New Orleans Report
Feb 10, 2010 General, Pete Sturman, Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul
My trip to New Orleans was wonderful. The Thing About It was really great! While it was not without its flaws (that’s the nature of a workshop, to try things out), it was really fascinating to see and hear the songs done by actors and to see how well the music worked in that context. Bookwriter Brian Sands, director Holly-Anne Ruggiero and actors Ian Hoch, Jamie Wax, Kenneth Thompson and Cliff Thompson should all be proud of themselves. The accompaniment by “Popgun” Paul Cowgill and Galen Marquis was great and it was a joy to watch them bonding together musically on stage. It seems that many of the involved parties would like to see more happen with this musical, so for now let’s just keep our fingers crossed.
The workshop ended with a matinee on Sunday, January 31 and that night Paul and I convened in the All Ways Lounge for a special 3-hour set of many requests and some new songs of mine done solo. Ian and Kenneth (from TTAI) came up and sang “Angel’s Wings” and “Party Zone” with us, then Ian duetted with me on “Tea”. We also did a couple of sets backed up by Galen on keys and our old friend Kathleen Kraus on upright bass. It rocked and has got us thinking we should do an album as a foursome.
Somehow the Pistol/Popgun machine keeps chuggin’ despite our being in different cities, and I believe that somehow we always will.
Off to New Orleans!
Jan 27, 2010 General, Pete Sturman, Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul
I leave in the morning for New Orleans! Very excited to see The Thing About It, to perform with Paul at the All Ways and of course the Brigid Ball, my first since 2006. PP&PP will roll out the old “What If God Was a Homo” or some such chestnut at the Ball. Looking forward to seeing many of you there! New Yorkers, my “big” solo gig is on February 21.
“I Can Hardly Wait” performed on Good Morning New Orleans!
Jan 12, 2010 General, Pete Sturman, Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul
Wowee! Check out this clip from yesterday’s Good Morning New Orleans of new song “I Can Hardly Wait” performed by cast members of THE THING ABOUT IT.
Pete featured this month on Gay Guitarists Worldwide
Jan 8, 2010 General, Pete Sturman, Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul
Check out Gay Guitarists Worldwide where Robert Urban has run a feature on me this month – he reviews Son of a Gun and True Stories and posts a pretty meaty interview. Thanks Robert! And be sure to check out the other talented LGBT artists who are featured there.
Popgun Paul named musical director!
Dec 29, 2009 General, Pete Sturman, Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul
Our collaboration continues across the miles as “Popgun” Paul Cowgill has agreed to be musical director for The Thing About It – A New Musical, the workshop of which will be performed Jan. 28-31 at Southern Rep Theatre in New Orleans. Brian Sands came up with the idea and wrote the book and at this writing it features 24 of my songs, mostly ones you’ve heard done by PP&PP but a few world premieres as well. I can’t think of a more perfect candidate than Paul and wish him success and inspiration in this new position.
Hello from Pete in NYC
Nov 29, 2009 General, Pete Sturman, Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul
There is a lot going on right now! I just chatted with Paul yesterday and am planning to visit New Orleans in late Jan./early Feb. in time for the Brigid Ball, my first since 2006.
In addition, our friend Brian Sands is working to mount a theatrical production involving a large number of Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul songs (plus some new or never-recorded songs of mine), so I will giving some attention to this when I am in New Orleans.
Creatively I’ve been on a roll like I haven’t in years. I have a whole bunch of new songs I can’t wait to share with people! Hopefully “True Stories” will be available for download any day. Hope you enjoy the revamped website – I sure do like that I’m able to post stuff myself now. Thanks Zan our wonderful webmaster!
Drop us a line anytime.
Welcome to the new site!
Oct 30, 2009 General, Pete Sturman, Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul
Pete has prepared a new batch of songs for your listening pleasure, and I’ve been helping him get the packaging prettified and sending it off to iTunes-land, and he also asked if maybe we could spruce up the website a bit, while we’re at it.
Gosh, that old site was getting dusty.
This new site should be much easier for Pete and Paul to update whenever they like, and it will also make it easier for you (yes you!) to share links to songs, post comments, and generally be all Web-2.0-ish.
More enhancements to come!
Message from Pete
Jun 29, 2006 General, Pete Sturman, Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul
Dear Friends,
It is June of 2006 and there have been many changes in our lives. In February of 2005, Paul was crowned “Pop Pop Pop, Empress XVI of the New Orleans Faeries” at the Country Club. We had made a secret pact that if one of us were crowned, we would share the crown and imperial responsibility. The Empress called a Lammas ritual circle on August 2, 2005, and surprised and delighted the community by passing his crown to Pete, dubbing him “Empress 16-1/2 , Monkey Wrench.” The crown, after all, has gotten heavy with the yearly addition of more and more trinkets, and it’s nice to share the weight.
Only a few weeks later, Hurricane Katrina came to New Orleans. We each managed individually to evacuate before the storm hit, and were re-united eventually in Tennessee, where we spent most of September and October. We got involved in Idapalooza Festival, where Pete did a set of all new post-Katrina songs, and Paul performed numbers from a gospel album he hopes to make available one day.
We returned to New Orleans in time to plan and put on the Ball, which happened on February 2, 2006 at One Eyed Jacks, where the crown was passed to Marcus Fraser in a ceremony that featured the music of “The Brigideers” (Pete, Paul, Jay Tombstone and Galen Marquis). On February 5, we held a tearful and bittersweet going away party for Pete, who decided to move to New York City after his building was sold to developers.
Pete now lives in downtown Manhattan and does occasional NYC gigs when he gets a chance. Paul still lives in New Orleans and is currently involved in a number of theatre projects there, in addition to being one of the curators of the Sidearm Gallery on St. Roch Ave. While we have no plans to tour in the foreseeable future, we see this as merely a geographical separation. Whenever we are in the same city, we will find a venue in which to play together.
Stay in touch!
Love, Pete and Paul
Pete and Paul Go Digital!
Jun 1, 2004 General, Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul
Hey all,
Pete and Paul have hooked up with an independent distributor in order to reach as many people as possible. As a result, their album Son of a Gun is their first to have digital distribution through iTunes!
Hopefully this, will be the beginning of a series of digital releases from Pete and Paul!
Love, Zan (your webmaster)
Message from Pete and Paul
May 16, 2004 General, Pistol Pete & Popgun Paul
Dear fans of PP & PP,
It is May of 2004 and we have been living once again in New Orleans for the past year or so. We haven’t done any touring since 2002 and don’t have any plans to do anytime soon. We have day jobs and do local gigs in New Orleans whenever we can. Recently we celebrated our 10th Anniversary as a performing duo will an all-star cast of New Orleans musicians at The Country Club in New Orleans. It was a truly beautiful night. It reminded us that even though fame and fortune have hitherto eluded us, we have lots of love, which is what really matters.
If you want to see us, come to New Orleans! Give us a call, as we check email only sporadically. Wishing you much love and a magical spring and summer.
Love, Pete and Paul
The new site is up! In addition to the new design, we’ve added clips of every song from Pete and Paul’s first CD Fine Red Wine. Watch for more fun stuff soon!
The concert on May 16th at No Exit in Chicago was filmed, and there’s a short greeting clip available online for you! One or more performances from the show may be available on site site as sound and/or video files soon!