GUELPH’S PETER LIGHT THINKS OUTSIDE THE BOX,
One thing you can say about Donald Trump — he inspires great song-writing material.
“I was reading one more article about Trump. I am so obsessed with this stuff,” notes Guelph-based performer Peter F. Light as he bursts into laughter. “Actually, I did write a song a while back called “The Liar.” Then somebody said ‘No. Don’t play that! Because you will get yourself in trouble!’
“And I wrote that song before he was elected. I’m sure my song is one of many,” adds Light with another laugh.
For Light, musical variety is the spice of life. He prefers to play many genres of music from pop and honky-tonk, and scat, to bluesy jazz, folk, Celtic tunes plus thoughtful ballads like “Forgotten Man” and “Only Halfway Home.”
His is also known for his singer/raconteur style through funny down-to-earth multi-genre slice-of-life original songs like “We Belong to the Fifties,” “Shady Lady,” “The Absolute True Story of Bob and Rose,” “Charlie’s Playin’ the Blues,” and “You Never Know What Song Life’s Gonna Sing.”
When he’s not playing the solo circuit, Light also plays guitar, ukulele and little piano with trio Outside the Box which includes Gwen Potter on “viola d’amore” and multi-instrumentalist David Lum (of band The Hazy Maidens, and Sing Me A River).
Flanked by the sonic richness of Potter and Lum, Light’s like a musical chameleon who can play in almost any live music setting. “That’s because I am old!” notes the singer/songwriter with another huge laugh. “I began playing music in high school. My grandmother was from Liverpool. She used to send me Beatle records before they were big — like (1962’s) “My Bonnie” (with Tony Sheridan). She would say these guys are going to be great. I thought they sounded awful back then,” he says, still laughing.
Of course, Light changed his tune pretty fast.
“I was probably more a Paul McCartney at the time but now I am more appreciative of John Lennon and his amazing wit. And the way he approached music. It was pretty . . . well, those guys made their mark!”
After high school, Light switched career gears and gave up music completely.
“I worked in the film business for 40 years,” recalls Light whose credits include critically-acclaimed Canadian television series “Due South,” plus children’s shows “Goosebumps” and “Dark Oracle.”
“‘Dark Oracle’ won an Emmy for best children’s series and it only had two seasons in Canada.
“I was primarily a picture editor,” he continues. “We used to call them film editors but when digital film came into play that was changed to picture editing.
“I got the music bug again when I was 52, picked up the guitar, then started playing and writing songs when I was about 56. At 60, I retired from film editing and returned to music. And I have been doing that for a while,” says Light who was born in Penetanguishene, raised in Barrie, and has been in Guelph since 1991.
Light’s DIY music catalog includes EPS “Only Halfway Home,” “Shady Lady” and recent album release “Just for The Record.”
He has a home studio and musical guests have included saxophone player Brent Rowan who works with Jason Raso.
Light met Gwen Potter through a social media recommendation. She has been performing with him for five years and often providing a signature fiddle-and-voice humour in his songs.
“I met (Outside the Box member) David (Lum) at an open mike night,” says Light. “We got together as songwriters, in songwriting groups a couple of years ago. I knew he played all kinds of instruments and I asked him if he would like to play bass for our little trio. He jumped at it.” Light says he’s obsessed with lyrics. “I most often write the music first and then the melody. And then I get hooked and get a line. I just wrote a song the other day called “No Way Back.” And that is the first time I have ever worked with a title. “No Way Back . . .” What does that mean? What I decided it meant was once you say something or do something, you can’t take it back. And how do you get around that? But there is hope inside the song as well for redemption you know. You always have to have that,” he notes. “I always need that first line to get into a song and once I get that I am just rolling things around in my head,” says Light, adding he moves verses around as he culls down a song; very similar to his film-editing process.
Outside the Box is mostly a trio but for more jazz-oriented performances Light will add the “full complement” of Howard Southwood (Rawlins Cross) and Guelph keys master Dale Bonnet.
Light is excited about playing the Cambridge Live Music Festival and the Summer Music Series at Wheatley’s Two Creeks Conservation Area near Leamington.
His lyrics range from amusing anecdotes, to insightful revelations about life and love seen through a melodic highly authentic lens. He balks when asked what makes a good song.
“That’s an impossible question!” exclaims Light who has also co-written with Guelph veteran James Gordon. “I think repetition inside a song is ultra-important. That way people can join in because people want to sing whether they can sing or not! If you don’t repeat things in an easy fashion then they are not going to sing at all. They need repetition in a song and a hook. You’ve got to have a hook!”