Exclusive Interview: Jim Peterik of 'Ides of March' (Formerly of 'Survivor' and '38 Special' Fame) on His New Projects, Writing for Legends and How That 'Vehicle' Turned Into a Time Machine

Photo: Jim Peterik's Official Facebook

Since Covid-19 has slowed down the industry we are flashing back to some of the best of the best content here at DailyBOOM.

ICYMI

I was first introduced to Jim Peterik's work when I was still in diapers. In the 1970s my dad was music-obsessed and used his gigs in local radio to justify his growing vinyl collection. Growing just as quickly was his literal wall of stereo equipment. He would make several trips to a store called Stereo House before finally plunking down a wad of cash and walking out with a big box of something that he would spend the next several hours agonizing over. The sound had to be just right and one of his favorite songs to use in order to achieve that perfect musical balance was "Vehicle" by The Ides of March, a group co-founded by Peterik 55 years ago.

Aside from playing guitar, keys, and being a vocalist, Peterik is also considered to be songwriting royalty. His work with 38 Special, Sammy Hagar, REO Speedwagon, and more has been top-notch, paving the way to a Grammy win for a little ditty called "Eye of the Tiger", a song by Survivor (another blockbuster group that he co-founded).

After more than fifty years in the industry, Peterik still has plenty to do. He is writing for the likes of The Beach Boys, still performing with The Ides of March, and recently released a single, "Proof of Heaven" with Dennis DeYoung off of his latest World Stage release, Winds of Change. I had a chance to chat with Peterik recently and it was like climbing into a musical time machine that I didn't want to step away from. Check it out below.

Photo: Jim Peterik's Official Facebook

Jim Peterik on working with Dennis DeYoung on "Proof of Heaven":

"The song with Dennis DeYoung was a long time coming because we've been friends for forty years or something. I had my first hit "Vehicle" with The Ides of March when he was just getting started. He was making the transition from Tradewinds (later TW4) to a group called Styx, while we were at the top of the charts. Here they come with this song called "Best Thing" and I thought, 'Oh boy' (laughing). We became friends and very friendly rivals at the same time, but we've always had a deep respect for each other. He recently moved nearby, to the suburbs of Chicago, and so we started just going to dinner together with our wives, with absolutely no agenda. Dennis started to tell me about his new band that is kind of Styx-y that he plays with now, and how he has been doing theatrical work and solo work, but he started to get really excited when telling me about how he wanted to get back into rock and roll. Of course, (laughing) I was the final nail in that coffin because I told him he had to make a new record. Yeah I know, they don't sell anymore, yadda yadda, I know, but people want to hear his voice. They want to hear his music, and so I just kept hammering him (laughing). He'll tell you that if it wasn't for me he probably wouldn't have done the album, but once he got started then he really reclaimed that sound that he was such a big part of creating with Styx.

"Proof of Heaven" is really kind of like proof of Dennis because it so echoes the Styx sound. I co-wrote it with him and I was very supportive of that sound. He asked me to put it on my World Stage album and I was stunned because it was supposed to be for his album. He really wanted it on this album and he wanted to do the video together and to just make it great, and so, of course, I said 'Hell yeah', (laughing). It was a beautiful thing and then when he gave me the green light we went into the studio with some of his band and some of the people that I work with. It was like a collective when we finally cut it, a hybrid of Dennis' world and my world.

I'm anxious for people to listen to World Stage because it's one of my highest moments. I got to work with some of my heroes and I'm really thankful to be able to blend old friends with new friends on this project."

Jim on the lightning in a bottle that is The Ides of March:

"It's a funny little story. I wrote the song "Vehicle" to try and win my girlfriend back and I guess it worked because 46 years later I'm still married to her (laughing). We never thought it was going to be a hit record. We already had one song out called "One Woman Man" which was great but it stiffed, so Warner Brothers dropped us. We were trying to win them back by putting a demo tape together and "Vehicle" was number four on this tape, out of four songs. It was decent and when we played it at dances the dance floor would fill up, so we saw it as that kind of song and not really a hit song. That's how much we knew (laughing). We cut it and the record company said, 'That's the song, guys!'. It was the fastest rising record in Warner Brothers history and suddenly I'm 19-years-old and on the road with Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, and The Grateful Dead wondering what just happened. The oldest guy in our group was only 21 and it was just incredible. Even more incredible is that the song is still around. You still hear it on the radio and in commercials on television. 

The Ides of March have now been together for 55 years and on August 15th we're releasing our anniversary album called Play On, with the original four guys. We're really proud of it and we're doing a double vinyl album with the fourth side being all of the classic masters. We have never stopped playing, even in the seventeen years that I was with Survivor. It went to the back burner for me, but we never stopped. I think we're the oldest living band with its' original four members."

Jim on Survivor and unearthed Jimi Jamison vocals:

"Oh, it was a great band and we made a lot of great music. The chemistry in a band isn't always smooth and sometimes the jagged edges are what help to really create that unique band. I think that kind of summarizes Survivor. There was a lot of tension, creative differences, and power struggles that were not pleasant at the time, but I think that those things helped to form what we were. I can't argue with the success and we created a real signature sound that was Survivor. We were blessed with two great singers, with Dave Bickler who sang "Eye of the Tiger", and the Jimi Jamison who sang so many great hits. I miss him every day, to this day. 

Flash forward to the present, the last track on the new World Stage album is uncovered, lost Jimi Jamison track called "I'll Love You All Over the World".  I found this old tape from 2008 and it wasn't cut very well but his vocal is stunning so I asked his heirs if I could take his voice and build a new track around it, and they said absolutely. I wasn't prepared for being in the studio with his voice. There was that wonderful tenor in the room, which will never be heard again, and there was this enormous responsibility of building a great track around it. Most of the musicians were tearing up because it was so emotional. Everybody loves this song and there's no one else who sounds like Jimi Jamison."

Jim on his writing process and approach to working with legendary artists:

"I'm blessed because I'm a fan of so many different kinds of music. We all start as fans, I don't care how much success you have, you've got to be a fan. When I was five years old it was Elvis, The Everly Brothers, and Chuck Berry. I absorbed all of those styles and loved them all, even into the horn era when Blood, Sweat and Tears reigned supreme. You can hear that being channeled on "Vehicle". I'm a bit of a chameleon and I can kind of do it all because I'm a fan of it all. Writing with 38 Special was a really cool pairing. They first came to my house in 1981 and the first song we wrote was "Hold on Loosely", which was a pretty good way to start (laughing). 

It was like a blind date, I'm sitting there in my kitchen eating nachos that my wife made, with these guys that I don't know at all (laughing). I feel like if I can break the ice and become another member of the band while writing with them, then it all works out. Don Barnes had a title, he said, 'Hold on Loosely' and I said, 'Yeah, but don't let go,' and it just went from there. In about four hours time we had that song and sent a crappy demo of it to their manager. He listened and said, 'Well guys, you just got your first top ten'. I really try to bring out what each band is all about. I knew that they were southern rock and I also knew that they needed a commercial edge to make them accessible, so that's what I tried to do for them.

I was blessed to write with one of my heroes in 2012, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. We did "That's Why God Made the Radio" and it went to number two on Billboard for The Beach Boys. I'm a huge fan of theirs and always have been so it felt very natural to try and channel Brian. I felt like I was kind of reminding him of what made him so great. He was sitting at the piano just dorking around and I'd say, 'What's that! Let me turn the tape recorder on!' (laughing). I tried to capture some of the things that maybe he wasn't even aware of. He's a genius and just so good at everything that he does, that he almost doesn't realize how good it actually is. It was my job to capture the lightning in a bottle and that song is one of my proudest moments. 

You've got to be an open channel to other people's ideas. It can't be an ego trip. You've got to be like an antenna picking up everything and that's just how great songs are written."

Jim on how the older he gets, the more he stays the same:

"Nothing has really changed for me and that's a good thing. I've always wanted to write songs that meant something to me and I never looked at the bottom line. The bottom line will come if enough people relate to your song. I just always wanted to write songs that I would want to buy. I still get excited when I wake up in the morning and maybe there's a goal or a band who is looking for a song. Right now I'm working with a group that I can't mention, but we're writing songs for their album and that's what wakes me up in the morning. 

The performing still matters and it's certainly part of the puzzle for me. Like tonight, I'm doing a show with The Ides of March at an outdoor community college venue which holds about 6,000 people. That's a nice crowd and we're going to do our hits of course, but we're also going to do the stuff that I've written for 38 Special, Sammy Hagar, Survivor, and then three new songs from the new album. I gain so much from the live experience and the way people react.  I can ride on the high of just one show for a couple of weeks. That feeling of inspiration or of having really connected with that audience, that really inspires me to keep going. 

When I was a kid I was a worrywart. I mean I worried about tornadoes, hurricanes, getting cancer, just everything (laughing). Even if I was right with all of them, I was paying too much attention to the worries and once I found my calling and stepped on stage to play "Kansas City Here I Come" for the Talented Teen Search in my hometown, I wasn't worried. I would ride on the energy of a gig like that for two weeks and then the worries would come back, so I'd have to do another show (laughing). In a way, I'm still that kid and I need music to put that shit into remission."

Jim on what will fill his time these next few months:

"I'm always playing everything by ear (laughing), but this fall will bring a lot of Ides of March shows because that new record is coming out. Then starting in January, we're doing some World Stage shows. The bill has not been firmed up yet, but it's going to include at least some of the prime people on the new CD. We're thinking of videotaping the first show for a World Stage special. I also think there's going to be a video for another song on the album. I'm not yet sure which one or how big the budget will be (laughing). It may be a lyric video but hey, they're effective! Frontiers Records have been really good to us and if you had a hit in the 80's that Serafino (Perugino, Frontiers founder) loves, you're golden forever. 

Just to have someone who still cares means a lot. Believe it or not, we rockers can get really down in the dumps after our glory days are behind us. Serafino is like a cheerleader because he reminds us of what we meant to people and that's worth a lot. Memories are such a big part of the sound print of a song. I have a jukebox in my house and I have it stacked with my favorite memories. When I hear Elvis Presley and I can almost put myself in my parents living room with my sisters there, music is like a time machine. If you love music then it's your own private time machine and one familiar song can just change the course of your entire day."

Check out Jim's official site for updates on everything he's doing, plus info on upcoming shows. Also, check out The Ides of March's official site.  Don't forget to follow Jim on Facebook and Twitter too!  

Exclusive Interview: Dennis DeYoung on His Official Two-Part Farewell to Recording

Dennis DeYoung Promo Shot

Since Covid-19 has slowed down the industry we are flashing back to some of the best of the best content here at DailyBOOM.

ICYMI

I can still remember being a little kid sitting in my dad's big green armchair, his headphones on my head, listening to Paradise Theater, Styx's most popular album still, so many decades later. I was ten and knew precious little about anything that this world had to offer, but I knew who Dennis DeYoung was. Now, nearly forty years later, he is on the edge of releasing the first part of his farewell to recording, 26 East: Vol. 1. and his voice is as pure and textured as ever.

I had a chance to chat with Dennis this week and he clued me in to his mindset while constructing this new project, which includes a little help from Jim Peterik (Ides of March, formerly of Survivor) and Julian Lennon. Check it out below.

Dennis DeYoung Promo Shot

Dennis on working with old friend Jim Peterik on 26 East, Vol. 1:

"He likes to think he encouraged me but I think he just nagged me like a mother. “Den, Den, you’ve gotta make music.” I said, “Jim, no I don’t. There’s no rule.” (laughing) We are the perfect yin and yang. He’s the positivity and I’m all cynicism so it worked out nicely. Our two personalities worked perfectly together. I heard a song and he was trying to convince me to do it. He wrote this song called, Run For The Roses, that he had finished when he returned from Milan. He said, “Okay, let’s see if we can finish it.” So we did that and we finished eight others without hardly even trying so that was a great start. It was a great partnership. During the process, about 18 songs were written. A little more than half were written together and the others I had written myself. It was a catalyst to get me to do it."

DeYoung & Peterik- Photo Cred: Kristie Schram

Dennis on writing East of Midnight:

"When we sat down it was a ‘you show me yours and I’ll show you mine.’ We started that way rather than starting with one which can be tough. He (Peterik) had written that three years earlier and called it Late Night Radio and I thought musically I could turn that into a Styx song, I know what the ingredients are. So we sat down and rejiggered it. I made it more personal about my experience in the southside. From my perspective, he set the idea down and I just added what I needed to signify it. Every time I hear it, it just makes me smile. To all those fans out there who liked that thing out there in 1977 and ‘78 well there it is! It sounds fresh to me."

Dennis on his writing process in general:

"Well, most of the things I’ve had success with were done by myself. When writing with someone, the process that turns out to be the most successful, I think, is when we both have an idea that someone is stuck on or needs more investigation it’s like, okay where will that go? What would you do to that and vice versa? That’s the process that I have found has been the most successful. For instance, Tommy (Shaw) had chords and the verses to a song called Lights we did in ‘79 and same thing with Mademoiselle when he first joined the band, he had the verses and I wrote the choruses. I’m very competent in writing hooky things that people tend to recall so the hook on Lights and the hook on Mademoiselle was mine. So that’s it. If you’re stuck for a hook or stuck for words, you just piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle. Then you hope when it’s done it doesn’t sound just pieced together. It’s got to sound like it was written all at the same time by one person. That’s the point.

That’s why groups are so important. All that Styx music would not have been the same if those people weren’t in that room playing off of each other and really competing! That’s the best for the competition as a whole, that’s the best scenario for any group. Competition for the good of the whole instead of just one is good for the group."

Dennis on working with Julian Lennon:

"This was my last album and the thing is from the beginning, I knew there was no rating that mattered anymore. East of Midnight begins the record and To The Good Old Days ends it, with all that’s in between that is kind of the tissue that connects it. I loved The Beatles on Ed Sullivan in 1964 and I did it in a completely Beatles style. Some people might consider a rip-off, but I went right at it. In the beginning, when Paul and John sang together you really couldn’t tell much difference and then they harmonized. To me, the harmony was the whole thing. When you saw The Beatles on Ed Sullivan what struck me most of anything was the joy and the action of the group, not the vocal harmony but the harmony of the guys on stage. They seemed so filled with joy. What they were doing was also brand new.

I was looking for somebody to sing that part on that song and I thought, well maybe Julian. Then I composed an email and at the last minute, I thought that I shouldn’t send this to him because it’s not his story. It’s my story about what The Beatles meant to me and the world and it’s too diddly. I realized that if I wanted to do a song with Jules, I wanted it to be ours. So I went to the piano and imagined what we would sound like and I wrote the song specifically for our voices. Then I sent it to him. Oh, and I didn’t know him, I had never met him.

He responded, which shocked me ‘cause I didn’t expect it. He said he’d be honored to do it, so we met in Brooklyn and I really wanted him to just sing it like he would sing it because the lyrics really touched him. The opening line is, “It’s so hard to say goodbye. Promise not to cry.” When he sang those lines by himself, wow. So I brought it home and I matched him. I sat in my room and thought that this has to be the kind of harmony that the lads from Liverpool did or dare I say The Everly Brothers because that’s the pattern we want. People love The Everly Brothers. So, I just sang and I finished it. I pulled all the stops on this thing. Then I figured that this has got to be us. Not them. This is about Jules talent and my talent because I was a fan of Jules since ‘84 and his album Valotte. So I got my own Beatle, (laughing). Quite frankly, when we were standing in the control room, not even the studio, we just started singing together and I thought, man this is going to be good. If ever there was a time that we needed to have a song like that, it might be right now."

Dennis on 26 East, Vol. 1 & 2 being his final farewell:

"I try to explain it this way. I frame some notes and put them on chords and then I stick words on the notes. Then I attempt to tell you my point of view regarding my life and what I see around me hoping that you will find yourself in my story. That’s it. When you do that right, you’d be surprised how many people relate because when people listen to music, they think it is their story. I think I’ve done what I needed to do. I’ve completed the circle with this record. I've come full circle.

Dennis DeYoung- Promo Shot

I believe that I don't have the ambition to do it again because I sing it, I write it, I mix it, and I produce it. You know, I’m not a kid. When you’re young, you have this ambition that you must pay attention to. Then, after you’ve had some success, and you were looking for success, you think that success will change you fundamentally. It will not. It will not change you and when you realize that, life becomes more in focus and in perspective. For me, after this, I’ve said what I need to say. I thought I’d said what I needed to say before this record (laughing). I’m 73. It’s time for me to say thank you very much to everyone who has given me this incredible life and then that’s it. The thing on the album says it best, A.D. 2020. If you know anything about Styx music, if you’re really a Styx fan, you might tear up." 

Dennis on what comes next for him:

"I think Law & Order reruns with pizza (laughing). I have a musical that is supposed to open at the Skylight Theater in Milwaukee in September. I can be content working on that for the rest of my life, just working on and being a part of productions across the country. I tour a lot, I still do. I don’t know what that holds for the future anymore."

26 East: Vol. 1 is out on April 10th and you can preorder it now from Frontiers Music Srl

right here!

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