A Dirty Dozen with PETE EVICK – November 2023

According to a recent press release: “Guitarist and singer / songwriter PETE EVICK, best known as the lead guitarist and band director of the Bret Michaels Band has released a new single today, “For Whom It May Concern,” the latest in a string of single releases that Evick has undertaken in the past year and will continue to do in the foreseeable future.” We get Pete to discuss new music, influences, and more.

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Well there are 3 current songs I’ve released, two covers and one original all have interesting things to me, about them. “99 Red Balloons,” I used the Van Halen volume swelling technique he used in “Cathedrals” to great the sound at the beginning. “Boys of Summer,” I switched the key of the song to be able to sing it in a lower more conversational way. “My Best Days,” I intentionally wrote and produced it to sound like it was off of the Bon Jovi New Jersey record.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

My mom was a huge Elvis fan and tried to inspire me to play, but I saw KISS on tv in 1978 and that was it.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

The Van Halen 5150 album and tour was the starting line to pave the way to who I’m still evolving to be, Both Sam and Eddie had such an impact on me at that time that the excitement and fire of hearing that record in 1986 has never left me.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Well… since it’s my job to do it with Bret Michaels, I guess I have to pick someone else but it would certainly be him under different circumstances, So the next person in line is Sammy Hagar, simply because I love his voice and what he’s about.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

I’ve recently become incredibly interested in overloading, tent camping and the whole “Survival” world.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to yu before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

I’d say my music is a mix of the hard rock party elements of Van Halen and Poison with the story telling songwriter lyrics of a Mellencamp / Bon Jovi feel, Also some very heavy Goo Goo Dolls influence. So 80’s with a touch of 90’s pop rock.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Truth of the matter is I’m a super recluse these days, I don’t really hang out. Not out of anger or anything bad it’s just who I have become.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Paul Rudd, I was on the set of Impractical Jokers and he walked in to watch the filming, Bret was a guest on the show and brought me along, and there I was in the “Green Room” just me and ANT MAN, it was amazing.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Best part is making people happy or making their day better. At this point in my life I think I’d be a toll booth operator on the bay bridge in Maryland, I could sit there by myself all day and stare out at the water.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

That’s tough, Maybe the question would be “what’s the most important lyric of all time to you?” Which would be “DONT WANNA WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW, WHY PUT IT OFF ANOTHER DAY” from Van Halen’s “Right Now.” It basically IS all you need to know in life, THATS HOW TO MAKE IT, in whatever you are trying to succeed in. I have no question I am tired of, I’m grateful anyone has any interest in me at all.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

When I was in my band Some Odd Reason, we were playing originals to try to make it and covers to feed ourselves, we would play a club in Panama City called Club Lavela, they would hire you for 7 days in a row, and we thought, how great we get paid to play at night and we will write and work on music all day, and over and over again we just partied the days away, we could have written that one HIT SONG but no, we didn’t.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

5150, It was a magic time for both Eddie and Sam, they created youth into each other as they were both getting older, They were happy and making music for the sake of making music, and I would have given anything to watch them rediscover themselves as they created the greatest band in history.

PETE EVICK LINKS:

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Category: Interviews