Sonny Pete
San Francisco, California, United States | SELF
Music
Press
Various features and spotlights in The Bay Bridged: San Francisco Bay Area Independent Music website/blog. - The Bay Bridged
Sonny Pete, who's consistently produced some of the century's most dynamic folk-rock, may well be the best name in indie you’ve never heard. An alum of the illustrious San Francisco-based band Birdmonster, Sonny Pete’s musical dimensions include Zeppelin-style guitar unravellings and poignantly candid piano and guitar duets that evoke Ray LaMontagne. Check out his new album, Where the Shadows Pass (Odes to Death & Transience), for some rich musings on this world and the next, and don’t miss him tonight at Union Hall. With a sound this timeless, he’ll immediately be your go-to guy for days when you can leave your kitchen windows open. — Isabella Yeager for Unveiled Arts - Beacon Pass
Discography
"On that Day" single (digital and limited run CD) self-released in 2011 from the Sonny Pete Hat Co.
http://hatcompany.sonnypete.com/album/on-that-day
"Where the Shadows Pass (Odes to Death & Transience)" album (digital and limited run vinyl) self-released in 2011 from the Sonny Pete Hat Co.
http://hatcompany.sonnypete.com
Photos
Bio
Sonny Pete is the new project from San Francisco based Birdmonster (indie rock) frontman Peter Arcuni. Under this new moniker Pete has created his own brand of dark yet celebratory Americana full of atmospheric textures, pounding rhythms, and swirling layers of guitar, cello and organ. The debut album Where the Shadows Pass was first inspired by Japanese "death poems" written by Buddhist monks. With lyrics oscillating between the narrative and the surreal, the autobiographical and the imaginary, the album honors the spirit of the tradition that inspired it. The result is both meditative and thoroughly rousing. Pete produced the album with Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Langhorne Slim, David Wax Museum) in an old farmhouse in the woods of Maine, and has taken the show on the road playing west coast and select east coast dates both solo and with his backing band over the past 8 months. He has already opened for Sharon Van Etten, Josh Ritter, The White Buffalo, Adam Stephens (of 2 Gallants), and Joe Pug. The music draws influence from Jim O'Rourke, Beirut, Crooked Fingers, The Felice Brothers, Dylan, & Emmylou Harris to name a few, but oozes with an energy and personality that's all its own. Pete's existential lyrical themes balanced with arrangements and performances that are full of life makes Sonny Pete a richly textured and fully captivating listening (and watching) experience.
Press:
"Sonny Pete, who's consistently produced some of the century's most dynamic folk-rock, may well be the best name in indie you’ve never heard. An alum of the illustrious San Francisco-based band Birdmonster, Sonny Pete’s musical dimensions include Zeppelin-style guitar unravellings and poignantly candid piano and guitar duets that evoke Ray LaMontagne. Check out his new album, Where the Shadows Pass (Odes to Death & Transience), for some rich musings on this world and the next...With a sound this timeless, he’ll immediately be your go-to guy for days when you can leave your kitchen windows open." — Isabella Yeager for Unveiled Arts.
Links
