The bio says that “Robert Peckyno is an instrumental composer best known for mixing progressive electronic psychedelic new-age space rock with a unique delayed piano style. He began playing and performing at age 4 and his compositions have been used in games & television as well as several hundred YouTube videos. He has toured internationally as an ethnic folk dancer and singer, worked for several companies on Nashville’s music row, and has independently released 10 studio albums and 2 live EPs.”
… In English, this essentially means that I’m nobody – but, that’s never stopped me!!
I started taking lessons on piano at age 4 from one of my mom’s former students. She spent a fair amount of time on theory which, of course, I hated at the time but am so very thankful for now!! (thanks Lisa!)
It is also a scary, but sadly true, tale that one of my first public shows was to sing Three Blind Mice in German in front of the whole town of Monessen at the Cultural Heritage Festival. Still trying to live that one down…
Before I was 10, I was performing with the Tamburitzans. Weekly rehersals, long bus trips to strange cities, drunken parents in elevators, changing costumes backstage…with girls… It was a really great training ground. Somewhere in Cleveland, I had to open a show singing a Capella (in Croatian!) … I boldly walked up to the front of stage and when the curtain opened … I swear there was like a bazillion people. It was both awesome and terrifying. (nailed it!)
As electronic music became more popular, I quickly became enamoured with the synth.
I played out in the region with techno band Eargasm which evolved into the bands Astrix and p.19. In 1989, we recorded an EP called ‘Shades of Black’ at Alphastar Studios near Pittsburgh, PA. (Wayne Mitzen & Buffalo Nason Geig, engineers and Matt Silliman, producer)
We recorded a second EP ‘Mystery’ (circa 1991) in Murfreesboro, TN (Forest ??, engineer – [I can’t remember his last name, but if anyone knows, please let me know – he was awesome!]) I am glad to have had the opportunity to record in analog ‘tape’ studios…, but sadly the masters for everything have been long lost. I’ve included 2 songs from each, but aging cassettes were all I could recover so apologies for any quality issues!
I moved to Tennessee to get a BS in Recording Industry Mgmt in 92 from Middle Tennessee State University. While there, I interned for Columbia/CBS Records, Capital Nashville, 328 Performance Hall, and for nearly two years at Buddy Lee Attractions with Joe Harris helping to launch Garth Brooks, Tricia Yearwood, and Mark Chestnutt amoungst others.
I landed at Integrated Copyright doing administration and there met Sleep-Ins guitarist Chad Corley. Through a series of road trips that involved aliens and other Texans – including producer Michael Lee Thomas – we recorded the Bathsheva Mine Field Dream CD in 1995. Several songs from that CD charted on the then new MP3.com including Subkarma and Dreaming – both of which hit #1 in the new age category.
We formed Longhouse Records and I recorded and released the photography/music project rsvp in 1996 and the ‘write on demand’ experimental project Assignments in 1998.
After Y2K, we moved to LA where I worked for a Hollywood internet start-up. (a 1-800 human powered smart phone before technology made people obsolete…!) While there I worked a bit as a PA for legendary film composer and spontaneous composition maestro Bill Goldstein (Fame, Shocker, etc.). Sadly life intervened and I had to quit, but I learned a lot that I still use today.
I released the more dance/groove oriented Suncatcher in 2000 and the concept record Counting Out Time (currently on Pandora) in 2001 before moving to North Dakota to get a MS Degree in Space Studies. After graduating in 2004, I put out an outtakes record with some new material called Exiled from Outer Space.
I was given a baby grand Viscount electric piano and I started to slowly again fall in love with the piano. I started playing on familiar ground and put out a CD of remakes of p.19 material called Quarter Page in 2009.
Re-inspired by Quarter Page, I decided to stick with the theme and re-interpret some of my earlier techno to solo piano for a record called Stripped in 2011. This time with no overdubs, no layers, and only start to finish single take performances. When that record was done though, it was time to re-evaluate my whole creative process and take another step forward.
Orbit in 2014 was intended to just be an artificial writing prompt. One song a month for a year. But, turned into a whole new way of creation for me. There were videos, photography, stories, and even an interactive iBook – it was a total creative package really stretched what was possible.
Throughout 2017, I recorded a song a week to help get familiar with some new equipment for a project called Musical Bingo Vol.1 . Many of these ended up on the Unity store as game music and the best 10 were produced out into a record called the Stars are Watching Me in 2018.
In November of 2020, I released a new record Astounding Stories, Vol.1. Part audiobook, part soundtrack, part prog rock album – it’s something quite unique and fun! This grew out of a series of livestream concerts on Twitch/Facebook/YouTube. @streamingkeys is born…
I also joined Taxi in 2020 and have finally started to put all of this experience to work. I’ve already had a few forwards and have learned a ton! I can’t wait to see what this decade brings! (2022 update: ok, so far this decade has been a bit of a disaster, but we’re all looking forward right? 😉