Album Notes

"TO START OFF, THE STATE OF A GENRE": When the subject of my music comes up I find most people are more than just satisfied with what they heard and experienced from me and the band. I guess the general description for my music would be called "Americana", but even that term has it's debaters. When i'm asked I just call it what might describe it best to those who need a label - "AMERICAN URBAN-PRIMITIVE FOLK", but to me, it's just,"music".HIGHLIGHTS:
I count myself lucky to have toured and recorded with members in and around the pioneering group the "Byrds" and was part of some of the founding members spin-off bands. Some are gone and some are still here with us, but all my friends, whether dead or alive, will always hold a special place in my heart as my friends, brothers, and mentors."THE BEGINNING":
But before this, In another world, there was a time when those who came to, or from the streets of “Little Italy” where I was born and raised, had two life choices: Working for the mob, or being one of the faceless immigrant laborers upon whose backs the great city of New York was built. That is, until the birth of Rock & Roll! That's where option number three came in, and, that's where I come in. As soon as I could, I headed straight away for the nearby New York bohemian mecca of “Greenwich Village”. Man, I never looked back! I was playing the clubs and coffee houses every day backing up some pretty amazing and well known artists, most of whom I grew up listening to. From early afternoon till 4 am every day. I was sleeping in Washington Square Park and peoples floors till I eventually ended up in the infamous Albert Hotel. All the while being constantly exposed to the best that Rock/Roots/ & Folk music had to offer as music came drifting out of clubs, windows and up the air shaft at the "Albert". It was an "adult dose" for anyone, especially a kid like me; that's what Levon Helm called New York City, and no truer words were ever used to describe it!
I enjoyed and survived my years as a sideman in the "Village", Till a friend called me to come out to California to play in a band, where, not long after arriving, me and a couple of my band mates back then met and started playing, with the legendary Gene Clark, producer Tommy "Kontos" Kaye, then the band changed players but I stayed on to play in a couple of more bands with Gene C., Byrds drummer Michael Clarke, and with too long a resume' to list here, my good friend Mike Hardwick from Austin Tx. I also played and collaborated on another band with multi instrumentalist /singer/songwriter and master machinist, as well as an ex-Byrd, Gene Parsons."REBIRTH": After years working and touring with both Genes, and too many players to mention individually, I decided to follow up on what Gene C. had prompted me to do all along: Write my own songs! which I did and followed it up with touring as a solo artist nationally, then took some more time just after the millennium only to emerge once more, note book in hand, my bag filled with new songs."THE PRESENT":
At present, my writing continues, (I'm pretty excited about this new batch of songs). Meanwhile my good friend Wade has been helping with my web, and myspace sites, while my recently acquired manager Stuart is helping me set things up for this upcoming year. Till then we hope to see y'all soon.Peter Oliva