external circumstances but quite often, it’s our own inner security guard keeping us from becoming our best selves. It takes a lot of work not to heed those calls to stay in your comfort zone or that you’re not worthy to do what you dream of doing. Breaking out of that self imposed prison can change your life!

 The Balance was written about the work-life balance which can be so elusive to so many of us. In the U.S., we often define ourselves by what we do, but that too can be ephemeral…especially in this day and age of multiple careers and the “gig economy”. Still, there’s a distinction between occupations and callings. Balancing a life’s work with a relationship can be very difficult.

 Better Angels I set out to write a “story song” and Better Angels is the result. I started with the words “Better Angels” and wrote a song about some poor guy who can’t forget a past relationship and wants to “get back his girl”. He goes through a mental wrestling match, knowing that trying to reach back out to her will probably be futile and he battles the fear of doing so. He finally summons the courage to call her only to get her voicemail. Most of the story takes place in his imagination and whether they ever even talk again is unresolved. 

 Hellen and Grace is a song about duality. There’s a light and a dark side to each of us and they often battle for supremacy. Written in the first person, the protagonist is torn between two lovers; one (Hellen) who is wild, mysterious, and loves the nightlife and the other (Grace) who is sweet, honest and caring.

 I Think I’m in Love is a song about a guy who’s going along minding his own business and all of a sudden, he meets a woman who changes his entire life. That guy is me. I met the girl of my dreams and 25 years later we’re happier than ever!

 Box of Stones was written about my relationship with someone close to me, and was my attempt to end an estrangement. I had hoped that in hearing this song, it might open a door and create an opportunity for healing. Unfortunately, this person passed away during the pandemic and I’m not sure if she heard the song or not. Fortunately, it has helped in reestablishing better relations with her extended family. Box of Stones is a metaphor for the grievances we harbor. If we expose them to the light, maybe we can stop carrying them around.

 This Time was written one morning when I woke up with the line, “This time it will be different” on my mind. That morning, I had the discipline to head straight for the guitar and notebook (even before coffee!) and I roughed out the lyrics and melody in a couple of hours. This song came mostly all at once, although I circled back to write the bridge to it later. It’s a song about having the right to reinvent yourself. You have no real responsibility to be consistent, although you should always try to be kind and ethical.Those who knew you as a certain kind of person have no right to expect for you to remain that way, although they have the right to take you or leave you at any time, whether you stay the same or change. 

 The Willow My oldest song on the album. This is a reprise of a song originally recorded with The Fries Band in the 1990s. It’s a song about loss and longing.

 Second Chance was written several years ago and is a song of gratitude to my wife who rescued me off the trash heap and gave me a second chance at love. It should resonate with many couples who didn’t find happiness or permanence in their first marriage but struck gold the second time. My wife and I have talked about how great it would have been if we’d met earlier in life, but I still had some growing up to do, so the fact that we met later was probably fortunate.

 Long Lake is written about my favorite place. A lake in Wisconsin to which I’ve been going since I was a kid and through good fortune am still able to go to. It’s a place where time has stood relatively still. There’s no television or central heating, and very few modern comforts of home. It’s a place where you can really spend quality time as a family. Some of my best memories are associated with Long Lake and I tried for years to write a song I felt was worthy of the place. I finally settled on trying to paint pictures with words as my lyrical approach.

 Till the Wheels Fall Off I worked as an auto mechanic when I was a teenager, so I was around cars and people who loved cars at a formative age. The term, “I’m gonna drive ‘er till the wheels fall off” usually connoted running a junky car until it died. I guess I’m the junky car in this song and I plan to run myself hard until the wheels fall off!

The Road Ahead was my attempt to write a song that’s more musically sophisticated than most of my songs. It’s written in 3 movements; a slow tempo instrumental intro section, then the main body of the song containing most of the lyrics, and finally, an outro which has a strong instrumental component to it. The lyrics describe following the path of life, not knowing where your final destination is but just staying on the path. Looking for answers and finding some but understanding that there may be no ultimate destination and life may come to an end with still more questions than answers.

Pictures In Time was recorded and mixed by Jeff Tutt. 

The Price Brothers Band played all the instruments on the album. They are; Casey Davis Lead Guitar, John Lardinois, Violin, Steve Phelps, Drums, Pete Price, acoustic guitars and vocals, Dan Sage, acoustic guitar on Long Lake, Allen Seals, Mandolin on This Time, Matt Scholp, Bass, and Jeff Tutt, Keyboards.

Song Notes From Department of the Interior

Diamonds in the Sky is my “anthem” for this album project. I dedicated myself to the creative path and the process rather than to the outcome. Because of the melody line and chord progression in this song I felt an overdriven electric guitar sound with a B-3 organ would enhance the lyrics and chord structure. This song and all the Nashville songs were recorded at Direct Image Studio and were engineered and produced by Ken Royster. The session musicians are all top notch, extremely creative, and very fun to work with!

The Crossing is a song about self-acceptance. When we’re very young, we’re blissfully unaware. As we age, our egos develop and along with it, our defenses. As we get into the later phases of life, hopefully we can return to living with greater freedom and honesty. John Lardinois’ violin work on this song took it to an entirely new level and Matt Scholp’s bass playing is reminiscent of Neil Young’s Cowgirl in the Sand. All the Dayton songs were recorded at Dayton Sound Studios by Gary King. I used the Fries Band rhythm section; Matt Scholp on bass and Steve Phelps on drums and congas for all the Dayton recordings. I played acoustic guitar and sang lead and harmony vocals on all the Dayton recordings. Gary Knight (Fries) sang backing vocals on the Dayton recordings. On The Crossing, I also used Casey Davis (Duke Junior and Smoky Boots) on lead guitar, Nick Kizirnis (Mulchmen, etc.) on rhythm guitar, and Henry Mays (Fries) on organ.

Before I Go I took John Lennon’s thought – “Imagine there’s no heaven” and decided that if that is possible, then our ability to “live on” might only reside in the memories of those who knew us. The protagonist of the song tries to atone to the ones with whom he has fallen short so that hopefully, their memories of him will be good ones. The Wurlitzer sound played by Johnathan Brown on the intro created a cool hook and the string sextet was recorded in New York by James Mills when he recorded his version of the song. This song was recorded in Nashville and I had major help from James Mills with the arrangement. James graciously allowed me to use his production of this song.

Common Ground I call this my 21st century protest song. It’s simply an appeal for political compromise. There’s a need for citizens who see merits on both sides of the political argument to become more engaged in finding common ground. I used the 50th commemoration of the Kent State tragedy to show that we’ve been bitterly divided before but every once in a while, we come together to get things done. Maybe we can do it again. I wanted a fiddle to play the theme for this song and it wound up interplaying nicely with the biting sound of the Fender Strat. Common Ground was recorded in Dayton and features John Lardinois on violin and Allen Seals (Southbound / Ludlow Creek) on lead guitar.

Green Flash is a love song I wrote for my wife. It talks about how we had searched all our lives for each other and finally met in early middle age by random chance.    I had the opportunity to rework Green Flash and offer it as a wedding song for my daughter. Green Flash was recorded in Nashville and Tania Hancheroff sang the duet with me. John Willis added beautiful acoustic guitar fills.

Old Movies and You is definitely a song about loss but is it about the end of a romantic relationship? Is it told from the perspective of a surviving spouse? The takeaway is that when you have the opportunity, you have to tell those special people how much they mean to you. You won’t get another opportunity once they’re gone. From an arrangement standpoint, this was as close to country as I got with the electric dobro and the baritone guitar. Recorded in Nashville

I Love Soul and I Love Rock I wrote this as a retrospective on my early musical life and how I was drawn to music. The roots of rock and roll emanated from blues and so many of the early pioneers of rock were African American. A song about how the power of music can bring us all together. I wrote this using a technique in which I modulated from one chord to the next using transitional chords. It moved the arrangement away from straight ahead 50’s rock to something a little more modern. Mike Rojas is all over this recording with cool rock piano and horn samples. Nick Buda’s drums sounded phenomenal on all the Nashville recordings. He’s such a dynamic player. Recorded in Nashville

Foolish Heart is about how rational thought is so often overpowered by raw emotion. We know what’s good for ourselves but at times, we’re powerless to act in our own best interest. Classically trained Henry Mays played some beautiful piano parts and Nick Kizirnis added lead guitar dripping with his trademark tremolo. Steve Phelps added both congas and drums on this track. Recorded in Dayton.

Taste of Freedom is a song about loving, losing and learning. Dealing with the hurt and anger of a broken heart and grasping for silver linings and lifelines no matter how tenuous they may be. Learning that from the ashes of lost love, green shoots of ongoing life will surely grow. Trey Stone added the perfect feel with his trademark honkytonk piano, Casey Davis added his biting Telecaster to add more than a little “attitude” and Hal Melia put the icing on the cake with his amazing tenor sax performance. Recorded in Dayton.

Legacy of Love  A song about love itself….true, selfless love. Even though Legacy of Love and Before I Go were written more than 10 years apart, Legacy of Love provides a clue for the protagonist in Before I Go. Songwriting has changed my life and by writing and performing this song, I met my wife. This has a samba rhythm. Mike Rojas did a wonderful job orchestrating this song and I very much enjoyed adding some out of the ordinary backing vocals to the song. Recorded in Nashville.

Let It Go A song about bad timing and then the healing power that comes with the passage of time. The arrangement has a bit of The Cars (Just What I Needed) feel to the beginning of the song and the harmonies and counter melodies are reminiscent of the Beach Boys. Recorded in Nashville.

One More Time is an autobiographical song with a little poetic license thrown in. It tells a story of a performer who is contemplating the end of his performing career. He’s having trouble getting psyched up to go on stage night after night. He tells himself the lie that if he can get through the night’s performance, it will be his last. All the while knowing that in the morning, he’ll be ready to do it again. I wrote the lyrics to this song first. Shortly after, I was putting away a guitar tuned to the tuning CS&N used to play Carry On and had the idea to try to make a chord progression using that tuning. Over the period of several months I was able to build the song into a southern rock flavored, CS&N meets Lynyrd Skynyrd arrangement. Dave Francis on bass really lead the way on this out of the ordinary arrangement, and Jon Conley on lead guitar and Mike Rojas on organ dueled it out with amazing solos towards the end of the song. Recorded in Nashville.

The Nashville Musicians are Nick Buda, drums (Taylor Swift), Jon Conley, lead guitar (Kenny Chesney) Dave Francis, bass, Mike Rojas, keyboards (Former Country music keyboardist of the year) and John Willis, acoustic guitars. Jonathan Brown played keyboards and Jason Eustice sang harmony vocals on Before I Go. All the musicians have too many credits to mention. They’ve all played on #1 hit records.

Ken Royster, engineer and producer did a wonderful job of coaxing the best vocal performances I could give and did a masterful job of recording and mixing the songs