Photo courtesy of Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts
Steve Peplin
Last year Steve Peplin played over 200 gigs. In addition to performances, the Berklee College of Music graduate has taught music at MATC and Lawrence University (in Appleton), as well as written transcription books for Hal Leonard Publishing. The ambitious guitarist/composer recently spoke about his projects.
How has the lockdown affected your creativity?
“The lockdown has given me the time I've been wanting for the past 20 years of my musical life. I have been practicing, writing (music, lyrics and three books), practicing martial arts a lot (Chinese Kempo, Taijiquan, boxing), exercising, spending time with family and just taking better care of myself,” Peplin said. “I have been more creative during the lockdown than I've ever been. I'm close to finishing the scores for the second Strangelander record (The Star and the Lantern), which is now scored for a chamber orchestra.”
Peplin has also started a record where he is playing and writing everything called World War C, in addition to working on a guitar sonata and a solo guitar record. What else? His is also finishing vocals and guitar on the debut Dinosaur Rocket record.
Do you have a routine or schedule for staying in practice or working on new material?
“I have always been chaotic, but I'm organized musically—in my head. But in an effort to get more organized (and be a better teacher) I wrote a book, a musical manifesto really, called Sound Traveler's Atlas that contains systems for composition, improvisation, maintenance, practice, musical meditation and so forth,” Peplin said.
“I have been slacking on my guitar practice for a couple weeks, as I've been writing and working on my house and car a lot. But I 'go to work' (composing) every night at about 8 p.m. and usually work till 1:30 or 2 a.m. Even if I have no inspiration, it always shows up after about five minutes on my keyboard.”
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Are you making plans for when you can resume playing in front of people again?
“I'm going to retire from low paying side-man gigs,” he said referencing last year’s schedule. “I just got burnt out from learning charts 27/7 and driving way too much. I'm very thankful that I was called to do these gigs, and I love everyone I worked with last year, but I put a lot of time rehearsing and preparing for each and every gig, which consumed all my creative time.
Also, I live an hour west of Milwaukee, so we're talking a lot of extra miles, road time and gas money. I was doing 80-hour weeks. Imagine any other profession where you put 20 hours into a project for $40.
Don't get me wrong, I still want to show up more than the Loch Ness Monster! But I have to focus on composition and my original bands for the most part.”
To read more stories in our Artists Beating COVID-19 series, click here.
To read more stories by Blaine Schultz, click here.
