The cooing, melancholy, and clear voice that brought us the zesty track Dangerous is back with a new album. Canadian born singer songwriter Peter Katz returned to the recording studio – of sorts – to produce his latest works Still Mind Still, and will be performing the album at various venues throughout the province this month.
Katz just completed a string of sold out tour dates in Europe in time for the Canadian release of Still Mind Still this past April 24th. The album includes 11 original tracks laid down mainly on the floor of a log cabin in the middle of the woods, and leant its stunning ‘atmospheric’ sound production by producer/singer/songwriter Rob Szabo.
"We were in the country-side somewhere between Markdale and Owen Sound in Ontario," Katz says. "Georgian Bay area, gorgeous country."
Though originally from Montreal, Katz has spent the last 12 years calling Toronto home.
"I know that Toronto isn’t so well loved by the rest of Canada, but it’s a pretty great place if you give it a chance," he says. "In fact, most places in Canada have their charms; haven’t really found a place I don’t like."
That’s a sentiment which must make life on the road that little bit easier. Katz has played more than 150 shows over the past year and counting.
"I don’t care about missing sleep and the usual creature comforts; I’ll do anything, drive through any snowstorm and sleep on any floor; if it means I get to play a show for a room of people who want to be there, but being away from my wife so much is tough," he shares. "That being said, absence really does make the heart grow fonder, so there’s a sense of deep appreciation there that we’re lucky to have. "
There is very little that Katz won’t do for his fans. For this album the innovative artist developed a ‘Perk Campaign’ to help support recording costs. The campaign pre-sold the album to wanting fans and in turn, when the album was completed, the fans were shipped their copy in advance of the release date with personalized liner notes – including their own name.
"I think my music is designed to be interactive so it feels natural for me to take that relationship beyond the one-way street of me putting things out there," he says. "I want people to connect, for the music to mean something in their lives, so I make myself available to that as much as possible."
Katz has recorded a fan’s favourite song as a duet with himself, and wrote a personal wedding song for a newlywed couple – even going so far as to perform it at their nuptials.
"I try to find unique and creative ways to connect with as many people as possible in a personal way, and to give special attention to people under special circumstances, while also forgiving myself for not always being able to get to everything and everyone," he says. "That being said, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to connect with everyone when I should be focusing on making new music as well as giving time to my loved ones."
Katz comes from a family with a seeded appreciation for music and the arts in general. At the age of four he started on violin, piano shortly thereafter, and at the age of 13 took up the electric guitar.
"As a teenager I loved rock bands like The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Nirvana, Tragically Hip etc. In my late teens/early 20’s though, I got wind of artists like Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, etc. and something changed in me and I became a total junkie for singer-songwriters," he says. "That really hasn’t left me; I love a good song presented in a stripped down way. That’s my drug of choice."
And that’s how Still Mind Still plays out – clear and conscious.
"When we came up against a hard decision, the question was always does it make it more intimate?" Katz said of the recording process in a press release issued in March. "If the answer was yes then we did it, and if it was no, then we didn’t."
"It’s the first time that most of the record is just me standing, singing and playing at the same time, and for several songs you’re hearing complete single takes. I feel more out on a limb than ever and I’m convinced that’s a good thing."
Thunder in Your Chest, the promising first single, was written for a pregnant friend of Katz’s concerned for how she was going to manage. We hear blunt, real lines like:
When the baby’s at your breast and there’s thunder at your chest will you still be strong?and When the lines there on your face all settle into place...
"I wanted to write her a song to say that everything was going to be ok; that she was going to find a way to make it through and that she had people around her to support her," he explains. "In the end, it was also very much an exploration of my own feelings about parenthood, and confronting my own fears about the whole thing."
If creating personal relationships with fans, touring two continents, playing more than 150 shows and releasing a fresh new album were not accomplishment enough, Katz also received a Juno nomination this year. His 2011 release Peter Katz: Live at the Music Gallery was nominated for Music DVD of the Year.
Other notable accolades he’s tucked under his belt include sharing the stage with Glen Hansard of The Swell Season, a nomination for Emerging Artist of the Year at the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Awards, and a CBC Galaxy Rising Star Award.
"Canada has a lot to be proud of in the music department and offers an endless supply of inspiration and influence," he notes.
As much as he plays music, Katz loves to go and see it played too.
"Singer-songwriters like Rob Szabo, Emma-Lee, Layah Jane, Mike Evin, Valery Gore, Luke Doucet, Melissa McClelland, etc. are doing some amazing work out there," he says. "I love some of the great bands out there too like Hey Rosetta, The Arcade Fire."
Katz has several Alberta tour dates booked this month. He will be playing at the Slice in Lethbridge on May 7th, May 8th in Canmore at Communitea, May 9th and 10th in Edmonton at the Haven Social Club, and May 11th and 12th at the Ironwood in Calgary. Both the Edmonton and Calgary shows will be played with Canadian roots rock band the Skydiggers of Toronto.
More information on the songster and his upcoming shows can be found on his website.
"You may think I’m just saying this, but Alberta has by far been the best place for me to tour, consistently," he says. "Some markets were particularly bad on those early tours and Calgary carried me through some of the darker times and kept me hopeful."
"There seems to be a hunger and appreciation for singer-songwriters [in Calgary], more so than in the rest of Canada. Not sure why that is, maybe the country influence or something, but it’s noticeable and wonderful."