Toronto, Ontario based songwriter Peter Katz decided to let go a little for his long awaited new CD “ We Are the Reckoning.”
“ It took us a long time to make,” Katz said, loading in for a show in London, England.
His last studio album was in 2012 and he released a live CD in 2011.
He brings his new band (pianist Michelle Willis, drummer Benjamin Rollo, bassist Mark McIntire) to Lethbridge to play the Slice, May 6.
“ I tried to take a step back from touring and focus on songwriting and voice. So I sat in a room with a whole bunch of different songwriters, which was a new experience for me, and wrote 50 different songs for the CD and sent them to (producers) Royal Wood and Bill Lefler and let them do what was required. I’m too close to them,” he continued adding he let them decide which songs to put on the CD.
“Being a solo singer songwriter, I’ve always done everything on my own. Now I’m trusting people more,” he continued.
He said there was no conscious theme to the 50 songs or the songs that ended up on the CD.
“A lot of the time you write a song without thinking about it. It just comes out and then you find out what it means. That’s been my process. The meaning reveals itself,” he said adding the CD ended up having a lot of diversity.
The title track has a dance beat to it.
“ It’s not techo. It is definitely a synth drums sound. I enjoy dance music. So I thought ‘why not do it,” he said.
He always gets a good turnout in Lethbridge.
“I love playing Southern Alberta.
“ I’ll play a really varied set. There will be a lot from the new album,” he said. This will be the first time with the full band.
“They are amazing. Mark McIntire plays with Dean Brody and Michelle is a superstar,” he enthused.
He is enjoying touring Europe.
“ It’s been great. I have a great European band and Michelle is playing with me here. The Netherlands has always good and so was Hamburg. We’re starting to do well in Germany,” he said.
Peter Katz and his band play the Slice, May 6 at 8 p.m. Admission is $20.
