Michael Peterson

Since the early ’90s, SCOTS has taken its swamp rock party all over the U.S., and did so in a van up until recently. The band currently rents its own bus as it travels around touring behind its sophomore Geffen release, Plastic Seat Sweat. And though it has a firm foot in the corporate music world with its major label deal and top notch business team, tour support is not in the band’s vocabulary.

Peterson earned a starting spot on the team as left offensive tackle — and a division II National Championship ring. But it was his relationship with quarterback Brad Westering that gave Peterson his first professional music opportunity.

Westering married Deniese Williams and after her hit “Let’s Hear It For The Boy” was released, the quarterback invited the left offensive tackle to co-write with his wife.

At that point, many aspiring country singer/songwriters would have moved to Nashville. Not Peterson. He decided it was more important to hone his craft on the road before trying to break through in Music City.

From 1986 until mid-’95, Peterson traversed the country, singing 200 nights a year at clubs and schools, anywhere he could get paid. Why did Peterson decide to first develop as a touring artist rather than trying to secure a record deal? “It’s all about communication,” he said. “You gotta figure out what it is you have to say before you can be presumptuous in saying it.”

Peterson made indie recordings during those years to sell at his concerts but remained focused on his live shows. “I think out of that 12 years came a real vision for, number one, being a great songwriter and two, to be a great communicator because that’s what the music’s about. It’s about reaching people,” Peterson said. “There’s a lot of records that are put out by artists who don’t have a lot of performance experience…. They’ve got a great record, but they don’t know how to move an audience.”

Another mistake aspiring recording artists make is moving to Nashville without any experience. Peterson said, “I’m not saying that you can’t get a great opportunity that way with raw talent but an awful lot of people move to Nashville with an awful lot of mistakes left to make. So people in the industry end up perceiving them through those first impressions. And then it’s really a barrier you have to knock down to get people to see that you’ve grown.”

Prior to moving to Nashville, Peterson was advised to spend as much time in Music City as possible to develop relationships. So he committed to spending one week a month there for almost two years. During those years, Peterson got a chance to co-write with a lot of artists. Eventually, he landed a publishing deal with Warner Chappel and made the permanent move to Nashville in ’95. “I laid very specific bricks in the road … following the Yellow Brick Road of my life.”

While working for Warner Chappel, Peterson penned what has become his first hit, “Drink, Swear, Steal & Lie.” The song could have been recorded by another artist within one week of its completion but Warner Chappel let Peterson keep it for himself. Peterson emphatically states that he wouldn’t be where he is today without the incredible support of the publishing company.

Word about the song got out and about a month later, Peterson started getting phone calls from record company execs who wanted to see his press package. Peterson didn’t have a press kit so he set up casual lunch meetings, which ended up working to his advantage. “I got a chance to build relationships … without being under the A&R microscope.”

After signing a record deal with Warner Bros./Reprise, Peterson started putting the rest of his team together. Manager Gary Falcon had just struck out on his own from Ken Kragen and after hearing one verse and a chorus of “Drink, Swear, Steal & Lie,” knew immediately he wanted to work with Peterson. When the two met, it was like “making out on your first date.” Falcon was passionate about Peterson’s career. Philosophically, the two men looked at life the same way. And having worked with Travis Tritt, Falcon had leverage in the business. However, Peterson realized it’s not a good idea to jump into bed on first impressions, so he told Falcon, “We’d better slow down here a bit.” He spent the next few months interviewing other managers, trying to be objective. “But the fact was that I just knew,” Peterson said.

When selecting an agent, Peterson spoke with all the biggies and ended up signing with Ron Baird at CAA. “A number of the other companies we talked to had a lot of new artists they’d signed this year and I didn’t want to be gettin’ in line — a really long line.” But what really clinched the deal was Baird and John Huie. “They just were the kind of people that I would like to work with.”

Now, with all the pieces in place, Peterson continues his heavy touring schedule. Playing clubs and fairs, with some arenas and auditoriums in the mix, Peterson is in the midst of what he’s dubbed the “Penthouse Outhouse Tour.” Penthouse gigs have included opening for John Michael Montgomery in Atlantic City at the Taj Mahal. And some of the clubs are — to be polite — not at the top of the barrel. Peterson said, “You get out and you play nights when everything’s great and you play nights where you have a terrible PA and lousy monitors and you just make it work anyway. That’s how you become a band.”