| Peter Hayes | |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Date: | 11 February 1976 |
| Birth Place: | New York Mills, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Musician, singer |
| Label: | RCA |
| Associated Acts: | Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Brian Jonestown Massacre |
Peter Hayes (born February 11, 1976) is an American musician and singer, best known as a member of the rock band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.[1]
Hayes grew up in Minnesota, and his first time playing music was learning the trombone and playing in symphonic band in school. When Hayes was 14 or 15 years old he got into trouble for drug use and was grounded for over a year. During that time he began figuring out how to play his mother's classical guitar out of boredom. She taught him some flamenco and finger picking songs, which was influential for Hayes, as was the music of Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd. One of Hayes' first electric guitars was a Peavey copy of a Hendrix-Style Fender Stratocaster. However Hayes early life was also influenced heavily by the country and folk guitar of Johnny Cash and Marty Robbins. He had a family friend who they called "Uncle" who would play for him old country tunes. Hayes would experiment with effects using a digital multi-effects unit, a Digitech RP1, utilizing the headphone jack to play for hours to himself. At a certain point Hayes gave up on "playing fast" like Hendrix and adopted open-tunings in order to play rhythm and lead at the same time, probably also from alternate-tuning blues and folk influence. Peter Hayes moved from the Midwest to Lafayette, California, a suburb in the East Bay Area, where he attended Acalanes High School and met future bandmate Robert Levon Been, whose father was in the rock band The Call. They had noticed each other when Been saw Hayes bringing his guitar to school. They bonded over songwriting. Hayes had begun playing cover songs playing at open mics, colleges, and bars playing spaced-out versions of old country and folk. His friends wouldn't show, but Been would. Hayes would eventually befriend Robert's father Michael Been. Through him he learned about guitar and music. Been had a spare ES335 lying around as well as lexicon rack reverbs that Hayes used in his early days. Later "out of the blue", really through Robert's father, Hayes had a tryout with The Brian Jonestown Massacre.[2] Peter is the father of two girls, age 10 and 16.
Hayes played guitar and bass for the neo-psychedelic rock band The Brian Jonestown Massacre circa 1997/1998.[3] Examples of his playing can be heard on the group's Give It Back! album.
Hayes appears as a highly visible, yet quiet musician in the 2004 movie documentary DiG! as an active touring member of The Brian Jonestown Massacre. The film also documents the befriended band The Dandy Warhols.
Peter Hayes is a founding and current member of the alternative rock trio Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.[1]
Guitars:
Amplifiers (Around the time of each album):
- B.R.M.C.
- Take Them On, On Your Own
- Howl & Baby 81
- Beat The Devil's Tattoo
Pedals & rack effects:
List compiled from use of various photos, most likely an incomplete list.
- Earlier years (Approx. around time of the first and second album possibly going into Howl era)
- Later years (Most likely around Howl era up to Beat the Devil's Tattoo era)