Bare Bones Bolland

“I haven’t made an album in seven years,” says Peter Bolland, whose last two full-lengths with the Coyote Problem earned Best Americana Album trophies at the San Diego Music Awards.

For his upcoming solo full-length Two Pines, “A lot of songs had piled up since 2007 so, when it came time to record a new album, it was pure torture whittling down the list. Did I want a quiet, finger-picking Sunday morning album? Or a driving-hard-through-the-desert vibe? I sat down with my producer Sven-Erik Seaholm and we talked about the approach we wanted to take.”

Taking their inspiration from Neil Young and Tom Petty, “I wanted to build a foundation of three basic elements: bass, drums, and acoustic guitar. That was the frame upon which we going to build these songs. Keep it simple…I played all the guitars myself, acoustic six string, twelve string, and nylon string guitar, electric guitar, lap steel, and Dobro. Sven played a little piano riff on one song. That’s about it. We added on a bunch of other stuff, but in the final mix we stripped it all off and cleaved close to the essence of each song. Anything that got in the way got cut. What’s left is honest to God Americana rock, cut and dried, and bare to the bone. Nothing left but the truth.”

When they’d finished recording, “It felt like something was missing. I needed one more song to tie everything together around a unifying theme. I sat down and wrote a new song called ‘Two Pines,’ about relationships and how people draw strength from each other in tough times. As soon as I wrote it, I knew I had a title song.”

The album debuts June 27 at Mira Mesa’s Unity Center, where Bolland’s band will include Marc Twang (guitar), Jim Reeves (bass), and Bob Sale (drums). Aside from the new songs and Coyote Problem tunes, Bolland promises “a few choice covers, because this band is a bullet train and I can’t wait to turn them loose on my favorite songs by other people, like ‘White Line Fever’ by Merle Haggard. When you stumble on a song that great, you just get out of way and let it rip.”

“It’ll look like I’m fronting the band, but actually I’m just another fan of the way Marc, Jim, and Bob play, and I’ve got the best seat in the house.”