After signing a record deal with Regular Music, releasing a full length album, and touring the country, Pete Nischt was at the top of his game staring at his realized dream on the horizon. As that horizon inched closer it quickly vanished like a desert mirage. Nischt, a 21 year old singer/songwriter who already is a weathered veteran of the music industry, finds himself without a label and shaken faith in his most passionate avenue of life. His acoustic guitar driven vibe blends just enough rock edge to wet the appetite. Pete was kind enough to sit down and talk to us about finding his place in the world, his basement recording sessions, and throwing down for Ryan Adams.
S*KM: In your most recent update to your fans you sounded like an artist who was struggling to find his place in the music industry. What can you attribute that inspiration crisis to and have you since started to find your way back?
Pete: Haha! I think I’ve really just been struggling to find my place in the world in general. Music is such a big part of my life that if something is out of balance with it everything else goes out of balance and visa versa. Does that make sense? I realize that I have a tendency to be more open about stuff than I should sometimes. I can come across as self depreciating and over-apologetic. I don’t mean too, but it was pretty hard getting home from tour and going back to school. I don’t know what my fans thought, but I definitely did not want to go back. It was just something I HAD to do… otherwise I would’ve just spent another 6 months sitting around waiting. Things weren’t happening the way they were written out on paper. There was a lot of talk and nothing to show for it… It messed me up for a long time, coming so close to the only thing I’ve ever wanted and then having to take a big step backwards, but sometime afterwards I was sure that I had made the right choice. The next ten months were really hard. I wouldn’t say I’m back to a comfortable place in my life just yet, but I’m taking the steps I feel are necessary to work everything out.
S*KM: In that same post you said you were “one of 25 accepted into NYU’s Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music but had to turn them down due to the cost of living and studying in NYC.” How big of deal was that for you and what was it like having to turn it down?
Pete: NYU was a HUGE deal to me… I’ve had a secret love affair with NYC ever since the first time I went out there a few years ago. I feel like it suits me best, and I can honestly say that it’s probably always been part of who I saw myself as an adult. To top it off, NYU is the number one music business school in the country and the Department of Recorded Music in the Tisch School of the Arts is the only program like it in the world. When I read about the program I started getting really excited about it, not because I thought it would help me get signed or put me in touch with Clive Davis or anything like that (I feel like a lot of kids apply for those reasons alone, and by the way… NOTHING like that is happening for anyone there). For me it was just a way to stick with my art, explore avenues I maybe hadn’t thought of before, and to meet other people who were as passionate as me about music. I feel like my favorite kind of people are the ones that know what they want to do and then make it happen. It’s inspiring to me. My thinking was that if I never got another chance at the life of a legitimate touring musician, I would be more than happy working as a producer or entrepreneur in the biz for the rest of my life. The idea of the program was extremely rejuvenating… It was an academic life that I could seriously immerse myself in while still devoting all of my time to my art and getting in touch with my fans. I didn’t even think I’d get accepted, so when I did I was like “ok, now I have to do this…” But $52,000 a year in tuition changes your outlook on things really fast, especially when they won’t offer you any financial aid because you’re a transfer student. At the end of the day, that kind of debt could’ve ruined me after my undergrad, so I had to pass it up.
S*KM: Looking back on it do you think it turned out for the best or do you feel that was a golden opportunity missed?
Pete: I still feel like that program is an amazing opportunity, but only for the people who have the cash to throw at it or who can get aid. It just wasn’t feasible for me to take out 160K in loans at the age of 21. Don’t get me wrong… I love the idea of being a free spirit and taking risks to get ahead, but there’s no job security, and honestly there are 10 times as many professional producers and execs who got into the business because they were go-getters and not because of where they went to school. That kind of debt would’ve gotten in the way of everything ahead of me if I didn’t “make it big.” When I say everything I mean a music career, entrepreneurship, a career at a company, owning or renting a home, marriage, law school, etc, etc, etc… NYU is a wonderful place to start a career in the music business, but it certainly isn’t the only place to start one. If you want it, I feel like you can make it happen for yourself. There’s still so much magic in that, and that’s what I started to realize… Who’s got more experience: someone who sat in a class and learned about record contracts or someone who was caught in the middle of one professionally for a year? I’m bummed about NYU, but I’m learning everyday in and out of school. If I can get to where I want go without getting a couple hundred grand in debt it’s going to feel really good, and I’m confident I can do that.
S*KM: You recently posted a new song titled “Back to the Start” which sports a stripped down rugged and weathered sound that cuts right to the point. What is the song about and is it the true sound of Pete Nischt apposed to the more polished “Life is Strange”?
Pete: This song was a truly sincere attempt to tell someone I loved that I was real and that there was nothing I wouldn’t have done for her, even as she left. Although my attempt was made in vain, I feel like it captures the beauty, complexity, and ironic simplicity in young love. It’s about what could’ve been, should’ve been, and what would’ve never been, all at the same time. I’m as over it now as I’ll ever be… having the song come together the way it did helped a lot.
As for whether it’s the true sound of Pete Nischt… Don’t get me wrong, “Life is Strange” came out wonderful. Everyone who worked on it was extremely proud of it. I am SO proud of it. I never thought I’d ever get to make a record like that. You have to remember I started writing it when I was 18, and I finished recording it around a year and a half ago. So, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve grown a little since writing it. Secondly, when I went into the studio I had this big idea about how I wanted the project to be, everything from instrumentation to artwork, and nothing wound up how I had first pictured it. I wanted things to be extremely stripped down and organic sounding… really raw and beautiful… Something like a Damien Rice record or a Ryan Adams record. When I got there, something else started to take place, and we went with it. I remember having a really hard time warming up to the synths and stuff, haha. I like them now though. In a way I feel like Life is Strange came out exactly the way it was meant to come out. It’s young, angry, and (dare I say?) angsty, but the tone of the record is so positive… I was breaking away from a lot of the negative energy that had been pulling me down for so long, and I was on the verge of what I hoped would be a wildly successful music career. I wanted to make things happen, and it came out in the record. I feel like the production we chose for the record was perfect for the songs. In answer to your question though, yes, I feel like Back to the Start is what I really sound like now. I’ve decided that the next record, and those following it, are going to be done a little differently. I feel like no matter what, if I concentrate on making the records that I want to make and listen too, I’ll be rewarded for my efforts. I like a lot of real sounds, a lot of strings, a lot of instruments… just a lot of orchestration in general. I actually wrote an essay about it in my NYU portfolio. Bottom line, the next record I do will still be me… my personality is going to come out the same way it did. It’s going to be just as honest and sincere, except this time I’m going to stay as true as I can to how I hear myself and how I hear the message I’m trying to convey. If I could record each moment I end up writing about and then play the track I wrote over that moment I’d want people to be like… “oh my God, I totally get it… he nailed it!” Expect something different!
S*KM: You are currently recording new material in a homemade studio in the basement of a friend’s house, how is the process coming and do you think that atmosphere will rub off on the new tracks?
Pete: Ahh yes the basement studio! It’s actually been really interesting. When my friend Andy Dolson came to me and offered to do a few tracks for me in his basement I didn’t really know what to expect, but the results have been amazing so far. It is very raw, but the process is pretty much the same. I think the biggest benefit of having your own studio is having the free time to create and play whatever you want, whenever you want. After about one and a half songs at Andy’s I was hooked, and now I’m actually getting ready to take out a loan and build one myself. Of course the atmosphere rubs off on you, just like the atmosphere that a great studio or producer give off might influence the way things turn out. I am so excited to build my own for that reason… I’m going to snag some nice equipment… but I’d also like to keep stuff like candles and wine stocked in there, along with a futon for when I’m ready to crash. I feel like that’s just as important as anything… because… it’s weird, I don’t feel like I have a safe place where I can go to get my mind off of stuff sometimes. This will be my safe place.
S*KM: What is the motivation behind your music, is there a specific set of musical guidelines or principals steering your creative output?
Pete: Somewhere along the line, I got into the habit of writing to get over stuff. A lot of times I’ll just hit the record button and start singing and playing anything that comes to my head, and when I play it back I realize I’ve just subconsciously written my next song. I always just end up singing about what’s going on in my life, and 99% of the time, if I’m able to organize my thoughts into a song, I feel a million times better about whatever it was that was bothering me. It’s actually gotten to the point now where if I don’t write on a regular basis I get really stressed and anxious about stuff. It may not be for everyone, but for me this is what works! I guess that’s my motivation. That and it provides me with a medium to say the things I need to say, without actually saying them.
As for guidelines and principles steering my creativity… I’m kind of open to anything. The biggest thing for me is that I write my own music and that I don’t sing about made up stories. That may work for some people but not really for me. I feel like honesty and sincerity are absolutely key here. Back to the Start came out well because it is real. It happened to me, and it’s happening to others every day. I feel like something about it sparkles way back in the parts of your brain that store those kinds of memories and trauma. It’s sentimental and nostalgic. I like that this is the kind of reaction it’s gotten so far.
S*KM: What is the most important thing you have learned through your ups and downs in the business?
Pete: Take what you can get when you can get it, don’t burn any bridges, don’t complain, and don’t stop believing in yourself.
S*KM: You recently started taking classes at the University of Akron majoring in accounting and specializing in music business. What brought that decision on and how does a creative mind like yours deal with the black and white lines of accounting?
Pete: Honestly, accounting was one of the last things I ever saw myself doing. When I first graduated high school in 2005 I was seriously considering a major in jazz studies on the trumpet, but I gave that idea up after a while because I realized that I needed more of a creative outlet for my music instead of a re-creative one. I’ve always said if I couldn’t entertain, I wanted to go to law school to get into Entertainment Law. So that’s the academic path I’m still on today. At the time when I had to choose my major, someone said accounting would be the best undergrad for an entertainment lawyer, so I chose it. A law degree and an accounting degree are also the perfect combination if you’re going to start a business (record label or management company) or have to understand how one works. My undergrad is just a stepping stone. Doing accounting work right now is funding my soon-to-be recording studio, so I can’t complain too much… but you hit the nail on the head if you think that it’s tough for me to sit through those classes…
S*KM: If you could have grown up in any other music generation, which would it be?
Pete: This may be cliche, but I think the 60’s were an amazing time to be into music. Acts like Bob Dylan, Marley, The Beatles, and Hendrix, were all doing their thing. It would’ve been amazing to be a part of it. If you lived in New Jersey in the late 60’s you would’ve been able to catch an independent Bruce Springsteen playing up and down the Jersey shore all of the time in various bands. There was also an amazing connection between the music and the times that hasn’t really been matched since then.
S*KM: If you had to fight over a must have album for everyone’s music collection which would it be?
Pete: Well, the one I always go back to is Ryan Adam’s “Love is Hell.” It is absolutely breathtaking… you can’t beat it. If anybody reads this and hasn’t heard it, go pick it up at a used record store or on iTunes or something. You won’t regret it.
S*KM: With your summer basement recording sessions in full swing and a few shows lined up, what else can we look forward to from you in the coming months?
Pete: My plans for the next few months are to play out a little less but in more places. I feel like I’ve played way too much in the past 10 months, and I’m worried about it getting dilutive. I’d like to do more dates in New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Chicago, Columbus, Grand Rapids, and Ann Arbor, as well as the regular spots in the midwest (as long as gas prices allow it). I’d also like to try entering a few song writing competitions, finish my next record, and put together another band. Once I get my studio done I was thinking about trying to do a little artist development or something… but that’s a ways down the road. We’ll see… I’m keeping my options open!
You can check out Pete Nischt for yourself at www.myspace.com/petenischt and catch him live on Sunday, June 29 at Musica in Akron, Ohio.
Pete’s show is on Friday, June 27th, at Musica in Akron!
never mind… it is June 29th, as you stated! my mistake!
pete nischt is the man