Interview With Peasant

Story by Bryce Wergin 

| Published Sep 22, 2009

Peasant is the musical alter-ego of Doylestown, Pennsylvania's Damien DeRose. His album On The Ground (2009) has had critics and bloggers buzzing since it's release. Peasant's music has been featured in many TV shows, including "Bones" and "Kyle XY", as well as numerous commercials. With On The Ground's hype still in circulation, Peasant is already preparing to release a new album, titled Shady Retreat.

Currently touring through Europe to promote Shady Retreat and it's first single, "The End," Peasant was kind enough to take a break from pubs, soccer games, Amsterdam brownies and whatever else they do in Europe to talk with The Dailyer Nebraskan about his thoughts on music and songwriting, as well as the process of creating an album like Shady Retreat.

DailyER: Coming from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was it hard to break out into the music scene?

Peasant: Well, it actually kind of helped to be in a small town to start. It's sort of like an incubator or something. People were really excited when I first started putting up flyers all over town and doing shows with some friends bands, it's like "there's actually something going on tonight, weird, cool, we'll be there". It was kind of weird to play shows elsewhere though, and realize how many other people were trying to do the same thing. Home court advantage was lost and it definitely took some time for my shows in New York or Philadelphia to even have people come out.

ER: What is the reason for your going by the alias Peasant rather than Damien DeRose?

P: Well for starters I didn't want to be your typical singer-songwriter. Musically, I wanted to do things that would be mistaken for a band on a record, and I think I've succeeded at that by getting emails consistently addressed to "you guys". It also leaves room for some extra members should I see fit for that someday. I don't know, there are a few reasons, but that's the one I'm giving you.

ER: You’re a young guy, and working on releasing your third album. When did you start writing music and figuring out it was something you wanted to do?

P: In the middle of high school I was a drummer in a band, and I started picking up my lead singer's guitar when he would go up to get a snack or whatever during practice... eventually we would switch off during our shows. That got a little weird so I got a guitar and had my first solo performance at a high school talent show type thing... haha... it pains me to remember but I was definitely writing a song about a girl with blue eyes or something iconic like that...


ER: What are your other passions outside of music?

P: Baseball, international affairs, my cat...

ER: Your single “We’re Good” was featured on network television, and the music video was featured on Stereogum, MTVU and Fuse.tv, among others. What’s it like seeing and hearing a song you wrote played on a major outlet?

P: It's pretty neat! No really, it's something I had always always wished for, and when it actually happened i was like "well, there it is, I did it, I actually did it, now I've got to do it again." I definitely savored the moment, it's hard not to, but then i think you realize that just because that's happened, it doesn't mean you've suddenly "arrived" or anything, You're still sitting at home with a lot of work to do to get to where you want, and that's where I am most of the time.

ER: So right now you’re in the midst of a European tour. What are the biggest differences you see touring in Europe compared to touring in the US?

P: Ha! See, I was just saying I'm mostly sitting at home but you're right, right now, I'm not. And yeah... it's fucking like night and day. Imagine if in the USA, all of our songs were sung in German... wouldn't you be excited if a German band came to your town, a real German band, and sang you some music? Flip that around... that's Europe and touring.

ER: What has been your favorite European city to play/visit in and why? Any favorite spots to play here in the States?

P: Berlin has been a great city to visit and play in, but just like in the states, it's usually the less traveled to cities that provide the best crowds and shows. Hamburg was great the other night for instance. As for the states, I guess my hometown is probably the best still just because of the great memories.

ER: Is there a primary source of inspiration you use for songwriting?

P: Not really. Lately I've been generalizing more when writing and not really writing topical songs. I never really have written topically in fact, but I've been finding inspiration and ideas in almost everything lately. I suppose it's sort of self-centered to some degree though, and you could say I find inspiration in myself. How else can you write about something if you don't think of what you're writing? I am definitely more likely to see something inspiring in a sleeping bum in Washington Square than I am in a Walt Whitman poem though, if that's any insight.

ER: What artists do you draw influence from? Any particular albums?

P: Beach Boys, Pet Sounds. That's all i can think of right now.

ER: If you had to choose one artist to compare your sound to, who would it be?

P: Artists, people, we're just like snowflakes, no one is the same. Ha! I think I'm like a cylindrical, baseball-loving, lopsided, stuck-together flake. No really, I think Shady Retreat will make it difficult to classify my stuff as sounding like someone else, in the past I definitely took a lot of influence from The Beatles, E Smith, John Lennon, etc. Most artists do start somewhere like that. For me though, I think I have finally shed those clear inspirations and started to become myself more definitively. I can dream can't I?

ER: For your upcoming album, Shady Retreat, you did all of the production and engineering yourself. Is this how you’ve always done it in the past, or are you trying something new here?

P: This is how I started making music really, recording to me is just as much an instrument as anything. I mean, it literally is the mixture of all the sounds you create, it is the ultimate final touch on your music, and I've always liked doing it. I'd say it is somewhat new for me to try and 'perfect it' the way I have. What I mean is, I have always been somewhat ok with something if it came from me and represented what I thought was good, even if it wasn't the highest quality. For Shady Retreat I have made an all-out effort to create something that is completely representative of my music and artistic intentions, while also taking my recordings to a new level of quality. I've really tried to make a record that will stand up to most producers' standards.

ER: Will Shady Retreat have more of an acoustic sound, like your live set, or will it have full instrumentation like On the Ground?

P: It's definitely not a very acoustic album. In fact, i absolutely told myself there would be no limits in making this record. I wanted to make songs exactly the way I felt they should be made. On The Ground may have had some serious instrumentation, but for the most part I restrained myself from going as crazy as I have for Shady Retreat.

ER: As a guy who tours a lot, do you find you do better writing music while on the road or do you prefer to work on it at home?

P: I think inspiration comes easier on the road, but like I said I like to record to create, and that is obviously not as easy when you've just got a backpack to work with.

ER: Any chance you could hook our readers up with a link to check out your new single “The End?”

P: I think myspace.com/peasant has it up.

ER: Anything else big you have coming up soon, or anything else you want to add?

P: I am really just excited about Shady Retreat, it's something that's quite close to my heart and I can't wait to pass it along for people to listen to.