LOS ANGELES, CA- Rock and Roll evolved from musical styles like gospel, blues, jazz and boogie woogie. All musical genres derived from black culture. Pete Wilde is “Making Rock N’Roll Black Again”. Growing up with music in his family (his step-dad, Eddie Minifield, is a Grammy Award winning saxophonist), Pete Wilde is honing his craft to inject a bit of naughtiness and a whole lot of blackness back into rock and roll.
On September 8th, 2018, Blurred Culture and no season was able to host this young man and his band at Madame Siam in Hollywood for a performance and I was able to chat with him a for a little bit before he took the stage.
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How did you get into the music and how long you’ve been doing it for?
Well, I was pretty much raised in the music industry. My step-dad is a Grammy Award winning musician, been touring forever. He played saxophone for Prince for a long time, Sheila E … so I kind of was raised around a bunch of pro’s and legends, and it’s just kind of something I knew of and I did since I was little. I’ve been doing music… I’ve been playing guitar since I was about 11. Starting playing in bands when I was about 13 .
Have you always been performing under your own name?
No. Pete Wilde is actually my stage name. I’ve been working as Pete Wilde Project for about 4 years now. Before that, I was just in bands.
Random player stuff?
Yeah.
So what are you celebrating at Madame Siam tonight?
I released my second single yesterday, and then we are celebrating the release of that single. It’s called “Savior.” It’s available everywhere right now. It’s kick-ass. You should go listen to it and show your friends.
What is that song about?
So that song is about, on a micro scale, it’s about this woman I was involved with for a long time, who kind of made me a better man… like, kind of made me throw away a lot of my previous bad behaviors and views towards women. On a macro scale, it’s about kind of shedding the archaic views of traditional western religions and how especially Christianity and a lot of western religions tend to be very misogynistic and sexist. So it’s shedding away a lot of those old ideas, and the chorus is “I don’t need a Savior because I believe in you,” it’s like finding your new savior within finding the divine feminine energy.
Is there a happy ending with your… with the savior in the song?
We’re still friends, we’re still friends, yeah.
(Laughter)
So this song, is it part of something in a broader context?
Yeah, there will be an album coming out probably around the top of next year. We dropped the first single Lucy” was the first single in May.
Another song about another girl?
Another song about another girl.
(Laughter)
A lot of my songs are about girls, or at least, inspired by them.
How many songs have you written already and what’s the studio process like?
Oh. I think I’ve written over 40, we’ve produced probably between 15-20.
So, it’s just a matter of picking the right one and the right order?
Yeah.
What do you have planned for the rest of the year? Just going into the studio to record, or mixing/mastering stuff?
A lot of studio work. Mixing. Mastering. Playing shows. I would love to drop at least 2 or 3 more songs this year and then get on the road. I love performing. I love touring. I can’t wait to get back on the road.
When was the last time you were on tour?
4 years ago.
Oh, so it’s been a minute. So, why the long delay between the last one and the new one?
I stopped being a gun for hire and I stopped my last band and I started this project and starting all over again basically.
Ok, I gotcha. These releases are definitely a new venture for you.
Yeah, absolutely.
This is the first time you’ve released music under your own name?
Yeah.
What is that like? Do you just sell songs that you’ve written on your own or do you get help from anybody?
For the most part… The line shares of the songs are written by me. There’s a couple of songs in there that are co-writes. My producer Sean Cook, I love that dude, I love writing with him, he really gets the vision and I hope it’s going to be a very long partnership.
Sean Cook, has he done anything I know, that I might have been familiar with?
Yeah, he’s actually…it’s funny, he come from the pop world. He does a lot of pop stuff, but before he was a producer, he was a bass player in rock bands and stuff so he understands rock production. He’s worked with Chain Smokers and stuff like that.
Oh, ok, that’s big. So would you classify your music more, is it Rock N Soul?
Yeah, I’d like to think of it as Rock N Roll, but there’s definitely like a lot of soul influence, a lot of funk, gospel… Yeah, it’s definitely Rock N Roll with a traditionally more black sounding influences.
And who are your influences? I’m sure your dad was one…
Prince for sure. My pops. Jimi Hendrix. I love the Rolling Stones.
You’re really more of an old school, old soul kind of person?
Yeah, definitely.
So if we were to turn on your iTunes, what would the most played songs be that you have on that list?
Probably “Bambi” by Prince. “If There is a Hell Below” by Curtis Mayfield.
Oh, that’s a good one. I love Curtis Mayfield.
I love Curtis Mayfield. He was a genius. Anything Jimi Hendrix, I like worship Jimi Hendrix.
Do you play guitar also?
Yeah, I’m a guitarist by trade.
So you want to finish recording, get some more singles out this year, hopefully catch some ears to go on tour…. Is there something you want to impart on the audience? Those are your goals for the year but do you have any dreams or aspirations?
I would love to win a Grammy or something like that. But honestly, if some kid or somebody one day was walking down the street, and stopped me, and said I’m their favorite musician… that’s what I want to do.
That’s the end game.
Mmhmm.
I gotcha.
Follow Pete Wilde on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
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