Dunedin Free Press - The Ken Petersen Band

Ken Petersen played in John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band for two years. He performed on The Pope Smokes Dope, the only album Lennon ever produced. He toured with the band and appeared with Ono and Lennon on The David Frost Show in 1972.
Ken was playing with David Peel in his band, The Lower East Side, when Peel met Lennon and Ono and they invited him, with Ken, to join the Plastic Ono Band. Ken had many opportunities to spend time with Lennon while working late into the morning recording. “He was one of the most mellow down-to-pearth people,” he says of him, “The thing about spending time with him was that you never really got or understood, and he never really mentally got, how famous he really was. I mean, he did, but he didn’t. He was never like, ‘I’m John f***ing Lennon,’ I mean, it was like being with a regular person. He was a sweetheart.”

Ken grew up in Brooklyn and started playing the guitar at an early age. He attended The School of Art and Design in Manhanttan in 1968. “The thing about it was, all the greatest art in the world, all the masters...it was right there. The school was on 57th St and 2nd Ave in the Upper East Side. The Museum of Modern Art was about four blocks away. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was about a half a mile, the Guggenheim was there and then all along 57th St. all the art galleries.” He met up with David Peel when a friend’s group was playing on the same bill at a Brooklyn Theater.

Ken considers John Lennon’s mentorship in songwriting, performing and recording a profound influence on his current work with The Ken Petersen Band. This influence is mirrored on the tracks recorded for their upcoming new album to be released in 2009.
In addition to Ken on acoustic guitar and vocals, the band includes classically trained guitarist Scott Wendt, who names Pete Townsend as one of his biggest influences. Bass player Kurt “Doc” Harris, a licensed physician who practices medicine in Tampa, gives the group its backbone. A student of Jeff Berlin, his influences include Ron Carter, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock and Stanley Clark. Drummer Pete Patrikis, like Ken, grew up in Manhattan and started playing early. He studied with Bobby Rondinelli of Black Sabbath, Rainbow and Blue Oyster Cult and became his assistant, helping him set up for shows with his band Zebra and attending Vanilla Fudge rehearsals with Bobby and his teacher, Carmine Appice.

The band recently played the Summer of Love Festival in Cottage Grove, Oregon, celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Summer Of Love with performances by Jefferson Starship with Paul Kantner and Marty Balin, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Big Brother and The Holding Company, Beautiful Day with Linda Laflane (“White Bird”), and Tom Constantin of The Grateful Dead.

In August, they were selected to play at the A&R Festival in New Orleans. They were rated one of the best bands performing at the event and have had interest from Warner Brothers and interest in doing music for a movie as a result. Earlier this year, they performed at Skippers Smokehouse, opening for Uncle John’s Band at the venues’ weekly Grateful Dead Night.

The Ken Petersen Band plays Fri. Nov. 14th at Big Shots in Clearwater. They are scheduled to appear soon on The Freak Show on WMNF Community Radio, 88.5. They regularly appear on Wednesday nights at The Dunedin Brewery. For more information on upcoming shows visit www.myspace.com/kenpetersenband. You can order cds at www.cdbaby.com.