Today we’d like to introduce you to Pete Legasey.
Hi Pete, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’m from Salem, MA and played in a few bands around there before I moved to Austin in fall of 2011. But aside from a couple of brief stints in small cover groups, I wasn’t really making any music for my first 10 years here. That changed in late 2021 when I joined Beatnik Bandits by a sheer stroke of dumb luck. I had been serving at a restaurant with live music for years and made a habit of kissing ass to the musicians who played there. Beatnik Bandits was a major house favorite around the dawn of Covid. They had a great bass player named Max Prudhomme, but one night they played without him or anyone else on bass (he had joined Nolan Potter’s Nightmare Band). They told me they were looking for a new guy and I mentioned that I play some bass, fully expecting them to be like “hey that’s nice, get us a round of Lone Stars!” but they were really warm and welcoming. I auditioned a couple times, started playing shows with them, and barely a year later I was in a van with them touring the US and beyond opening for Blue October.
The band ended up splitting shortly after that tour ended and I decided to try to make music my main job. I was still an unknown in the community so I started going to the great open jams that Electric Church put on every Monday that year at Butterfly Bar. Eventually I started finding people who wanted to work with me and now I play bass for a handful of artists (Killer Kaya, Leila Sunier, Jess Helios and other pick-up gigs) in addition to DJing vinyl sets and running live sound. I also started a small clothing upcycle project called Dark Spun Custom, after teaching myself to sew in a moving tour van (not recommended).
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Life was definitely smoother before I got back into playing. I was happy enough then, though I did miss being in a band. Being on a national tour was a deeply gratifying and joyful experience, but it was also grueling: there were some frankly terrifying all-night drives through icy hills; multiple hospital visits; part of our van exploded once while we were in it.
Since I started trying to do music full-time there have been numerous waves of financial anxiety along with the constant rejections from desired opportunities that every working musician deals with. I knew these hurdles would be part of the deal, but that doesn’t make it any easier to navigate them.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I love all of my projects by Killer Kaya is really special because it’s the first band I’ve been in where we all write songs as a group. At it’s core it’s a 60’s style hard psych rock band but heavily influenced by styles from far flung places like India, Turkey, Northern Africa, Peru and much more. Everyone in the group is fairly literate in music theory and music from different eras and regions so we really get to explore together. It can be a lot of cooks in the kitchen but we’re all good about listening to each other, trying all kinds of ideas, and trusting one another’s judgement when deciding which ones to keep.
As for how I stay afloat financially, it can change depending on the month, but my main source of income at the moment is DJ-ing vinyl sets. I don’t do remixes or scratching, but I’ve gotten good at reading the room and playing the right songs at the right moments. As a working bassist, I’m versatile and learn songs quickly. My playing style is rooted in classic soul and funk but also draws from the harder rock and metal styles I grew up with, along with some of the world music that I’m really into right now. I try to bring patience, empathy and a sense of humor to every situation. I don’t know if that sets me apart from others but hopefully it makes me easy and fun to work with.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I’ve learned that no matter what I’m doing or how well things are going I have a tendency to think about what I perceive as failures, about roads not taken, and to compare myself unfavorably to others. It’s okay to have these thoughts but I can’t let them control how I view myself and my life. I’ve slowly gotten a little better at escorting them out of mind almost as easily as they snuck in, giving them only the power to motivate me to make things better for myself and the people I care about.
Pricing:
- Bass Guitar Performance: $100-$200 depending on set length, prep time, location etc.
- Bass Guitar Recording: $150 per session or $30 per hour
- Vinyl DJ Performance: $200 and up for bars and small clubs, $500 and up for private events and larger clubs
- Custom Clothing Upcycle: price varies depending on project and timeline
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @pete.legasey, @darkspuncustom
