We were lucky to catch up with Pete Kyrie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Pete, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

As a young child I felt very unseen.
I was an only child, with a loving mother but she had remarried into a family where I was an added sibling to an already formed family. I think this made it so I was always trying to be seen, heard and win over the love and admiration of my new siblings and new family members.
This carried over into my school life as well. I was very shy as a child. My teachers would always comment to my mom that I am sponge haha, they know I am observing and taking in everything around me but I do not participate or offer up answers unless called upon.
I would go to class and all the kids would be sharing records of bands they thought were cool. I needed to be one of these bands that they thought were cool. At that time just being me was not good enough.

One of the first concerts I saw was Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 Victory Tour. Watching how they all commanded the stage with their over the top presence and the audiences attention, just clicked for me. I was in awe! I thought, this was my ticket to being seen, heard and understood.

I start taking guitar lessons from a thin, long hair, rock and roll, guy. Just on two stools, guitars, amps and a record player, out in his garage. He was cool looking, chill, down to earth and could basically listen to anything once, then play it exactly! This was it. This is who i wanted to be, who I needed to be. I don’t even think he taught me any theory but what he did do was inspire me to go home and try to do what he did for hours straight, over and over again until I had it perfect.

This love for learning music that inspired me and me feel something more, at the same time made me watch music videos and see how these cool looking guys were. They were not just wild, fun, had all the girls and guys going crazy for them, many of them actually took their craft seriously and were able to express their feelings with their music and touch others. When I would go to concerts, I would not only watch the band play but I would watch their interaction with each other and I would watch the audience. I would watch how the audience would react, laugh, cry and sing along at the top of their lungs.
The same feelings I was confused about and also had no idea how to express. Music made them clear as day.

From my first concert to my first guitar lesson to my first attempt at writing a song. This is when i knew without a doubt I was and will always be a musician.

Pete, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started my professional musician journey as the guitarist for the 90/2000 era band called Sins Of Omission. I played for many years and shared the stage with, as well as played with several well-known artists such as Collective Soul, Seven Mary Three, The Four Horsemen, My Darkest Days, and I Mother Earth.

Several years after touring around, our time as a band came to an end. I then decided to go solo and perform under the moniker Pete Kyrie Band.

I have played under this solo name since. Working with other musicians, helping younger bands, as well as just playing and recording as much as I can.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Several years ago, i lost the ability to sing. I had scar tissue that was causing my vocal cords to sound horrible, raspy and zero air breathing ability while trying to hold a tune.

I was devistated. It was all i knew to be honest. If you read the first part of this, you’d see i put a lot of pressure on being a musician and now I wasn’t one? or couldn’t be one anymore? Dramatic, yes, but I am an artist ;)

I could still play guitar but everytime i picked one up, i wanted to sing what i was feeling and it wouldn’t work. I couldn’t separate the two things so i started giving up. I was slowly becoming depressed and slipping into just being someone that partied instead. Which in turn, just made everything worse.

I decided i needed to do something about this and see why, so i had throat surgery and thought everything is going to be back to normal and I will be able to sing again. Probably even better!

This was not the case. Vocal surgury recovery takes a lot of patience and rehabilitation. Something i was not good at, patience. I wanted it back and right away. My girlfriend Rachelle, who is my biggest fan and supporter, pushed me to have patience and helped me beleive that I could do this again. All I had to do was just show up each day and do my best, stop being so hard on myself and keep pushing.

It took a few years but with her support along with some vocal therapy from a very skilled Aaron Low at the Voice Clinic, i was able to sing again and get back into playing music.

If that doesn’t show resilience, not sure what does haha.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

By far the most rewarding part of being an artist is the ability to create something and release your feelings and passion into it. If it is something that you can be proud of then that is perfect. If it is something that someone else is touched by or touches them in some way or another, that is icing on the cake.

For me, being a musician and being able to continue to have the skill and ability to create and touch others with my creation, is the reward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.petekyrieband.com
• Instagram: @petekyrie
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/petekyrieband
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeteKyrieBand
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5PagAupwMajJHJyqdEpQit?si=l_lLN7vdR92cvjFyQmNjNQ

Image Credits

Photo credits are
Taylor Cam Photography @taylorcamphotos
Victor Rusu @victorrusu
Kris Lamb Photography @snapswithkris