Peter Trappen
Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist, Audio Engineer, Producer
Peter Trappen: A Journey Through Music and Life
Peter recently moved back to the United States from England and is currently in Florida reuniting with old friends and bandmates, making new friends and connections. Having lived in South Florida for many years, he's starting over after his British wife died from cancer. Dedicating this time to get his daughter safely enrolled in Nottingham University, he has managed to move back to the USA after 14 years.
Inspired by legendary artists such as The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bob Seger, and later by the Allman Brothers, John Prine, Neil Young, and Jimmy Buffett, Trappen's musical influences are as diverse as they are profound. He eventually delved deeply into the Blues, drawing inspiration from Muddy Waters, BB King and Stevie Ray Vaughn.
Trappen's determination to learn and grow led him to travel the world, gathering invaluable experiences and musical insights. Along his journey, he crossed paths with many famous individuals, many of whom remain his friends to this day.
Through the years, Trappen continues to hone his craft, writing and creating music. An A&R Factory review notes: The backing instrumentation, featuring stalwarts like Paul Hirsh on keys and Martin Ditcham on drums, complements Trappen’s work perfectly, making every moment of the track resonate with bluesy purity.
His past releases have been met with critical acclaim. Charles Spano praised his work, stating, "The straight-ahead rock songs, reminiscent of Clapton's solo work, are connected by a conceptual storyline." Joe Hartlaub added, "Trappen pulls off the trick of making his material sound familiar, without sounding stale. If he's got another one inside of him, I'd like to hear it."
Peter (Diesel Pete) Trappen
Singer, Songwriter, Producer, Audio Engineer, Graphic Artist
Freelance Studio Producer
Jun 2001 - Present · 24 yrs
Umpteen Music Studios. While touring England I recently recorded 4 songs at Stuart Epps Studio (Elton John and others) in Cookham UK with Paul Hirsh on Bass and Keys, Martin Ditcham (Sadé) on Drums. Now available on most music outlets. I'm working with Danie Cortese Entertainment in promoting these songs and others. I continue to record original music in my home studio using Ableton, Cubase, iZotope, various plug-ins and loops, Roland, Alesis, Akai, Fender, Martin, Gretsch, Guild, Epiphone, Heritage, Epiphone, Shure, Audio Production etc.
Solo Artist Acoustic Guitar Harmonica
Jun 2005 - Oct 2011 · 6 yrs
Lansing, Michigan, United States ·
Touring Michigan nightclubs, pubs, yacht clubs, rum shacks and casinos playing Trop Rock, Blues and Acoustic Standards 6-7 nights per week. I played solo with acoustic guitar and harmonica using backing tracks with occasional sidemen: Dave Matchett, Doug Gluckin, John Stopper, Jerry Krause and Mike Willemin. I recorded my 2nd CD "Chasing The Sky" during this time: This included 6 originals and 4 cover tunes: Jack Johnson, Jimmy Buffet, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan.I recorded at home in my studio.
Lead Singer / Guitarist
The White Owls · May 1995 - Mar 2005 ·10 yrs
West Palm Beach, Florida, United States ·
Lead Singer and Lead Guitar for the White Owls band playing Retro '60s Rock and Roll. Nightclubs, Festivals, Charity Events, and private parties. During this time we opened for the Beach Boys at Sunfest 2003 and many others like Chuck Berry and The Byrds. We rocked many parties and travelled from Miami, Florida to Atlanta, Georgia. This was the 2nd version of the White Owls with Rick Rossano (The Dillengers) on Bass and Vocals, Rik Rasmussen on Keyboards, Guitar and Vocals and George Anderson (The Dillengers) on Drums and Vocals. During this time I set up my home recording studio and produced my 1st CD, "Frequent Sea", in 2001 with 10 Original songs affiliated with BMI.
Lead Singer, Lead Guitarist, Songwriter
The Shivers / DMZ
Jan 1990 - May 1995 · 5 yrs
West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
I was lead singer in this group and helped write several songs with Jim Kastner. We recorded 4 songs at New River Studios in Fort Lauderdale with Jeffrey Wood producing. Kastner moved to Belgium and put out a CD called "Paris Rain" with some of these songs, We regrouped and added Neil Crilly (The Grammy's) on keyboards and recorded 4 songs at Magnetic Air studios with Chuck Hemann engineering. We released this EP entitled DMZ with BMI Music. This band included myself, Neil, Shan Cash on bass and numerous drummers: John Sluggett, Richard Tucker, Scott "Wiley" Lulfs and others.
Lead Singer, Guitarist
The White Owls · Full-time
Apr 1984 - Dec 1988 · 4 yrs
West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Forming the 1st edition of the White Owls with Jim Kastner on Lead Guitar and Harmony Vocals, Kevin Kaufman on Bass (Mike Stern, Jaco Pastorius), George Anderson on Drums (The Dillengers). We played the 264 Club in Palm Beach, Fridays and Saturday nights as the house band for over 4 years.. We would play many parties and festivals during this time and recorded 10 original songs with Jeffrey Wood producing. Unfortunately our manager, Fred Hennessy, died in a car crash and the record deal never happened. Mel Baister (road manager for Kenny Loggins and others) also helped us at this time. Kastner would leave soon after and entered a Zen monastery in Hawaii. Rick Rossano (The Dillengers) joined us at that point on Lead Guitar and Vocals.
Lead Singer, Guitarist
Peter Trappen & Co. ·
Jun 1978 - Apr 1984 · 5 yrs
West Palm Beach, Florida, United States
Playing as the House Band at the Gathering Restaurant in their cozy lodge setting. I teamed up with Keith Roth where he sang and played acoustic Martin guitars. He was adept at Flat-Picking tunes as well as Blues style Harmonica. We played 6 nights a week for 4 years doing Originals, Blues, California Folk & New Country such as Jackson Browne, The Eagles, James Taylor, Neil Young, NRPS etc. During this time I recorded an original song called "Section 47" featuring Scott Henderson on Lead Guitar (Tribal Tech, Chick Corea, Jon Luc Ponty) - a rocking tune in 7/4 time.
Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter
Buzz Walker Band
Jan 1968 - Jan 1978 · 10 yrs
Lansing, Michigan, United States
This 6 piece band toured the Midwest playing originals and current Rock & Roll of the time. During that time we recorded 5 Original songs of mine in our first professional studio experience (purported to have been a haunt of Chuck Berry). Several of these songs were played frequently on WLAV Grand Rapids by DJ Ed "Uncle Buck" Buchanan. Later he also promoted my song "Oil On The Beach" heavily during the Summer of 1977. This song was recorded at Uncle Dirty's Studio in Kalamazoo with Hal Beveridge on Bass and Tim Quinn on Drums and released on a 45 rpm record.
Degrees / nominations
Associates Degree for Computer Electronics from the New England Institute of Technology
Audio Mastering Techniques Degree Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA
Nominated for a Grammy Award in 2001 for his CD ‘Frequent Sea’
Press photos
Gretsch 5622T Georgia Green
Fender Stratocaster Early '70s with TexMex pickups.
Epiphone Les Paul Modern