An Interview With Peter Kater

Musician Peter Kater shares some important insights about his life and reveals  what inspires him as an artist  and his dedicated efforts for the environment and humanity.

Recently  I had the incredible good fortune to interview one of my favorite musicians, Peter Kater. I first heard his beautiful & haunting  music several years ago, while watching a Discovery channel mini-series called “How The West Was Lost”.

I loved the soundtrack so much, I  immediately ordered it from my local record store. This began a path of love for Peter’s style of music (considered “ambient”) which I delighted clients with in my business setting, and enjoyed while driving the local congested freeways on a daily basis. I call it the perfect “chill out” music for stressed out minds.Peter’s music continues to evolve, each album expressing fresh new musical compositions that uplift, relax, and inspire an upbeat mood.

Peter has been nominated 6 times for a Grammy, and has an impressive list of accomplishments both professional and non-profit. In addition to his numerous musical achievements, he has also been awarded the Environmental Leadership Award from the United Nations and serves on the advisory board of Oceanic Defense (a non-profit organization that is dedicated to preserving the world’s oceans).

Consensus: Do you find that your feelings about the Earth, and the involvements you have as an environmentalist & humanitarian influence your work as a musician?

Peter: The funny thing is that I don’t really think of myself as an environmentalist or humanitarian, but then again I don’t really think of myself as a musician either. Obviously, I AM a musician and probably the other two things as well but mostly I try and just BE as much as possible. I find that labels are a distraction and such a small box. I see myself as fortunate most of the time. I am fortunate that I often seem to be able to be “present” enough to see and experience things in a pure and energized way. I’m sensitive to when things are “alive” or not. I’ve always been very sensitive. Earlier in my life, that felt like a handicap. But now it’s simply who I am and it has its value.

My music is an expression of what I feel, perceive and aspire towards. It’s an expression of who I am and what dreams I hold for the world. My music grows as I grow. If I learn to be a better father, partner, or friend, then my music grows. If I’m touched by an experience in nature or within my self, my music grows. My life IS my practice. I do now, refer to myself as an environmentalist and humanitarian, but only because I’ve noticed that others do. Even in the late 70′s when the Save the Earth slogan became popular I felt like . . . “you’re missing the point”. It’s our own asses that are in trouble. Yes, we can pollute and rape the planet but only to a point. And at that point, when the Earth (a living being) says “that’s enough”, we get to experience the consequences. I just deeply LOVE the Earth. I have the experience on a regular basis that it’s vibrant and alive. It “talks to me”. Not in words, but in a deeper more “total” form of communication. I know that I see it as the most beautiful thing imaginable simply because it IS my Mother, my birthplace. I am a product of the oceans, the air, the earth and sun. If that’s being an environmentalist, then I guess I AM.

Consensus: Yes, I don’t like the idea of compartmentalizing myself and others either. So, we’ll just use that as a point of reference for now. You mentioned that you have always been sensitive, and that you once considered that a handicap. How did your sensitivity feel like a handicap, and what did you do to move beyond that?

Peter: As a child I noticed that I was very sensitive, or at least it seemed that I was more sensitive than some other kids. I always had a lot of feelings. From an early age found solace in nature and with animals. Later, as a teen-ager I noticed that I could express some of my feelings in music and find comfort there as well. From age 18 on I officially started my “soul searching (finding)” and began an active journey towards greater self awareness and started expressing that more directly through my music. I started to only “improvise” for a period of 6 years. I threw myself into performance situations with no preparation and “improvised” through the evening. I think that “soul exploration” and “improvising” are very connected.

Consensus: That must have taken some courage on your part. What inspired you to perform in such a spontaneous way? Are you still able to do this when working on musical projects for others?

Peter: It’s my basic starting point. I love to improvise and will often throw a set list out the window in exchange for something more spontaneous and in the moment, even with other musicians. You do have to be careful and have some kind of gauge as to when it’s more appropriate or not. It does take a kind of courage but it also has to do with a desire for honesty and truth. I once taught a workshop at the Naropa institute about Improvisation. I wound up coming to the class completely unprepared and improvised my way through the 2 weekend workshop. It was the only honest thing to do. How can you really prepare for a workshop on improvisation? It’s a contradiction and dishonest. But, there is a technique, or certain practices, that I’ve developed to be able to improvise more truthfully, completely, and from my center.

Consensus: What do you do?

Peter: Of course you were going to ask that. That is a whole other interview and probably a book that I’m going to write. In short it has to do with denying nothing. That means I never pretend to be or feel something that I’m not at that moment. I play how I feel. If I feel bad I play what that feels like. Or if I feel nervous, I play what that feels like. It’s like peeling an onion, one layer at a time staying true and honest to where I experience myself to be at that exact moment or second. Things evolve and change. I have to be open to completely being whoever and however I am at any given moment and I have to be completely open to being or feeling completely different the next moment. It’s a good practice for life.

Consensus: So, you feel completely at ease with yourself at any given moment, regardless of the circumstances? You mentioned being a father. Do you encourage your child to encounter and experience life in the same way as you do?

Peter: I don’t feel completely at ease with myself, I often feel uncomfortable. But I don’t pretend to not feel uncomfortable. I have to embrace whoever I am and whatever I feel at any point. This is much easier to do creatively with the piano than in real life. Yes, I try and teach my son that whatever he’s feeling is okay and that it’ll feel differently very soon and that he’s not his feelings or even his ego or body. It’s a tall order to teach. We’re a culture that is taught what’s “appropriate” to feel and act like from the day we’re born. So many of our problems are connected to being in denial of how we really feel and who we really are. For example, antidepressants are a product of a culture in “denial”. Are you with me?

Consensus: Absolutely. I have found that to be true with my own experiences, and with the people who share my life. I also believe that one has to come to terms with oneself, whatever that means, before they can hope to make a meaningful change in the world. What do you think people can do to connect more authentically with who they really are?

Peter: That’s actually a hard question to answer because there are a lot of obvious answers like; meditate, do yoga, do some kind of inner awareness therapy, or clean up your diet and remove stimulants like sugar and caffeine. However, I think that the honest desire to be more authentic with oneself and in the world is the most powerful and essential tool or catalyst of all. You can do all those basic things like yoga and classes and even therapy to know yourself better, but if the fear of knowing your true self is greater than the curiosity, then nothing much will happen. If one’s desire to know themselves is sincere and great, then that in and of itself is enough to open the doors. There are just as many people hiding from themselves in the New Thought or Awareness movement as there are people finding themselves. I think that being “present” with the self is key to any knowing. Often we don’t want to feel certain feelings that have come up as a result of negative events or circumstances in our lives. Choosing not to feel those feelings is like a little layer of numbness that we have gotten used to. It’s a subtle layer over our hearts. If you keep holding onto feelings that layer becomes thicker and thicker. You then learn how to compensate for not feeling your feelings. You might also compensate by appearing happy and carefree, or by being distant and removed. How we compensate doesn’t really matter, what’s important is that it’s not a genuine way of being in or experiencing your life or the world.

Again, listening is a key element to being a musician. Listening is also the key to being human being. First off, listen to your Self, your true inner self. You can learn to differentiate between your true Self and your ego, and our collective ego. That’s why it has been called a still small voice, because our ego’s voice is much louder and often seems like the easiest voice to listen to. I believe that the first voice you hear (the still small voice), is the true voice but the ego is so quick to jump in. The voices that can emerge afterwards are the ego compensating and adjusting and fixing and smoothing over, our survival instinct kicking in. I’m not talking about hearing “voices” literally, I’m talking about learning to listen to one’s heart and soul and learning to tell the difference between that and our fear based and isolated egos. It’s a second to second, moment to moment awareness that gets developed over time for most of us. A few of us naturally and instinctively know that true voice. I was one who had to learn how to listen. As it has been said no matter where you go there you are. For most of us, I think we’ve had to learn to love ourselves in a deeper way than we were taught to growing up. What do you think?

Consensus: I think you bring up some very good points. We can often get “goal oriented” seeking an end result of some sort in doing something, regardless of our religious/spiritual background. For those who don’t have a definite path, it may be even more challenging. As you have mentioned, it’s important to have curiosity about who you are as well as self acceptance and genuine self regard, i.e.; to be one’s own friend. You are a good example of someone who has taken a path as a musician that allows you to explore and include your other interests. I understand that you have another album coming out soon. Do the events that we’re experiencing now have any influence upon your music, and has that influenced this new album in any way?

Peter: I think that the events surrounding our lives and my life specifically always have an impact on my creative expression. I’m listening to and reacting to all of those events surrounding us (and my personal life) as well as responding to my creative momentum. For example my latest recording (and music) reflects what I feel I need in my own life for greater balance and enjoyment.

Consensus: Yes, the enjoyment and balance sometimes get left out, at least until we’re burned out and realize that “out of balance” means having fun, connecting with something we enjoy, etc. I understand that you like to spend time in Nature. Do you feel that it grounds or inspires you creatively?

Peter: I see Nature as being so much closer to the “real” world than the one we try and super impose upon it. When you sit in nature and get really present, you begin to realize just how much of our reality is “man-made”, culturally specific and temporary. Humanity is just a quick blip on the radar of this planet, solar system, and universe. Personally, when I sit with nature I realize that time, the calendar, and most of our ideas of “importance” or “relevance” are transient little fabrications of the ego or humankind’s survival mechanisms. I see that most of the thoughts and concepts demanding my mind’s attention don’t really have a relationship with anything I consider essential within myself. A concept like losing one’s mind in order to come to our senses or… experiencing unreasonable happiness (happiness not connected to a specific event or thought) are very real and predominant in nature to me. It grounds and inspires me but it’s also so much more than that. It’s a teacher or a parent or guru. It’s relationship that can be nurtured and developed and in time as it unfolds the barrier between ourselves and nature dissolve and we can become one with it. Sometimes when I sit and focus on the sunset for 60 – 90 minutes, my whole perception of what I’m watching changes and I’m no longer watching an external event. I’m involved, woven into the fabric of the earth’s rotation while the sun disappears over the horizon and welcoming in the night. It truly becomes one great beautiful movement of sensory experience.

I wish I could say that I think that experience is available to everyone but I don’t think it is. The more noise, toxins, and pollution are around and about in the environment, the more it dulls and even kills the energy that I’m talking about. The sunset in Southern California is not the same sunset as one sees from an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The purity of the earth and eco-system is essential for humankind to have a full experience of nature and the Earth. We pollute the earth and we dull our awareness. The places on the planet that still have pure and thriving eco-systems also have their mystery (or mystique) intact. The energy and presence of the Earth is predominant over the chatter of man and his creations therefore the message from the Earth comes in loud and clear and is readily transmitted and transformative. I really believe this and experience it on a regular basis. I think it’s likely that the entire Earth was paradise in every sense of the word.

Consensus: I agree, ‘was paradise’ is apropos. So much has changed since I was a kid; it’s difficult to image what the future holds for our children. Do you encourage your son to embrace Nature in some way?

Peter: Yes, I do as much as possible. I also think it’s important for him to be savvy in the ways of the world as well, in such things as computers, language, math, music, art, etc. Children learn by example and just by me being myself, and talking about what I believe and what inspires me, influences his growth and orientation in an authentic way.

Consensus: It sounds like he’s getting a well balanced view (or education) from you. Thank you for taking the time to interview with me, Peter. I appreciate your candor. Is there anything that you would like to add before we close?

Peter: For me, my biggest gifts have been found in the areas of the most “darkness”. A fear of the dark or unknown is part of the mythology of our culture as well. So much of our lives can be geared to protect ourselves from the unknown and/or the unpredictable, but therein lays the mystery and keys to our Selves. I have enjoyed talking about this stuff, as you might have guessed. Thanks for allowing me to share my thoughts!

Peter’s beautiful new album “Call of Love”  includes accompanying  musicians Paul McCandless, Jaques Morelenbaum, and Sting guitarist Dominic Miller. You can sample & order the CD (and his other cds) from Peter’s site .