Another Friday, another chance to give more than a Twitter-length shout-out to some of the talented folks we shared the stage with on our album release tour.

As I ‘ve been saying, it’s usually the marquee names you play with that end up in the press kit. Those are cool. For us sharing a stage with Madi Diaz, The Civil Wars, Dan Wilson and Crystal Bowersox gives us some credibility and that’s great. All of those people, in our limited interactions with them, were very nice.

But that’s not where the memories were really made for us on this last tour. I’m going to spend the next few weeks highlighting some of the artists we actually hung out with and played with on the Lost River tour. Happy #FollowFriday.

Peter Katz

I remember meeting Peter like it was yesterday, but it was not. It was almost 8 years ago at NXNE, the Canadian SXSW up in Toronto. Peter was a rising star in the Toronto music scene and I *think*, although he may remember it differently, that he and I had emailed a bit from mp3.com or some other relic of a bygone dotcom era. Anyway, somehow I knew he would be at my showcase and I planned to be at his.

As a quick aside, I was travelling to the show at the time with Tuck, who some of you may remember from those days. Tuck had been working in his studio for some ridiculous amount of time, 48 hours straight or something (he was probably working on this album, which contains this song, which I absolutely love) anyway, he hadn’t slept. Somewhere after we crossed the border from Vermont, after hours of driving, we were passing a tractor trailer and Tuck bolted awake in the passenger seat and started reaching for the steering wheel. He thought we were about to crash and was trying to save us. He was yelling and grabbing for the steering wheel and I’m fighting him for control. It was a sweet sentiment, for a homicidal fever dream. So, our arrival in Toronto felt even more triumphant than it otherwise might have.

Anyway, Tuck and Peter have a lot in common. Though at the time Peter was someone with whom I shared few words and exchanged information and pleasantries, I’ve followed his career along through his excellent email list that is truly a window into what I’ve come to know as his sweet, gentle soul. That, and a passionate heart that drives him to teach (including these lessons for his own songs) are reminiscent of Tuck, who now runs his very own Rock Dojo with his beautiful wife Kata teaching kids how to, well, rock. But in a sweet, gentle way.

Over the years Peter and I have made many false starts towards playing together. Once my own solo career veered more into the Weezer/Fountains of Wayne world and Peter’s veered more towards the Swell Season I thought the chance might never arise to work together.  That, and frankly, judging from the guests on his album and his insane tour schedule, I was pretty sure he was maybe too big a deal for little ol’ me.

One of the many, many reasons I feel so blessed to be in Hotels & Highways was the opportunity to reconnect with Peter.  He only joined us for two shows (too few!) but we exchanged more than a few words. We even joined him for a song. I learned a great deal about what his life has actually been like outside of his emails and, of course, that includes hearing for the first time of many of the hard knocks this business has dealt him.

Three lessons stick out from my time chatting with Peter at the wonderful house concert we shared at Kevin’s home outside Philly:

1. Being Nice Works.

He simply asked Glen Hansard to be on his record and because he wasn’t a jerk about it and had been in touch before, Glen said yes. Peter wasn’t conniving or scheming. He simply respected Glen’s time and asked through the appropriate channels. For our tour as well, Peter was incredibly respectful, diligent and a pleasure to work with. I really can’t wait to play with him again.

2. “Nervousness is Selfishness”

I plan to devote an entire blog to this concept in the future but it’s something Peter learned from an acting teacher and it really resonated with all of us: Being nervous before you go onstage is really an act of supreme selfishness. These people have come to see you play, to share in the communal joy of music and by being too nervous to give 100% you’re mucking it all up and it’s really selfish of you.

3. Move to Canada (or any other country that supports the arts)

The fact that my friends, all of them talented, hard working, driven, creative people have to work so incredibly hard, often doing jobs unrelated to their creative pursuits, simply to afford to survive is a failure of our society.

In Canada (and Australia, and lots of other places) the government awards grants to artists who prove, through a very rigorous screening process, that they have a game plan to make their art. And then, because of a *law* passed by the government, the radio is *required* to play a certain percentage of truly independent music.

It’s not Utopia and there are ways it’s messed up too, but it sure is working off of an entirely different value system than we seem to have down here. I truly deeply love my country, but man do I feel like a second-class citizen sometimes. Maybe I’ll run for office someday and change it.

I wanted to tell you more about how I listened to his album in the rain on my way back from visiting my family in Jersey and how it was perfect for the subway and the rain and Brooklyn and how that was also a great memory because Lisa made her famous avocado and pita chips dinner and we vegged out and watched Modern Family. But I’ve said enough and that’ll have to wait for another time.

Get to know Peter on his website.

-syd