Pete Krebs

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Pete Krebs is an independent musician from Portland, Oregon, best known as a member of the punk-pop band Hazel and a split record with Elliott Smith.

Having already served successful tours in the Northwest punk bands Thrillhammer, Hazel (two albums on Sub Pop records) and the rambunctious bluegrass band Golden Delicious, Pete Krebs has emerged as one of the most consistently engaging contemporary singer-songwriters. Much like his friend and collaborator Elliott Smith, Krebs uses his more rock-oriented roots to drive his intensely introspective songs. Both Krebs and Smith have passed through early periods of extremely stripped down solo recordings to tackling grander ambitions with more sonically dense collaborative works.

Debuting as a solo musician in 1995 on Cavity Search Records, Krebs' starkly acoustic Brigadier immediately established him as one of the more impressive voices in the crowded singer-songwriter idiom.

The 1997 release Western Electric only upped the ante, as Krebs became the recipient of substantial critical acclaim to go with his already growing reputation. Western Electric often recalls the folk sounds of the Greenwich Village movement ("J.F.K.", "Horsepower Daydreams", "Purple Heart Of Texas") and even the pastoral folk of Donovan and Gordon Lightfoot ("Madison", "Purple Heart Of Texas"), if not Nick Drake's manic depression ("Elevation"). The catchy "Hideaway" and the 10-minute instrumental "Luminous" show the breadth of Krebs' stylistic range.

Sweet Ona Rose, following in 1999, did nothing to hurt the momentum already building, as Krebs filled out his sound with an impressive cast of friends from the indie rock elite (including former Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd) and crafted what was arguably one of the strongest and most varied alt-country statements of the year.

Krebs took a few side trips along the way, collaborating with other Portland Gypsy-jazz enthusiasts on the album Hot Ginger and Dynamite in 2001. He also teamed up with Bad Livers singer and banjo virtuoso Danny Barnes for the refreshingly odd Duet For Clarinet And Goat (Cavity Search) in which the musicians covered each other's songs.

Krebs' latest offering, the folky I Know It By Heart (Cavity Search, 2003), was an unpretentious collection of melodic vignettes that hark back to the Kinks' exuberant guitar-pop ("Sleeping Beauty" and "Distant Lights of Home") and to Sixties bubblegum pop ("Smashed to Splinters"). Krebs also shows an experimental side with the trip-hop of "Kid Domino".

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