Christopher Peifer Releases New Album 'Suicide Mission'

Christopher Peifer is a theatrical composer and sound designer (Off Bway, and regionally: NY International Fringe Fest to regional and off-Broadway, including Manhattan Theatre Club, Westport Playhouse, George Street Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Red Bull Theatre, Juilliard at Lincoln Center, Williamstown Theatre Fest, Shakespeare & Company, Berkshire Theatre Group, Primary Stages @ Cherry Lane Theatre, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Barnard College (Columbia U), MCC at The Lortel).

25+ years writing, recording, touring, and performing, as a collaborator, bandmate, and sometimes sideman, Chris has never been in the shadows. At long last the time is right to embark on his first full-length record as primary driving force. Recorded over the past year, and deep into the turbulence of 2020, Chris says, "Timing, as they say, is everything (Ha!) ... This is art and love in the time of coronavirus."

Chris recorded the new album at Roots Cellar Studio, in a beautiful-sounding converted barn in Cold Spring, NY, owned and run by long-time collaborator, Todd Giudice. Inspired by some favorite time-tested records, like Elvis Costello's "Taking Liberties," with its plentiful 2-to-3-minute catchy power pop gems, this music is highly melodic and infectious. Additionally influenced by the likes of The Replacements, Bash & Pop, Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould, The Figgs, Roy Orbison, Nick Lowe, Big Star, Sloan (and maybe a little tequila), the record is scheduled for release summer 2020.

With The Kowalskis, Sir, and Frances Farmer My Hero, Chris has performed in 14 countries (and counting). Formerly with Another Saturday Night, and Heavy Creatures (both receiving international critical praise), and Blockhouses (with Guy Lyons from The Figgs; record produced by Pete Donnelly), Chris additionally writes, records, and performs with Steve Shiffman & the Land of No, and Giudice's Pig Iron (with Vito Luizzi of Johnny Winter and Allman Brothers).

The methodology was organic and unconventional, each song being brought in fresh to the studio, where Chris would introduce the song, just diving in, playing guitar and singing, while Todd learned the form, and created the right drum part. Basic tracks were recorded in 3 or 4 takes, and all overdubs, through first mix would occur that same day. "It's the first time I've approached recording like this. I enjoyed the immediacy, spontaneity, and excitement we captured working this way; a lot of surprises and happy accidents. Sometimes I finalized arrangements, or even finished lyrics on the MetroNorth train, heading up The Hudson to the studio. I work well with deadlines, and under pressure, even when self-inflicted."

Chris (known in some circles as Christopher "The Lifer" Peifer), likens pursuing a life in rock n roll, especially at a certain age, and of a certain stature, to a kind of "suicide mission," a "kamikaze flight." The title track illustrates such misadventures with one touring band (names changed, etc. ... ), the "tour damager" protagonist screwing up at every turn ("Joey's the man / but he just couldn't manage his collateral damage"), finally coming to blows ("Just as predicted / Joey got on my last nerve at The Underworld / Damage inflicted / We started throwing down, down in Camden Town") until, after multiple transgressions, in a plot twist / surprise ending, he rescues the frustrated narrator ("I got rolled in Ghent / Had a hellacious bar tab and a headache to match / I was drunk, dumb and blind / Joey stayed up all night / Saved me just in time"). "Everything in this song is a true story," notes Peifer.

"Madrid" is about an intoxicating honeymoon, and his desire to awaken every day in Spain.

"Throw You a Line" is a tribute to Greta Thunberg, and all the kids who are stepping up.

"Poughkeepsie" is a lonely pining over a long lost love. "It just spontaneously spilled out of me. I played it once, and it was done. It's the most melancholy song I've ever written. The subject doesn't actually live in Poughkeepsie, but it rhymed with what I wanted to sing, and I really couldn't think of a sadder place."

Self-exiled from NYC during the coronavirus outbreak, and sequestered in the Midwest, Chris wrote "Stanton Drive" about growing up and revelry on his Indiana street, in the car while driving back to the city to check on his apartment, just days before recording the final two songs. The lyrics are especially poignant, as his father died of Covid-19 the following week: "We were all together / Feeling so alive / Wish it could last forever / So high on Stanton Drive." A nostalgic anthem, it could serve as a theme song to "That 70s Show."

The record is straight-forward: guitar, bass, and drums; somewhere between bare knuckle, and unpretentious-to-brutal honesty. Peifer digs into the essence, and plays for the song. Still, there are some sonic treats to enjoy, and some satisfying musical twists, and clever lyrical turns to discover. We'll leave that up to the listener. Cheers!

The record is streaming and download-ready here, ahead of official August release: https://chrispei.bandcamp.com/

Album credits:

Christopher Peifer: guitars, bass, lead vocals
Todd Giudice: drums, backing vocals, additional acoustic guitars
Produced by Todd Giudice and Christopher Peifer
Engineered and mixed by Todd Giudice at Roots Cellar Studio, Cold Spring, NY
Mastered by Paul Gold at Salt Mastering, Brooklyn
All songs © Christopher Peifer (2020)
a?- ekkyklema (ASCAP)
Cover illustration by Sarah MacGhee

Track order:

Madrid
Puss n Boots
This Broken Heart
All Shook Down
Bottle Rockets
Throw You a Line
Robin Hood in Reverse
Suicide Mission
Poughkeepsie
Stanton Drive