If you've read my home page, you already know how I feel about the proliferation of 3rd person hype that exists in the world of music today. That having been said , I certainly understand that many folks still like to know a little bit more about an artist either before or after they listen to them. What follows below is my attempt to satisfy that need. It's a rather light-hearted bio, designed mostly to help the reader put my music into some kind of context. I've spared you the minutia of my detailed life story. Oh, ...my one concession to the current convention was to keep it in the 3rd person.
THE MAN
Pete Vash was born on Tuesday, January 24, 1961, four days into the New Frontier. Earlier in the day Robert Allen Zimmerman arrived in New York City for the first time, and promptly made his way to Café Wha? Later that night, Bob Cousy and Bill Russell led the Boston Celtics to a 125 - 112 victory over the New York Knickerbockers.
Pete experienced his first guitar at age 3 when his cousin, aspiring Folksinger Harriet Udin Aronow, performed at a family picnic. "I can still remember feeling absolutely awestruck. I was simply amazed that this "thing" was producing such an enchanting sound. It was pure magic".
Like many teenagers in the mid-seventies, Pete formed and/or joined a procession of garage bands. It was while attending Rutgers University in the early 80’s, however, that Pete reconnected to the acoustic guitar. "It just seemed like an obvious evolution, especially since it was during this time that I began to really focus on songwriting"
Before his return to the world of engineering and his entry into the Solar Power Industry, Pete supported himself for over 5 years as a working musician performing a mix of Original Music and Tavern Favorites at Bar/Restaurants and hip listening rooms across New Jersey. He
mostly closely aligns himself with the musical traditions of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Neil Young, Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, and Bruce Cockburn.Leonard Bernstein has been quoted as saying…….."Folk-songs, and folk-dances are really the heart of all music, the very beginning of music, and you’d be amazed at how much of the big, complicated concert music we hear grows right out of them. But most important of all, folk-songs reflect the rhythms and accents and speeds of the way a people talk". Pete sees it the same way. "My musical influences are wide and varied, and they are reflected mostly in my sonic sensibilities. But at the core of each of my tunes there lives a simple folk song that speaks a plain truth in a language that feels right and natural. I look forward to sharing my brand of folk music with you".