P.J. Pacifico

P.J. Pacifico
Born Norwalk, Connecticut
Genres Pop, folk, singer-songwriter
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instruments Guitar, drums, vocals
Years active 1990s–present
Labels Viper Records
Associated acts Garrison Starr, Stephen Kellogg, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, The Alternate Routes, Dave O'Donnell
Website pjpacifico.com
Notable instruments
Guitar

P.J. Pacifico (born Norwalk, Connecticut) is an American singer-songwriter. He has released a number of solo albums on Viper Records in the styles of rock, pop, and folk. His EP Overlooking the Obvious, released in 2013,[1] has collaborations with songwriters Stephen Kellogg and Garrison Starr and guest musicians from The Alternate Routes.[1] Based in Connecticut, he tours frequently and has performed at festivals such as Gathering of the Vibes. His music is generally in an introspective and emotional style.[2]

Early life, education

P.J. Pacifico was born and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut. He grew up singing and drumming,[3] and listening to his mother rehearse with her barbershop quartet in their kitchen.[4] He has stated that among his notable musical influences are James Taylor, Paul Simon, Whiskeytown, The Smiths, and Del Amitri.[3]

States Pacifico, when he got older "I was a singing drummer in my high school band, The Front. We thought we were R.E.M. meets The Replacements. When it came time to go to college, I couldn't really bring my drum kit to my dorm room, so I got an acoustic guitar for high school graduation. I learned some basic chords...and then took a stab at writing my own tunes."[3] He graduated from the University of Hartford with an acting degree.[4]

Music career

Early years

Around the time of graduation, Pacifico continued to write songs and eventually recorded several demos, which were heard by Jonathan Stuart at Viper Records in New York City.[3]

After being signed to Viper Records, his first release was the studio LP Well I'll Be, which came out digitally and on CD in 2005.[5] He released his second album and first EP, Almost There, on October 7, 2008. This was followed by the July 14, 2009 studio album Always & Everywhere.[5] Andy Abel produced both Well I'll Be and Always & Everywhere. Pacifico toured in support of each release, and appeared at the 2009 Gathering of the Vibes festival in July in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He also tours Europe at least once a year, with radio play in the Netherlands (Radio 1, 3FM) and the U.K. (BBC radio).

He also released a ukulele cover of The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand"[5] as a single.[6]

Recent years

Outlet (2011)

Pacifico released a second full-length album, Outlet, on June 7, 2011. Outlet was his first album with Dave O'Donnell (Eric Clapton, James Taylor) on board as a producer.[3]

Outlet received a positive review in Blogcritics, with Jack Goodstein stating "When singer-songwriter P. J. Pacifico is at his best there is a heartfelt honesty to his music. There is a palatable flow of emotions that seems at once spontaneous and completely sincere."[2] According to M Music & Musicians Magazine about Outlet, he's "part James Taylor, part Duncan Sheik,"[7] and the Stamford Advocate stated, "In his third full-length album, Norwalk's Pacifico poignantly reflects on a 10-year courtship that eventually led to his recent marriage."[4]

Surface (2012)

Outlet was followed on September 25, 2012 by the full album Surface. One of the tracks is a cover of Christopher Cross' "Sailing," which was praised by Blogcritics in a mixed review that said the album had a darker sound and outlook than his previous releases.[8] Wildy's World gave the album a positive review and 4.5/5 stars, calling it his "finest work to date."[9] Andy Abel produced the album.

Overlooking the Obvious (2013)

He released the EP Overlooking the Obvious on November 5, 2013.[1] The EP featured a new studio and producer, and had a co-write with Stephen Kellogg. Two songs were written with Garrison Starr, while Kit Karlson of the band SK6ers also co-wrote a track and produced the album. Contributing guest musicians included members of the SK6ers and Connecticut band The Alternate Routes.[1] It has guest musicians from The Stepkids as well.

He recorded a Daytrotter session in 2013.[10]

Gin & Juice and Reaching (2014)

In 2014, he and Garrison Starr completed a cover of Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice"[11] and released a video for it, along with putting it on an acoustic EP called "Amsterdam". In the same year, he released a single called "Reaching", co-written with Shannon McArthur and produced by LA producer, Bill Lefler.

Ready To Run (2015)

After a series of writing trips to LA and Nashville in late 2014, the Ready To Run EP was released on May 5, 2015. The EP was co-produced by Garrison Starr and AG, and the five songs were all co-written by Pacifico, Garrison Starr and AG. It was this group of songs that led to P.J. signing a licensing deal with Razor & Tie Music Publishing in April 2015. The first song on the EP, 'All For Something', was featured in an episode of Switched At Birth on ABC Family.

Anything Is Possible (2015)

A Nashville co-writing session between Pacifico, Gerald O'Brien and Jason Watkins produced a song called 'Anything Is Possible'. The song would be released as a single after getting multiple TV placements on FOX TV's 'So You Think You Can Dance'. It was used in multiple farewell video montages for the eliminated dancers. iTunes and Apple Music both placed the song as a main page Hot Track.

Bigger World (2015)

Bigger World was co-written by Pacifico and Jeremy Silver. The song was released on iTunes as a single by Jeremy Silver after being placed in a Rogers Wireless commercial in Canada.

Run (Sports Edit) (2016)

P.J. and Dan Whittemore co-wrote 'Run (Sports Edit)' in Los Angeles in February of '16. The song was featured in the HBO series, 'Hard Knocks; Training Camp with the Los Angeles Rams'. 'Run' was featured as a main page Hot Track at both iTunes and Apple Music.

Personal life

Pacifico lives in Norwalk, Connecticut,[4] and he continues to tour frequently.[1]

Discography

Solo albums

List of LPs by P.J. Pacifico
Year Album title Release details
2005 Well I'll Be
  • Released: 2005
  • Label: Viper Records
  • Format: CD, digital
2009 Always & Everywhere
  • Released: Jul 14, 2009
  • Label: Viper
  • Format: CD, digital
2011 Outlet
  • Released: Jun 07, 2011
  • Label: Viper
  • Format: CD, digital
2012 Surface
  • Released: Sep 25, 2012
  • Label: Viper
  • Format: CD, digital

EPs

List of EPs by P.J. Pacifico
Year Album title Release details
2008 Almost There
  • Released: Oct 07, 2008
  • Label: Viper Records
  • Format: digital
2012 The Live EP
(live album)
  • Released: 2012
  • Label: Viper[12]
  • Format: digital
2013 Overlooking the Obvious
  • Released: Nov 05, 2013
  • Label: Viper
  • Format: digital
2015 Ready To Run Released: May 5, 2015

Label: Viper

Format: digital

Singles

Incomplete list of songs by P.J. Pacifico
Year Title Album Notes
2009 "Jackbone" (ft. Sean Kelly of The Samples) Always & Everywhere Viper
"I'm Home" Viper
"First Light" Viper
2011 "Fold Up Your Heart" Outlet Viper
"Heads Up" Viper
2012 "New Song" Promo single Viper (the Netherlands)
"Champions & Guardians" Promo single Viper (US and the Netherlands)
"Half Wishing" Surface Viper (US and the Netherlands), VEVO music video
2013 "Bend it Till it Breaks" (ft. Garrison Starr) Overlooking the Obvious Viper (US, the Netherlands & the U.K.)
2015 "Ready To Run" Ready To Run Viper (US) reached #19 on AC digital charts
2015 "Anything Is Possible" Single Viper (US) multiple uses on FOX TV's 'So You Think You Can Dance'

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Bio". PJPacifico.com. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  2. 1 2 Goodstein, Jack (May 3, 2011). "Music Review: P. J. Pacifico – Outlet". Blogcritics. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Holmgren, Rickard (May 19, 2011). "Interview: P.J. Pacifico". Melodic.net. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Dydzuhn, Karen Kovacs (June 22, 2011). "The love of his life inspires Pacifico's latest CD". Stamford Advocate. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  5. 1 2 3 "Discography/Credits for P.J. Pacifico". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  6. ↑ P.J. Pacifico - Groovin' New Fairfield Presents "The Coffee House" January 27, 2013
  7. ↑ "Outlet". M Music & Musicians Magazine. June 2011. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  8. ↑ Goodstein, Jack (August 26, 2012). "Music Review: P.J. Pacifico – Surface". Blogcritics. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  9. ↑ "P.J. Pacifico - Surface". Wildy's World. October 19, 2012. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  10. ↑ "P.J. Pacifico: Daytrotter session". Daytrotter. August 19, 2013. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  11. ↑ ""Gin and Juice" cover". Youtube. 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
  12. ↑ Deriso, Nick (May 21, 2012). "P.J. Pacifico – The Live EP (2012)". Something Else Reviews. Retrieved 2014-05-08.
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