Peter Jennings Disciples

 “Well despite the name being plural, there’s only one permanent member of Peter Jennings Disciples,” explains band founder and  musician Reverend D.$

 

The band name Peter Jennings Disciples serves as an homage to two people, the late Canadian-American news anchor Peter Jennings and Reverend D.$ old friend Mike Freding.  The band name was inspired by a conversation between Reverend D.$ and Freding.  

 

“Mike was an incredible musician in the style of Dave Grohl : drums, guitar, piano, vocals -Mike could it it all” Reverend D.$ says of his friend.  Joking around one day Freding described Peter Jennings as using the ABC news “as a cover for an international street gang.”  

 

This conversation with Freding stuck with Reverend D.$ and “when brainstorming names for my project, the idea morphed from gang to religious movement, with Peter Jennings as the messiah and other journalists and anchors as prophets and saints - except for Ted Koppel, who is anti Jennings”.

 

The subsequent death of Freding cemented Reverend D.$ decision to use the band as a way to honor his friend and inspired him to live up to the musicianship Freding embodied. “Peter Jennings Disciples is like Mike : a blend of silly and serious” according to Reverend D.$

 

Despite the band having only one actual member, Peter Jennings Disciples has welcomed collaborations with other musicians.  Toney Vecchio a multi-instrumentalist from Atlanta played guitars for the song “Wild Girl”.  “We met on Discord where I had shared a demo of the song.  Toney reached out to see if I’d like to have him record some guitars for it.  I loved what he came up with for the song, especially the guitar solo, and I hope we get to work together soon” says Reverend D.$.  

 

Reverend D.$ has also collaborated with Joe Whiteaker a musician with the band The Funeral March Of Marionettes, he worked in IT with.  “When I started producing my own music Joe offered to help.” He contributed lyrics and vocals to the song “Don’t Close The Window” on Peter’s Jennings Disciples first album Good News.  

 

With a dark undercurrent pervading the music of Peter Jennings Disciples, Reverend D.$ uses his music to process the world around him.  He describes it as  “like seeing and hearing something, taking it in, and examining how it makes me feel, makes me think.”  Being somewhat of a self described pessimist Reverend D.$ is not surprised that darkness is revealed in his music.  Though he acknowledges that there is no light without darkness he feels that the world needs a voice that “counter balances the saccharine, feel good messages we get from most pop culture”  and counters it with it being alright to say “ the world is fucked up and we are all damaged”.

 

“There have been times in my life when I’ve felt utterly alone and in darkness and pain” reveals Reverend D.$ and so through his music he hopes to reach people feeling like that and ensuring that through the music of Peter Jennings Disciples they do not feel alone in their sadness and darkness.  Reverend D.$ credits the Metallica song “Fade To Black” as one of those songs “its no exaggeration to say it saved my life”.  

 

“New songs for me often start with a beat” is how Reverend D.$ describes his creative process when writing new songs.  He uses his phone to beatbox random ideas into the voice notes app.  Using a drum machine to then programme the main beat of the song as well as variations to use for fills for different sections of the song, he puts that into the audio workstation and sketches out the skeleton of the song.  Being a self described “software junkie” Reverend D.$ then goes through his sample libraries and software synth to find the right sounds for the song.  

“After layering in various synths, drums and other elements, I get the lyrics written and lay down the vocals, if the song calls for it.” Reverend D.$ explains.

 

Having had the creative impulse for as long as he can remember Reverend D.$ has dabbled in a wide variety of creative pursuits including poetry, prose and music, sating his desire to manifest something into the world.   A few of his inspirations are people-watching, nature and other art.  “I can’t count the number of times I’ve been to a show and wanted to pull out the keyboard or strap on the bass after watching other people perform.”  Reverend D.$ also cites his wife, a surrealist painter and multi media artist, as another source of inspiration for him.  

 

Various musical sources have also served as inspiration for Reverend D.$ in particular 90s West Coast Gangster Rap as well as rock acts like Rush and Veruca Salt. One of the biggest influences however has been Nine Inch Nails.  “I didn’t like NIN at first.”  Reverend D.$ first exposure to Nine Inch Nails was “Closer” a song he didn’t feel spoke to him but when a friend exposed him to “Wish” he was hooked.  “It was the perfect entry point into Industrial for a kid who’s listened to a ton of Metallic and Megadeth before getting into grunge bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden.”  Reverend D.$ recalls “ Incidentally “Wish” was the first song I ever performed in front of an audience, at a house party in high school.  I ended up hanging upside down from the rafters, covered in electrical tape, doused in grape soda.“ 

 

When describing the genre of the music of Peter Jennings Disciples,  Reverend D.$ found it more helpful to actually coin his own terms to describe the bands music.  “ I came up with the “alternadustrial” genre tag because, honestly, I have no idea what sub genre my music really fits into.”  Having at times been described as having Rust Belt Roots Reverend D.$ explains that his hometown of Rockford , Illinois is a typical Midwest town where manufacturing dried up and after the city fell on hard times has been trying to reinvent itself.  He believes just like his hometown which is a post-industrial city he is making Post Industrial music.

 

Reverend D.$ believes that the micro-segmentation of music into genres and sub genres is about a digital algorithm that is “designed to keep people engaged with things that are comfortable and safe.” Reverend D.$ acknowledges the importance of listening to human curated playlists and being exposed to music you may not have heard by listening to DJs is a good way to combat this phenomenon.

 

In term of Peter Jennings Disciples general aesthetic Reverend D.$ describes himself as hands off and prefers to allow other creative people to help with this.  He cites the example of amazing Tattoo artist Shawn Gwaltney from Madison, Wisconsin who has designed  both EP covers for Peter Jennings Disciples.  After giving Gwaltney the vague description of “a mash-up of Ted Koppel and Darkness, Tim Curry’s character in Legend” he was able to create exactly what Reverend D.$ required.

 

Not having much experience beyond a few house parties and small shows prior to starting Peter Jennings Disciples, Reverend D.$ is grateful for Joe Whiteaker for inviting him to join the current lineup of The Funeral March Of The Marionettes allowing him to overcome stage fright and be more comfortable in front of a live audience.  The opportunity to be part of The Funeral March Of The Marionettes has also served as learning experience for Reverend D.$.

 

Reverend D.$ future hopes for Peter Jennings Disciples is that the band moves forward and allows him to discover new sounds, mixing techniques and new parts of his psyche.  He believes that the only way to learn and develop as a musician is to push forward.  Each new song serves as a snapshot of where Reverend D.$ is as a musician, songwriter, engineer and performer.  His goal is “to get better and closer to the sound I hear in my head with each release.” 

 

Peter Jennings Disciples has already started work on a third EP which includes “Desperation” a song that was suppose to be on the EP Bad News.  A set of remixes of songs on the Peter Jennings Disciples EP Bad News, featuring other talented musicians is set for release later in 2022.  Beyond this Reverend D.$ hopes to collaborate with more musicians and play more shows. 

 

When asked what might inspire a novice to the music of Peter Jennings Disciples to listen to it, Reverend D.$ says “if your musical taste leans toward the dark side you might find something resonates with you in Peter Jennings Disciples.  The beats are hard, the guitars are aggressive and the lyrics come from a place of honesty. “

He also adds “Oh if you are in a cult to a deceased news anchor, you should definitely give Peter Jennings Disciples a listen. “

Links 

 

Website : https://www.peterjenningsdisciples.com/