After three albums of southern-fried, take-no-prisoners songs, Grant Peeples says his new songs are headed in a different direction.
His as yet unreleased album will be called Prior Convictions and the straight-talking Mr. Peeples is throwing around the words like “introspective.”
“There will be no ‘LeftNeck’ songs on there,” Grant told me by phone from his home in Wakulla County, Florida. “Nothing about the South. I might just be starting over.” 
Can the guy who wrote songs like “Lethal Injection Blues” and “High Fructose Corn Syrup” morph into a sensitive, navel-gazing songwriter?
Even he’s not sure.
“I’m kind of moving off into some new territory…I’ve built a fan base and I’m liable to lose them all,’ he said.
Not likely.
In just four years since returning from a 10-year Caribbean exile, Grant has made a lot of friends and fans with his songs. He did it by playing everywhere and anywhere. In the words of another Florida troubadour – the late and much-missed Gamble Rogers – “You have to be willing to play for the opening of an envelope.”
So Grant played for lot of envelope openings – club meetings, lodge meetings, ribbon cuttings, anyplace his songs could be heard. And at an age when some guys are checking out their 401K plans Grant went all-in – singing and songwriting is his day job and his night job.
His friends include some great musicians and producers like Gurf Morlix, who knows a good songwriter when he hears one. Morlix produced Grant’s last album, Okra and Ecclesiastes.
“Grant is on a roll here, painting evocative pictures of the New American Landscape. Writers like this are hard to come by, ” said Morlix, who is based in Austin and has worked with all the top Americana artists.
For a taste of Grant and his songs check out his website or his You Tube videos including the legendary “Sunshine State.” If ever there was a real Florida state song it’s this one.
Grant will bring some “introspective” new songs and even a couple of covers for his Palladium show this Friday night, but don’t worry – there may be some reflection but there’ll be plenty of “LeftNeck,” too.
Grant Peeples and the Peeples Republik Band appears in the Side Door Cabaret on Friday, July 29 at 8 p.m. For tickets and more information visit www.mypalladium.org. Check out Grant’s music at www.grantpeeples.com.
Leave a Reply