Peter Parcek

Soul-Guitar Virtuoso And Songwriter Peter Parcek Stays Close To The Bone With His Haunted, Primal New Album Mississippi Suitcase

By Kevin Wildman Singer/Songwriter and Blues guitarist, Peter Parcek has just released his new album, Mississippi Suitcase. This is the third one from this guitar virtuoso. His first two are 2017s Everyone Wants To Go To Heaven, and his 2010 debut release, The Mathematics Of Love. The Mathematics of Love was nominated for a Blues Music Award. For this new release, Peter has assembled a veritble who’s who of Blues luminaries to accompany him on this 11-song project. Among them are North Mississippi All Stars’ Luther Dickinson, Muscle Shoals organist Spooner Oldham and harmonica legend Mickey Raphael. Additional musicians on the album are bassist Dennis Crouch (Gregg Allman, Elvis Costello), Dominic Davis (Jack White), Marc Hickox, organist Tom West, and drummers Tim Carman and Marco Giovino. The album was produced by Ducky Carlisle (Buddy Guy, Susan Tedeschi, William Bell) and Parcek, with additional production by Marco Giovino. Before we get into the album, here’s a little background on Peter. Peter originally hails from Middletown, Connecticut. After graduating high school there, he journeyed off to merry old England to check out the music scene there. It was there that he received his post-high school education in music, as he got caught up in the magical music scene there. Very few American musicians can really say that they experienced the great renaissance of Blues music that was taking place there in England in person. While a great deal of America was being immersed in the new rock scene here, Peter was able to get first hand experience from the British musicians that had re-discovered American Blues. There he was, watching up close, the guitar mastery of Peter Green, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, while they were still performing in clubs. It was unbelievable for him. Wow, he was now playing the same clubs as these cats. What an experience! When he returned to the states with his first-class tutorials in British Blues, he rediscovered his own roots of the Kings, Albert, Freddie and B.B., along with Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Skip James, and even Jimi Hendrix. It wasn’t long before he wound up moving to Boston, Massachusetts, where he became the music director for the legendary Pinetop Perkins. His music career was now in full swing. If that wasn’t enough, Parcek even received an extreme comment of encouragement from quite an unlikely source, but one that would cement him in this world of music from then on. During a chance encounter with Buddy Guy backstage at a gig, Peter had picked up a guitar that had been lying there and started noodleing around on it. Buddy walks in, and puts his fingers to his lips to motion everyone else around to quiet down so he can absorb a bit of Peter’s playing and he becomes really entranced in it. When Parcek finishes, Buddy comes over and remarks to him, “You’re as bad as Eric Clapton. And I know Eric Clapton.” That chance remark follows Peter to this day. In fact, it may even be one of the driving forces behind his music today. When Buddy tells you you’re “bad’, you had better stay “bad.” And let me tell you, after checking out one of his past albums and this new one, Mississippi Suitcase, that guy is “BAD”, bad to the bone. Peter Parcek’s new album Mississippi Suitcase is a really fine album. For this new release, Peter decided to pay respects to seven of his favorite musicians, along with writing four extraordihadn’t played it literally in a number of years nary new tunes. Now this is the hard part. and he said, ‘oh man, yeah. I think that would Where do I start here…. with the covers, or be cool.” We had this young drummer guy with the originals? Let’s see… Why don’t we that plays in a band from up here called GA start off with the covers and save the best for 20, who are starting to make some noise. It’s last. a very traditional blues band and it’s really Cover songs on this album run the cool, and his name is Tim Carman. And so gamut from mild to wild. Peter tackles songs Mark said to Tim, here’s what we’re going to such as Peter Green’s “The Supernatural,” do. This is the way we used to do it. What do which by the way, Green would probably love you hear? Tim heard this with a little more Parcek’s take on it. When Peter Green first aggressive like approach on drums, and that wrote the song, he was a member of John kind of informed, you know, where we took it. Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. John Mayall was It’s basically live. What you’re hearing is live. infamous for discovering the world’s best The only thing that’s overdubbed is the musicians and then setting them on a path of keyboards. I’m really proud of it. I feel like it their own. Just ask Eric Clapton. Along that came out really well. We weren’t trying to line, he includes the Sonny Boy Williamson mimic or copy anything, this is what we feel song, “Until My Love Comes To Town,” and we hope people like it.” Frankie Lee Sim’s “She Likes To Boogie Real Another stand off song on the album is Hard.” There is even a real head-turner, “Life the revisited Lou Reed song, “Waiting For The Is A One Way Ticket,” by someone I’m not Man.” It is definitely not your traditional really familiar with, Pleasant George. This Blues song either, yet Peter and the guys song is really good. The most unusual of the explored it a bit and took it to something choices are the songs, “I’m Waiting For The different, and at times the vocals on it or quite Man” by Lou Reed, “Beyond Here Lies reminiscent of Lou’s. Nothing,” by Bob Dylan, and a really most When asked about the vocals and the unlikely choice, “Eleanor Rigby” by The song, Peter say, “Well, you know, it’s one of Beatles. Let me tell you, “Eleanor Rigby” those things… guitar players who sing… right. really rocks. He takes this Beatles classic and So sometimes it’s not that hard to do the totally makes it his own masterpiece. If I talking part. It might be hard to do the singing hadn’t have known better, I would have part of it, but yeah, it’s funny because I didn’t thought that this was one of his own. He really study the song other than learning the certainly has his own really cool interpretation lyric. Obviously I admire him and love the of if. song you know. He has an incredible catalog I asked him how it came about and he of great songs. But yeah, I just sort of got into explained to me, “It’s funny because the guy character. It was kind of a weird thing. who played bass on most of the record, Mark Other cover songs on the album, did Hickox and I used to do that in a band together pose quite a challenge at times, but Peter and a long time ago as an instrumental. So we his band pulled it off quite nicely. I even told were rehearsing the songs before we went into him that I really enjoyed his version of Peter the studio and I said to Mark. ‘What do you think about trying “Eleanor Rigby” again?’ We continued on next page September 2020 • Rock and Blues International 27

Peter Parcek continued from previous page

Green’s “The Supernatural.” It really is one of around us. In addition to that, it is set to a the best songs on the album. fantastic groove filled with some of the “You just totally made my day,” replied greatest slide guitar work you’ve ever heard, Peter about my remark, “it’s funny because capped off with some real explosive solos. I’ve been wanting to do that for a while, but I Even Jimi Hendrix would have a bit of envy if felt like it was just really a steep mountain to he heard this piece. Peter tells us that he’s climb musically. Even though it’s not fast, It’s extremely proud of this one. so intense. Then the other part of it is, okay “I’m pretty proud of that. I hope this even once you learned his version, you can’t doesn’t sound pretentious to you. I don’t mean just mimic it, because the man already laid it it to be pretentious, but it was my attempt to down. So then it’s how can I find a way to get like almost the Book of Revelation meets make a statement that’s valid, that’s deep William Butler Yeats meets Jimi Hendrix, kind emotionally and does some kind of justice to of thing. It is kind of weird, but that’s what I his genius without just mimicking. So I’ve was going for. There’s some backward guitar forced myself to only quote one of his stuff in there and there’s some kind of choruses. And on all the rest of them, I had to prophetic lyrics to it. It is so pretty, you come up with something that could stand up. know.” Yeah, I’m really proud of that, just because I The title track off the album “Missisfelt like it was a really steep mountain to sippi Suitcase” is a very impressive song and climb. They say sometimes it’s almost easier Peter really captures a great feeling here. to play fast. I know this is gonna sound weird, However, perhaps the biggest part of the song but you can almost hide behind the notes. But and the album is where the title track gets its when you play slow, your soul is naked. It’s name. It really comes from a very unlikely out there, and if you’re not deep or you ain’t source, but that’s what makes for a great story. got nothing to say, it’s going to be very Peter was happy to share the story with me. evident. So we’ve all been guilty of that at “On the title track, “Mississippi times. I wanted to try to make sure that it was Suitcase, I was trying to find a way to do a 20/ valid, that it stood up on its own. And for you 20 version of Albert King meets Howlin Wolf to say that, that means a tremendous amount to and it actually stems from a cab ride. I go me because I think that’s a beautiful piece of periodically to Memphis, sometimes to play, music.” sometimes its just to attend things down there The musicianship on the rest of the and I have some friends that live in and around cover songs on the album are all equally well Memphis. So one day I was taking a cab from done. I really enjoy each and every one of the airport and the cabbie was kind of like them. Peter’s work on the Bob Dylan song, Robin Williams. I mean, he just like started “Beyond Here Lies Nothing” is also very and he didn’t stop and it was funny as heck. inspiring, but the real gems on this album are He had all kinds of commentary about people Peter’s own work. The man is a true craftson the side of the road, but then he started man. Each of the four original songs speaks to telling me about his life. And he said that he a different part of Peter’s personality and drive had recently seen his son, and his son’s for creating great music. children and he was talking so much about his Mississippi Suitcase starts off with one family and being so familiar, that I asked him, of Peter’s well-crafted originals, “The World Is which I really shouldn’t have. ‘Well, how’s Upside Down.” The song just explodes with your wife? And then he veered off into this… the feeling of today and what’s going on ‘Well me and my wife, we don’t get along too 28 Rock and Blues International • September 2020

well. I haven’t seen her for quite a while.’ He said. ‘I remember vividly the day I left.’ And I replied ‘yeah.’ He then said ‘here’s what happened. It just wasn’t working with her and I told her she could have the other car. She could have the house. She could have the TV and I went upstairs and I put everything I own into two Mississippi suitcases and I brought them down, threw them in the car and I left. I knew if I didn’t leave right, then something really bad was going to happen.’ Peter further explains, “And so of course, I was overwhelmed with the intensity of the story, but I was also puzzled by the phrase two Mississippi suitcases. He said ‘Oh, yeah. Yeah, you’re from the north.’ He then said, ‘Hefty bags, same thing.’” “So that’s where that song actually springs from,” say Peter, “and then a friend of mine and an amazing drummer was going or had gone through the same thing recently... a break up with his wife. And so that I’m kind of between those elements that all kind of morphed into that and so true to life, so that’s the story. Luckily, it’s not my own story personally, but it’s something I hope people can relate to.” He goes on to tell us that another one of the songs on the album, “Head Full Of Ghosts,” is loosely based on a book of the same name. Peter says he saw it in a bookstore and picked it up and started reading it a bit, just by chance. As he started to read, he just started feeling the song, and hearing the music in his head. He got himself a copy of the book and read it. He tells us that it was like the music was already there and he just started tuning into it. It’s great where some musicians get their inspiration from. It comes all sorts of ways. The last original on the album is equally as impressive. It’s titled “Everybody Ought To Make A Change,” and Peter told me, “Everybody ought to make a change. I mean everybody ‘ought to make a change.’ Yeah, that’s just because It’s just a kind of a truth, you know. I mean because we’re all gonna have to leave here. I’m not trying to be maudlin about it, but we are going to all leave here. So sometimes we need to change it up. You know, what were you thinking, what you’re wearing. Yeah, change your money, change your honey, so you don’t start acting funny.” Peter has put together quite an album here, definitely something to be proud of, and something for people to remember, but we asked Peter, ‘What would he want people to think of if this album if it is the first piece of work of his that they have heard. What would he want them to remember the most, and he told us, “That’s an excellent question. I want them to come away with, ‘this guy’s honest. He’s one of us. He feels it. He’s trying to share what he’s feeling. It’s trying to reach out to me. With these songs with his playing with his singing and more importantly with his heart he’s digging deep and he’s bringing it now. He’s doing his best to bring it.’”

And after hearing this album and talking to Peter about it, he hit the nail on the head with that last remark. Peter did reach out to me with his music, which I did find quite honest. He is digging deep and bringing it hard right now… and very honestly. If you’re into some great Blues or Blues-Rock, then give Mississippi Suitcase a try. I think you’re really going to like it. I sure did.