Pete McDonald comes from a small town east of Cleveland, Ohio, and After the Rockies is his first self-released album. Pete’s been writing songs since he first picked up the guitar at age 16, and he draws his songwriting influences from many places. Bob Dylan is his strongest influence, but he is also influenced by The Rolling Stones, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Waits, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Beck, Counting Crows, and more recently David Gray, Townes Van Zandt, Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams, Ryan Adams, and Josh Ritter to name a few. In January 2002, with a collection of original songs completed, his songwriting took on new energy when he teamed up with his friend and novelist Elise Huneke Stone to write the rest of the songs that would appear on After the Rockies. Elise is also a Dylan devotee, but finds additional inspiration in the music of Paul Simon, Van Morrison, Counting Crows. Elise applied what she knew as a novelist about character and voice to help create songs that were a blend of life experiences, but rendered in a way that the emotional truths resonated with Pete as the singer/performer and with the listeners. Many of the songs on “After the Rockies” tell the stories of pivotal moments in people’s lives, and their aftermath. Elise wrote the lyrics to the title track after hearing Pete’s reflections on returning to northeastern Ohio after a summer spent in the Colorado Rockies. The themes of loss (lost friends, love lost, and the potential of losing the family farm) found their way into many of the songs on the album, but there are definately hopeful moments in this album as well. The production of After the Rockies is simple and raw ranging from solo acoustic studio performances to bare bones folk-rock songs with drums, bass, some fiddle or mandolin, and the occasional lead electric guitar. The album is a solid first effort from this young songwriter, and deserves a close listen. Pete has also released an album called Here and Gone (November 2005). Check out www.petemcdonaldmusic.com for more details. You will also find this CD at CDBABY.COM.