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NAME:
Wayne St. Pierre
AGE: 50
RESIDENCE:
Fairhaven
OCCUPATION: Probation officer by trade, singer/songwriter at heart
WHAT HE'S LISTENING TO: Local bands Dancing
Dogs, Pumpkin Head Ted and Shipyard Wreck; the Grateful Dead and Phish, Ani DiFranco, Robert Earle Keene and Jerry Jeff Walker,
folkie Peter Mulvey.
Wayne
St. Pierre, who recently produced his first album titled "The Cost of Living," describes his music as "y'alternative" to his
work in the Bristol County court system.
"It's easier to tell you what it's not," Mr. St. Pierre said of the music he makes. "It's
not folk, folk-rock, bluegrass, blues, rock. It is a "It's easier to tell you what it's not," Mr. St. Pierre said of the music
he makes. "It's not folk, folk-rock, bluegrass, blues, rock. It is a little of all of those. It's your 'y'alternative' to
what you hear every day. In the same way that alternative was to pop, my music is an alternative to straight-up folk music.
It's got a rootsy vibe, it's influenced by rock, jazz, folk and blues."
Even though he's an officer of the courts, Mr. St. Pierre understands about
bending the rules — musically, that is.
"Almost every songwriter steals from other people," he said. "What's unique
is how they pull those influences together."
He likes artists
and bands "that break the rules". Bands that are out of the mainstream. I tend to like bands that are difficult to pigeon
hole."
For more information
and downloads of four tracks from "The Cost of Living," visit: www.wsaintpierre.com
The local bands: "Dancing Dogs is a good combination of jazz and rock. They're like Steely Dan. ...
I think Pumpkin Head Ted is a lot like my music. .... I love the way Shipyard Wreck takes a song and makes it their own. I
love the way they elaborate on songs that are already out there."
Grateful Dead and Phish: "The jam bands are a big influence. They hardly ever play songs the same way twice. I think
songs have their own personality, and depending on the moment is how it should be played. It takes on its own life, and that's
something I get from the Grateful Dead and Phish."
Robert Earl Keene and Jerry Jeff Walker: "I like the Texas sound opposed to the Nashville sound. Nashville is very
processed, a lot of company production. Texas keeps it real. Keene and Walker don't have to be pretty and follow the rules
like Nashville."
Ani DiFranco: "For her there are no rules. She breaks them all."
Peter Mulvey: "He uses a lot of non-traditional
folk instruments, a heavy-handed electric guitar on top of the acoustic guitar."
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