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  THE HOUSE OF BLUES
One of the newest blues venues is also one of the most unusual: beside the garage in the back of a house in Gravenhurst. Why blues legends and big crowds are now flocking to Peter's Place		  
 

Frank Matys
Special to the Star
The Toronto star
(april 22, 2008)


GRAVENHURST–Ontario's cottage country is a far cry from Chicago's gritty south side. But those worlds are closer than you think, thanks to the passion of a Gravenhurst man whose makeshift theatre inside his garage is home to blues at its best. The theatre, such as it is, occupies an attached garage on Gravenhurst's main drag, where tiered seating and a small stage fill the space that once housed an auto repair shop named Moe's.

It has the feel of a spacious rec room – if a rec room were painted black and orange and filled with friends and strangers drawn together in a common love of the blues.

That was the scene Saturday night as rapid-fire guitar licks executed by a lanky figure in black reverberated fast and hard through the cool night air.

It was no weekend bar band, but it was the stuff of legend – literally.

A wide-eyed audience of 115 – boomers mainly – crowded the rear of Peter Swanek's home to revel in high-energy performances by bona fide bluesmen Johnny Winter and James Cotton in a setting that gave new meaning to the term "up close and personal."

"I had to see it for myself," Oakville resident Ian Hay shouted over the clamour of the music. "You just can't pass up the chance to see two legends in this kind of venue."

Saturday's highly anticipated double bill marked the inaugural show at Peter's Place, Swanek's most recent venture as a music promoter.

"People expect to be blown away," the exhausted 51-year-old said as workers put the finishing touches on the room hours before show time.

A renovator by trade, the father of four garnered a reputation as a pied piper of the blues when he began booking bands into the living room of his former home in nearby Innisfil eight years ago.

Colin Linden, Sonny Rhodes and The Band's multi-talented keyboard man Garth Hudson were among the talent that attracted big audiences.

The atmosphere was loose and fun, the bands performing within feet of discerning fans willing to pay a premium for the privilege.

Audience and artists rubbed shoulders over helpings of barbecue during the intermission, and the drinks were strictly bring-your-own.

"It was magic," Swanek recalled of the intimate performances that garnered a near-cult-like following among devotees of his eclectic offerings.

"When the shows worked, and almost all of them did, people would talk about it for days and sometimes weeks after."

 

After the death of his common-law wife, Sheri Shears, in 2006, he pursued a long-held dream of transporting his intimate concert concept to Gravenhurst.

"She said, `If I ever pass on, go do that,'" he said. "When she passed, I was up here in five months."

A 1 1/2-storey house with an attached garage along the south end of Muskoka Rd. proved the ideal venue from which to base his new operation.

Aided by his girlfriend, Michelle Nelson, and an enthusiastic circle of friends, Swanek transformed the former workspace into a mini-theatre, complete with professional lighting, fog machines and a licensed bar.

"I just closed my eyes and kept going," Swanek said of the sometimes gruelling effort.

Winter and Cotton – the latter one of a few remaining early Chicago bluesmen – were a natural choice for opening night, he said.

"They are as good as you can get," Swanek added, noting both men accompanied the late, great Muddy Waters on his seminal album Hard Again.

Waters is long gone, but Winter and Cotton, both with plenty of play left in them, tour regularly and pack in crowds at venues large and small. But, usually, they aren't this small.

"This place is only 100 people?" Winter, grinning slightly, asked a reporter Saturday night before emerging from the motorhome that ferries him from gig to gig. "I don't even believe that."

The intimate room is the obvious draw here, with audience members having gladly plopped down $150 a piece to share in the experience.

"People in our age group don't want to be in a cattle line," longtime Winter fan Ken Mad, 54, said of the vast concert halls of his youth.

The Keswick man fondly recalled a 1970 performance by the fleet-fingered Texan at Maple Leaf Gardens.

"I was 17 and it blew me away," he added. "When I was a kid, Johnny Winter and Jimi Hendrix were on the same plane. Now we're seeing (Winter) here. This is fabulous."

Swanek's mounting popularity in music circles and his recent move north have caught the eyes of other promoters and there is talk of moving to a larger auditorium. For now, at least, Swanek's admirers are happy to have him continue booking big-city acts here, in this special room.

"This is nothing short of a public service," said fan Chris Brown of Toronto.
 
       
 

Bringing new meaning to home entertainment

  
 
Photo by Amberly McAteer
The Muskokan (May 15, 2008)		 When Peter Swanek decided he wanted a change of direction in his life he turned to the one thing that gave him real happiness: music. But instead of being happy promoting concerts in other venues he decided to bring the music closer to home. His own home in fact.

PETERS PLACE. Peter Swanek spent nearly a year and a half building his “home theatre,” a 30-foot by 40-foot concert venue attached to his kitchen on Muskoka Road South. It has already
attracted some big names in the music industry, and the intimate atmosphere is a big hit with concert goers.

  
 

Blues pioneer James Cotton sits in a rocking chair on the front porch, his tired harmonica resting in his lap. He and his band pass around a bucket of fried chicken, their raspy voices cutting the cool spring air while inside Johnny Winter takes his turn on stage. Cotton has just finished his set, a procession of down-and-dirty, high-energy tunes that mesmerized an intimate crowd of music lovers.

This isn’t a juke joint in the gritty 1950s Deep South. This was the scene just a few weeks ago at Peter Swanek’s house in Gravenhurst. A contractor turned music promoter,

  
 
Swanek has literally built his dream from the ground up – a concert hall, complete with sound, lighting and tiered seating, is his living room. A few years ago it was Moe’s automotive garage, but now big-name musicians and throngs of fans gather at Peter’s Place.

Swanek couldn’t be happier. “Cotton kicked,” he says grinning. “This guy used to sell out 18,000-seat venues and now he’s in my house. Come on, does it get any better?” It’s a dream that started eight years ago when Swanek, defeated, perpetually tired and always “chasing the dollar” as a renovator, woke up one morning and knew he needed drastic change. “I thought to myself, what is it that I could do that would bring me real joy? There was only one answer, and I immediately knew. Music.” From his home in Innisfil he began calling talent agents of musicians he liked. “Not of any one particular sound or genre, just really talented guys.” The single father of four negotiated with venues across southern Ontario and booked both local and nationally renowned musicians.

After a show, Swanek was sitting with performer Colin Linden. Swanek asked the blues guitarist, “How would you describe what I do?” Swanek recalls, “Without hesitation, he looked at me and said, ‘Peter, you’re a music farmer.’ ” At first the title didn’t sit well with him. “But then I thought about it, and he was right on the money. I nurture the music,” he says, cupping his hands. “Really home grow it, you know?”		 In 2004, he started to bring the music home – literally. He filled his Innisfil living room to capacity – about 70 people – countless times over the next three years, with roots and blues shows that “gave everyone a ride.” After his wife passed away suddenly in 2006, he moved to Gravenhurst to fulfill his dream.

“She always told me that if she ever died, I should move up here and really do this thing right.” Within five months Peter was knee deep in drywall and permits for his “home theatre.” The minute he spotted the house for sale on Muskoka Road South he saw the theatre, imagined the shows and knew that was it. It’s an idea that the town has backed since its inception, he says. A recent trip to a council meeting to get permits and paperwork was “so easy…it’s like every door has been opened.”


When three OPP officers showed up opening night – right in the middle of Winter’s performance – Swanek panicked. “But they came for the music,” he laughs. “I couldn’t believe it. They just wanted to hear it.” The show brought in 115 people, mostly out-of-towners, and was sold out four months prior.

“It’s never been about the money and the big names,” he says frankly. “It’s about healing my soul, doing what makes me happy and, in turn, hopefully make other people happy. That’s the idea.” Swanek has musicians lined up all summer long, including Jack De Keyzer on May 24.

For more information, visit www.petersplayers.com