Peak Arts

On Facebook

2017-04-20T05:01:00.000-05:00

Peak Arts on Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/PeakArtsPro

Peak Arts Continues with New Projects

2017-04-20T03:46:00.003-05:00

The Spirit of Creation

I'm always trying to move forward but sometimes one must go back to projects from the past, then give completion to something left incomplete... This time it was to an old project started by Noah Benzing and I originally back in 2011...

We had started a film at that time but never finished, it was the beginning of our many projects that we've worked on together... It was an 8mm film project of Noah's called, "In-Situ in 8mm." The film was lost but there remained some footage of the original.

I decided to make a music video with the footage... the results gave me some closure at least to a project long since forgotten... What I came up with was a music video that I call, "In-Situ: The Lost." I put the main part of the song together with loops but I used a midi controller to record a pretty killer keyboard part to the loop song.

"Phazed Out"

Noah Benzing and I worked on this project after 2 years of being on hiatus from Drunktank Oddity. This wasn't Drunktank Oddity, this was a renewal of our being partners of the underbelly of film entertainment...

Noah and I spent a few days together filming while hanging out... I took this footage then mixed it with a song I had put together with loops from some of the weirdest guitar sounds and movements. I had about 7 minutes worth of music which I thought would go well with Noah and I's odd take on film making... I thought the result was kick ass... I released this video back in February....

The Outer Realm Creations: Loops and Samples

2017-01-20T15:52:00.000-06:00

Loops Took Me Somewhere Beyond...

You never know where music can take you,,, Sometimes using other's talents and riffs can take you beyond your own style then give new ground to explore... I'm not ashamed of using loops... They allow me to produce musical works of art. They provide me the extra ground for treading. These songs were all made with royalty-free loops and samples...

Using loops can be a challenge because of time signature, tempo, key and dynamics. Some of these songs took days to complete, I'd try so many combinations that I'd have to walk away and come back with a different perspective. Plus, loops still have to be mixed and effected properly. It can be just as complicated as recording because they require imagination, fore thought, and cleverness.

I used to be a purist,,, I was the one who said, "I'll never use loops, they suck!" Well those words came back to haunt me... I'm grateful, I've been able to use the loops to produce some killer music videos... I always make sure to mix these songs well, now it's second nature to me... Every bit of these songs took vision and a trained ear... I poured my heart into making them sound this good...

James Peak - Live at the Groove from James Peak on Vimeo.

James Peak - Rock Dropper (Slide Return) from James Peak on Vimeo.

James Peak - Rock Dropper (Slide Return) Part 2 from James Peak on Vimeo.

James Peak - Slippity Hop from James Peak on Vimeo.

James Peak - Creating By Example from James Peak on Vimeo.

Rockin' Review 2016 from James Peak on Vimeo.

It's the American Way We Choose...

2017-01-19T11:57:00.004-06:00

The American Way

This song has always been a favorite of mine especially when I used to play it live with Erik Brandborg and John McArthur in the old days...

Giving our rights away and accepting the word of "Authorities" is not the American Way...

Americans are free thinkers, inventors, warriors, destroyers and builders, We distrust politicians and the media,,, and we stand tall... We express our minds, work hard, and leave a path of destruction and reconstruction behind us... We don't apologize for who we are... We fight for our rights... We don't give them away for any reason... That's the American Way....

James Peak - The American Way from James Peak on Vimeo.

Somewhere Different than Intended...

2017-01-19T09:54:00.000-06:00

History

There are two versions of the song... I recorded the original version in 2004 using Cubasis VST on a Sony Vaio... There were 5 songs recorded that session but history was the keeper as far as I'm concerned... I was out of practice on the drums. Also I had never recorded anything from layers like that before... The vocals were doubled... Erik Brandborg played the bass guitar...

I remastered the original song, using Sound Forge audio studio... During the History Revisited session in 2014, I recorded 20 minutes of keyboard outtakes using my Samsung camera... I found an interesting opening keyboard part and made a music video featuring a variety of video from the past 3 years...

History and History Revisited: The Videos

The original version with newer keyboard opening:

The second instrumental version from 2014:

James Peak - Guitarist on the Move

2016-11-16T08:22:00.001-06:00

A new guitar video from James Peak. It's all about stepping out of what's comfortable and just letting the big dog eat. Check it out today....

The Scene's Set

A great place and day for a video.

This building has some character.

This awning had great acoustics.

A focal point.

The Crew

Lucas and Kristi discuss the shoot.

Lucas Holmes: Cameraman

Kristi Szeszulski: Photography

James Peak

I've came up with the idea, played the guitar, edited and produced the short film. Since I had the time off of work, everything went smooth and without major incident...

A pre-production photo by Lucas Holmes.

The video's available to watch on James Peak's Youtube...

Thanks for visiting Peak Arts' blog....

Livin' Life Day To Day

2016-11-13T06:29:00.001-06:00

New Music Video

While it's been a while since I recorded completely new music, I find several outlets for creativity. My favorite thing to do's come up with a video for songs...

Livin' Life Day to Day

One of several songs that must've fallen from the sky and landed on me. The drums, guitars, singing and songwriting was me. The bass player on this song's Erik Brandborg, one of my best friends, and a ROCKER!

The song was written about how much my life was getting better but how much worse it got for those that follow ridiculous rules and low standards. Fighting for only their own interests or financial concern...

The video stars, Sean Lewis, Noah Benzing, James Peak, Erik Peak, Leslie Peak, Megan Bryant and Therasa Lawrence.

Guided by Voices: Live at Cain's:

2016-10-29T12:52:00.003-05:00

Capturing Live Music:

From the floor of Cain's

Guided by Voices: GO SEE THEM LIVE!!!!

I set out with two cameras and a ticket for the Guided by Voices show on 8-13-2016. I'd seen them before... their albums always seemed to fall short compared to their monstrous live shows. The energy's the best reason to see GBV.

I decided that I didn't want to make a full concert video... Instead, I wanted to capture awesome moments throughout the performance.

Cain's Ballroom has always had great acoustics... the stage was built for working bands and performers. Guided by Voices seemed right at home here in Tulsa, OK, They played at least 50 songs... Amazing!

In the end, I captured around 24 minutes of top notch performance... I wanted to do more but I enjoy the results so much, I was proud of myself... check out the performance on Youtube.com.

571 views so far... NICE!

sPEAKable Him Link Button

2016-09-09T13:20:00.001-05:00

In addition to artist and musician, Mr. Peak also publishes his writing on another weblog: sPeakable Him. His rants, raves, and deeper thoughts are quite interesting. Please check it out.

As always, Mrs. Peak designed a link button for that.

~ Mrs. Peak

Link Button From Peak MUSIC

2016-09-09T07:38:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Peak's creative talent has designed a button to link Peak MUSIC with Peak Arts.

Be sure to check out Peak MUSIC for some ear candy.

~ Mrs. Peak

New Facebook Promo Art

2016-09-09T06:46:00.000-05:00

Designed by Mrs. Peak, with her silly sense of humor, this promo is intended to be used as a Facebook post advertisement at dimensions of 940 px by 788 px. Please visit Mr. Peak's Facebook fan page for Peak Arts.

~ Mrs. Peak

Mr. Peak's MUSIC Blog

2016-09-06T13:39:00.000-05:00

Before Peak Arts, there was Jimi Peak MUSIC. It was the first site I created for him. He is a musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is also the greatest guitar player I have ever known.

So I designed a link button to Mr. Peak's first blog:

As a musician, Mr. Peak plays the drums, keys, bass, and I already mentioned what a kickass guitar player he is. He writes his own music and lyrics, and he also sings. He has produced his own albums. To say he is talented is putting it lightly.

Head on over, and have some ear candy. You'll be so glad you did. His music is amazing.

~Mrs. Peak

Possibly Idea for Feedburner Email Logo

2016-09-06T06:16:00.001-05:00

Here's an option for the Feedburner email logo:

These images lately are only posted because I need a URL. I don't normally post random digital art. It does, in fact, serve a purpose.

~Mrs. Peak

Kickass Feedburner Background

2016-09-05T17:55:00.002-05:00

Testing a new background image created for the Feedburner headline animator:

Pretty fanfuckingtastic, don't you think? I think so. Of course, I made the damn thing.

~Mrs. Peak

Second Test Post: Visualization

2016-08-20T00:00:00.000-05:00

Because visualization is the key to imagining great things.

And because two is usually better than one (in this case, anyway).

But certainly NOT because Mr. Peak's wife enjoys typing complete nonsense to fill the post area void for helping her see the "bigger picture" in her web design efforts.

~ Mrs. Peak

First Test Post: Customization

2016-08-19T23:41:00.001-05:00

Peak Arts is a weblog of creative expression by artist and musician, James Peak. It is being customized by Mr. Peak's wife, and she requires a visual test post to assist her work in design and layout elements.

This post really isn't about anything important.

Or anything at all.

It's nonsense, really.

Have a fantabulous day!

~ Mrs. Peak