Pete Pidgeon and Arcoda
Doubt Is, Indeed, For Losers
By Julie Min

Photo By Angela Cerci

Pete Pidgeon imagines himself standing alone in the middle of a field, totally stripped of everything, isolated from the world. The lead singer and creative force behind Pete Pidgeon and Arcoda - the Boston-based rock/jazz/funk/ band - has very specific ideas of how music and creativity should manifest themselves. “If you can isolate yourself from the world around you, that’s when the ideas creep into your consciousness. Having an open mind and no one telling you what to do changes your creative flow,” says Pidgeon.

Inspiration comes to him suddenly, in flashes of vision, and he will do anything to stay true to it. For his newest album, Doubt Is For Losers, Pidgeon was set on having fully orchestrated arrangements. He then decided to arrange each part separately and then spend extra money and time in recording and producing each instrument individually. Conceptually, like a jazz-influenced Sgt. Pepper’s or a less moody Pet Sounds, the album is an example of genre-defining pop excellence. With twists and turns of lush chords and arrangements, Pidgeon is very aware of the fact that he can get a bit excessive, in a good way.

“I have visions of grandeur,” he says. “I don’t have realistic boundaries.” The process of songwriting and production is, to him, a constant mission. He says, “I’m a songwriter by birth and by nature of who I am. It’s my spirit.”

But even this unshakable faith in his creative prophecy is susceptible to the human forces of insecurity and indecision. Doubt Is For Losers is an attempt to addresses and confront these struggles with doubt. The album begins optimistically with upbeat melodies and orchestral arrangements with titles like “Dream With Me,” “You’re My Girl,” and the title track. However, the album gets darker (and a lot more rock n’ roll) as songs such as “Treading Water” and “The Crusher” roll onto the scene. Things don’t look up again until the end of the album, with upbeat songs like “Julie” and “(I’m) Here With You.”

Indeed, Pidgeon has had to overcome artistic and financial hurdles to get this latest album produced. He’s been through trying periods of doubt and debt - moments when he’s wondered if it was all worth it. Though with a small support system of friends, he’s been able to keep an optimistic outlook on his art. “I know what I want. It doesn’t matter how much money or time it’s going to take. I’m going to do it right. Even if it takes tens of thousands of dollars and two years.”

The challenges he’s overcome in doggedly pursuing his artistic vision has led him to believe that, surely enough, doubt is for losers. “When you start to doubt that you can accomplish something, you’ve already lost. In that instant, you’re over. As long as you don’t doubt yourself, you can do anything you want,” Pidgeon adds.

And through the melodic pop grandeur of Doubt, Pidgeon has yet to reconcile himself to the idea that perhaps there’s more to life than a relentless faith in his artistry. What he desires most is recognition from his peers. “The long term goal for me is respect of my peers, and that if somebody asked who I was, they would know who I was, and understand how much work I put into music.”

This is a constant struggle for Pidgeon. His music is something that he wants to make independently and pursue relentlessly, regardless of convention or tradition. But what he longs for most of all is recognition and acceptance from the world around him.
Pete Pidgeon has overcome his doubt. It’s obvious. But it seems he’s still looking for more. When he finds it - if he does - maybe his strict notions of art and being will evolve to something else. When he comes to reconcile his artistic vision with his more worldly needs, perhaps he’ll no longer be standing alone in the middle of his field of dreams.

www.petepidgeon.com