In Focus: Peter Ivers

Peter Ivers, a virtuosic songwriter and musician whose antics bridged not just 60s counterculture and New Wave music but also film, theater, and music television. From his home in Laurel Canyon, Peter hosted a lively salon of local artists and collaborators like Doug Kenney, Harold Ramis, and Van Dyke Parks, and more importantly, developed his distinct song writing craft. Peter collaged a living in Hollywood’s shadow—taking up anything from carpentry for The Tonight Show sets to playing mouth harp on John Cale’s Caged Heat while scoring and directing films for the American Film Institute and the Long Beach Museum of Art, and famously penning “In Heaven” for kindred spirit, David Lynch. In 1980, Ivers became involved with the Los Angeles-area public access show New Wave Theatre, serving as its host and introducer to a new generation of groups like Fear, Dead Kennedys, and Suburban Lawns. “You could label Peter an early pioneer conceptualist… Peter was definitely part of the next generation.” — Mark Mothersbaugh The praise and influence of Peter spans the breadth of American culture. To coincide with the release of Becoming Peter Ivers, the most expansive collection of archival Ivers recordings released to date, RVNG Intl. present this In Focus, an hour long journey through his discography.