Richard Peshkin has been writing music since he was just a child, and after taking some time off from creating music following a medical setback, he is back at it with his newest album The World Needs Music available on all platforms.
The album features a single of the same name, that is complete with a music video starring vocalist Kelsey Demsky. It shows her waking up in a dingy apartment, before walking through a world on fire with chaos around her. Her uplifting lyrics bring her to the finale, where she can be seen making it big, much to the enjoyment of her listeners. It depicts two dreams going on at once: going from that little apartment to a world stage, and also the world embracing her message together.
Sports and music are two arenas where people can bond naturally, whether it is singing or rooting for teams. Peshkin said it is so pure and organic to be able to go to a game and hug people you don’t know but are united for the home team. This same deal goes for music.
“You go to concerts and there are tens of thousands of people singing together, and I think we reflect that very well in the video we did with ‘The World Needs Music,’” he said, “At the end of the video our gal is singing in front of a packed house with the crowd lifting candles together. It is the sense that music transcends it all.”
Peshkin has always enjoyed the work of Burt Bacharach and related to his writing growing up. In particular, he was a huge fan of “What the World Needs Now,” and he said in the back of his mind this is an homage to him.
“We got about as much as we could out of that song, but we are still fighting, and killing, and looting, and arson,” Peshkin said. “We need another anthem.”
When watching the news it was a no brainer of what he should be writing about for this very reason. Peshkin wanted a song where people would be able to sing together in joy.
“Once you start singing it, you forget about the differences and just hone in on the commonalities,” Peshkin said.
The album is not just a one trick pony, as it has a diverse array of tunes. Peshkin wanted to create a record where you never know what you’ll get next. For instance, “The World Needs Music” is the opening track, but it is followed by a vastly different song titled “Shut Up.”
“It could not be more different musically and lyrically,” Peshkin said. “I have a close friend whose husband made the mistake of saying ‘shut up’ to her. Well, apparently you could say anything in the world to this young lady, but you can’t say shut up.”
It is promptly succeeded by a beautiful song called “I Love You.” Peshkin said the album’s diversity continues with songs like “The Woo Song” in honor Rick Flair, a metal based song called “Sucker of All Time,” which has the most views of any of his songs on Spotify. There are also love ballads and and songs with more hip-hop, as well as a track called “A Better Place” that is about looking at the maps on faces while visiting a nursing home.
“There is a lot of variety on the album in terms of content,” Peshkin said. “I am proud of the fact I was able to put it together that way.”
Most of his life, Peshkin was a family practitioner in Florida. He started writing music when he was very young, dating back to when he was 10-year-old when he had the song “Nadine” copyrighted. There wasn’t a year in his life since that he hadn’t written 10 to 20 songs per year, which were mostly for his family and those close to him. He put together music based on themes generated by his life.
All throughout his life there was a frustration that the material generated was as good as what he grew up loving, but he didn’t necessarily have the vehicle, technical musical skills, or time to pursue it. As he was spending most of his time in the field of medicine, he didn’t have the chance to go off to school and learn the craft. However, started to meet professional musicians to work with him on his material. In 2018 he started working on a song for a movie, which was called “Finally,” and he felt with the proper people around him he could do well.
In 2019, Peshkin wrote a musical comedy called “Boca Bound,” which involved performers and producers from New York. One producer was John Ranger, who had a line on a great arranger named Michael Moritz, Jr., who worked on the production. Peshkin’s work ended up on the ballot for the a Grammy nomination, and he is extremely proud of this as it was a little production that had five days of running in Boca Raton. Unfortunately COVID-19 took place, and it put a halt to the process.
“I had a taste of what it was like to take my music to people who really were accomplished, and they realized that this guy can write music,” he said. “It kind of validated me in my own mind in the fact that the album came out very well and was well received by the patrons.”
One of the songs in the show “Boca Bound” was titled “You Never Let Go of the Dream,” and Peshkin is doing just that.
About a year ago, Peshkin started writing frantically after taking several years to battle prostate cancer. He collaborated with producer Mick James, who is best known for working on Criss Angel Mind Freak. They then got Demsky on female lead vocals, and Dan Brenner on male vocals, as well. With The World Needs Music, Peshkin was able to do what was needed many years ago: to produce and arrange the music in a way that was commercial with the right singers.
“I was able to put together a product that was marketable, professional and, in my estimation, very well done,” Peshkin said. “It might be a few decades late, but I feel like now I have a team assembled with Mick and the two singers, and my own God given gift to write lyrics and music.”
He added, “There were a lot of detours and a lot of life to be lived.”
Peshkin is releasing his second album titled Looking for Answers, which also tackles a variety of themes and utilizes different styles of music. It features 11 tracks and will be out within the next month.
Check out the work of Richard Peshkin on all platforms.
.png)
