My music ranges from Lead Belly to Jimi Hendrix, and from Journey to the Rolling Stones, with influences from The Who, Tom Petty, The Beatles, and many others. It’s pretty clear that I like rock and roll–but I often perform as a singer-songwriter, too: “rock and roll without bass and drums.” I hope you like what you hear.
Here’s what Antion Meredith, former lead guitarist for the Animals has to say about “Promised Land”:
“Peter Alexander’s “Promised Land” is an exuberant, rockin’ collection of his own compositions presented with a heavy helping of guitars, both acoustic and electric. Opening with a powerful invitation to party (Promised Land), Peter takes us through many moods, touching on family feuds (Red Dirt Town), deep introspection (In The Quiet) and even a gently, bluesy instrumental (Christina). I’m delighted to see that Peter has accessed his inner Rock and Roll Wildman.”
Music has been central to several generations of my family, and I’ve been at it since I was 4 years old when I started learning piano with my mother, who was an excellent pianist and teacher. I started as a choirboy at Washington National Cathedral when I was 8, began classical guitar at 10, and a few days later started playing folk and rock and writing my own songs. In junior high I had a terrible band with a great name (Peter and the Wolves), and in high school had a really good band with a lame name (The Fringe). I went on to form Claude Jones, arguably Washington, DC’s best band (check out www.claudejonesarchive.org). We shared the stage with some amazing musicians, from Tim Hardin to Chuck Berry and Poco. Getting into the 1980’s I played mostly solo, inspired greatly by Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. About 10 years ago my songwriting started taking off in new directions and has led to the recording of my new CD “Promised Land”.
Special thanks to Johannah Harkness for her great photography.