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Posted by: Lana on Wednesday, December 06, 2006 - 05:35 PM
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By: Bill Ector
For: Hittin' the Note
Perhaps the most telling statement about Pedro Arevalo is the one uttered by none other than the renowned Dickey Betts, of Allman Brothers Band fame and currently the leader of Dickey Betts and Great Southern: “Pedro Arevalo is one of the most prolific songwriters and storytellers I have seen in a long time. As soon as I heard him, I had to have him in my band.” Taken from a man who has spun a few tales in his life and hung out with such storytellers as Billy Joe Shaver, this is not faint praise. One listen to the 14 songs on Pedro Arevalo and Friends proves Betts’ statement to be very true indeed. Essentially recorded as an acoustic album, Pedro gets the opportunity to showcase his numerous talents on acoustic guitar, electric and upright basses, electric slide guitar, and both biscuit cone and tricone resonator guitars. Throw in a little percussion work on two tracks as well, and it is easy to see what the fuss is all about.
Pedro Arevalo was born into a musical family, and his need to create musical sounds was given a certain amount of respect as he grew up. By age 10, he was honing his skills on bass and acoustic guitars, and he performed for the first time when he was a mere lad of 11. As he grew in age and proficiency, he became involved in session and production work. All of this, and he had become a guitar teacher as well, with as many as 60 students per week. By the time he was 20, in 1996, Pedro had received a performance scholarship to the highly acclaimed Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. While working toward the completion of his studies, Pedro performed with not one, but two, West African band leaders: Djeli Balls Jounkara in his group, Mande Foli; and Sidi “Joh” Camara in the band Jamajagi. In addition, Arevalo was part of the drum and dance ballet, Troupe Sewa. He finished his work at Berklee in 2001 and began a brief tour of West Africa, where he continued to soak up all that he could, in particular Mande and Bambara music.
Upon returning to the USA, Pedro found himself in Florida, where he joined a flamenco-inspired group called the Lotus Fire. The band made a quick run through Europe in support of their album, Dance of the Wicked, and then returned to Florida. At this point, Pedro worked with a variety of artists, tweaking his skills on the piano, dobro and Hawaiian guitar, as well as some very diverse African instruments.
Somewhere along this widely and wildly divergent path, Pedro caught the attention of Dickey Betts, who recruited him to become the bassist in his band, Great Southern. The experience of playing the music that Betts made famous has been a growing time for Pedro, along with stops at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a video shoot and continuous touring.
Which brings us to Pedro Arevalo and Friends. Relaxed, laid back, but with a smooth groove at all times, the mostly original songs here highlight all the years of hard work and variety of influences he has picked up along the way. From the opening “Wine and Women” story of his weaknesses, to his interpretation of the traditional “Trouble” and “C.C. Rider,” Arevalo shows that he learned a lot about the blues along his path, too. Of particular note is the jazzy “Driftin’ Song,” with brushed drums and bass and acoustic slide, with a bit of B-3 thrown in. One of the most difficult things to pull of is a slow blues, but Pedro’s “Reason” testifies to his ability to do that quite nicely. Just to show that he has learned a lot from living around the South, throw in the country-flavored “I Don’t Know” for good measure, and a good time.
Arevalo invited a few of his Great Southern mates to play along, with fiddle, harmonica, and a very cool Dickey contribution on one track to give the CD a nice, rounded sound. Pedro Arevalo may have been around the world a time or two, but catch him next time he comes nearby. Whether solo or in a band, this man can flat-out play and sing.
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