Some Recent Articles:

Courier-News November 13th, 2003
The Daily Record November 14th, 2003

Blues Revue magazine June-July 2004:

Unless you're familiar with the ultra-obscure 80s roots-punk band They Came From Houses or you happened to catch his self-titled debut with the Roadshow Band, you likely aren't aware of Peter Karp, the 42-year-old veteran who turned his back on (possible) fame and fortune years ago to go it alone.

Mick Taylor of the Rolling Stones knows him, however; in fact, he guests on four tracks of Karp's second album, The Turning Point. Guess who¹s been getting most of the press.

So is Karp some sort of underground genius? Not quite, and he¹s not quite a bluesman in the strict sense, either. He does, however, generate an affable, witty, slightly cerebral version of blues-influenced rock.

Handpicked band or not, this is a singer/songwriter¹s album, displaying one man's vulnerability as he attempts to come to grips with his own messy identity. Few blues songs contain lines such as "The windmills of fate/They twirl and they call you to battle," and frankly, that's a shame. The music could use more free thinkers who aren't afraid to twist the music to fit their own inner journey, even if this particular journeyman usually comes out sounding more like Jackson Browne or John Prine than John Lee Hooker.

The music on The Turning Point reflects this mood, a bar-band vet¹s bluster filtered through the gentle backwoods blush of his influences. In fact, the disc seems to have been named after a favorite bar, though these dozen songs definitely deal with turning points of various kinds. Best is "Her and My Blues"; even if Karp only sounds superficially like the old bluesman he's describing, Taylor's electric slide dobro and the gentle undertow of the production make for a disarmingly wistful Southern rock floater. There¹s straight-ahead blues, to be sure, like "Rolling On a Log", the elegantly nasty shuffle "Treat Me Right," and the fabulous, self-explanatory "The Arson's Match." Karp, however, is too idiosyncratic to
stay under one category. And what¹s wrong with that?

-- ROBERT FONTENOT

Ex-Stone Rolls On His Own Road

The Bergen Record
Friday, November 7, 2003

By BARRY GRAMLICH
STAFF WRITER

The symbiosis in a creative musical partnership is driven by a similar passion, even if one musician has already reached a summit that few ever approach. Now guitarist Mick Taylor - the same Mick Taylor who has the Rolling Stones on his résumé - says he follows his "calling,'' even if it means small, intimate venues instead of sold-out arenas.

Peter Karp, Mick Taylor, and the Road Show Band
WHAT: Americana blues.
WHEN: 7:30 and 10:30 tonight and Saturday.
WHERE: Tonight, The Bottom Line, 15 W. Fourth St., Manhattan, (212) 228-6300; Saturday, The Turning Point, 468 Piermont Ave., Piermont, N.Y., (845) 359-1089.
HOW MUCH: Tonight $20, Saturday $30.

Taylor's latest venture is an abbreviated fall tour with Bergen County's Peter Karp and the Road Show, with stops tonight at the Bottom Line in Manhattan and Saturday at The Turning Point in Piermont, N.Y. Thanks to a recommendation of a local disc jockey, a quick listen to Karp's demos, a flurry of e-mails, and Taylor's continuous search for quality musicianship, this union will celebrate with a CD release party Saturday night. Karp's "The Turning Point'' features Taylor on three tracks and was recorded in one afternoon at Bennett Studios in Englewood.

"I haven't done too many projects like this where I feel I can be myself without being out front,'' says Taylor, who put a solid imprint on what is generally regarded as the Stones' most creative years, 1969-74. "I liked Peter's singing, his lyrics; it's a multifaceted R&B feel. The more songs I listened to I had a sense that it just felt right.''

Only 21 and fresh off three years of touring with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Taylor replaced the Stones' Brian Jones in 1969 and got right to business by finishing off some remaining tracks to the album "Let It Bleed.'' Ensuing albums with the Taylor touch included "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out" (live, 1970), "Sticky Fingers'' (1971), "Exile on Main Street (1972), "Goat's Head Soup'' (1973), and "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll'' (1974).

From a solo standpoint, his most remembered works are his jazzy jams on the single "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" and the dynamic wah-wah on "Heartbreaker.'' He eventually left the band, with speculation ranging from a fallout with Keith Richards to a fear he'd get mired in the band's alleged drug-crazed lifestyle.

Taylor's modern-day take: "The Stones are a phenomenal rock band; I became more lyrical.''

Taylor, who later toured with Jack Bruce (Cream), Alvin Lee (10 Years After), and Bob Dylan, avoids the subject, but sometimes gets downright ebullient telling stories about jamming with legends like Jimi Hendrix. Today, he'd much rather discuss current projects, like playing electric slide Dobro on Karp's "Her and My Blues,'' a Les Paul on "I'm Not Giving Up,'' and a Fender Stratocaster on "The Turning Point,'' Karp's title song about the crossroads of life.

"Aside from getting lost from the Sheraton [Meadowlands] to Bennett Studios, it was a great day,'' Taylor says of the recording session. "Peter's type of blues really come through in my guitar playing, and I was able to use my own style. You always find out in the studio if everything's gonna be fine. Guys like Peter, James Taylor, and Bob Dylan embody Americana blues, and us English guys are inspired by it.

"It took middle-class English guys to make the blues acceptable in America; that doesn't sound pompous, does it?''

Karp says the genesis of the Road Show has been to consistently add people with something new and refreshing to offer.

"It really doesn't matter where you're going or where you've been,'' says Karp, a Cresskill resident. "Fame doesn't always mean you're a great artist. Mick takes his music very seriously. He hears a tune, the concept, works inside it, and pulls it out. He's been to a higher mountaintop, but we have a common thread.''

Taylor prefers to say that he's never descended from that apex he reached with the Stones.

"I can compare this [partnership] to the Rolling Stones still being together today,'' he says. "We all sort of keep going, but we do it differently. The idea of retiring is ridiculous. I want to stay on top of the mountain because I like the feeling.''
60s Blues Greats Shaped Musician

Published in the Asbury Park Press 8/17/02

By RICHARD SKELLY
CORRESPONDENT

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Peter Karp and his band, Peter Karp's Roadshow, are a breath of fresh air on the Garden State blues club circuit. Karp counts Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs as primary influences, as well as the more blues-leaning influences you might expect: Freddie King, Albert King, B.B. King and James Brown.
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PETER KARP & THE ROADSHOW
27th Annual Clearwater Festival Sunset Park, Asbury Park.
Also, Rik Palieri, the Singing Sons of Washington, D.C., Boccigalupe and the Bad Boys, Gary U.S. Bonds today; Big Danny Gallagher, Bob Killian, Blue Highways, Billy Hector, Blackberry Blues Band, Joe Bonanno and the Godsons of Soul Aug. 18.
11:30 a.m. to dusk Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17-18
$5
INFO: (732) 872-9644
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"I get a lot of my creative side from my mother and a lot of my gutsy, crazy side from my father," Karp explained between sets at a show last week at the Old Bay in New Brunswick. Karp's father was a World War II fighter pilot who became a prisoner of war and later went to the work for the government training helicopter pilots during the Vietnam War. His mother worked her way up at J. Walter Thompson Advertising to become a creative director there.

"I had a fairly schizophrenic existence, growing up, going from a suburban town like Leonia to Enterprise, Ala.," he said of his youth. His mother would visit on weekends and holidays while keeping her job in New York City while his father was down in Alabama working for the Department of Defense.

"Living in Alabama in a trailer park gave me a view of a different side of the South," he said, "and I remember my mom didn't care too much for the trailer park, but my dad loved it because he was an outdoors type."

Karp, 42, said his first awareness of blues did not come about in Alabama, but instead, in suburban Leonia and New York.

"As a kid, my mother took me to see all the great acts of the 1960s at the Brooklyn Paramount, the Apollo and other places. My mom was really into music and she grew up liking swing music. We saw the Temptations, the Supremes; she wasn't intimidated at all by the racial things or the generation gap that was going on at that time," Karp explained.

"My first introduction to blues was T-Bone Walker, Freddie King and later, the British Invasion. The Stones immediately led my sister and me into Muddy Waters and the original stuff," Karp said. Besides his mother, he also cites the family nanny, an African-American woman from South Carolina, Ruth Turner.

"She had a profound impact on my life, because she raised me as much as my mother did," he recalled. "Ruth took me to see Reverend Ike and to the black churches in New York, and she always had the black stations on the radio at home. The African-American and gospel music was always pumping," he added.

When his mom took him, an older brother and his sister to the Apollo Theatre to see James Brown, "We were the only whites in the theater."

"I saw the Beatles and I saw James Brown, and don't get me wrong, I love the Beatles, but I don't think anybody can top a young James Brown."

Karp began playing guitar in his early teens, but began writing his own songs before that. He attended Rider College in Lawrence for a year, and then New York University's Film School, but never graduated from either place, "because I was never very good at sitting in classrooms." For the last 15 years, he's run his own film production company, Total Picture, on West 20th Street in Manhattan.

At his live shows in clubs and at festivals, Karp is usually accompanied by Danny Pagdon, bass; Dave Keyes, keyboards and accordion; drummer Paul Hernandez; and Piscataway-based harmonica player Dennis Gruenling. At clubs, Karp will freely mix his original songs into sets that include selections from Willie Dixon, Dylan, Buddy Guy and Elmore James.

Although Karp has two unofficial CDs, live recordings meant to get more work for his band, he's especially excited about his self-titled debut, "Peter Karp's Roadshow," and the one he's recording now with Tony Bennett's son, Dae Bennett, at the Bennetts' new recording studios in Englewood.

Although he began writing his own songs in grade school, Karp admits, "I really didn't find my songwriting voice until I was in my early 30s. I needed time to travel and to live."

"I know a lot of musicians who say, 'Yeah, I'm working on this and putting this together and working on a record deal.' And I'll say, 'Well, what have you got? Where are the songs?' And they'll say, "Well, I'm working on them!' And I say, "You've got to understand, it works the other way around. All that stuff will fall into place if you believe in what you're doing and have your songs worked out.' "

"Real songwriting is about life experience and interpreting what happens to you and what happens around you," he argued.

"You really have to live and feel certain things and throw yourself out there emotionally and not be afraid to take a beating now and again. Then the songs start to surface."

The following is an interview with
The Aquarian Magazine:

1) Where are you from, and when did you start performing and writing music?

Born in Englewood, NJ...raised in NJ and Alabama. Started performing when I was 12. Having been writing music since I can remember. Started writing with purpose at about the age of 21...

2) What bands did you play with in the past?

Many...began my professional music career as a songwriter/keyboardist/guitarist with the critically acclaimed, seminal art-blues -punk band "They Came From Houses," a mainstay in the stable of "The Underground Music Venue" managed by former Rolling Stones /Yardbirds manager Georgio Gramalski.

Also played with The New Jersey Volleyball Leprechauns (Texas swing band), The Backyard Philharmonic (bluegrass) Jeff Skunk Baxter (of Steely Dan - Doobie Bros.) Johnny Johnson (Chuck Berry) Marvin Horn, The Pazant Bros, Todd Wolfe (Peter and The Wolfe)...

3) Who are the musicians in your band, and who did they play with previously?

Danny Pagdon/Bass - Barbara Nelson Blues band, The Black Rose Band w/Julie Smith, Sonny Ray & the DelRays, The Renegade Band, Keith Prior, Kathy Moser Bob Sanders, Bob Paplanski, Pat Karwin, John Judge, Cristine Wakefield, played on over 250 albums and demos. His tenure with Peter Karp and the Roadshow represents His longest stint with a single project

Hernandez/Drums - Desperate Men, Bo Diddley, the Drifters, the Marvelettes, Joey Dee, Freddy Cannon, Little Anthony, Lou Christy, the Crystals, Dick Clark, the Belmonts, Tiny Tim, Moose & the Bullet-Proof Blues Band, The Full Circle Blues Band, and Son Lewis

other members - Dave Keyes/ Keys - Dennis Greunling/Harmonica - T-Bone Stinson/Keyes - Jeff Levine/Keys - Mike Latrell - George "Papa" George/B3 Organ...they've played with everybody in the blues and R&B world.

4) How would you describe the music you do?

Just as Richard Skelly of The Asbury Park Press describes...

..." I've seen the future of Roots-Blues - Rock, its name is Peter Karp & Roadshow. This band plays with a sense of dynamics does not play overly loud with some refreshing songwriting from Dr. Karp. Peter Karp and his band, Peter Karp's Roadshow, are a breath of fresh air on the Garden State blues club circuit.""

We are a blues based band that uses the blues form to expand into other styles...like Bonnie Raitt, Lyle Lovett, Taj Mahal, Little Feat and Delbert McClinton to name a few. Creating new material is my focus. I have a problem with "Blues" acts who play the same shit that the real blues guys played 50 years ago - unfortunately they are one of the reasons that the blues scene in this country is dying a slow death...

5) How did you hook up with Producer Dae Bennett?

Heard he was a good producer - went over to his studio and found out he was a great one...He digs what I do and I dig what he does...he is now producing my third CD - his talent and support have meant a great deal to me...we're like brothers...

6) Who are your major musical influences?

On the blues side - Freddie King, Freddie King, Freddie King...T-Bone Walker, Albert King, Lightning Hopkins, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Hammond Jr. Willie Dixon and of course my pal Todd Wolfe...

On the songwriting side - Woody Guthrie, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, John Prine, Johnny Cash, Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, Van Morrison, Taj Mahal, Tom Waits, Randy Newman

7) Where have you played, and how has the audience reaction been?

Everywhere we've played - we are liked - especially in blues clubs, listening rooms and folk festivals...anywhere where they like to listen to good songs...Primarily in the Northeast, South Carolina and Texas. In NY - NJ - Pa - The Turning Point, The Old Bay, The Stanhope House, Godfrey Daniels, Cafe' Classics, Chicago Blues, The Muddy Cup, The Gullah Festival, and a hundred other beer and shot joints in the Northeast...since we are an original act you would think this to be tough...it hasn't been for us.

8) What are your plans and goals for the future?

To continue to work...perform, record, and get my music out there. I want to reach the widest audience possible. I want to meet and work with other talented, focused, open minded songwriters and performers and make music gumbo...That's what it's all about.

9) Any particularly funny or interesting stories from gigs or recording?

Too many for this questionnaire...an interview specifically on this subject would be better...but I'll leave you with this one...

...I once sang one of my songs to a dead person at a Baptist wake...

...I assume she liked it - she didn't leave...


PETER KARP AND THE ROADSHOW APPEARED WITH EDDIE PAZANT AT THE TURNING POINT - SATURDAY SEPT. 7th AT 9PM.

Richard Skelly of The Asbury Park press writes..." I've seen the future of Roots-Blues Rock, its name is Peter Karp & Roadshow. This band plays with a sense of dynamics does not play overly loud with some refreshing songwriting from Dr. Karp. Peter Karp and his band, Peter Karp's Roadshow, are a breath of fresh air on the Garden State blues club circuit."

Peter Karp and the Roadshow take you on a musical journey across the scenic span of American roots music. Their performance is punctuated by Eddie Pazant's South Carolina Sea Island saxophone textures as well as the chunky sound and eclectic storytelling of Peter Karp and the RoadShow.

Karp met Ed Pazant 12 years ago and became interested in his heritage as a direct descendant of South Carolina slaves from whose roots comes a rich history -- their own Gullah/Geechee culture, language and musical forms (which spawned gospel, jazz and even early American nursery rhymes). Rosalie Pazant, Ed's mother, helps to keep the heritage alive through her sponsorship of a yearly international Gullah Festival held in Beaufort every May.

For more information on this year's festival, go to:
http://www.loc.gov/bicentennial/propage/SC/sc_s_thurmond8.html.

Karp writes songs that deal with ordinary people struggling through life: "I learned a lot about struggle and survival growing up with my father who is a World War II bomber pilot and prison camp survivor. I also spent years living in the rural south where folks make storytelling an art form, spinning tales that leave you hanging on every word."

Ed Pazant with his brother Al have accomplished careers together as The Pazant Brothers and apart. Signed to Vanguard in the 70s they put out a number of funk-fueled groove records including "Loose and Juicey," a record that is still being sampled by today's hottest hip-hop producers. They started their careers playing with Lionel Hampton and went on to play with Sammy Davis, Lena Horne, Eddie Floyd, James Brown, Melba Moore, and Ben E King. Ed Pazant is an inductee of the Coastal Jazz / Blues Hall of Fame in Savannah, Ga. Al is currently singing with The Manhattans and the Cotton Club All-Stars.

Karp's bluesy and lyrical storytelling coupled Pazant's unique horn stylings put a contemporary spin on what Karp terms Geechee Blues. The Roadshow Band will be anchored by bassist Danny Pagdon, pianist/organist T-Bone Stinson and drummer Hernandez, the Roadshow's rhythm section.


For more information contact:

Harding Media Relations
Ph (609) 466-7427 e-mail HardingPR@aol.com

Management: The Total Picture Company
Ph (212) 366-9342 e-mail TotalPic@aol.com