Info and Reviews

Open guitar tunings, flat picking and bottlenecking fill "Homestyle," a new collection of acoustic blues by Rogue Valley guitarist Pete Herzog. The CD was digitally recorded live at Hartkop Productions in Central Point and released late this year.

Herzog's often uses alternate tunings on his guitars. He used an old Gibson and older arch top Kay to create the harmonics for "Homestyle."

"One is tuned oddly," Herzog says. "And the other is tuned even more oddly. Early blues players tuned their guitars in a style compared to Leo Kottke — he plays in a lot of open tunings. Even though Kottke isn't a blues guy, he's been a big influence on me."

Of the 18 tracks on the album, all but three were written by Herzog. One of the covers, "Last Kind Words," was recorded in 1930 by blues singer and guitarist Geeshie Wylie for Paramount Records.

"The song goes back to a time after World War I when there was no set style for the blues," Herzog says. "It was a mix of roots, African and European influences. It reflects the kind of music that I try to play."

Another cover, "House of the Rising Sun," dates back as early as 1932 with uncertain authorship. Also known as "Rising Sun Blues," Eric Burdon and the Animals, an English pop group, made the song a hit in 1964.

"I've also developed my own style of picking without meaning to," Herzgog says.

When Herzog discovered blues and roots music as a teenager, he wasn't aware that most of it was played finger-style.

"It's a style where you use your thumb to create an alternating bass line while the melody is picked with the fingers," Herzog says. "It was a way that blues players in early juke joints could sound larger."

Herzog learned to play this style with a flat pick. It gives his music a different sound. He uses the Kay for slide. The guitar is from the '30s, and a friend of Herzog's bought it in the '40s in a Chicago pawn shop, Herzog says.

"I can sort of feel the history of all that have played it before me," Herzog says.

Herzog was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and moved to Trail in 1967. He started playing Hawaiian lap steel guitar as a youngster, but picked up a six-string when the Beatles became famous. He relates strongly with rural music, delta and country blues, bluegrass, roots and jug band styles.

"I've lived most of my life in the country and spent countless hours pickin' guitar on the back porch," Herzog states in his bio. "To me the blues have always been more than three chords and twelve bars. Sometimes one chord is plenty to tell a story and convey a feeling. The blues is mostly about a man and woman, the yin and yang, the light and dark, the tension and release, but it doesn't always have to be sad. Some of my favorite blues are more about being happy and doing something about it."

"Homestyle" is available at Musichead in Medford, the Music Coop in Ashland, Off the Wall Music in Central Point and at cdbaby.com and other digital stores.

Laurie Heuston - Mail Tribune (Dec 26, 2008)

"Homestyle" features Pete's acoustic blues and slide playing, reminding one of that distinctive blend of folk and blues heard in the smoky urban basement clubs of the 60's.

T.R. King - Ashland Magazine (Dec 11, 2008)

Out of Trail, Oregon comes a guitarist/songwriter/troubadour - Pete Herzog. His career is mostly unknown, but there's no doubt that his performing style and general musical background, posses evident experience. During the years, he has performed solo, as same as with the bands, but one day, he decided that best solution for him is to perform alone with his instrument. He is faithful to blues and roots music, even that most of his materials he has penned as a author. Pete uses bottleneck technique, but in my opinion a key element of his performing capabilities lays in specific vocalization, full of atmospheric and mood changes. So, as a result we can opportunity to hear, that each song from album has sounded specifically, and different among them, judging by various emotional statements. "Homestyle" are consists of 18 themes, where three of them are traditional covers.
Most of listeners will surely accept Pete's version of song "House Of The Rising Sun". As a album, "Homestyle" is full of pleasant moments, unexpecting atmospheres, and without any weaker places.

Branimir Lokner - BLOKNER REVIEWS (Dec 11, 2008)

G'Day Pete,

Just received your new cd, thanks heaps mate. I must say right off the bat" you are a "Real Dealer" in the "One Man Acoustic' Blues
machine. Blues being by its very nature, a varied genre' of music, and you're in one of the crafts that's slowly being pushed aside.
But real Blues for me, is all of those types ,and I love putting as many as of the (Blues) in my program. I'll start giving the album airplay as of next weeks program. Tracks that I dig are: 1-2-3-4-5-6-9-13-14-15.

So, That's it mate. I got into your stuff really from the first track, and I'm sure we'll be playing many of them in upcoming programs in the future. Thanks again for the album, and all the best for the rest of 2008,and beyond.

Bluest Regards.

"TECKA.. Terry Iredale/Tecka's Tracks.HOTFM 106.7FM in Victoria, Australia (OZ) (Nov 5, 2008)

Bottleneck, open tuning and discovering the blues in all it diversity. We can hear all this on his album ‘Homestyle’, a cd that contains no less then eighteen songs. A ‘live’ album, no overdubbing, all songs recorded in one take. Pete is using a slide guitar and an old Gibson with one pickup for these recordings. ‘Woman That I Love’ is the first song on this cd. We hear a slide passing by and know it is Pete playing all by himself, but it sounds like there is a second guitar player. In the song ‘Coqui Blues’, we hear a pick touch the strings, not really in the tradition of the acoustic blues, but because of the use of the slide licks, he gets away with it. Eighteen songs, of which also the ‘traditionals’ get his own interpretation. ‘House Of The Rising Sun’, we recognize the famous intro. Pete sings and plays the song sober way. All in his own style, as we heard it in the previous songs. ‘November First’, a song he wrote on October 1, 2004, in America, when the news broke that John Kerry was beaten with a difference of two votes by G.W. Bush. Robert Johnson wrote the song ‘Hellhound On My Trail’, Skip James wrote ‘Devil Got My Woman’, also about danger. That’s is exactly the message Pete likes to spreads with the song ‘November First’. With a voice, oiled in a good Gin, we are dealing with an artist, who knows very well how it must have been in the Mississippi Delta. No, no foot stomping beats, no bass and drums. A unique style, strong vocals en ditto lyrics, who are breathing the past, the present and the future.

Translation by: Ton Kok 
T-Bourbon - Bobtje's Blues Pages (Oct 7, 2008)

Tracks

1 Woman That I Love
2 Cold Wind Blues
3 Coqui Blues
4 No Score
5 Big Island Woman
6 November First
7 Pretty Mama Take Me Home
8 Gray Cat
9 Jump on Blues
10 Hanalei Farewell
11 Whole Hog
12 We All Fall Down
13 My Baby, Um Huh
14 House of the Rising Sun
15 Know Your Rider
16 Murphy's Cabin
17 Last Kind Words
18 Sail Away

About Pete Herzog

Pete Herzog started playing at the age of 8 on a lap steel. He learned the slide and playing using all the harmonics and overtones he could wring out of an instrument. As a teenager the lap steel wasn’t “cool” and he switched to a regular guitar, but eventually was drawn to playing bottleneck in various open tunings. Pete discovered blues , bluegrass, and other roots type music, most of which are played finger style, not knowing any better, ignorance being bliss, he learned to play this style with a flat-pick, not traditional but giving him a different style and sound. When he first heard the blues he was instantly taken with the style, so similar to Hawaiian music in approach yet so different in sound and effect. Both types of music use the instrument as another voice, using all the harmonics and overtones to make the guitar sing.

Pete uses several different guitars often tuned in several different modal tunings. One of his favorites is a Kay arch top from the 30’s that he uses for slide. A friend of Pete’s bought it in the 40’s in a Chicago pawn shop and gave it to him before he passed on. “I’d clean it up but the essence of all those who have played it before me colors the tone, sometime I think it knows more about the blues than I do.”

Pete spent time working on the railroad as a gandydancer on a traveling steel gang, learning arhoolies and steel driving songs sung as they were originally given voice. He learned “linin track” while lining track. He learned call and response style songs while driving rail road spikes into hard wood ties. As in blues, the beat and the rhythm are the most important things, it’s dangerous to get mixed up swinging 12lb. Hammers.

Pete has always been attracted to a common sound that reaches back through the ages and touches all people at a basic level. Even when composing a contemporary song he strives to make connections with those ancient places and feelings. Born in the city but living most of his life in the country he relates strongly with rural music, the delta and country blues and the roots of bluegrass and jug band styles. “I’ve lived most of my life in the country on a dirt road and spent countless hours pickin guitar on the back porch. To me the blues have always been more than three chords and twelve bars, sometimes one chord is plenty to tell the story and convey the feeling I’m trying to put out. The blues is mostly about a man and woman, the yin and yang, the light and dark, the tension and release, but it doesn’t always have to be sad. Some of my favorite blues are more about, I’m happy to see you, let’s do something about that.”

Pete has played for many years, tried bands, but they had too much drama, did some solo stuff, finally became disillusioned with playing out and just spent his time pickin on the porch. After a hiatus from music he’s come back to it. Now as an older and wiser fellow he’s back to playing music in public. It’s been especially gratifying for him reconnecting with old friends and making new. Now he has a CD that has had many helping hands along the way from many friends whom he can’t possibly thank enough.

http://www.peteherzogmusic.com/