With his first guitar at the age of 8, Pirate Pete has been a professional musician for over 30 years. Able to sing a full 3 octaves, his distinctive voice has been compared with artists like Jimmy Buffett & Jim Morrison. His guitar style is reminiscent of Eric Clapton & Mark Knopfler. Since 2005, Pete has been playing all over Michigan as a solo artist using backing tracks and loops doing Classic Rock, Blues and Buffett for clubs, deck parties, backyard BBQ's and recording in his home studio. He recently recorded and produced a new CD called 'Chasing the Sky' with 6 original songs and 4 covers by some of his favorite artists: Van Morrison, Jack Johnson, Jimmy Buffett and Bob Dylan.

Peter's solo acoustic show is in the Tropic-rock vein and features artists such as: Jimmy Buffett, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Tom Petty, John Fogerty and many original songs as well. With more than 100 songs in his playlist, of which over 4 sets are arranged with backing tracks, audiences are delighted with a vast array of excellent music. Click on 'Samples' in the menu bar to hear examples ...

Back in the 80's Peter moved to South Florida from Michigan and made a name for himself as the leader of a house band at the Gathering Restaurant in West Palm Beach. (Now the Roadhouse Grill on Okeechobee Blvd.) Their 3-year reign as 'Peter Trappen & Co.' is still talked about among long-time residents in the area. During this time he made his first visit to Europe singing folk/rock songs at Pubs and Universities.

As a founding member of South Florida's legendary retro band, "The White Owls", he has an opportunity to show off his talents playing with some of the best musicians in the county. They opened up for the Beach Boys and many others at the world-famous West Palm Beach Sunfest Festival. The White Owls have shared the stage with numerous legendary artists such as: The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, Jaco Pastorius, The Byrds, Mountain, & Poco. Most recently jamming with Kenney Jones of the Who and Small Faces fame at the Hurtwood Polo Club in South England.

The White Owls formed in 1984 with a goal to play original music and covers that reflected the 12 string sounds of the '80s 'New Wave' (XTC, Bluebells, Smiths) and the British Invasion sound of the 1960's. The initial line-up included Jim Kastner on Rickenbacker 12 and 6 string guitars and background vocals, Kevin Kaufman on a fretless P bass, Peter Trappen on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and George Anderson on drums and percussion. They recorded 10 original songs at New River Studios in Ft. Lauderdale with Jeffrey Wood producing [House Martins, Giant Sand, Waterboys]. Mark Doyle played keyboards on the recording. Tragedy struck when their manager Fred Hennesey (Aerosmith and others) was killed in a car accident. The band then lost it's lead guitarist when Kastner entered a Buddist Monastary to recouperate from exhaustion. (The master recordings were stored somewhere at that point and are lost to this day.) Many people felt that their song "Circles In Her Eyes" would have been a hit.

The band went through many changes after that: Rick Rossano replaced Kastner on lead guitar in late '87 and The Owls concentrated their attention on '60s Retro Rock. Trappen left in 1988 and moved to London for 2 years. He was replaced with the multi-talented Rik Rasmussen. Rossano and Rasmussen knew each other from their time in the local legendary band, "Ricky and The Rocketships". Returning in 1990, Trappen and Kastner formed "the Shivers" with Shan Frogel on bass, and John Sluggett on drums. The White Owls and the Shivers traded members with each other until around '94 when Rossano and Anderson left the Owls to start "The Dillengers" and Kaufman concentrated on his music store "Kaufman Danzaer Instruments". Trappen and Rasmussen reformed the Owls with Bruce Creamer on bass and Al Smith on drums. Jim Kastner left to start a dive shop in the Dutch Antillies eventually finding his way to Belgium where he recorded several songs under the bandname "Watersense". (he died mysteriously while staying in Palm Beach in 1996) Rossano and Anderson re-joined the band 1997 and the White Owls have been playing private parties and Festivals ever since. The current line-up is George Anderson, Rik Rasmussen, Rick Rossano and Peter Trappen.

~ Critical Acclaim ~

"This ensemble of songs could easily be the soundtrack for theatre, with each song setting the mood for the next." Geoff Livingston Beach Magazine

"Trappen's voice has always been his strong suit, but he shows surprising lead guitar skills in the uptempo opener, 'Roll the Dice'." Bill Meredith TGIF

"...he has more than a few catchy choruses and a unique merging of styles."
Theodore Defosse: Splendid E-zine

"Trappen pulls off the trick of making his material sound familiar, without sounding stale. If he's got another one inside of him I'd like to hear it." Joe Hartlaub: music-reviewer.com

"This CD features very competent playing that is sometimes exquisite and moving... The more you listen, the more you appreciate Trappen's writing and the content of his heart. I almost dismissed this disc, but the second time was a charm, and the sixth time is pretty sweet too."
Cosmik Debris Magazine