Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
MUSICIAN TO WATCH
The Maine musician to watch in 2007 might just be 23-year-old Pete Kilpatrick.
Raised near Boston, he's made Portland his home for the last four years and has spent that time establishing a huge and loyal fan base. He began in the local clubs, and immediately gained a reputation for a strong pop voice that seems to remind some people of John Mayer, some of Pete Yorn. His guitar playing, both acoustic and electric, along with his song-writing, show a guy with obvious talent.
Kilpatrick, who has a band but also plays solo, released his third album in August, called "Louder than the Storm." The album has gotten rave reviews all over the Internet, and features appearances by fellow Portland-based musicians Spencer Albee of As Fast As and Adam Gardner of Guster.
He also had some heavy-duty producing help, from Jonathan Wyman, and also from Adam Ayan at Gateway Mastering Studio. Even though Gateway is in Portland, its clientele includes some of the biggest names in pop music, from Bruce Springsteen to Eric Clapton and lots in between. Kilpatrick is yet to be signed to a record label, but continues to attract attention with his music and his shows.
In the past year or so he's shared the stage with such prominent acts as Guster, Gavin DeGraw, Blues Traveler and many others. On Jan. 26, 2007, he'll play the venerable Paradise Rock Club in Boston.
- Portland Press Herald
By Aimsel L. Ponti
If "Bringing Angela Home (Emerald Eyes)" isn't the prettiest and best song I've heard in a while, I don't know what is. Even better, it's in among nine other superb ones from the brand spanking new Pete Kilpatrick album called "Louder than the Storm."
Kilpatrick plays acoustic and electric guitar and has a voice that reminds me some of Pete Yorn, and that's a compliment for sure.
Kilpatrick also invited a few friends into the studio, including As Fast As' Spencer Albee, whose keyboards add killer dimension to most of the album's tracks. Guster's Adam Gardner also sings and plays on the record, as do violinist Angela Doxsey and others.
Besides the layers of musical depth to this record, Kilpatrick's songwriting is star-quality. "Standing alone on the sidewalk searching for luck in the raindrops, I'm trying to find a way out of the carnival," he sings on "Carnival in the Rain," which is a slow, moody and certainly arresting song.
The pace picks up during "What She Sings," an upbeat number about perseverance in life's stormy weather. "The darkest nights in March will soon be the brightest days in June, and if your heart forgets your name, I'll be there." "Louder Than the Storm" closes out with "For the Last Time," a desperate plea of a song in which Kilpatrick's voice rises and falls with the emotions of the lyrics. Yeah, I completely love this record. Pete's CD release show is Saturday night down at Space.
- MaineToday.com
Now here's a guy who understands there's nothing wrong with opening for Hilary Duff. That's right, Portland's own most-likely-to-have-his-cheeks-pinched pop star got 45-minutes on the same Tweeter Center stage as the Disney diva last weekend, taking advantage of a shot at a bevy of potentially adoring teenage fans. Last year's Louder Than the Storm continued Kilpatrick's run to three increasingly successful forays into the world of winsome pop-rock, helped by his production guru Jon Wyman and a year's worth of wearing last year's Best Act crown.
Appropriately, Kilpatrick was joined on stage by bassist Matt Cosby, who took home his own Best Act as part of Jeremiah Freed in 2004. Lately, the pair has been courting As Fast As's Zach Jones, who's been in town and playing shows with Kilpatrick since January, and has his own BiMPy from a 2005 win for Pop-Rock Act (again, appropriately). Jones was in the crowd sporting a nice grey suit, but didn't make it up on stage. Kilpatrick seems to be attracting talent, and for good reason: the time to move his career forward is now. He might even be settling down a little. There's word that kittens have taken up residence in Kilpatrick's pad. Yes, kittens!
- Portland Phoenix
Discography
Halfway Home (2004)
Yesterday Love (2005)
Louder Than the Storm (2006)
"Owl and the Hedgehog" from Louder Than the Storm was in high rotation on WCLZ 98.9 FM (AA radio) following the album's release
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
“Portland [Maine] has the biggest crush on Pete Kilpatrick…the new star of the [Maine] music scene,” says the Portland Phoenix. And judging by the wave of success the 23-year old singer-songwriter has had in the past two years – sharing the stage with such artists as Guster, Gavin DeGraw, O.A.R., Ray Lamontagne, Better Than Ezra, Blues Traveler and many more while also selling more than 12,000 records independently – it looks like the rest of the nation may find themselves just as smitten with him very soon.
It seems all eyes are on Kilpatrick and his band whenever they are in the Great State of Maine, with the Portland Press Herald calling him, “The Maine Artist to Watch in 2007.” And now the rest of the country is beginning to peek in on the band’s music with steady internet CD sales and heavy MySpace traffic. ThisIsModern.net praised Kilpatrick as “the best kept secret in indie music.” But with a burgeoning fan base that is growing by the minute in New England and supporters sprouting up across the country and even over seas, it appears that the secret has been leaked rather massively.
Even the highly-competitive and critical Boston music scene has been embracing Kilpatrick, as he was nominated for a 2006 Boston Music Award for songwriting and has appeared as part of several sold-out shows in recent months. With his secrecy blown, the Pete Kilpatrick Band – which features keyboardist/saxophonist Steve Morell, Matthew Cosby on bass (formerly of Jeremiah Freed) and Matt Lydon (formerly of Averi) on the drums – there’s only one thing to do: hit that open road!
The wheels are rapidly spinning for the Pete Kilpatrick Band in support of the new release Louder Than the Storm, produced by Jon Wyman (Ray Lamontagne, As Fast As, Rustic Overtones), hitting every college and high school in their path. The album is Kilpatrick’s third full-length and most-accomplished work to date, with appearances by Adam Gardner (Guster), Ryan Zoidis (Soulive), Spencer Albee (As Fast As), among others. Louder flows fluidly from aggression and urgency to subtlety and melancholy, much like the current of the rivers and seaside that the Maine native frequented during the record’s inception.
Exploration has always been an innate instinct for Kilpatrick, one that he and his fellow musicians followed throughout the creation of the album. The waters were tested with their heaviest and most ambitious material thus far, juxtaposed with the sounds of 70’s AM soul – cleverly weaving sounds that echo of early Hall & Oates, Travis and Incubus into a brand of rock unique to Kilpatrick and his co-conspirators.
Equally important with this batch of material from the thoughtful, introspective Maine native is that these songs are succulently fresh – all written within just a few months from the time the record button was pushed. That was Kilpatrick’s plan all along: to keep the material rich with creativity and spontaneous impulses, rather than reaching back and reworking the older material.
“What’s most important is that the songwriting is consistently interesting, and [Kilpatrick’s] not afraid to take chances,” says Sam Pfeifle (Portland Phoenix) of 2005’s Yesterday Love (which set sales records for an independent artist at New England music store chain Bull Moose Music). With Louder Than the Storm, Kilpatrick reaches even further into the realm of chance and the result is a melodic and contagious string of songs that ebb and flow through heartache, uncertainty, the open airs of Maine and are already causing a thunderous rumble throughout the music industry.
Links
