Pete Eastmure is a prolific singer-songwriter in his creative prime whose voice is emerging as a beacon for his generation. Pete draws on his life experience to create iconic songs, rich in character and emotion, distilled by time to reveal truths about today.
Pete has always followed his music – as a young man he traded Northern Ontario farm life for journeys across California and New Mexico, coming up through the folk-rock scene in Atlantic Canada. Active throughout the 80s and 90s in the Toronto songwriting community, Pete worked with acclaimed producer John Switzer to create his first CD – “The Smallest Voice” (1998).
The ups and downs of family life further fueled his songwriting – he began recording a rich collection of songs in 2009 and through a process of careful selection has released “Songs for MeZZ”(January 2011) – which range from intimate odes to his children to fully scored orchestral compositions featuring renowned cellist Rachel Mercer of Via Salzburg and the Art of Time Ensemble to the jazzy big band sound of “Vegas Tonight”.
The last two years have seen Pete devote himself entirely to music, beginning with a year studying Recording Arts Management at the Harris Institute. He also founded and began hosting “The Monday Sessions”, a showcase for himself and weekly guest artists growing in popularity with the burgeoning music community at the new Dave’s… on St Clair. He also appears throughout Toronto and the surrounding area as a solo artist and with the Pete Eastmure Trio.
Pete will spend the early part of 2011 performing to support the release of "Songs for MeZZ" and will begin recording his next project in the summer months.
Songs for MeZZ
Pete Eastmure’s latest recording is drawn from a rich well of songwriting that stretches across 30 years. Named for his daughter, the collection features songs that sketch out episodes from his life starting with his days as a truth seeking hitchhiker in “Sure Would be Nice” to warm tracks about love and family like “Baby’s Beside Me”, “Better World” and “Hope and Happiness”. Like any well-spun tale, Pete’s songs evoke contrasting moods – we skip through jazzy film noir regret in “Welldigger” to the explosive big band exuberance of “Vegas Tonight”. At the heart of the album is “Outside” – Pete’s ode to the northern Ontario landscape which was his first home.
Produced and arranged by Eastmure himself, Songs for MeZZ features the exceptional musical talents of Don Dixon on drums, Jeff Greenway on piano, Marcus Walker on bass guitar, Klaus Anslem on Flugelhorn and trumpet, Chris Butcher, trombone, Kyle Charron on violin and renowned cellist Rachel Mercer. The album was recorded by Norm Barker at Studio 92 as well as by Jory Berger, who mixed “Songs for MeZZ” at Upstairs Music Studio in Toronto.