Peter

Rudy:
Mud
Shack
Remember that magical moment
at the end of THE SANDLOT when
Mr. Mertle (played by James Earle
Jones) invites the boys into his
house and they talk baseball?
Peter Rudy’s new album, MUD
SHACK, offers that same nostalgic
warmth. Rudy is a master
storyteller and his vocal mojo
conjures up sounds of sepia-tinted for missing a ball in the field or striking
memories, midday heat, and simpler out,” Rudy reminisced. “He kept their
days. heads in this great spot and always
remembered that it was about the kids
The album came about when Peter was and not about some parent’s
stuck in traffic and a song “just arrived expectation of their kid or the situation.
out of thin air.” It was a song for his He was a shining jewel in our little
friend, Fred Oyle. “I pulled over and league and the best coaches followed
wrote it down and thought: I would his lead.”
really like to record this one for Fred.”
Fred died suddenly one day after work.
Oyle was one of those special people Tragically, it was his son who discovered
who made the world a better place just the body. “It was a huge loss to our
by being in it. Rudy described Fred as community.”
“a big, chubby, all positive kind of guy.”
Peter and Fred both had boys on the The song that Peter wrote in his car
same little league team, a team they that day was called “Honus Wagner’s
coached together. Bat.” You can smell the mustard
drizzled atop the hotdogs, feel the
“He kept it positive with the kids, even excitement of the afternoon game, and
when they were completely out of sorts hear the crack of that bat as you rise to
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 your feet to cheer the runner around Jeffrey and Adam [Rossi] (co-producers
the bases. Peter got it just right. If you of MUD SHACK) who thought this was
listen between the lines of the lyrics just a quickie, stayed involved and
encouraged me on every level. I was
literally pushed and pulled by Jeffrey to
“Honus Wagner was do this recording.”
one of the greatest
hitters of all time. “I did not have the time to do it,” he
continued. “I have my own business
When someone can which takes about 60 hours a week
hit, you say he has a and three young kids who require a lot
of attention. So, I was in for the short
‘big bat.’ So, the on this. But, once we got going, it was
reference is how big like a runaway train! Luckily, my wife
kept the boat afloat on many levels.”
Fred’s heart was, it
was as big as ‘Honus MUD SHACK is a wonderful album of life-
snapshots. However, the vignettes are
Wagner’s Bat.’” not simply collected audio pictures,
Peter’s songs are sentiments and
and hear between the notes of the moments that live and breathe. They
music, you’ll understand just how radiate such a visceral experience that
special Fred was.

Rudy informed, “Honus Wagner was

one of the greatest hitters of all time.
When someone can hit, you say he has
a ‘big bat.’ So, the reference is how big
Fred’s heart was, it was as big as
‘Honus Wagner’s Bat.’ This song is
about Fred more than about baseball.”

Two other songs quickly followed

“Honus Wagner’s Bat” and Peter went
to Jeffrey Halford [See Songwriter’s
Monthly, June ’10] to record all three
tracks.

“This album did not start out as

anything but the recording of those
three songs I had written about a year
before,” Peter recalled. “Once we
started the recording, I got real
inspired and wrote seven more tunes.
Songwriter’s Monthly - March ’11, #134
their bittersweet joy can bring a man to
his knees.
One such track is the gripping, grooving
http://www.scribd.com/SongwritersMonthly
 and moving “Dumdedum.” Rudy talked
about the genesis of that song:
“‘Dumdedum” is a new telling of a tune
I wrote years ago called ‘No Place That
Far Away.’ My aunt, who was a Catholic
nun in Venice, California, used to take
me to places where there
were migrants living in chicken coops
next door to three million dollar houses
on the canals. Literally, right next door!
So, physically and emotionally, it’s
never that far away. It’s a riches to rags
story. It’s real. This is about a real
person. He had everything, including
the glass house, and it all came
crashing down. He got too ‘big for his
britches,’ as my Grandma used to say,
and was reduced to groveling at his
friend’s house for a place to sleep.”
MUD SHACK is a title which brings to
mind a trove of rustic images. It sparks
the imagination to fabricate rich tales of
tradition and lore. Peter acknowledged
that the “mud shack” was, indeed, “an
actual adobe (wattle and daub) shack”
in his backyard in Berkeley.
traditions,” Peter noted.
In closing, Rudy pointed out, “I have
always been a band guy, I just never
enjoyed getting on a stage without a
buddy or two. But, since this album
(and a TV thing I did in L.A.), I have
had a new take on all these tunes and I
have really been enjoying playing
alone. I can travel light, fast and easy.
This was a big discovery for me, the
tunes have another life to them and a
very different sound. I’m having fun
alone with these tunes.”
Peter Rudy’s MUD SHACK is a collection
of songs and moments that you can
truly cherish. Let Peter’s music take you
to a wonderful world of baseball,
squeaky front gates, and porches with
wooden screen doors, a place where
both summer and friendships are
eternal.
For more information, visit:
www.peterrudymudshack.com.

Though this album is unified by tone

color, concept and care, the subject
matter traverses a wide range of
territories. Rudy writes about anything
and everything that might inspire or
interest him. “Batter Up” is about little
league and growing up playing
baseball with his buddies in Rivas
Canyon, West L.A. “Grow No Better
Fast” is from when he lived in New
Mexico. During that period, Peter
became fascinated by the Pueblo
Indians. “The title, ‘Grow No Better
Fast,’ is something that the Zuni
Indians used to say about trains and
their influence on their culture and
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