A Q&A with Reverend Peyton
From the Front Porch to the World Stage, here’s a Q&A with Reverend Peyton…
What’s the title of your latest release, and what does it mean to you?
Honeysuckle is the name of our new record. It’s an acoustic album recorded in our house in Brown County. It might be our most emotional record to date, and it certainly represents a lot of emotions for me. But, it is also about friendship. We have a ton of our buddies guest performing on the record. Real heavy hitters with loads of Grammy awards, accolades, and talent all on their own. It means an awful lot that they wanted to help us take this record to another level.
What was the hardest part about putting this release together, and why?
The hardest part was definitely getting together with our guest performers. Everyone had their own career and releases and busy schedules. It’s tough to line it all up.
What did enjoy most about producing your own material?
Sometimes it’s very helpful to have a producer and sometimes you have a vision that is so clear that you can make it happen on your own. I definitely knew what I wanted for this record. *
What do you want the listener to take away from listening to your music?
I want folks to know that this is real music handmade and from the heart. It’s performed by people that love it and are good at it.
How does a track normally come together? Can you tell us something about the process?
It really depends on the song. Some songs take more work, and some songs almost form instantly. I think if you start with a good melody, everything else can be figured out.
What band/artists have influenced you the most since you started this project, and why?
Well I have been most influenced by the legends of country blues like Charley Patton, Bukka White, Furry Lewis, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, and Robert Johnson. These artists not only shaped blues music, but they changed the course of music history in America and world wide. Their influence can’t be understated.
What countries would you like to tour? Are there any standout venues you’d like to play in?
We’ve performed in 38 countries, and we love traveling and meeting music fans across the world. I’d really love to play in Asia more, but it’s great just to be able to do this in any capacity.
If you could pick one track for our readers to listen to in order to get a taste of your music, what would you pick, and why?
I don’t know if I could pick one track. I contain multitudes! I’m always most excited about our new stuff, so maybe check out Freeborn Man off of the new album Honeysuckle. If that doesn’t move you, then you just don’t like music. Then check out the song Honeysuckle, then when that convinces you to hear the whole record, listen to ways and means off of our last record!
What ambitions do you have for the band/your career?
I just want to keep getting better. We’ve gotten so much better through the years, and I just want to continue that. As soon as I feel like my best record is behind me, I may decide to do something else. As for now…we are still getting better everyday. Better at writing, singing, performing, playing, everything.
Finally, as you leave the stage, what are your parting words?
Music created and shared from one human to another is important, and it’s worth working for and fighting for.
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band play Leeds Brudenell (26 Jun) & Sheffield Greystones (29 Jun) – for full tour dates visit: bigdamnband.com
