MR. PEOPLES PROJECT: Origin Story Interview by Jenna Rose

Mr Peoples Project is not only a musical project, but also a community and a safe space for anyone facing adversity or feeling the weight of the world. The Project is based in Detroit Michigan with members and contributors across the globe, and there’s a little bit of something for everyone within its lore and musical stylings. But who exactly is Mr. Peoples?

Thank you for being here, Chris. Please introduce yourself - what are the most important things we should know about you as an artist? 

Mr. Peoples Project: I write songs in various genres including pop, country, blues and classical. Most songs are musical stories usually about folks in predicaments. The songs are performed by various musicians located mostly in Detroit and Nashville but also from overseas. Many songs use instruments not normally heard together. My project is called the Mr Peoples Project. Mr Peoples is not so much an alter ego as a symbiotic one.

Tell us about your current project - what should we know about it? 

MPP: I have written a diverse collection of about 15 songs. I am producing them out of a Detroit area studio. Various musicians from all over the world are performing these songs. The genres are wide ranging including country, blues, pop and even classical. Most of the songs are stories about people with challenges or in predicaments. Currently I’m working on the release of 3-4 singles with videos and 2 albums. 

Who was involved with this project? What drew you to those people? 

 MPP: The Mr Peoples Project has a core group of 3-myself (Chris Sciotti), Vedran Kapic, studio owner, sound engineer, musician and Raye Williams, singer/entertainer/artist. 

When I initially contacted Ved, he was recovering from a serious injury which occurred in a triathlon race. Turns out, after my injury and healing, I participated in triathlons. Ved emigrated from Bosnia in his teens as a war refugee. I had friends and clients who were also war refugees from that area. We had mutual interests in addition to the music.

Raye Williams came to the project reluctantly. She had returned to live in Michigan after years of living in Nashville. After signing with a prominent record label, her promising career was sidetracked by the pandemic. Then, she overcame a very serious health issue. Singing and contributing to this Project rejuvenated her own artistry and she has been writing and recording her songs and is starting a podcast at the studio.

We originally had Detroit and Nashville musicians performing the songs. Now, and in addition, we have musicians from all over the world making their contributions to the songs. 

Ved, Raye, and I have become close friends and collaborators.

With such a diverse collection of members, I'm sure there are lots of different influences that show up in your music. Who are your musical and general life influences? 

MPP: I’m in my 60’s so I’ve had decades of influences and experiences.. My earliest musical influences were punk rock, Seger, Waits, Dylan, Earle, R W Hubbard. Bowie and Patti Smith. I have had many occupations outside of music including lawyering, UAW factory worker, builder, beekeeper, and forest and wildlife manager.

The m ajor influences on my songwriting have included:

1. A life full of financial successes and failures, loves lost and discovered, lifelong and brief friendships, political and social changes
2. A grave trauma in 2008 resulting in a prolonged healing process with residual limitations
3. Addiction and over 10 year uninterrupted recovery

All of these have fueled creativity. I have been able to write with seriousness, humor, irony and heartache.

That's a wide array of influences! In what ways do we hear them come out in this project? What are the messages and/or themes that come through and what are you hoping that your audience takes away or learns about you through experiencing it?

MPP: Most teachers tell artists to write and create based on what you know. I have had a lot of experiences. Based on these, I write stories to music mostly about people in predicaments. We live in a harsh, intolerant spirit crushing world. I created the Mr Peoples Project with the belief that individually most people are basically good, know right from wrong and have some empathy for others. It’s just that when we identify with narrow groups and label others, we can become prejudiced and our worst behavior prevails. One of the core themes of the Project is that change starts with me, each person. Empiezo conmigo. 

For the life of me, I can’t understand or tolerate racism, bigotry or misogyny. I don’t comprehend why women and minorities are treated so shabbily(using a nice word here) by almost every measure. 

Many people who have low self esteem and suffer from mental illness live in poverty and have relationship issues. They need a little extra help but instead they face ridicule and neglect.

I try to point this out in my songs. Almost every song features a person in some type of trouble but also there is some hope and redemption in the music or lyrics. The Project remains steadfastly optimistic. 

There is also humor and irony in nearly every song because this exists in everyday life. I love words that have more than one meaning.

Why was this project written initially? Has the theme or meaning changed through production? 

MPP: I have written upwards of 100 songs. I wrote a song titled “Mr Peoples”. This was a song about an everyday guy that doesn’t care what people think of him and is just going to do whatever he wants. I thought of him as an Everyman in the same literary sense of Chaucer and Joyce’s Leopold Bloom. So, I decided to make this a theme of a collection of 15 or so songs. The songs turned out to be stories of others seen through Mr Peoples experience. The theme evolved. For example, the song “Smokey Sea” is really a short adaptation of Homer’s Ullysses that most people can relate to. Everyman theme is universal. So, I wrote songs in different genres, using musical instruments not usually heard together and musicians from literally all over the world. The theme that everyday people can find themselves in normal types of trouble. While that may sound mundane, it certainly isn’t for those of us who may be in that type of predicament. The songs are on point and offer hope and relief. The Golden Rule has been around for thousands of years because everyone should treat others as they want to be treated. Mostly, the songs are simple. The complexity comes with the variety of instruments, tempo changes, numerous tracks and the fact that the sound engineer, Ved Kapic, is a perfectionist. Whereas, I am basically a ninety percenter. 

What track stands out the most to you? 

MPP: The song Pour Me a Flower is somewhat autobiographical. Other songs that stand out are You Left Me So Lonely and Lift Me Up. You Left Me So Lonely is a really sad song about a loved one leaving a devoted relationship abruptly. The singer is so distraught that not only will she never love again, she thinks that no one else will ever love her. Most people have experienced this or know someone who has. There is a ray of hope at the end. It was recorded “live” in the studio with Raye Williams singing accompanied by a guitar. Later a few bass notes were added. That’s it, but the song is very powerful. Lift Me Up is a rockabilly/gospel song that starts off slow and despairing, builds quickly with soul and ends with a hopeful redemptive prayer. There are 3 tempo changes. It incorporates verbatim an over 100 year old hymn.

Why did you originally decide to pursue a career in music?

MPP: Although I have played music all my life, I decided in my early 60's to give most of my attention to writing and recording songs. I had been winding down my business activities and was devoting most of my time to writing and playing music. I came up with the idea of the Mr Peoples Project. I feel that others will enjoy the music, lyrics, and listening to the songs. 

When you are not creating music what do you like to do in your free time? 

MPP: Reading, beekeeping, outdoor activities, wildlife and land management. I also build and/or renovate houses. I workout every day. 

What does the next year look like for you and your career? 

MPP: I will keep writing, recording and start performing songs. I have released a few individual songs and will release at least two EPs. We will probably tour and perform the Mr Peoples Project songs. 

What are you watching or reading right now? 

MPP: Reading-just finished James by Percival Everett and True North by Jim Harrison. I’m reading Liberation Day, a collection of short stories by George Saunders. Generally, I enjoy watching sports, both team and individual sports. I’m fascinated by how much music is connected to sporting events. Not only is there halftime and intermission music but, there is music during stoppage in play in hockey and basketball.  Many individual players have their own theme song 

I'd love to shoot some fun and quick questions and answers at you. Here we go; Do you have any pets? 

MPP: Leroy, a puggle a/k/a Mr Peoples. 

What is the best concert you have ever been to? 

MPP: Bowie 1973 

How would your closest friends describe you in three words. 

MPP: Loyal, interesting, humorous (they're my friends-right?) 

What was the best year/week/day of your life? 

MPP: Today. I made it.

That was fun! For our closing question, what do you struggle with the most in your musical endeavors? 

MPP: Although I can play various instruments, I'm not accomplished in any. I’m not that good of a vocalist either. Those are the exact reasons why I reached out to others. Mr Peoples Project is not meant to be about me, it’s meant to be about what we can create as a community. 

Where can we find you online to keep up with whats happening with Mr Peoples Project? 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mrpeoplesproject/

Instagram: @mrpeoplesproject

Website: www.mrpeoplesproject.com