TEN QUESTIONS WITH PETER BECKETT, THE VOICE OF PLAYER
Rob – Peter, it is a pleasure to have this chance to connect. What plans do you have for the upcoming Holiday Season?
Peter – I am hoping to run away to Hawaii with my wife over Christmas.
Rob – Your voice has a quality that is synonymous with the very definition of smooth. How do you keep it in such great shape?
Peter – I don’t really do anything. A lot of my peers have lost their voices (and sometimes their lives) because of cigarettes, and I never smoked, so I’m sure that’s helped.
Rob – Besides Player, you’ve toured as a member of The Little River Band and been a solo performer over the years. If you could write a definition for fans of “who is Peter Beckett”, what would it be?
Peter – I see myself as a singer/songwriter/producer. I’m a pretty good rock singer but I can turn on the smooth every now and then. I am the only ever front man in Player, and the only person who has been involved in everything Player has ever done. The name Player is now retired and I perform these days as Peter Beckett’s Player with my band, and also solo as Peter Beckett-The Voice of Player.
Rob – The music industry loves to put new labels on music and “Yacht Rock” has been a successful new genre the past few years. What would you say your fans think of the genre and do you think of yourself as a soft rock/yacht rock type of performer?
Peter – I am grateful to the emergence of the Yacht Rock genre for creating a renewed interest in my music and that of many of my peers, with whom I tour these days under the Yacht Rock banner. I’m also grateful to the Atlanta based band “Yacht Rock Revue” for introducing me to the genre in the first place.
Rob – How has social media helped or hindered your career?
Peter – I really don’t do much social media myself. I realize it’s necessary for promo etc. I have people who handle that for me, and it’s a good way to connect with the fans of my music. What I don’t like about it, is that the “low-lives” out there use it as a weapon to promote their own agendas and false narratives, and attack others baselessly.
Rob – You have recorded some of your music in Nashville? Is there a difference recording there compared to other places you’ve been?
Peter – I have actually never recorded in Nashville myself. I wrote and recorded a handful of country songs for my “Limey Cowboys” side-band, but they were actually recorded in my home studio in Los Angeles. I used several Nashville musicians on my solo album “Beckett” in 1991 but they came to L.A.
Rob – Since you began your career, how has the use of technology changed the way you approach your music?
Peter – Well, actually I have come full circle. In the eighties and nineties when the machines took over everything in music, I fell into line. I bought all that equipment and it actually helped with my film and TV career. These days I play live a lot, and my recording has reverted to a much simpler and more organic style, relying more on live drums, pianos, organs, guitars. The machines are in the closet gathering dust.
Rob – It is currently that time when we vote on this year’s class for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. If you were going to put a list together of people/groups to be nominated, who would be your top ten?
Peter – The Association, Bad Company, Boston, Doobie Brothers, George Michael, Little Feat, Joe Cocker, Peter Frampton. That’s only 8, but I can’t come up with anyone else right now.
Rob – Are you finding it harder to reach your intended audience now, even with the connected world we live in?
Peter – Well again, the Yacht Rock genre has made it easier to reach the intended audience, at least live. If you are referring to getting new recordings out there then yes, it is harder. But that won’t stop me from trying.
Rob – I often ask this question of our Masters. Who would you consider an up and coming Master?
Peter – Well, I think they’ve already arrived, but Cold Play and Ed Sheeran are two of my favorites.