I wasn’t born or raised in Montana. I probably won’t die there either, unless I go pheasant hunting with Dick Cheney. But I did go to Flathead High School and I consider Kalispell to be home. There’s been a lot of water under the bridge since 1966, the year I graduated. This album is my homage to Montana. Some of it comes directly out of experiences I’ve had there. Some of it doesn’t. You can chalk the rest up to good ole fashioned lament, I suppose.
As for "Brown Grass Music":
When I called Paul Scholten of County Q Productions in Nashville, I told him I had an album I wanted to do (in what we know these days as) “unplugged.” He said that was great, that he loved cutting records that way, sort of like “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” I responded; “well, let’s just say I want to do the album unplugged.” I’ve always thought of my favorite country music as being more along the lines of white trash blues, but I didn’t especially want to reveal that to Paul at the time. So I sent him the work tape and he charted out the tunes for his hand-picked blue grass studio band to play on the album. When I arrived in Nashville and went into the studio, Paul told our sound engineer, Rob Matson, that we were going to spend the day cutting a “brown grass” album.
Okay. I can live with that. Maybe that’s a little more flattering than “white trash blues.” Maybe it isn’t. Either way, it’s heartfelt and that’s the point. Enjoy it.
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SAID OF PETE WILKE'S MUSIC:
George Peden, COUNTRY STARS ONLINE:
"Who said lawyers don’t have a sense of humor? Pete Wilke, who pays the bills using his law degree, and fuels his creative passions with country music, hits the funny bone early with the opening lines to geographical homage in the liner notes to Down From Montana.
'I wasn’t born or raised in Montana,' says the legal adviser to independent film-makers. 'I probably won’t die there either, unless I go pheasant hunting with Dick Cheney.'
Well, that had me laughing.
And Wilke’s album made me think.
For a guy who’s sartorially regal, prim and proper, oozing syllable rich from his legal web site (www.pwilkeindieatty.com), Down From Montana offers distance from the façade and gristle of law. The gavel’s gone, replaced with a guitar. The Armani suit flung for worn Wranglers. And cold legalities come replaced with a mate’s view of life and love, all shared with mellow honesty. It’s a personality revelation Wilke morphs into easily.
The album only took one play to grab my attention. It only took two plays to hook me. And with only three plays my early advice is obvious – this one’s a keeper. Wilke is a singer of substance. He’s lyrically sound, offering common and honest insights into cracked lives, losers with big thirsts, and the steady comfort of worn and reliable boots. He may be corporate, but his cowboy heart beats loud.
Move beyond the opening track, a respectful rural nod to Montana, where Wilke defies the grammatical with 'counteereeeeeee' as a lyric (it rivals Reba for fractured vowels) and you soon hit music he calls brown grass. He calls it traditional country with a twist.
'The Fool Has Struck Again,' where a tongue-tied male offends rather than comforts, is sure-fire radio fodder. With Wilke’s Down From Montana Band, a neat and tight five piece combo with a leaning to fiddle and steel, the tune brings band, singer and writer well into the spotlight. But rather than Wilke being a dud with an album of only one, possibly two repeat tracks, the surprise comes when you hear tunes like 'Barstool Cowboy.' Misery loves company and this tune, fiddle propped and harmony-rich, tells of a loner, lost and brooding, down on his luck and looking for acceptance with strangers. It’s sad. But look out into the crowd on any Saturday night anywhere and you’ll see the lonely, fingering an empty glass. A refill would be nice. A friend would be better.
'I’d Already Taken The Fall' and 'I’ll Never Stop Crying' are hurtin and achin’ fare, while 'My Hornback Cowboy Boots' (an album standout) tells of the losing side of life for a guy who’s ducking and weaving, saving his sanity with the only thing of which he’s certain – his old hornback cowboy boots. And reflective thoughts are passed on down, as a dad ponders aloud to his kid: 'I don’t know what I will do/ When you move away/ Could we pause and savor this/ Maybe you could grow up/ Some other day...' Again, Wilke brings style, honesty, and a depth in his voice and lyric that warms and wins.
We came in asking who said lawyers don’t have a sense of humor. On the closing cut, 'Sweet Talkin’ Man,' Wilke proves he has...or he’s brave. 'Get offa my back and roll onto yours/ I don’t wanna hear about me doin’ no chores/ Take the young ‘uns to school/ Fry me some eggs/ Get in the bathroom /Start shavin’ your legs...' It’s a party tune, has to be, right?
For a late-in-the-year arrival, Pete Wilke, the corporate cowboy, has found himself on my most-played list. He sings in a mellow, unobtrusive way; he writes in the understood language of the working man and his melodies are made for campfires.
His board meetings must be fun."
George Peden, COUNTRY STARS ONLINE
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"Pete Wilke's vivid story-songs...run a gamut of real feelings - from tender and warm to angry and hurt to ultimately triumphant and celebratory."
John Roos, LOS ANGELES TIMES
"Wilke's songs cover a wide range of the country spectrum...everything from rousing honky-tonk to tears-in-the-beer weepers."
John McElligott, Jr. ORANGE COUNTY WEEKLY
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Singer/songwriter Pete Wilke’s first public foray into country music was when his stage production, “Country! The Musical,” debuted at The Crazy Horse Saloon in Orange County back in the late ‘90s. A cutting-edge piece of environmental theater, the show thrilled audiences with its 6-piece country band and 6 actors who played the parts of waitresses and patrons, wandering the room as their stories unfolded, occasionally surprising an audience member by sitting down at their table to deliver a song! Creator of both the book and the 20 songs (all recorded in Nashville), Wilke was heralded as a meaningful songwriter: “Mainly through Wilke’s vivid story-songs, this impressive musical makes you care about the fate of its everyday-folk characters”; “Pete Wilke’s lyrics, book and music poke gentle fun at and pay tribute to the stereotypes of the country-music world without having to resort to parody, rather with humor and occasional pathos, both of which come across as genuine.” And so on. The stage show went on to a second later run at the Crazy Horse, followed a few years later by a filmed version, “Country Rules,” shot predominantly at Buck Owen’s Crystal Palace in Bakersfield. An experimental piece, it’s currently in post-production.
But not one to wait, Wilke decided it was time to put his own vocal spin on his songs, picking his favorites from a deep repertoire of material that runs from current to way-back-when! Cutting tracks in Nashville reunited him with producer/arranger Paul Scholten, resulting in a collection of songs that stand out in their authentic traditional-country interpretation, sung simply and knowingly from the writer who penned them. Wilke’s warm, expressive vocals will surprise those who’ve only known him as a songwriter, and country-music lovers (and others!) will surely find Down From Montana a heartfelt expression of life that belongs in their collection.
DOWN FROM MONTANA:
Music & Lyrics by Pete Wilke
Lead vocals: Pete Wilke
Back-up vocals: Lorraine Devon Wilke, Pete Wilke
Music produced and arranged by Paul Scholten
Vocals produced, mixed and mastered by John Perez
Back-up vocal arrangements by Lorraine Devon Wilke
Music Sound Engineer: Rob Matson
Vocal Sound Engineer: John Perez
Players:
Drums, Percussion: Paul Scholten
Acoustic Guitar: Steven Sheehan
Banjo, Fiddle, Guitar: Joe Spivey
Steel: Russ Pahl
String Bass: Don Kerce
Music produced at County Q Productions, Nashville, Tennessee
Vocals, mixing and mastering at Audioworks, Glendale, California
cd & tray card photos by: Dillon Wilke
www.birdyindustries.com
graphic design/other photos & web design by: Louise Amandes
www.weezieworld.com
Special thanks to: OB's Grill & Bar, Manhattan Beach, CA and Susan Willick for supplying the location for the album photo shoot.
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