New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Pete Donnelly Official Website) Donnelly, who recently became a member of the legendary band NRBQ, writing and performing on the band's well-received 2011 release Keep This Love Goin' (Clang), is also a founding member of the tried and true power-pop band The Figgs, which has a world-wide fan base, a hearty discography, and has toured and recorded several times with the great Graham Parker.
An active member of The Figgs, founded in
Saratoga Springs, N.Y., since the rock outfit's inception in 1987 (the band, which also features Mike Gent and Pete Hayes, will be dropping a new double-disc set in 2012, the band's 11th album), Donnelly has spent the better part of the past 20-plus years touring with the band, as well as a number of other artists such as Soul Asylum, Mike Viola & The Candy Butchers, Tommy Stinson (The Replacements, GNR), Graham Parker, and in recent years, NRBQ.
Parker came across the Figgs after the band signed to Capitol Records (which released The Figgs' 1996's Banda Macho) recruiting the band to back him on tour. A 1997 double-album live release on Razor & Tie, The Last Rock N Roll Tour, was the fruit of that initial tour, but the band has continued to work with the iconic singer-songwriter. Since 1996, Donnelly has recorded two albums (including 2001's powerful Deepcut to Nowhere and 2005's Songs of No Consequence) and three live albums with Parker. Donnelly also appears on the 2010 live Graham Parker DVD Graham Parker & the Figgs: Live at the FTC.
Living in the Philadelphia area for the past decade, when not on the road, Pete Donnelly has been writing, recording, engineering and/or producing for a variety of artists, including
John Legend (bass on 2008's Evolver) and Sub Pop act Death Vessel. He has done the same for a plethora of Philadelphia-based artists — such as G. Love & Special Sauce, Carsie Blanton, The Capitol Years, The Thirteen, Amos Lee, Mutlu and Ben Arnold, to name a few, working in recording studios in New York, Philadelphia and New Jersey.
Now, following the Dec. 15 release of his first-ever solo CD, When You Come Home, Donnelly is preparing for a six-week residency at Philadelphia's new Milkboy venue running Wednesday evenings from Jan. 25 through Feb. 29. Each week will feature Pete with his band (Adam Winokur on bass, Fred Berman on drums), along with a featured guest artist and another guest band. (See schedule below.)
The critics have already regarded When You Come Home as a killer album, with famed WFMU DJ Bob Brainen including it (along with the latest NRBQ record) among his album picks for 2011 and Premier Radio's Steve Reynolds including it in his Top 20 albums for 2011. Meanwhile the
Internet "radio show"
Bubbles in the Think Tank also included When You Come Home in its list of favorite albums of the 2011, stating: "….dig the vibe that Pete puts down throughout this disc. It's got the Philly sound on top of the one that is Pete's very own."
When You Come Home is a watershed record in Pete Donnelly's prolific music career. The 14 tracks were recorded over a period of two years in a different cities and studios, and with an assortment of top-notch players — including Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum), Britta Phillips (Luna, Dean and Britta), Fred Berman (Amos Lee), Jonn Savannah (Van Morrison, Squeeze) and Mike Gent (the Figgs, The Gentlemen) — yet after one listen, it's obvious the album's songs belong together.
"This was a record I just had to make," says Donnelly. "I was compelled to be as indulgent and reckless as I wanted to be. There wasn't an end result in my mind, I just needed a place to be as emotive as possible, in my ever more responsible real life."
Rock songs with an edge of modernity and experimentation are contained in Home, with the songs' subject matter subtly drifting between personal relationships ("When You Come Home," "22nd St.," "Far Away Angel," and the funky standout "Can't Talk a All") and a mid-life sense of self ("So Fine," "Saratoga," "Careful") and the clamor and unrest of a modern world that has seen the horrors of Katrina, wars, terrorism and the uncertainty and disappointments associated with our stubborn elected officials and the economic crisis of the past few years ("Break Through Silence", "Original Wonder", "If They Can't Get it Right").
Built upon catchy and sturdy melodies, and played with a genuine sense of care, Donnelly's new songs are testaments to his artistry, each inspired in part by all of the musicians he's had an opportunity to work with.
"It's been quite a ride growing up in the tightest of bands [the Figgs], learning from the greats , Graham Parker, Terry Adams," says Donnelly. "it's an incredible study. No doubt I'm taking it all in."
Tracklisting is as follows:
1. So Fine
2. 22nd St.
3. Original Wonder
4. When You Come Home
5. Careful
6. The Keeping
7. Saratoga
8. The Only One
9. Can't Talk at All
10. Far Away Angel
11. Tommy's Piano
12. If They Can't Get it Right
13. Break Through Silence
14. This Way the Back Door
"Pete's [new] solo album is brilliant. His writing is great; he's one of the best musicians I know. He's perfect for us." — Terry Adams of NRBQ, in January 2011 issue of Blurt.
"Pete, Dammit! I can't stop listening to your record. I love it." — Veteran Philadelphia singer-songwriter Jim Boggia
"I get a lot of albums handed to me, but most of them go in the bin. That is not the case, however, with Pete Donnelly's latest solo effort, When You Come Home, which is sitting in the car stereo system where it will undoubtedly receive tons of spins, usually at very high volume." — Graham Parker
"When You Come Home represents a life dedicated to music, a life dedicated to friendships and the long journey we all take to find our home in this cluttered world. The music is extraordinary, the songwriting is mature and the songs stick with you like glue." — Jeff Schwachter, Atlantic City Weekly
Pete Donnelly Calls Philly 'Home,' MilkBoy Residency Schedule:
• Pete Donnelly Residency featuring Tommy Stinson (The Replacements), The Thirteen - 2/29
• Pete Donnelly Residency featuring Zach Djanikian, Plus Special Guest TBA - 2/22
• Pete Donnelly Residency featuring Britta Phillips (Luna/Dean & Britta), Joey Sweeney - 2/15
• Pete Donnelly Residency featuring Pawnshop Roses, Gift Horse (Scott Silipigni) - 2/08
• Pete Donnelly Residency featuring Terry Adams of NRBQ, Jim Boggia - 2/01
• Pete Donnelly Residency featuring Jason Loughlin, Jersey Rhythm Devils - 1/25
For more information, bookings or to purchase the new album, please visit: PeteDonnellyMusic.com
Or Contact:
[email protected] 
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