Pete Howell
I was born in Walsall, England. The Black Country is a heavily populated and industrial place. I managed to get up to all the things any kid does growing up. There was always something to get up to on industrial wasteland, building sites and old dumps where nature had reposessed and populated with a world of tiny creatures.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
I started out 'learning' to play a little Yamaha keyboard which had all the usual cheesy presets. One preset was perfectly suited to 'I just called to say I love You' by Stevie Wonder. Being left handed I then borrowed various guitars where I played chords upside down. I've been in a few bands over the years, with varying degrees of failure and success. Since I started playing I've doodled, sketched, and written songs. Many are now forgotten (the reader thinks 'thank God for that'). I met with Stevie recently and he said that he now plays 'I just called to say I love you' in the exact same arrangement as I did all those years ago. He's even tracked down an identical Yamaha keyboard to play it on and because it's got drums bass etc on the preset, and has sacked his band and saved himself a small fortune in wages.
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
I have a young family so I haven't played live for a while, but mostly in recent years I've played at acoustic nights at Pubs in North Devon. I do enjoy the buzz of getting a good response to my songs and playing from the audience and other musicians. Special moments? In one of my previous bands we had the honour of performing the draw for the meat raffle between songs. Oh, and announcing the winner of the 'guess the weight of the marrow' competition. I was given a free pint once
Your musical influences
Well I'd have to say some of the usual suspects. Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Beatles, Ray Davies, Paul Weller. Traditional folk artists. Too many to list really. All the characters who keep moving onwards influence me greatly to do likewise.
What equipment do you use?
I've got a Yamaha LL16 acoustic and an out of tune piano in my living room.
Anything else?
If anyone out there listens to any of my songs please let me know what you think!
Toodle Pip and all that.
