|
PETER MULVEY TEN THOUSAND MORNINGS: "Peter Mulvey is not only an extraordinary fellow but a walking repository of other people's songs, delivered at live shows as whim demands and invariably in some altered tuning so far out that nobody else will know it yet." - MOJO
To Peter Mulvey, there is no such thing as a straight and narrow path. At least, not one that he has any interest in taking. A live-wire on stage, Peter Mulvey is an acoustic singer/songwriter/guitarist who, in fact, defies this categorization. His ferocious guitar playing whisks him through more tunings than he has fingers available. This can be witnessed in the course of any one evening’s performance as Mulvey winds his way from full-throated rockers to deceptively plain-spoken musings. Whether solo or with long time musical collaborator David Goodrich at his side (coaxing unearthly sounds out of electric guitars and mandolins), Mulvey is someone who just naturally commands a stage.
"Peter Mulvey is one of the most accomplished guitarists you're ever likely
to hear… utterly original… it is nigh on impossible to explain
him to the uninitiated… his intelligent and sometimes complex songs
engage both hemispheres of the listener's brain… one of the finest,
most complete entertainers… stunning." - Peter Mulvey's story is that of the college graduate hailing from Milwaukee who moves to Ireland in the early nineties with guitar in hand to play on the streets of Dublin. Peter hears that acoustic music is booming back in his homeland; Boston seems to be the place, so he returns to the U.S. A. In between the occasional paying gig, Peter Mulvey performs his music in the subway to pay his rent. As a result of his hard work Peter wins the prestigious Acoustic Underground Competition and awes both the audience and the press.
"He simply blew away the competition… A year of subway performance
has turned him into a magician. In twelve minutes, he blended wit, passion,
a clear voice, and a sensational guitar style that was both technically complex
and emotionally hot… Mulvey was nearly incendiary, the clearest
star-in-making." Then what? Peter gets a record deal, manager, booking agent and starts to tour, building an audience and a discography that is both steadfast and impressive. In between building his career as a singer/songwriter Mulvey has written and performed music for theatre and modern dance (Sam Shepard's A Lie of the Mind, Amiri Baraka's Primitive World, and for The Wild Space Dance Company), penned articles for national magazines (Acoustic Guitar, Performing Songwriter, The Writer). Peter has also worked as a voice over artist contributing to various documentaries. His own compositions have been placed into both film and television soundtracks (The WB drama Felicity, independent films Origin of the Species and The Fisherman, the PBS documentary Wisconsin, An American Portrait). As if these credits and his own songwriting weren't enough, Peter Mulvey has, over the course of his career been noted as a fine interpreter of other artists' songs. Known for subverting the mere idea of a "cover song," Mulvey consistently injects his live shows with innovative interpretations of songs by other artists everyone from Radiohead to Tom Waits, Fats Waller to the Waterboys. Although past albums have always included at least one or two cover tunes, Mulvey has selected a dozen songs by some of his favourite songwriters and recorded them on his new album, Ten Thousand Mornings. And Mulvey brings it all full-circle; to record this album, he returned to his old stomping ground - the subway stations of Boston, Massachusetts. A major label would have laughed in the face of any musician wanting to record an album in a subway station - it's not slick, it's not polished, it's not how things are done. It is, however, what Mulvey calls "hands-dirty art" and it's exactly how he likes it. With five albums under his belt, Peter Mulvey's road is pretty well worn. He's clocked over 300,000 miles on his car, averaging about 200 shows per year in North America as well as Ireland and the UK. All the while, the music just keeps getting stronger, the critics continue to rave, and the audiences continue to grow. It's an organic process, to be sure, but it's one that has worked well for Mulvey. Flirtations with mainstream success continue to come his way but Peter Mulvey keeps his head down, his hands on his guitar, and continues to do what he wants to do. And being with an indie label Acoustic Roots gave Mulvey the freedom to do just that - to record Ten Thousand Mornings his way. Peter Mulvey's album Ten Thousand Mornings is graced with some very special guests including Chris Smither, Jennifer Kimball, and Erin McKeown. The selection of songs carefully chosen by Peter are from the pens of fellow songwriters and include compositions by Randy Newman, Gillian Welch, Elvis Costello, Dar Williams, Paul Simon, Marvin Gaye, Leo Kottke and Lennon & McCartney. The CD also makes use of an innovative new technology called HyperCD. The web-based, enhanced-CD element embeds a five-minute video trailer on the album that listeners can play on their computer. The video, which features footage of Mulvey playing and recording in the subway, is, in fact, a preview of a full-length DVD that will be released in 2003. Unlike prior enhanced-CD technology, HyperCD makes use of a web-based interface that allows users to interact online with other fans while viewing the video footage. Clearly, there is no such thing as a simple path for Peter Mulvey. Year after year, he keeps his hands and mind occupied with his own songwriting and performing, as well as innovative side-projects, and continues to build a steady following that succeeds in flying just under the radar of mainstream media. But as long as that following continues to buy records, turn up at shows, and fervently support his unique brand of intelligent acoustic-rock, he'll simply keep doing these things that he loves to do, his way.
Discography: 2000: The Trouble With Poets 1998: Glencree (Out of print) 1997: Deep Blue 1995: Rapture 1992/1994: Brother Rabbit Speaks & Rain Two CD Set of Early Recordings
[For further information and review copies of Five Stories please contact Pat Tynan] Pat Tynan Media Office: +44(0)1895 636935 Mobile: 07985 400297 An associate of SingSong Entertainment Publicity
http://www.singsongpr.biz/
|
