Galactic Soul

ORIGINALITY CORNER

Photo by Michelle Arthur

Long before the useless Paris Hilton slipped into her first pair, making them a must have for every teeny bopper, or even when the iconic geek Napoleon Dynamite wore his with a “Vote For Pedro” t-shirt, there was a prince and a pair of moon boots that went by the name of Peter Prince. Peter Prince has been laying down clean, soulful grooves since the early 1990s, and never leaves his boots at home.

Peter Prince & Moon Boot Lover are the most genuine of modern soul bands, often seen on the jam band circuit playing festivals like The Gathering of the Vibes and Moe.down.  Though they “jam out” they’ve definitely got their own unique thing going on. Instead of fusing with this and that, they play hands down soul – cosmic soul. Their success and incomparable sound can be accredited in some part to the musicianship of every band member, but, truthfully, Peter Prince is Moon Boot Lover.

Prince lights up the stage without even trying, defying gravity, not because of the modest and well thought out guitar riffs he explores, or the appealing rasp of his voice, but because of the style in which he adorns the stage. His facial expressions and dance with his axe come from the raw emotion that radiates from the music he makes. Prince has extraordinary talent and, for that, deserves to be recognized on a larger scale.

Fluctuating between smooth, mellow melody and flat out amazing groove, Prince sustains the importance of modesty. He combines heartfelt and passionate lyrics with easy going and egoless vibes. More often than not (and I hate to say this), the guitarists in the jam band scene seem to find a need to spew as many notes as possible into a single measure to get a rise. Prince avoids such guitar-jerking – he’s a class act, hypnotizing, and sultry.

Though Moon Boot Lover rotates musicians in and out, Prince remains the constant. Neal and Alan Evans of Soulive, Jon Hawes of Percey Hill, and Nate Edgar of John Brown’s Body are just a few names that have appeared in this cast. And it is these extremely organic collaborations that help to keep Prince’s soul, and sound, fresh. Peter Prince & Moon Boot Lover is now Ben Carle (bass, vocals), Eric Imbrosciano (drums), and Jeff Merrow (keys, vocals).

Peter Prince is playing Summer Stage in Central Park on June 20 with Earthdriver. It’s a free show, there’s no reason not to go.

by Genette Nowak