Today we’d like to introduce you to Peter Wallace.
Peter, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started playing the piano when I was about eight years old and continued off and on throughout my youth. When I was a freshman in high school, I joined a band with my brother and his friends, who were seniors at the time. That’s when I started to get more serious about music. That led me to the University of Miami to study jazz piano in the 90s.
Soon after that, I got called to go on tour with Julio Iglesias, and that’s when my career really started. I was in my early 20’s at the time and got a crash course in the good and bad of “life on the road.” I visited over 50 countries playing for crowds from a few thousand to over 100,000 people. I also got to experience the dark side of the business, and the toll traveling can take on you. After four years with Julio, I toured with the Chilean rock band, La Ley, for a few years.
During this time, I started getting more into recording music and began putting together my home studio. After I got off the road, I was recording more and more as well as getting into producing and songwriting. Soon after that, I met Billy Mann (songwriter/producer for P!nk, etc.) at a songwriting camp at Desmond Child’s place.
With him, I was able to record, produce and even write songs for artists like P!nk, Jessica Simpson, Backstreet Boys, Burt Bacharach, Teddy Geiger. However, living in Miami, I was really entrenched in the Latin music scene. This allowed me to work with some of the biggest Latin artists over the years. From Alejandro Sanz to Carlos Vives to Roberto Carlos, etc.
Even while doing all this other work throughout the years, I’ve tried to stay busy on the local South Florida scene, as well. Playing in various jazz groups, corporate bands, original projects, in addition to a little bit of teaching, too. This has kind of led me to where I am today. Recently, I just finished working on season 1 of “La Voz (US),” and I’m currently the musical director for Jon Secada.
I have a production/songwriting company with my wife (Samantha Natalie) called “Pen to Platinum” and play in a few local bands. My favorite being “The Pixels,” our retro 80s experience. I work mostly out of my studio in the Hialeah area.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think whenever you work for yourself or have your own business, it’s never a smooth road. Of course, there have been challenges along the way, but I consider myself pretty fortunate to have the opportunities I have had.
I would say that there are two main challenges that I have come across. The first being, financial security. There are great times, and then there are also lean times. It can be stressful not knowing which is coming next!
The other would be personal/family time. Constant late nights at gigs or in the studio and frequent travel can make it hard to find time for a “normal” life. It’s been a strain on relationships and a strain physically at times.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
Pianist/keyboardist is mainly what I’m known for. I also produce/arrange music, compose music, write songs and teach music.
What I’m most proud of and what sets me apart are mostly the same thing, I think. I try to be well versed in all styles/genres of music and take pride in trying to figure out exactly what a song needs.
When I’m playing keys, I’m listening and trying to play all the right notes in the right spots and complimenting what the rest of the group is doing. When I’m producing/ songwriting, the same concept applies.
Tell us about your childhood, what were you like growing up?
I was fairly shy growing up in Northern Virginia, although I had a good variety of friends in all different circles.
I pretty much had two loves growing up. The first being sports and the second being music. I loved playing baseball and basketball, but when I soon realized I was too short and slight, I traded weekend games for weekend band concerts.
I never really had any time-consuming hobbies, e.g., video games, so I spent a lot of my time practicing piano and percussion.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.petewallacemusic.com
- Email: pbwmusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: @pbwmusic
- Twitter: @pete_wallace
Image Credit:
Leesa Richards, Andres Saavedra
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