I began producing CDs in 1997 with a “vanity project” titled Nude with Guitar. A vanity project is one in which the artist pretty much does everything from writing the songs to singing, playing every instrument, as well as handling all the production. My preference would have been to work with other musicians but my musician circle at that time was small. With financial limitations as well as time and logistic restrictions it was easier and practical to continue as a solo project.

Though I’m not entirely happy with my first stab at producing an original CD, most of the songs on Nude with Guitar were popular on many indie music sites that existed at that time. Surprisingly, I was recognized primarily for my guitar abilities rather than my song writing which was my main focus. I always attempted to keep my playing understated and supportive of the melodic themes. The most successful tune on Nude with Guitar was the opening song "Benvindo" which was picked up by two television programs in Australia, one of which became syndicated in Spain—at least this is how I'm interpreting my ASCAP royalty statements. I'm not really positive about what is going on there..

In 1999 I released an entirely instrumental follow-up CD titled Second Voice. Once again I attempted to recruit other musicians to help with the project only to get the run-around from everyone except Elliot Levine, a very dedicated and talented keyboardist who showed up to really breathe some life into a few tunes. Second Voice was my first experience with recording cover songs, which proved to be a good device for getting on the radar of music fans who type the familiar titles into online search engines.

From 1999-2004 I was reasonably productive writing and recording music. However, primarily due to negligence on my part the master files from that time period are lost. I misplaced my masters and later discovered the two studios I used during that time did not keep copies of the song files. The songs do exist, however, in mp3 format, and can be found online. They were uploaded to imeem.com (now part of Myspace) and are associated with a compilation called Lost Master Files.

The next recording project, Bright Paintings, was a duo with folk singer Doris Justis released in 2005. The songs, with the exception of two that I wrote, are covers. Doris and I performed as a duo in the Virginia/DC/Maryland area for three and a half years.

In 2008 I began rehearsing and recording with drummer Jeff Watts and bassist Ian Michael. In early 2009 we released a live in the studio CD called Closet Songs. The title is an inside joke reference to the cramped recording studio space at the home of sound engineer Theo Ezell.

I hope to continue to record in some fashion, although it appears that the viability of selling music as a commodity in CD format is quickly dissipating.

Pete Marinovich Pete Marinovich 1