Meet the Artist: Pete and his Banjo

Level 3 Music student, Pete, is set to perform during the upcoming Folk Week in Broadstairs. We spoke to him about his inspiration and where he sees himself in the future. 

Pete’s interest in music originates from his father and his dedication to the metal genre. As he’s grown, his inspirations have shifted towards country and folk music, first discovering this genre in a popular video game as the background music. 

When did you get your first banjo? 

Last year, actually. I’d never played one before and at that point, I was only familiar with singing, guitar and bass. I was thinking, you know, it’s a melodic instrument, it’s still got strings, how hard can it be?  I was very wrong, it’s extremely hard, but it’s fun. I love it.  

I’ve just been learning it by myself. I did the exact same thing on my guitar, went online, got a couple pointers, watched some videos on how to do this and that. I don’t really need the assistance from YouTube anymore. I just find things online and then I just kind of explore that throughout by myself in my own time.  

I make originals now, which I never thought I would do on the banjo. I also make original songs chord-wise and lyric-wise on my guitar. 

Who are your top three artists/bands? 

First of all, on the standpoint of drums and rock and just overall being a good guy, Dave Groll; awesome guy. Another inspiration would be Zach Bryan. The third is the entirety of the Dead South. They are huge inspirations. 

Do you consider yourself a solo artist?  

Yes, but I play all sorts of different instruments. One of the songs that I recorded for the first time, the guitar, the vocals, the drums and the bass was all me.  

The bands you see us with at the moment are for performing at the Bandstand. We’re doing 90s songs. I change around to different bands for that. If you were to come in a couple hours earlier, you’d see us with completely different band mates. 

How do you feel switching to different bands as part of the course? 

I love it. I’m on and off a lot of instruments during a rock gig. Recently, one of the people dropped out and there was an open space for a bassist. So, I just joined the band to help with the bass. I then helped a friend who wanted me to make a drum pattern. I did that for him. And then I was also in my own group doing rock songs.  

I performed three different times at night, but each single one, I was doing something different. I was being a normal drummer. I was being a heavy death metal drummer and I was being a 90s bassist for rock, and I was actually quite impressed with myself.  

What have the staff been like to work with?  

Sean and Rob are my biggest local inspirations, to be honest. They’re both musical but it’s also the outlooks and the way they talk about things and their experience. Both of them are really, really awesome guys.  

They’re one of the reasons why I actually come to College every day. More and more, I realize it’s not always just about the mates that I have. It’s about what you’re doing here.  

How do you feel performing in public throughout the academic year? 

I really do appreciate it. With the gigs that the staff book for us, like the Broadstairs Bandstand, Tom Thumb Theatre, and especially Obi’s Soul Cafe in Margate – none of us as starting musicians would be able to get those gigs. It’s because they’ve already got their foot in the door of those venues and have had a good relationship with them for a while now. 

When will you perform in public next? 

I’ve got myself a position on Folk Week, so that’s something. Mark got us a position to do some shows at the main stage. They also told us about “Upcoming Musicians” as part of Folk Week. They’re trying to get more upcoming musicians to perform, so I signed myself up to that, and they let me do it. 

Come see Pete perform during Broadstairs Folk Week to hear his talent up close. 

If you are interested in Music and want to learn more about our courses, visit our website.