About Peter Duffield This is an introduction into the world of Peter Duffield. Peter is a very talented and versatile entertainer. He can flow from a Solo act to a Duet with 'Scratch' (Steve Smith) and from there move easily into a full band setting with Scott Randall on percussion and Ken Herrington on bass for the band 3 Blind Mice. Peter was born in New Orleans and grew up watching his mother perform in some of Louisiana's most popular piano bars. Peter started out playing the trumpet in the 5th grade and continued until graduation. He also taught himself how to play the guitar at the age of 12. At 13 he started performing with his mother (June Davis) in numerous nightclubs and Jazz bars across Louisiana as well as Texas and Oklahoma. He learned quite a lot about music and audiences while playing guitar with his mother singing up front. He learned the importance of connecting with the audience in an emotional way. His mother taught him to feel the music, not worry so much about the technical aspects of it. This has resulted in his ability to be a soulfull singer as well as a skillfull musician. Having performed in front of numerous audiences as well as sharing the concert stage with many famous Rock Stars ( Rare Earth, The Guess Who, 3 Dog Night, Edgar Winter, Foghat, Flock of Seagulls, Molly Hatchet) has helped him to hone down the ability to know how to please the crowd. He has been wise to apply any advice given to him from people who have made their mark in the music industry. The feedback that 3 Blind Mice has received from the audience as well as fellow musicians when performing original material live has merited the trouble of recording a self made C.D. " These days"; says Peter, "anyone can write a song, make a C.D., and/or place it on a web site. It's a great way to market your material."" However, there's just no comparison to playing the music live."" When you're on stage you can get instant feedback and can tell very quickly if you have a song that's worth promoting are not." Peter is currently working on his first CD demo of original songs which should be finished very soon. His live performances have earned the respect of many reputable Louisiana musicians such as Kirk Holder, Chris LeBlanc, Rhett Anthony,Cam Pyle, Courtney Westbrook, Matt Doran, Joel Cooper, Russ Bryant, Rusty Yates, Bobby Henderson, Michael Noto, Lindsey Spiller,Paul Darren as well as L.S.U. Music Professor Griffin Campbell and Baton Rouge Symphony Conductor Timothy Muffit to name a few. Scott Gaskin / Greenfrog Productions. Peter is also a member of TAXI. TAXI is a great way to get your songs forwarded to major recording labels. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- About Steven Smith aka 'Scratch" My name is Steven Smith and I am a Guitar Player from Baton Rouge. I have been playing guitar since circa 1967. The way I came about playing the guitar is that one summer I was walking through my neighborhood in Glen Oaks and overheard someone playing "The House of the Rising Sun" on guitar. The sound was coming from the backyard of a house about 5 down from mine. There in the backyard I saw someone who I had never met, yet we had lived so close to each other for a number of years. His name was Randy Borne who later went on to play in several very successful bands in the Baton Rouge area. Some of the bands are 'Charlie Pappy' 'Opus' 'The Clique" and really too many others to mention at this time. My passion is music and what inspired me to play music. When I was 5 years old I went to my aunts house and my grandfather who was 70 years old at the time, was staying out back in her washhouse, because my grandmother had kicked him out for drinking, he was also musician. As I walked out the back door of her house, he said to me in his heavy french accent "Hey boy come here" so I walked over there and he told me to wait right there. He went inside the wash house and came back out. with a "Budweiser long-neck box" which he was using as his suitcase, he reached inside of it and pulled out a harmonica and proceeded to play "Oh Suzanna". At this time I was only 5 years old. (Keep in mind we didn't have a television yet, this was 1956). The only music I had heard up to this point was on the radio or on my moms portable record player. So, I didn't realize people played music I just thought it came out of these "boxes". This left me awe-struck, that people could play music and maybe I could too. A few days later when I went back home I told my mom that paw-paw had played me a song on the harmonica. She then proceeded to go to the bedroom and came back with a harmonica and also played several songs for me. I asked her if I could have one as well. She gave it to me and told me to go out in the back yard and practice. From that point on I was completely hooked on playing and enjoying and entertaining others with music. Steven Smith (Scratch) Note: some of the excerpts were taken from my blog |
