Spoken Groove
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Peter is one half of a great a great band I had the honour of seeing at Momentum. Spoken Groove is rock vs poetry. Brilliant idea that really touches the soul when you see live. So here is what Peter had to say when I had the honour of interviewing him.
Jono: Hey Peter, So Spoken Groove, How did that all come about?
Peter: It was a bunch of small steps... While I was in college some words popped into my head, so I wrote them down. As I continued through getting engineering degrees and working as an engineer at Motorola, I...
Read More Peter is one half of a great a great band I had the honour of seeing at Momentum. Spoken Groove is rock vs poetry. Brilliant idea that really touches the soul when you see live. So here is what Peter had to say when I had the honour of interviewing him.
Jono: Hey Peter, So Spoken Groove, How did that all come about?
Peter: It was a bunch of small steps... While I was in college some words popped into my head, so I wrote them down. As I continued through getting engineering degrees and working as an engineer at Motorola, I got an opportunity to perform at an arts festival. I thought it would be cool to act them out instead of read them like everyone else, and "Spoken Groove" was born. A couple years later I felt I needed to get serious about pursuing writing and performing, so I started getting musicians together to make a CD. Paul Finley was the final musician who was so good on guitar that I paid him a salary to play with us full time. About 4 1/2 years ago the opportunity I had prayed for (to leave my job at Motorola) came about. God actually did better than what I asked, and Paul and I began to tour full time, realizing that we didn't need a full band in order to make a great show.
Jono: What kind of sound have you tried to create?
Peter: I just wanted to maintain my performance style that seemed to work well, even though it wasn't tied to the beat, like rap. I also didn't want it to be background music, like so many attempts at "spoken word art." So we originally wrote the music around the words, creating more of a rock n' roll sound, but having many different sounds, depending on the piece.
Jono: What Influences you to write great lyrics?
Peter: Sometimes I write when I'm inspired, and sometimes I write when I'm not. Sometimes I write from things in the Bible, and sometimes I write about classic rock keeping us awake while driving through boring states. When God gives you talent, it's a duty AND a joy to use it. It just may feel like one more than the other at any given time. He won't take it away, even if you use it for your own purposes. My heart's desire is to find words that will draw people to see the beauty that God is and has made us to be. I want them to find laughter, glory, tenderness, compassion, righteous anger and every other emotion in its proper time, so that they'll see a clear picture of the most glorious One who made us.
Jono: Do you believe its important to tell a story in your songs?
Peter: I don't know if you have to tell a story. Some songs tell a story and tell it badly. Sometimes a song can be powerful if it only conveys one really strong image. I've got a piece called "Laundry Money" that's simply about the jingling change in your pocket. The important thing is to write it in such a way that the person hearing it feels like they're there. If the audience can attach their story to the images I write, that's when the song becomes important and powerful.
Jono: What were you doing before Spoken Groove? Tell us a bit about your background?
Peter: I grew up in a Christian home with a brother who's an amazing songwriter and a family that's full of musical talent. I was the one who was good at math and science as well as having the "normal" musical talent of our family. I was well behaved and seemingly well adjusted, but when I finally started writing in college, my heart and emotions came alive. Even though I finished my engineering degrees and am thankful to have spent my time at Motorola and gotten paid for it, God gave me a sneaky gift with writing. I didn't know it was a gift until it had overwhelmed me, and I realized that performing was the place where He brought me closest to Himself.
Jono: Spoken Groove is you and Paul Finley, How did you two meet?
Peter: Paul Finley is the amazing guitarist I talked about earlier. I saw him performing at the same arts festival where I first performed my writing. I just thought he was a good guitarist. The next year he gave me his card and said if I ever wanted to do anything with music to give him a call. The next year I finally called him to play with the whole band. And off we went...
Jono: You are starting a new one-man stage show that your about to start touring at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. How did that come about?
Peter: Yep, it's called "Life with "sort-of" Red Hair." A number of people had suggested it to me over the couple years I'd been touring, and recently I'd noticed that I was most excited, and saw the same reaction in the audience, when I did solo performances. So when I was telling a friend of mine named Roy Williams about it, he told me to put a 50 minute show together that we would videotape in a couple days. I did, the video went better than expected, and now I'll be starting to tour that more often. It also serves to give Paul a little bit of rest from the touring schedule, which he's needed. He'll be playing with me 3 months out of the year instead of 6.
Jono: How does the songwriting Process work for Spoken Groove?
Peter: We generally write music and lyrics separately and then play them for each other and see what fits. That being said, sometimes Paul plays something for me that I don't have words for, but I know there need to be words for. Sometimes I get the idea for the words and the music. Sometimes we write the music to the words. The thing we have to remember is to keep our ears open for good, new ideas.
Jono: For you, what has been the highlight of your career?
Peter: When I saw a girl in a wheelchair being wheeled in circles at the front of the stage, so she could dance to our music. When I've heard how people have started pursuing their creative dreams because of talking to us. When people have invited us to stay in their homes while they're going through difficult times so we could bring them peace. When people started following Jesus with people who put on one of our shows. That makes me see that there's something more going on than just our career.
Jono: What are you listening to on your iPod?
Peter: I don't have an iPod. I've got a ton of music that I want to get and have only heard once or so... The Shins, Simon Dawes, Animal Collective, Mutemath, Anathallo, Arcade Fire, The Wombats, and many, many more....
Jono: What's the best venue you have played at?
Peter: Probably Soul Survivor Gigs Venue. The sound and lights there are incredible
Jono: What do you see yourself doing next with Spoken Groove?
Peter: Doing more solo shows. Releasing a live DVD of me and Paul in Australia and another live DVD of me solo somewhere. Writing new stories and pushing the boundaries of acting, children's book writing, teaching and hopefully inspiring lots and lots of people to start following the dreams God's put inside them, whether they know they're there or not.
Jono: Thank You Peter for taking the time to do a interview for the Jono Show
Peter: Thanks for asking the questions Jono
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