P.J. Pacifico

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

EPs

Singles

Further reading

• "Interview: P.J. Pacifico". Melodic.net. May 19, 2011. 
• "The love of his life inspires Pacifico's latest CD". Stamford Advocate. June 22, 2011. 

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to P.J. Pacifico.

• pjpacifico.com
• P.J. Pacifico at Viper Records
• P.J. Pacifico on YouTube
• P.J. Pacifico on Facebook
• P.J. Pacifico on Twitter