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| Elliott Peck (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
When I caught up with Elliott Peck, she had just returned to the Bay Area following a tour with Midnight North – the band she co-fronts with Grahame Lesh. Elliott will be making a solo appearance on the main stage of the Mill Valley Music Festival early on Saturday, May 10th with a great group of musicians – showcasing songs from her solo EP “In the Pines” and Midnight North’s latest studio album “Diamonds in the Zodiac.”
Elliott was supposed to be at the 2024 Mill Valley Music Festival, but a serious health crisis that resulted in major abdominal surgery forced her to step away from performing and even singing for months to recover. In this interview, she reflects on touring life, her songwriting process, her recovery from illness, the influence of Phil and Grahame Lesh and what she will be bringing to audiences in Mill Valley this May.
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| The Mill Valley Music Festival (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
SFBAC: How was the Midnight North tour back East? That latest album is so spectacular!
Elliott Peck: Thank you. We didn't really get to tour on it at first. We put it out and then it was like everything crashed. So, it was nice to get back and play some of those songs for people. We have been touring the East Coast since 2015 and it's cool as a West Coast band to get such a great reception from people on the East Coast. We had great crowds every night, and a lot of warm receptions. People missed us - which was cool. We've really built a great fan base there because we go out East at least twice a year.
So, it felt reinvigorating of the whole process. On top of that, I felt like the band and our music was sounding better than ever. That's always so inspiring as an artist, because you're playing some songs you've played for many years, but when the music continues to elevate like that, it just sets a fire under you.
Touring is not an easy process. You know. I forget how hard it is. But it was successful and great to be back out there. Grahame was coming off his huge shows at the Capitol Theater with all those heavy hitters (Warren Haynes, Eric Krasno, Rick Mitarotonda, Jackie Greene, Oteil Burbridge, Jason Crosby). I always felt every time he did a Phil and Friends run, he came back with his playing elevated and lifted all of us. He’s learned so much from these guys and that was part of Phil's intention; “Here, get on stage with the best and you're gonna have to rise to the occasion.” So, him coming off that and then joining us felt really great.
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| Elliott Peck (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
SFBAC: Having been around Terrapin a bit and been able to watch his growth as a bandleader. It’s really neat to see him out there with all these big heavyweights.
Elliott Peck: I don't know how much people know that he was really becoming a leader in Phil and Friends for the last several years. He was involved in writing the set lists and teaching everybody their harmonies. I mean, that's a lot of work and Grahame just jumped into that and did an amazing job.
SFBAC: How long have you two been working together and how did it come about?
Elliott Peck: Yeah, we started together in 2012 - literally the same months when Terrapin was opening. Luckily, somehow it all fit together. I'd been playing with (Midnight North bassist) Connor (O’Sullivan) previously in another act, Grahame had been looking for a bass player and put out an ad on Craigslist for his band, and Connor found it. And he was like, “Oh, these people seem smart, I'm gonna respond.” He started rehearsing with them and they had a female singer at the time and then she ended up departing for another project.
I just kind of fell into it and I said, “You know I have some songs, and I play and sing” and Grahame was new as a songwriter and looking for more material. We started jamming together. had a few rehearsals, and he's like, “My folks are opening this place. We could play there once a week and use it like a live rehearsal and work up material and see where it goes.” And we were like, “Yeah, let's do it! Let's jump in!”
So, when Terrapin opened, I was there for the soft opening and the very beginning of it. And it was all just, you know, luck, that I ended up at that point. And then a couple of months later, I find myself on stage singing with Phil, and the rest is history…
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| Elliott Peck & Grahame Lesh (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
SFBAC: I always say you were the not-so-secret weapon of Terrapin. There was that area to the left of stage of the Grate Room where people would linger about and someone would say “Oh, I saw Elliott! Elliott's here!” and there would be this buzz. And then In December 2023 at The Sweetwater - your Elliott Peck & Friends show - there was more love in that room from an audience that I’ve ever seen. To see you own the spotlight with the group of amazing musician friends surrounding you and so happy for you. And there was a feeling in the audience of “She’s getting what she’s always deserved.” That was a very special night.
Elliott Peck: It really was, and I felt that, too. It was love pouring out from the audience, love from the bandmates. The fact that those folks wanted to support me! I mean, I can't afford Jason Crosby. But there he was, playing with me and Lebo, and some of the best of the Bay. Natalie and Grahame - they were all so kind to step up and make me feel like “your music and talent is worth us being here to support you”. It was super, super cool of all of them. Just a fabulous night of getting to put out some original stuff and do our thing in front of everybody. It was pretty magical.
SFBAC: You grew up in the Midwest. How did you end up becoming a “local” here in the Bay Area music scene?
Elliott Peck: I grew up out in the country, on a Michigan farm. My parents were hippies. We grew food and some “other things.” And lived a pretty chill life. I relocated to Chicago after college and it's a great city, but I had friends that lived in in San Francisco. I came out here to visit several times, and I just felt this pull toward this area. I felt like this place feels like me more than I've ever felt before. The Midwest is a great place to grow up and have your family, but I got to a point where I needed to try and turn a different direction.
I've absolutely loved being in the Bay Area. I think it is just the best place to live in the country and I wouldn't change it for a thing – it was and is fabulous. I’ve been here ever since, and I really feel like the music scene out here is exactly what I was looking for. Everywhere else is so individualized. You have your band. You play and tour with that band. You do that thing again. Out here, it’s just a crossover of different people, and you're constantly playing and meeting new musicians – which keeps you fresh and inspired. You learn something every single night you play with a different group of people. And that kind of knowledge and experience - you can't replicate that. You have to learn by doing it live, and It's been a really special thing to be part of something like that.
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| Elliott Peck @ the Great American Music Hall (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
SFBAC: How has the Bay Area influenced your songwriting?
Elliott Peck: I think by listening to other great songwriters in the area - specifically Tim Bluhm and Greg Loiacono from The Mother Hips. I really dove into their music, and heard how California, seeps into their music. Obviously, they're from here. So, they’re a little deeper into it. But I loved how they weave in names of towns, rivers and places that make you feel like you’re experiencing California when you're listening to their songs. And I think that's really an effective way to write. Just brilliant and I guess I hadn't heard somebody do that. I've heard songs about places, but I've never heard songs that were coming from their home place so deeply.
So, I was paying attention to what was going on around and listening. Chuck Prophet’s another one - a great writer who has such roots here. And those things influenced me to write with a certain style - a certain sound - and incorporate some of the California experience into the songs themselves.
SFBAC: I was at Hopmonk Novato the night you returned to the stage from your illness performing a few songs with Grahame Lesh and Friends. I spoke with you briefly when you walked in that night, and everyone was thrilled just to see you out and about. We had all been so concerned for your health. And then when you got up to sing, it was like “She's gonna’ do it! Look at this!” It was like something from the movies.
Elliott Peck: That was the first time I came back on stage, and I was nervous. I still wasn't feeling great. It was a weird experience, because I had major abdominal surgery, and the doctors even said “you can't sing for a couple of months. You have to let all this heal and don't put any pressure there.” And that was so tough for me.
But it was very cool of Grahame to find a little space for me there, and just say, “Let's try something. Let's get you back in and put your toe in the water and see how it feels.” And I have to say it felt clunky at first. It was almost like; you're training hard to run a race and your body has adapted to it. And then, you just stop one day, and you don't exercise anymore. And then you go back out and try it. And you're like, “Oh, this feels so hard. This feels so difficult.” That's kind of what it felt like getting back into singing. I was really surprised how quickly those muscles atrophy! But also, how quickly you can rebound.
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| Elliott Peck & Grahame Lesh (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
SFBAC: And just a couple months later at the Terrapin Sunday Daydream Festival Volume 3 in July 2024 you were already playing and singing everywhere I turned that day.
Elliott Peck: Oh, I know. They worked me silly. It was crazy. I was like “You want me to play 3 sets in between the other sets that I'm out also? Okay!” It was like sink or swim. There you go! It was a really exhausting day, but such a great day! And I got to sing with Stu, and then I got to sing a little bit with Phil, and that was his last public show. So, it was just really special having just come back at that time. And Phil was so helpful to me in my recovery - the whole Lesh family was. He started inviting me to the clubhouse, to do those recorded sessions. They were the perfect way to ease me back into singing. I remember the 1st one I was like, “Oh, I’ve got some work to do!” But as they progressed, and we did a few more. I was feeling good by the end. I think that might have been the last time I even got to see him at one of those. He sat down, looked at me and said “How are you doing? it was special, and he was very supportive as I was getting my voice back through him doing that for me.
SFBAC: As you were recovering and unable to sing – what did you do?
Elliott Peck: I played A LOT of guitars. Most of my time, I usually feel like I should be writing, because that's my strength and we always need new material. I'm always putting time into that - wishing I had more time to work on my skills as a guitarist. So, that time was like a little excuse to do that. I sat home and played, and Grahame made me videos of the Allman Brothers song “Jessica” and I learned to play each section at a time. And I learned “Jessica” and I haven't done it live yet. But I need to. It's like one of the hardest songs to play on guitar, and I was like, “If I can do this…”
So, I worked a lot on my guitar skills and listened to a lot of music. I think that's something that always helps my writing is just go diving deep into an artist that I love. I kind of picked Jeff Tweedy and went deep into his solo catalog and stuff. I really admire him as a writer, and I even got to sing with him one time with the Philco shows a few years ago in Chicago. I got the opportunity to meet him and sit in a room and rehearse with him - which was just mind-blowing. He's so cool and so humble and down to earth. I just loved him more than I ever had working with him that day. So, it was cool to dive into his material a little deeper.
SFBAC: What’s your process as a songwriter. Do you get lyrics first? Do you go music first? What’s your approach?
Elliott Peck: It's such a mysterious thing. If anybody could explain to you how it exactly works, we'd all be making a lot more money. Honestly, it's a process of discovery. A lot of times, I generally start by just sitting there strumming chords and kind of see what sounds good. And then melody is to me is the most important thing, because melody is what I've noticed can bring in an audience immediately.
There are a lot of songs that if you listen to them a few times, you're like “Yeah, that's a great song.” But there's something about - and The Avetts do this beautifully - catching them with the melody that makes them listen to the words. So that’s a good sign of a good song. And that's what I'm always searching for -for that melodic nugget that’s gonna just turn people's ears on and go “Ooh! I want to hear what this is about!” And then I usually fill in with lyrics, but I always keep my little journal right here, and I'm always, always, always, always, always looking for words, phrases, ideas, experiences and keeping a running list of things. So, when I do come across that melody I kind of go through my material and see “What fits this? What, what does the song want? I always ask, “What does this song want to be about?” Because to me I'm not really creating it. It's like it's out there somewhere, and I just have to pull the pieces and fit the puzzle together, and then there it is.
Then, I will take a fairly formed idea to the band and see what they think and how they might contribute to it. That's usually the way Grahame and I write. We usually start off with our own ideas, bring them to each other and then work out the minutia of it. But then there are other songs where I think “I'd just like to record this in a different way, or with a different group of people.” And so, it kind of meanders into a solo thing. But (Midnight North) use a lot of music interchangeably. We play a lot of my stuff that's off my solo record too and it's all fair game.
SFBAC: At what point when you are writing a song do you decide to go forward.
Elliott Peck: I generally have a sense of “Would I like to listen to this song? I use my voice memos and record as much as I can of the idea until it is fleshed out and then I like to shelve it for a couple of days. When I listen to it with fresh ears I kind put it on as background and if my ear is like “Ooh. Oh, that,” then there’s a little spark there to me that's worth moving forward and continuing it. And it might be just the melody, but I don't have the lyrics yet. I usually try to make sure it's something that I feel excited and motivated about. Then, I'll keep working it and take it to the band or a band that I'm working with to see how it translates live.
Or maybe it's something that I just want to do on acoustic guitar at a solo show. And that's where it stays. Right? Songs are just big mysteries. I feel like if they're meant to be out there, they will find a way to get there. Because they'll keep showing up in your ear. I did some writing yesterday, and I woke up this morning with the new melody in my head, and I was like, that's a great sign, because it's surfacing. It's like “I'm here. Don't forget me. I want to be written.” That’s usually the process for me.
SFBAC: You will be batting leadoff at Mill Valley Music Festival on May 10. What should people expect to see and hear when they show up for Elliott Peck on that big stage?
Elliott Peck: I've got a great band Iined up with Scott Law coming down from Portland to play guitar with me. He's gonna make a special trip down for the festival, which I'm so thrilled We have Sean Nelson playing drums that day, and Burt Lewis on bass. A great group of guys and it's a day show. So, it's gonna be about the songs. You know. It's gonna be nice tight arrangements. We'll let Scott go a little bit and have some fun, but we're gonna keep it kinda’ tight and about the songs, we’ll make it an expression of joy to be there and kick off this amazing weekend in this beautiful place that we live in. Um. So, it's just gonna be a big, big thank you to the folks that come out early and support. I'm grateful they're having me back. It was cool of them to rebook me.
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| Midnight North @ the Guild Theater (Photo: Sean Reiter) |
SFBAC: You have a bunch of tour dates coming with Midnight North locally. You’ll be down at The Guild in Menlo Park…
Elliott Peck: We’re coming to The Guild again. Yeah, we're so excited. That’s one of our favorite rooms and we’re thrilled to be back there. And we have a couple of things that I don't know if they're even announced yet, but we're gonna do Rancho Nicasio with Dan Lebowitz and Friends and that’ll be a fun day.
We're heading out east again in September – playing Baygrass - a great music festival in Annapolis with Greensky Bluegrass on the bill. And we have the Terrapin shows. It's so exciting. I'm definitely going to be there. I've made a strong and wonderful connection with Amy Helm. We just got to play Levon Helm's barn and then Amy invited Graham and I to stay the next night to sing with The Midnight Ramble Band, which was fantastic, and she'll be out here for the 1st Terrapin shows (Monte Rio - May 31 and June 1) and I'm hoping to do a little bit of collaboration with her. She just moves things. She's got this gospel style and soul to her that makes every time you sing with her feel like a spiritual moment.
SFBAC: Anything else you want people to know?
Elliott Peck: Keep looking for new material. My intention was to do a second EP this year and put the two together and release a record and do another big show like we did at the Sweetwater. Things like that are coming. Obviously, stuff got slowed down for me, for a while, but now I have a lot of material to write about. That's for sure.
SFBAC: Thank you. We look forward to seeing you onstage at Mill Valley Music Festival on May 10!
Elliott Peck: Oh, you're so welcome! Thank you so much.
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Make sure to catch Elliott Peck on the main stage at Mill Valley Music Festival on Saturday, May 10th. For information and tickets, visit www.millvalleymusicfest.com
