Bringing The Darkness To The Light, August 10, 2026
Bringing The Darkness To The Light with Catherine Nadal
Colin Peterik: Pop Craft, Family Legacy, and Songs From the Heart
Catherine Nadal welcomes singer, songwriter, solo artist, and producer Colin Peterik for a music-centered conversation about growing up around Jim Peterik, discovering his own creative voice, moving from progressive rock into pop, writing and producing his own albums, skateboarding, family inspiration, music videos, touring lessons, and songs including “Smile,” “My Secrets,” “California Sober,” “Black Light,” and “Swans.”
Guest Spotlight: Colin Peterik
This episode of Bringing the Darkness to the Light, hosted by Catherine Nadal and aired on August 10, 2026, features guest Colin Peterik, identified in the corrected transcript as a singer, songwriter, solo artist, producer, and son of musician Jim Peterik. The transcript notes that Colin’s last name was standardized from raw transcript variants and that music performances were preserved as music cues rather than full lyric blocks.
From Progressive Rock Roots to Commercial Pop
Catherine opens by praising Colin’s work and asking how he became involved with major artists and bands. Colin clarifies that acts such as the Steve Miller Band, Cherry Glazerr, and the Alan Parsons Project were artists his band opened for, not necessarily artists he directly played with. He explains that he began in the industry as a teenager in a progressive rock band called Lobster Newberg, influenced by bands such as Genesis and King Crimson, and later shifted toward more commercial pop music because he wanted to meet the audience where they are while still enjoying the music he creates.
Jim Peterik, Skateboarding, and Choosing Music
The conversation turns to Colin’s father, Jim Peterik, known for The Ides of March, Survivor, and writing with 38 Special. Colin says music was always around him, but his father never forced him into lessons, which helped him find music on his own terms. He recalls first being drawn heavily to skateboarding and later realizing that music was a better long-term path for his body and health. By age eighteen or nineteen, Colin knew he wanted to be an artist, songwriter, bandleader, and solo performer rather than a side musician.
“Michiana,” Pocket Symphonies, and Musical Craft
Catherine asks about the video in which Colin is skateboarding, and Colin explains the long development of the song “Michiana.” He says the song took ten to twelve years from conception to release and was inspired by family drives from Chicago to a lake house in Saugatuck, Michigan. The video was shot in Michigan City, Indiana, using the contrast of lake scenery, industrial cooling towers, and a skate park. Colin describes the song as one of his “pocket symphonies,” combining strings, vocals, melodies, and unusual modulations inside a concise pop structure.
Instruments, Production, and the Support of Family
Colin explains that keyboards were his first instrument, followed by guitar and drums, and that knowing the basics of multiple instruments helps him work as a producer. He often creates his own demos, lays down foundations, records his own keyboards and vocals, and then brings in other musicians when needed. Catherine asks about following in Jim Peterik’s footsteps, and Colin describes his father as extremely supportive, responsible, proud, and a good role model. He says they regularly share new music with each other and remain among each other’s biggest supporters.
Songs, Videos, and the New Solo Career
The interview explores several of Colin’s songs and videos, including “Cocaine Nights,” “Smile,” “My Secrets,” “California Sober,” and “Black Light.” Colin explains that “Cocaine Nights” began as “Boat Nights” before he found the title and mood that made the song work, while “Smile” became an important motivational song about mental health and helped relaunch his solo career during the COVID period. He says “My Secrets” began as part of another project, was later reworked for his solo career, and became a major breakthrough with millions of views across platforms. “California Sober” is described as both humorous and emotional, touching on coping mechanisms, 9/11, and everyday life, while “Black Light” marked his first full move into dance-pop.
Touring Lessons, Pop Flexibility, and Writing From Life
Colin shares what he learned from opening for larger acts: be kind to everyone, respect road crews, treat major artists like peers, and do the homework required to perform professionally. He says top-level artists do not rely on lyrics or chord sheets on stage, and that singing from the heart requires preparation, memorization, and belief in the material. He also discusses pop as a flexible category that can absorb rock, metal, country, hip hop, psychedelic music, prog, jazz, and unusual chords. For Colin, writing pop does not mean abandoning artistic integrity; it means finding a broad, confident framework where he can still insert his musical fingerprints.
Children, New Songs, BraveWords, and “Swans”
Catherine asks about Colin’s children, and Colin explains that many song ideas come from things they say. His son inspired “Sparkles in the Air” and another song built from the phrase “My brother is in jail tonight,” while his daughter inspired “The Stars Are Waiting,” a song planned for the new album That’s Cool or I’m Sorry. Colin also plugs his social media under Colin Peterik Music and discusses “Swans,” his cover of a Prefab Sprout song written by Paddy McAloon. He explains that he wanted to expand the sparse original into a version with drums, trumpets, lo-fi jazz and hip hop elements, and that the video includes AI visuals of swans and foxes. The episode closes with Catherine encouraging listeners to explore Colin’s work before the program rolls out with “Swans.”
Bringing The Darkness To The Light
"Bringing The Darkness To The Light" Radio Show
Hosted by Catherine Nadal, certified psychic medium with the Forever Family Foundation speaks about life events, music, spiritual and paranormal experiences and grief. Many of the shows will feature her friends in the music, entertainment and psychic business. These interviews will focus on their life careers and personal spiritual experiences. Tune in to learn, laugh and experience.
SPEAKER IDENTIFICATION
Speaker 1 - Announcer / Program Intro
Opening and closing program identification.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host
Host of Bringing the Darkness to the Light and interviewer.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest
Singer, songwriter, solo artist, producer, and son of musician Jim Peterik.
Speaker 1 - Announcer / Program Intro:
This is Bringing the Darkness to the Light with Catherine Nadal, professional psychic medium. Today's guest is Colin Peterik. He is a singer, songwriter, and solo artist who is now promoting his own work.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
It is a pleasure to have you on.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
Pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
Hi, Colin. I was reviewing your work and I was so blown away. I was thinking, "What haven't you done?" You've been involved with some really cool bands and artists from what I could tell from your bio - the Steve Miller Band, Cherry Glazerr, the Alan Parsons Project. How did you get involved in all of this?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
Those are all actually artists that we opened for. I've been in the industry since I was in high school - around 16, 17, or 18. I used to be in a progressive rock band called Lobster Newberg. We were one of the only new prog bands out at that time, and we got a lot of attention on ProgArchives and other niche prog websites. My favorite bands of all time are Genesis and King Crimson. I love prog rock.
Through that connection, we were able to link up with national artists, and it paved the way for what I'm doing now, which is far more commercial. My favorite thing to do is still to listen to prog rock, but I understand that in this day and age, you meet the audience where they are. I'm having a lot of fun writing and recording pop music now, and that is really cool.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
I was looking at a lot of your work, not just the videos, but the songs as well. You're right, there is a commercial feel to it, which I think a lot of people are following now. I cover everything from heavy metal to country, and a lot of people just like what we used to call radio tunes - something that can be easily listened to and not too heavy.
This is so exciting. When did you realize that you were really going to be drawn to a career in music? Were you a toddler singing around the house, or did it hit you later in life?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
My dad is Jim Peterik. He was in the bands The Ides of March and Survivor. He wrote with 38 Special, so it was kind of impossible to stay away from music. When I was young, I would plink on the piano and stuff, but he never forced me into lessons. I think he knew I might have been turned off from music if he pushed too hard.
In high school I got really into skateboarding, and then toward the end of high school I started wanting to be in bands and make music. I fell in love with that. Eventually I realized it is a lot harder to get hurt in music than it is in skateboarding. For the sake of my body and my health, I decided I should probably focus on music instead of skateboarding. I was pretty good at skateboarding at one point in my life, but by the time I was 18 or 19, I knew I wanted to be an artist. I've always been a songwriter, always been the bandleader. I never wanted to be a side guy. I always wanted to express my vision the way I wanted, so a solo career made sense for me.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
When you said skateboard, I remembered that I watched one of your videos where you are skateboarding. I have a skateboard injury myself, believe it or not. In 2021, I was bored and thought, "I never picked up a skateboard." Well, I didn't just pick it up - I fell down on it and broke my wrist. So I've kind of retired from all things that look fun and interesting at this point. A million people get hurt on skateboards.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
Yes.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
When I got hurt, the physician caring for me said wrist injuries are probably among the most common skateboard injuries, because people put their arms out to stop themselves. I give you a lot of credit.
I looked at your videos, and I have to mention them so the audience can go check them out. They're on your website. The videos include "Smile," "Cocaine Nights," "My Secrets," and "Michiana." Tell us about the video where you are skateboarding. I found it so easy to watch. It was cool and looked like it was on location.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
That is a really cool song. I worked on that song for maybe 10 or 12 years from conception to release because I could never get it right. Eventually, it helps as an artist to walk away from something and come back to it. If you spend too much time ruminating on a song, you get into it too deeply and hear it too often. You have to take a break.
The song is really about my family. I'm from Chicago, and we would always drive up to our lake house in Saugatuck, Michigan - a beautiful area with the dunes and dune grass. That area is kind of called Michiana - Indiana and Michigan together. I wanted to do a tribute to that area. It is a unique area outside the city, with small towns and beach towns.
The video was shot in Michigan City, Indiana, where there are these weird nuclear cooling towers, like in The Simpsons. I thought it was a cool juxtaposition between the lake, the smokestacks, and the skate park. The song brings it all together. I like to do these little pocket symphonies where it is three and a half minutes, with strings, vocals, lots of melodies, and weird modulations. That is one of my favorite pocket symphonies that I've done. I usually try to put one or two of those on each album.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
In one of your videos, you are actually on the keyboard. Was that your only instrument, or did you dabble in a lot of instruments?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
My first instrument was keyboards. That is kind of where I fell in love with music. Then I learned guitar and drums. As a producer, it is helpful to know a little bit about each instrument. I've learned to be a producer-drummer and producer-guitarist. I'm not going to be out ripping crazy solos, but I can lay down the foundation of a song. I can lay down the drums until I have time to hire a professional drummer.
I have always been into making my own demos. Then, slowly but surely, you replace the parts as needed with other musicians who can play them better. It is about laying down the ideas to begin with. Usually I will keep the keyboards that I do, and I overdub all of my vocals and keyboards myself.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
Earlier you mentioned who your dad is. Those are big shoes to follow. How did he respond to you being interested in music? Sometimes families say, "Don't follow me," because they are trying to protect you in their own way. What was his take?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
He has always been extremely supportive. As rock stars go, he has also been a responsible rock star. He never really gave in to the excesses of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. He has always been a good role model. I don't think he had big horror stories to tell me that would steer me away from music. He is very proud, and we share new music with each other all the time. We are each other's biggest supporters.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
I'm so glad to hear that. There are so many different stories in the business and people's paths along the way. For someone who kind of stayed away from sex, drugs, and rock and roll, like you said your dad did, some of your titles are quite the opposite. I was looking at your videos and saw "Cocaine Nights," and I thought, "I have to watch this video. What's going on over here?" Tell me about making that video.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
That is a funny story. I'm not advocating anything - don't do drugs, kids. But as an artist, you can't be afraid to tell stories and talk about things. I wanted to paint a picture. When you listen to the song, I wanted the listener to feel like they were at a wild party.
Originally, the song was called "Boat Nights." I had the demo, and it was about being out on a boat - what happens on the water stays on the water. I played it for my dad and he said, "I like the beat and I like where you're going, but 'Boat Nights' doesn't work. It is missing something." I realized it was missing a syllable.
So I shelved the song. Six months later, I came back and thought, "Wait a minute. Cocaine fits perfectly." It was a little bit of a rebellious change, but he ended up loving it too. People love that song. It just takes you there. We filmed it at my buddy's mansion near where I grew up. He has a pool and everything. It was one of the best videos we did because we had a huge crew, and it was a lot of fun to film.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
I've seen the video, and you're right. It is the perfect location and the perfect shots. At one point it even looks like it is snowing - the way they did the graphics, with the cocaine drifting in the air. It looks like snowflakes, and it is really cool.
I grew up when MTV was just making it big, and I think the combination of videos makes songs almost more memorable.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
I wanted to tie the snow together with the other meaning of snow, and it worked out. We had Santa Claus come in. That was a funny idea. The snow machine uses this gel and blows out snow. It wasn't real snow, but it had a good effect.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
The first video I watched was "Smile," and I was really taken back because there is a lot of soul in that song. It almost feels like you're encouraging someone to go on - a motivational song, like "don't give up." How did you come up with that song?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
With any song I do, I try to leave something open for the listener's interpretation. I never want to write something too on the nose, because it can come off cheesy. That song is about mental health and how to balance these things. There is something good about having a motivational message in a song here and there.
"Smile" was the first thing I did when I started taking my solo career really seriously during COVID in 2019 and 2020. There was nothing to do, so I took it upon myself to start hammering away at the solo career. That was the first single from my first album of this new era. Now I'm about to release my fourth album, so that was an important song because it got my revamped and relaunched career off the ground again.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
You've been very busy. Considering COVID was only several years ago, you have already done four albums. That is very impressive. The name of the album you have coming out is Everything and Nothing, correct?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
No, that was the first album. That was the album "Smile" was on.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
Good, because I was reading about that one. That was the one mixed by Grammy Award winner Craig Bauer, correct?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
Yes. The new album is called That's Cool or I'm Sorry. I actually have my fifth album practically halfway done. My goal is to release one album every year until the day I die. Craig did not have a part in the new album. We still talk and he has mixed things for me more recently, but this album was mostly self-mixed. I found a workflow that works for me, where I can mix a lot of the material myself. It gives me more control, and then I send it out for mastering.
I feel like I'm in a flow state where I can have a lot of control over my own music. The biggest thing is finding the right tone. I worked with a producer on the previous album, Things Have Been Crazy, named Alex Sky out of LA. He taught me about tone - with the voice, the lyrics, and the messaging - and how to connect to a broad audience. Between him and Craig and my own entrepreneurship, I've figured out a way to keep a lot of what I do in-house, and then send out for overdubs when I need musicians.
In a lot of ways, my albums are like Steely Dan. I'm the artist, but I may use this drummer for this song, this bass player for that song, and so on. I have a touring band, and they are awesome. I use them in the studio all the time, but if I need a certain sound for a certain song, I'll call that person.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
Steely Dan is one of my favorites. They're known for that - picking out the right musician. I want to get to the first song we're going to talk about, which is called "My Secrets," also featured on your website as a video. Tell me about that song and the video.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
That was another one that took a while to germinate. I probably started working on it in 2017. At the time, I had a project called Fever Breaks, where the idea was that I would be the songwriter and producer and hire vocalists to sing certain songs, because I was not super confident as a vocalist.
That song got released, but I didn't promote it the right way, and it fell through the cracks. Fast forward to 2020 during COVID, and I decided to really go for it as a solo artist and singer. I revamped the song, reproduced it, had Craig mix it, and that song really blew up and put me on the map. It got millions of views across platforms. My kids would say, "My papa wrote 'Eye of the Tiger,' and my dad wrote 'My Secrets.'" My joke is that "My Secrets" is my "Eye of the Tiger."
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
That is amazing. For your kids to put that into their own mind space - to know there are fans who love this song - that is incredible.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
My kids are some of my biggest inspirations. On the new album, That's Cool or I'm Sorry, a lot of the songs are inspired by things my kids have said. Anytime I have my phone, I use the notes app and write down anything I hear that triggers my ear. Sometimes those things turn into a song. Honestly, if you're friends with me, you have to be careful what you say around me because it might turn into a song.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
We're going to play "My Secrets."
[Music Cue: "My Secrets" by Colin Peterik plays. Full lyrics omitted in this publication transcript.]
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
Wow. That's amazing. Before we move on, I wanted to ask about when you were opening for these really big bands. We have a young audience that listens to the show. Was there anything you picked up as an opening band that helped you for the future? There are so many lessons on the road. People who have toured for 30 or 40 years still say they learn new things.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
The biggest thing I learned is that you have to be nice to everyone. Be nice to the road crew, because they are working with these pro artists. You never know who is within earshot. It helps as a general rule in life: be nice to everyone. Treat the artists with dignity. Give them their space. Don't immediately go up and ask for an autograph. Treat them like a peer, and they will treat you like a peer.
The other thing is that these guys are pros. They don't have lyrics or chord sheets on stage. It inspires you to do your homework and memorize the songs. If you sing from the heart and believe what you're saying, you don't need lyrics in front of you. It comes from here and here. The best of the best do it straight from the heart. These guys inspired me to be better, do the homework, and put in the time. It is not easy, but it separates the amateurs from the pros.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
So true, because the fans in the audience know the words. They are singing along with you, so when there is a pause, they know something should be there. Especially with social media now, everything is being recorded, and that adds extra pressure.
I want to move on to your song "California Sober." I know Rex Smith, who was a popular singer in the '70s and '80s, and his son Brandon Smith just wrote a book called California Sober. What was the inspiration for your song with the same title?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
I think I was watching an interview in the background, and it was Demi Lovato. She said she was California sober, and I thought, "What does that mean?" I guess it means you're allowed to drink wine and smoke weed whenever you want, which I thought was hilarious because it's counterintuitive. "I'm sober, I'm California sober, so I can smoke weed and drink wine." I took that idea in a humorous direction.
But the song is also emotional and cool. If you listen to the lyrics, it references 9/11 and problems in society, and how we use coping mechanisms in everyday life. I never want it to be too serious or too precious. It is a song that is emotional, serious, and playful at the same time.
It came out on my second album, Spotlight, and it was one of the first songs I wrote entirely on guitar. Usually I write on keyboards or piano, but I was getting more comfortable with barre chords and ended up writing it on guitar. My producer at the time, Fred Mollin, loved it. We flew down to Nashville and did the album there, which was pretty cool.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
We're going to play "California Sober" now.
[Music Cue: "California Sober" by Colin Peterik plays. Full lyrics omitted in this publication transcript.]
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
It is so interesting to talk to you because you have so many different aspects in your songs. I appreciate you bringing up 9/11. We were greatly impacted by 9/11 here in New York City, and we are impacted again because this is the 25th anniversary this year. I volunteered at the museum and memorial site for two years, and it is incredible how many people were not born yet. We take it for granted that everyone knows about 9/11. My nephews weren't born yet. It is almost like when my parents talked about Pearl Harbor - it seemed so far away. But 25 years ago doesn't feel that far away.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
It feels like yesterday.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
Exactly. It is important to me that you reference it because there are people still suffering and grieving, and they will grieve for the rest of their lives. By weaving coping mechanisms, forgiveness, and self-forgiveness into your songs, there is a lot to be said there.
The third song we are going to talk about is "Black Light." Tell me about that.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
A lot of my song ideas come to me while I'm drifting to sleep in the middle of the night. Like with "Cocaine Nights," these songs don't necessarily start with lyrics or melody. They start with a mood. The words "Black Light" came into my head. I wrote them down quickly and went to sleep. The next day I thought, "Let's turn this mood into a song." I came up with a bass line, started writing ideas for lyrics, and thought about what comes to mind when I think of a black light - being lost in the moment, lost on the dance floor, drunk on love and whatever else.
That song is important because it was really my first full move into straight dance-pop music. I have done prog rock, rock and roll, pop, and '60s and '70s inspired material like "Michiana," which references R&B, soul, and Motown. The one thing I had not fully tried was pop. "Black Light" became my proof of concept that I could do a pop album, and that album became Things Have Been Crazy. It gave birth to everything that followed on that album.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
When you talked about wanting to be more pop, I noticed your background mentions psychedelic, rock, hip hop, and other areas. You have touched a lot of areas. Do you find it easy to write pop? When I think of the '80s, Daryl Hall and John Oates come to mind - songs that still get people moving 40 years later. When you play "Black Light," is that what it does for you? Does it make you feel like moving or jumping out of your chair?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
Absolutely. Pop is fun because I wanted to reach a general audience and the largest number of people possible without giving up artistic integrity. Pop is such a broad category now. As long as you sing within a certain range of subject matter, there are many instruments you can use, and it can still be called pop. There is a lot of experimentation and cross-contamination between pop, rock, metal, country, and hip hop. You can use hip hop within pop and metal within pop. It is about how it all comes together and is presented.
If you go out as a pop artist and say it with confidence, people will believe it. That gives me flexibility to paint within the lines while also pushing the envelope. I weave in my influences - psychedelic, prog, and jazz. I love Steely Dan, so if I'm writing a pop song, I will try to use a couple of weird chords, even if it is just one strange chord in a song. That is like my stamp. I'm trying to write pop music that I actually like.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
It is funny because I have been to concerts where someone says, "When I wrote this, I wasn't sure if I liked it," and it turned out to be a number-one hit they played for the rest of their career. The one you may not feel drawn to can become the song that follows you forever.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
That is kind of how "My Secrets" was. I didn't think much of the song, and then it exploded and everyone loved it.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
We're going to play "Black Light" now.
[Music Cue: "Black Light" by Colin Peterik plays. Full lyrics omitted in this publication transcript.]
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
You said something earlier that I wanted to circle back to. You mentioned listening to your kids and how they say one-liners that can turn into songs. Can you think of one of those one-liners that became a full song?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
One song on my third album that you can listen to on Spotify is called "Sparkles" - "Sparkles in the Air." My son said that when he was probably six years old. We were at a trampoline park, and he saw something - maybe someone hugging or kissing - and he said, "They're kissing like sparkles in the air." I thought, "Sparkles in the air - that is a song title." I wrote the whole song based on that phrase. It is one of my favorite songs off that album.
Another thing he said was, "My brother is in jail tonight." He doesn't have a brother. He has a sister, and he is just very silly. I took that and turned it into a song, also on that album. It is about going out, being crazy, jumping on cars until 3 a.m., smashing bottles, and then getting picked up by the cops - but he is my brother through and through, and tomorrow we'll be singing. That was another one I borrowed from him. Of course, I'll have my attorney talk to his attorney when the time is right.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
Eventually he is going to put it together and say, "Hey, Dad, you owe me."
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
Exactly.
I also have to give my daughter credit. We were in Saugatuck, Michigan, and she was probably eight years old. She said, "Dada, let's sit on the trampoline and watch the stars." I was working on a different song in the gazebo and said, "Okay, I'll be right there." Ten minutes later she came back and said, "Dada, come on. The stars are waiting." That is a song title right there. "The Stars Are Waiting" is going to be on the new album, That's Cool or I'm Sorry, coming out later this year through BraveWords.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
That is incredible. Children don't really have a filter, but they almost have the perfect filter. They tell you the stuff you need to hear, whereas adults clean it up or hold it back. Kids don't know not to say something, so they actually tell you what you need to hear.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
They have this brilliant, limited knowledge of their world. They know so much intrinsically, and some of the noise they have not heard yet. They are more pure than us.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
Do any of your children have a striking interest in music yet, or are they still too little?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
They are both amazing singers, with perfect pitch. My daughter is starting to do all the inflections and these jazzy runs. She is really good. But if I say, "Maybe I want you to start taking piano lessons," she says no. I'm taking a cue from my dad. He never forced me into piano lessons. I ended up wanting to take them myself around 13 or 14, so I'm giving them space. I think they will be interested at some point.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
You might need them as backup singers.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
I'll use their crazy ideas for more songs. It works out anyway.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
I want you to plug your website and social media. How can people contact you before we discuss the last song?
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
It is Colin Peterik Music everywhere - Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube. If you're looking for me on Apple Music or Spotify, just search Colin Peterik.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
Very good. I also want to give a shout-out to Michael Franckiewicz, who introduced me to you, and to BraveWords Records, which will be taking care of your new release.
Before we leave the interview - and I don't want to leave because you have been so much fun - tell me about your song "Swans."
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
"Swans" was one of the last things I recorded for the new album, That's Cool or I'm Sorry. I ended up leaving it off the album because it is a cover song, and without it, the album is a nice 10-song album of original music.
One of my favorite bands of all time, which I discovered in the past five or six years, is Prefab Sprout. The main songwriter is Paddy McAloon, a genius with lyrics and a real wordsmith. The focus is always on the vocals. He has this pure vocal tone, and every word he says is not wasted.
They released an album in 1998 called Andromeda Heights. Buried in the album is a great song called "Swans." It is about how a woman is so beautiful and uncorrupted, and then the fox comes and tempts her to go to the other side of the pond. The lyrics are beautiful, and it tells a story of humanity through metaphor, which Paddy McAloon was so good at doing.
I wanted to do a cover version because the production on their version is extremely minimal - keyboards and vocals. I wanted to do a version with drums and trumpets, almost like hip hop but lo-fi jazz. I also wanted to sing the song myself because it is so much fun to listen to. I wanted to get into his headspace. I sat in the studio and sang it for three hours. When it started gelling, I felt this weird telepathic connection with my hero, Paddy McAloon. He is still alive and lives in England, and someday I want to meet him.
We released it through BraveWords. We did a video, and shout-out to Mark Mish, who did the AI visuals. He interspersed my image with visuals of swans flying and foxes. It was really cool. It is the second time I have done a cover of a Prefab Sprout song. Secretly, I want more people to discover the band. Maybe I'll curry his favor. I want to meet him one day. That song is available everywhere now.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
This has been wonderful. We have learned so much about you, your dad, your music, and your influences in the field of music. I wish you the best, and I thank you again. Everyone, go check out Colin and all of his work. It has been a pleasure to have you on.
Speaker 3 - Colin Peterik, Guest:
Thank you so much, Kathy. It has been awesome.
Speaker 2 - Catherine Nadal, Host:
Thank you. We're going to roll out with the song "Swans."
[Music Cue: "Swans" by Colin Peterik plays. Full lyrics omitted in this publication transcript.]
Speaker 1 - Announcer / Program Outro:
You have been listening to the song "Swans." You've been listening to Bringing the Darkness to the Light with Catherine Nadal, professional psychic medium, Dream Central Station LLC. The audio editor is Al Hemberger at The Loft Recording Studios in Bronxville, New York. This is WNEW 102.7 FM Radio.
END OF TRANSCRIPT
