Piano playing singer-songwriter Chris Carpenter celebrates the release of his debut solo album, Up All Night, with a show at Lestat’s Coffeehouse on July 14. While Carpenter has self released various tracks in the past, these recordings are his first using a band. Musicians on the album include guitarist Roni Lee, drummer Bill Ray, violinist Jamie Shadowlight and bassist Armando Cepeda. For the show drums will be handled by Haley Allen.

Music has been important to Carpenter ever since he was a child. “I lived as a survivalist for many early years,” he explained. “And a prize possession was a portable tape deck. Every time we went to the city to visit and spend the night, I would pop a blank tape in my friends radio/tape deck and record until the tape was full. Then I would take that tape back to the woods and listen to it over and over.”

He notes a down side to this method of recording. “The tape often ran out of space before a song was done, so I ended up knowing half of song really well and never knowing the other half. It kind of sucks only knowing half the chorus of an Allman Brothers song for 10 years,” Carpenter joked.

HIs songs have a late 60's, early 70's feel, reminiscent at times of classic Elton John. “My music inspirations from a really young age were artists like Hank Williams, Peter, Paul and Mary, Simon & Garfunkel,” he said. “But as I reached my teens, I bonded with Rush, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, etc and then moved on to Genesis, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, Elton, Ben Folds Five, and so on. Basically, strong piano and songwriting types that truly understood the power of melody.”

Carpenter arrived in San Diego circa 1997, after stops in Virginia, New York and Santa Cruz, settling in the North Park area and soon becoming a mainstay at Lestat’s.

Now known for his deft keyboard work, ironically, drums were Carpenter’s first choice. “I banged out my joys and life's frustrations for seven years on a big, black Pearl set,” he recalled. “I eventually drove a tiny Mazda 323 across from Santa Cruz to New York and had to sell them. But, after a year, I found myself in Virginia and then I found myself in a piano store and then I found a new credit card and bought a keyboard. I had a slight fascination with them for a few years before that but was never around one for long.”

Though Carpenter has never toured, he has performed recently in Korea, where he was married on June 22. “I first flew over on April 17 and spent a week there,” he said. “I performed at a couple of venues and really enjoyed it.” Carpenter notes he was able to leave his own gear at home. “They had pianos and microphones everywhere I performed. Of course, I did the work of finding the places with a piano first, though,” he said.

One gig was planned and one was impromptu. “The impromptu one had a beautiful black grand piano and we took an hour road trip just for the possibility it might still be at a cafe. It was and the owner set the stage up, including a sound system. It was wonderful,” he recalled. “The second, planned one, I was offered a headline (spot) at a music venue while they streamed it live to their fan base. They even sent me MP3's and a full photo spread of the event when I returned home. I was pretty blown away with the generosity of it all.” More recently, Carpenter also sang at his wedding. “In Korea, the groom is actually expected to serenade the bride,” he commented. “So that worked out for my one super power.”

Carpenter hopes to tour stateside this year and already has enough material to start working on a second album. But he is particularly looking forward to returning to Korea. “I just really enjoy performing for a different audience sometimes,” he said. “ San Diego feels so impacted with a million songwriters trying to be heard, it's nice to feel like a rare commodity every once in awhile. (Here), it can feel like playing a bunch of amazing songs on a 5 million dollar violin in a subway station sometimes. But its home.”

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