Peasant: Be Free
One of the most promising musical discoveries I've made on MySpace is a young man named Damien DeRose who records and performs under the name of Peasant. He is a very thoughtful lyricist with a sweet voice and more than decent guitar skills.
I am most impressed with his songwriting skills, and we exchanged a couple of e-mails about one of my favorites of his songs, "Can't Believe You're Believin'." I asked about these particular lines:
These are your books
Study them carefully
These are his looks
Get used to feeling sick
And these are the ways
You get used to thinking
And this is the day
You become a number
He told me it's about watching someone you know turn into a different sort of person as they compromise their values in order to keep a social standing of some kind--maybe a job, maybe a relationship. You can't believe how they're changing into someone else, becoming bitter and beginning to hate their weakness and their lives. It's a pretty deep observation that he says he didn't really think about until after he'd written the song.
"Be Free" is another short one that I like a lot, with some lovely harmonies. "I want you to love me," he sings. He wants the house and kids, all the normal things people want...but he's smart enough to know that it needs to wait. He's not ready yet.
Peasant is in the process of getting songs together for another album in 2007. He posts new songs on his MySpace page from time to time. He recently had a new song there called "Birds" that was just delightful.
From The Wind, 7-inch vinyl (2006)
Peasant: Be Free
Peasant: Can't Believe You're Believin'
Highly recommended from Fear Not, Distant Lover (2005): Icy Deep
Upcoming live appearances:
Tomorrow: Feb 9, 2007 7:00P - Bus Stop Music Pitman, New Jersey
Feb 27, 2007 8:00P - Lit Lounge New York, New York
Watch this video of Damien playing "Manners" at CMJ 2006 to get a sense of how cool it would be to see him live.
Peasant's CDs are available on his website and his myspace page.
Fear Not, Distant Lover is also available on iTunes.
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