Puremusic interview with
Peter Case

by Frank Goodman

I was living in the Bay Area when the rock of the 80s was sweeping the country. It was hard to stand out with a good song with the likes of Elvis Costello, Joe Jackson, the Cure, and the Smiths dominating the airwaves. One CA band I loved was the Plimsouls, they had a memorable hit called "A Million Miles Away." I saw them at The Stone in SF one time, they threw down mightily. The Plimsouls formed in 1980 and had broken up by 1984.

Later in the 80s, like a lot of other songwriters I found myself in Nashville. While trying to fathom and emulate the new traditionalist movement that was afoot, I was also discovering some new singer songwriters who had little or nothing to do with Nashville.

The record that made the deepest impression on me in this period was by Peter Case, whom I was delighted to recognize as one of the former Plimsouls. (Before the Plimsouls, he’d also played a few years in the 70s with an edgy power pop trio called the Nerves that toured with the Ramones.) It was a Geffen release entitled The Man with the Blue Post Modern Fragmented Neo-Traditionalist Guitar, an arresting blend of country blues, rock and roll, and pop music, both dark and catchy. His depth and individuality really inspired me.

That was Case’s second solo album, and he’s been at it solo since 1985. The new CD, Beeline, is his ninth solo record, and we dig it a lot. Listen to this man, he is one of the greats. There are clips on our Listen page, so don’t delay.

Peter and I had a very enjoyable conversation recently on the phone, sure look forward to meeting him in person sometime. I admire the hell out of him. We hope you enjoy the interview.  continue