Gen X-er living in a time machine, high on nostalgia. Flashbacks is the debut album by Peach on a beach, a tribute to growing up in Dartmouth, NS during the 80s. Available on streaming and CD. Check out YouTube videos for "Beeping and Bleeping", "Pizza Corner", "Before Call Display", "Anticipation Street" and "Boogeyman Trail". Released on May 3, “Zooming In" is an electro-pop, over the top tribute to my lifelong passion for maps. Official website: https://www.peachonabeach.ca/
I invite you to listen to my third single "Before Call Display".
The song is inspired from an epic prank phone call session I orchestrated with my brother during our early teens circa 1984. One day after school while our mom was working, we called ~ 10 taxicabs, pizza shops, Chinese take-outs and a bottle exchange, then watched them all arrive across the street at the neighbour's house.
SpotifyApple Music
Watch the official music video for "Before Call Display".
T’was a mega blast filming "Before Call Display". Huge shout-out to all the amazing actors to help make this memory from almost 40 years ago come alive!
Video created by Shawn Bourque, Greenlight Studios
Video directed by Larry Peach
Video filmed at my Mother-in-law's residence in Middle West Pubnico, NS (Merci, Betty D'Eon!) and Wissam's Pizza in Meteghan River (Clare)
Song recorded and produced by Paul Morris aka The Music Box in Clare
Lead vocals, music, and lyrics by Larry Peach
Additional vocals by Marshall, Owen and Amy Paradis
Additional sound effects: https://www.zapsplat.com
Video actors:
Brothers Marshall and Owen as teen versions of Larry and younger brother Darren
Amy Paradis as Mom
Josh Purdy as pizza delivery guy
Travis Bullerwell as cab driver
Wissam and Nadine as pizza shop staff, thanks for the yummy pepperoni pizza prop
Larry Peach as old Mr. Sheeves, the neighbour.
Hope you enjoy!
Hailing from Dartmouth and based in Clare, Peach on a beach (Larry Peach) is an emerging singer-songwriter and synth player creating nostalgic vibes. Influenced by 80s new wave and hip hop, 90s dance and comedy rock, Peach on a beach is recording several singles prior to the release of his upcoming EP called Flashbacks.
I invite you to listen to my second single "Pizza Corner", an edgy hip-hop tribute to all those blurry late nights spent at the iconic downtown Halifax landmark during the 90s.
"Pizza Corner" is now available on streaming platforms:
It was a blast collaborating with my wife Joelle on the vocals, giving the track some added depth.
The playful lyrics recall how we gravitated to “Pizza Corner” during the 1990s to grab a pepperoni slice or a super donair, to people watch, and compare notes after a night on the town.
The intended market is primarily Gen Xers, but also other generations who spent copious amounts of time downtown during the heyday of Pizza Corner.
In the meantime, click the thumbnail below for a sneak peek of the music video. The rest of the video will be filmed locally at Wissam's Pizza in January.
Hope you enjoy!
Hailing from Dartmouth and based in Clare, Peach on a beach (Larry Peach) is an emerging singer-songwriter and synth player creating nostalgic vibes. Influenced by 80s new wave and hip hop, 90s dance and comedy rock, Peach on a beach is recording several singles prior to the release of his upcoming EP called Flashbacks.
Earlier in the year I considered many options that seemed to fit at first glance. But the main goal was to find a unique nom de plume/artist name.
And that's where I hit the wall.
As I was dreaming up a name for this project, I thought of using a derivative of Depeche Mode. For a few weeks I toyed with the idea of some sort of play-on-words with my surname Peach.
In French, a peach is une peche. Working in a French Acadian community for over twenty years, I have been referred to as both La peche or Le peche.
But the problem was finding a unique version that wasn't already in circulation by another music artist on Spotify and other streaming platforms.
The Peach Mode - While initially envious I wasn't the first to claim this one, I have made peace with it. This outfit actually has created some really fab electro tunes!
Le Peche Mode / The Peche Mode - Although seemingly available, these names sounded much too similar to the electronic godfathers.
Alas, this research soon became fantasy as I grappled with a serious issue:
Is it legal to use a similar name as another artist?
After some online research and a brief chat with my lawyer, I decided to bail from any possible future legal headaches.
Apparently, if the other artist has trademarked the name they use, then they have broad rights to prevent you from using any name that could reasonably be seen to cause confusion among consumers. Your name does not have to be an exact match, if it's close enough to cause confusion then you could be in violation of their trademark.
So after this sobering news, it was back to the drawing board and brainstorming alternative artist names.
And soon enough, a litany of new possibilities bubbled to the surface. You would think this exercise would be relatively easy, given that I am a one-person outfit with full creative control.
But the process quickly devolvedinto an exercise of inanity, as these curious samples reveal:
LP. Used by American singer-songwriter Laura Pergolizzi since circa 2006.
Peach! Dang, taken!
Peachman. See above.
Peach Schnapps. Formerly a nickname at uni. But now, too boozy.
Peach Snaps. Too whimsical.
Peach Snapped. Too psychotic.
Peach Jam. Too vile.
DJ Jammy Peach. Yeah, I'm not really a DJ.
Daft Peche. See above, legal issues.
Daft Peach. See above.
Twisted Peach. Getting inane...
Twisted Peach Jam. Gonna stop here.
After having spent some time erasing this random silliness from the whiteboard, I circled back to an obvious choice: Larry Peach.
Sure it's safe, and it's me, and it's legal and all. But I wanted to be at least a little creative...
Following copious amounts of hand-wringing, it turned out my artist name had been staring right at me all along. On my iPhone.
For years, I've logged into my Instagram account under the handle:
peachonabeach
I chose this name when I first signed up for Instagram in late December 2013, to post a photo of a cool snow shower on Mavillette Beach. My first run beach photo would be added a few weeks later.
In fact, the majority of my posts illustrate beach runs, or spending time on a beach, near and far.
You see, the beach has always been a major source of inspiration.
I’ve run on Mavillette Beach a few hundred times: in thick fog, pouring rain, humid heat, and during a light snowfall. And it’s a completely different experience every single time.
But the beach is so much more than just a place I go for runs. It’s therapy.
Emotions soften when I start feeling the flow of an inspiring run on the hard sand.
Along la Baie Sainte-Marie, there’s a special mix of salt, sand, sea, sky and above all, solitude, and space.
All these natural elements come together to a carefully curated playlist to create a symphony of spirituality.
The beach is also my lab: where I contemplate and ruminate over current challenges and where new ideas start to bloom. More recently, thoughts of creating music are part of this experience.
I am so grateful that my favourite beach is located a short and scenic seven-minute drive from home.
***
Peach on a beach's debut single, "Beeping and Bleeping", is a hip hop track about my experience as a young teen in the early 1980s and part of the first generation of kids who enjoyed playing video games in arcades.
The single will be released on Thursday, September 22, while the video will be released on Friday, September 23. Below is a short teaser:
During the fall of 2022, I will be launching Peach on a beach - a new music project that began during the pandemic.
I invite you to join me on a musical journey, where for starters, I will be exploring a world of 80s and 90s nostalgia.
Now in my early 50s, the stability of my career and the
soul-searching journey of the pandemic created the ideal opportunity to
purchase a synthesizer/drum machine and DAW and get serious about making
electronic music.
Inspired and
influenced by 80s new wave and hip hop, 90s dance and downtempo, I have
created 15 original demos since dabbling with making original music over the last year.
In May 2022, I recorded my debut single "Beeping and Bleeping", mastered in a local studio by industry
professional Paul Morris ofThe Music Box.
"Beeping and Bleeping" is a hip hop track about my experience as a young teen partaking in the first generation of kids who
enjoyed playing stand-alone video games in arcades.
The lyrics recall the
iconic early 1980s video games, and the nostalgic vibe of the song naturally
lends itself in making a captivating video.
The single and video will be released in late September. Below is a little teaser:
I was inspired to inventory my favourite 100 music videos for two main reasons:
1) the epic nostalgia experienced while currently binging on The Goldbergs (Thanks to Patrick Carr for the heads-up), and 2) Lee Turner's and Richard Cross' top 10 music videos shared on Facebook this past fall.
Growing up in the suburbs of Nova Scotia, I was a hopeless music video junkie. Starting
in junior high during the early 80s, we watched Switchback with Stan the Man
and that cool ASN program on Saturday nights, Atlantic Canada's Choice. On high school weekdays before supper we
turned on CBC's Video Hits with
Samantha Taylor, and on weekends, Good
Rockin' Tonight hosted by Terry David Mulligan and eventually Stu Jeffries.
For the night owl, the U.S.-based Friday
Night Videos kept us entertained.
The best part was also the worst: having to wait
then hope your favourite song made the cut. Yet all those countless hours binging on video shows as a teen has prepared me for this moment. Now I am ready for a deep dive into the vast reservoir of memorable videos, many forever etched in my psyche.
This exercise will not only feature the usual suspects that you can easily find on a Rolling Stone webpage; I plan to sprinkle in a few cult faves, forgotten classics and hidden gems, too!
The selection process will be happening over the next couple of weeks, as I watch, mull and organize over 200+ videos into a top 100 format.
The assembly is a consolidation of many methods:
Memory recall
Online and magazine lists
You Tube rabbit holes
Previous lists including my own charts from the 80s
My CD + MP3 collections
Researching new bands
Once satisfied with my rankings, I will aim to post one daily, starting with #100. Each post will feature a YouTube link, along with some commentary explaining why it deserves to make the cut.
Although the 80s may have been the halcyon days of music videos, let's not forget about the passion and the polish from some of those shot during the 90s and 00s. Even a few more recent videos will also make the cut.
