Questions w/ Eric Peters (part one)

Eric Peters is an artist that I’ve been a fan of for a long time because of the vulnerability in his songwriting. His music is undeniably enjoyable and his honesty is something you can’t help but identify with; even in this very interview. His new album, “Chrome”, is being released tomorrow (8/25), and can be ordered at EricPeters.net. I couldn’t be more excited to bring you “Questions” w/ Eric Peters…

StSL – Your new album, “Chrome”, comes out tomorrow! Talk a bit about your experience making this album and what it means to you.

EP – It was a long and sometimes grueling process. Because my budget was tiny by most industry standards, Ben Shive (producer) had to fit me in between other work projects he had throughout the year. We started pre-production in June 2008 at my house, and mastered the final mixes 409 days later. I originally presented 14-15 songs to Ben, and we eventually whittled that down to 11 that were the strongest (hopefully) and, in the case of this record, truest to the storyline I am trying to tell. Even if folks have nothing at all good to say about Chrome, they can at least say it is an honest record. Working with Ben was a much-needed experience artistically for me as I have had little to no confidence in myself or in my songwriting as of late. Ben propelled me through it, infusing his own melodic hope where perhaps mine ran shallow.

StSL – Do you have a favorite song on Chrome?

EP – I have two. The title track, "Chrome", which I wrote in 2004 during a tour stop in Washington DC, was a complete surprise to me. It sort of blindsided me due in large part to Ben's wonderfully tasteful treatment. The song is about a bicycle I saw outside a DC metro rail station. It had obviously been abandoned years ago, chained to its place in the bike rack, seat and tires missing, rusted, alone. I wondered what its story might be if it could tell it. I empathized and tried to tell its story the way I might have experienced it. In our darkest moments, those dark nights of the soul, the lowest Davidian valleys, we all have at one point or another wondered aloud to God, "Where are you? Why have you abandoned me? Are you ever coming back?". I found encouragement in that, as odd as that may seem. To know that I am not alone in those times of deepest darkness lends a certain, and much-needed, freedom to the lifelong journey with Messiah. We are never alone in our wishing to be reclaimed, to be restored, to be made new again.

But my favorite might be "Reality Came Crashing Down", perhaps the most vulnerable, depressing and hopeful of the bunch. It's a song that begins with a profession of my deep disappointment over my career, and by the second verse is a benediction for my children, and, ultimately I hope, for my audience.

Son, don't waste your words tuned to a whim
Cast out your net and slowly drag it back in
Your catch may be small, and your belly may burn
But live for the language that speaks few words
Live for the language of love

And this is exactly what I love about this album: it admits sadness, it admits anger, and it simultaneously nurtures and fosters hope in the unlikeliest of places and experiences. There is always supreme darkness before the faintest shade of light appears. I hope folks give Chrome a chance.

StSL – That honest look at how hard life can be balanced with your consistent perspective of hope is something I really appreciate about your songwriting. Is it something you strive for in your songs or is it simply an overflow of who Eric Peters is?

EP – I think that's an overflow of who I am. I'm a pessimist with an optimistic songwriting bent. Life is both full and cruel, and there are plenty of temporal moments where I myself wonder if God is real at all, if he is worthy of naming himself I Am, or if he even gives a rip when everything around crumbles and the darkness of life is utterly oppressive. After being present at both my boys' birth, I can say without a doubt that it's a wonder ANY of us makes it to adulthood, much less reaching the atmosphere to breathe for the very first time. Life truly is a miracle which no man has control over, though at times it seems more a curse than anything worth exalting. We lose, we gain, we grieve, we love, we hate, we are broken, we are hemmed back together, and during the process the Father has his eyes on us, inexplicably cherishing us above any other created thing. A line in the song, "I Had To Tell You", about my friend's bankruptcy, his needing to tell God, "I hate you", and Father's forgiveness and redemption casts further light on the depths of my Sin and our Father's holy, inscrutable mercy: "I need you. I Iove you. I hoped that you could still forgive me."

StSL – What have you been listening to lately?

EP – Been loving Jill Phillips's new record, The Good Things. I'm always listening to David Mead. Other than that, I haven't been listening to much except for the occasional Sherlock Holmes adventure on tape when I'm on the road. I've been listening to Chrome a good bit, just to see if I like it more or less with every new listen. I guess I'm weird and self-absorbed that way.

Visit EricPeters.net for more info and check back here tomorrow (8/25) for part two!