Fresh Find - Pete Scobell
- Freshly Brewed Country
- Feb 19, 2016
- 5 min read
We are happy to announce the talented Pete Scobell as our latest Fresh Find here at Freshly Brewed Country!
Pete Scobell already has a long narrative with many chapters – celebrated Navy SEAL,
competitive skier and athlete, mountain climber, inspiration and advocate. So it would be
easy to take the release of a country album as just another chapter in the life of a habitual success addict.
The truth is a guitar has been Scobell’s only constant companion as he’s traveled the
world on more adventures than most people have in a full lifetime and the release of
“Walkin a Wire” represents the culmination of a lifelong dream.
“I didn’t just wake up one morning and decide I want to be a musician,” Scobell said.
“It’s something I’ve done my whole life. My mom was a music teacher. She died when I
was 10 months old and she left all her instruments. That’s how I learned how to play. I
was always trying to feel closer to her.”
For this reason, Scobell the artist emerges fully formed. The 12 songs on Walkin a Wire
are the work of an accomplished singer and instrumentalist who’s already put in the
hours, singing and performing in barracks, dive bars and anywhere else people wanted a
bit of an escape from whatever was happening – and there’s always something happening when you’re a member of one of the world’s most elite military teams.
“And then I got hurt,” Scobell said. “The irony was I was always playing music, then
when I ended up in the hospital for traumatic brain injury, they have music therapy. They
said, ‘Do you play music? That’s the best thing you can do to help your brain.’ I thought
it was cool that my passion for music met up with my rehabilitation, and it was more than
just a passion at that point. It was something that I needed to do. So, I went out skiing -
that was one of my other passions. I was skiing in a competition, I hit my head again and
I’m back in the hole. So I picked up my guitar again and focused on playing and writing.
And it became very clear to me: For some reason, God keeps putting this thing back in
my hands.”
Photographer credit: Bradly Tomberlin
He was far from Nashville and the music industry. A guiding hand intervened again when
Scobell met Wynonna Judd and Cactus Moser through the makers of the film “The
Hornet’s Nest,” a 2014 Afghanistan war documentary. They invited him to record his
song “For the One’s I Stand Beside” to appear in the movie. Shortly after, while on the
Patriot Tour and with the help of Taya Kyle, he came up with the idea to record “Hearts I
Leave Behind,” featuring Wynonna, to honor a former teammate, “American Sniper”
Chris Kyle. These two songs helped him round out the EP that was his first foray into the
music business.
Even then, he wasn’t sure what was next.
“It was Wynonna sitting down with me after cutting the EP and letting it go,” Scobell
remembered. “She called me up and said, ‘Listen, I’ve been doing this for a long time
and I know when someone is supposed to be doing this, so you need to stop whatever
you’re doing and get back to playing music. That’s the only way you’re going to be
yourself.’ She’s like a sister to me and Cactus is like a brother. I just absolutely adore the
two of them. They’ve taken their arms and put them around me and shown me how to do
things. Even given me a little tough love when I needed it.”
So they invited him back to Nashville to record at RCA Studio A with Moser serving as
producer and Judd’s band members from The Big Noise backing him up.
“I’d never been to Nashville before recording the EP,” Scobell said. “I’ve been all over
the world and never been to Nashville. I was a cliché. I got off the plane with my guitar
and I walked by that singer-songwriter stand in the airport and I saw a guy playing and I
said, ‘What am I doing here? This is where dreams go to die.’”
He moved back in with Judd and Moser during recording sessions and the songs that
emerged, written mostly by Nashville’s top songwriters, showed Scobell could have been
in Music City all along. “Wild” and a remake of “Hearts I Leave Behind” are the only
songs that touch on Scobell’s military history. He hopes fans see him in a new light when
they hear the rest.
“I’m really just focused on making good music that I enjoy playing and that’s meaningful
to me,” Scobell said. “Everybody has life lessons, you just learn them in different places.
Some of mine happen to be from my experiences in the military. That story might get
people to listen to it one time, but this is a passion of mine and I’ve put so much time and
effort into creating this album, this music and this sound. I want the music to really speak
for itself.”
Photographer credit: Bradly Tomberlin
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We know you want to know more about Pete Scobell so be sure to check out our interview with him below.
FBC: What made you want to get involved in the country music world?
PS: Total accident. I grew up playing music but never desired a career…seemed like the room with no doors. I wrote a song for the movie The Hornet’s Nest and Cactus Moser (Wynonna Judd’s husband and producer) gave me a call and asked if I would be interested in recording an EP.
FBC: What song of yours is your favorite and why?
PS: Tough question…I love them all or I wouldn’t have recorded them!! I think Unfinished Business is still my favorite!
FBC: What do you use for inspiration when you write your songs?
PS: Life…I think we’re all trying to understand the same stuff we just have different experiences that push us down the road. Hopefully I can communicate my experiences and connect with people on the same path.
FBC: What has been your favorite country music memory so far and why?
PS: My country music life revolves around Wynonna & Cactus… Every great memory I have is with them… So I would say meeting them and having them become a huge part of my life is my favorite memory.
FBC: If you could do a country duet with anyone who would it be and why?
PS: I already did it with Wynonna:)
FBC: Who is your country music idol and why?
PS: Wynonna & Cactus - They’ve seen it all and lived to tell about it. Both have the biggest hearts and are the most genuine people I have ever met… they set an amazing example.
FBC: What are three fun facts about you that you want your fans to know?
PS: I was born above the Mason Dixon line and I’m not ashamed of it :) My heart is and always be in the mountains. I’m extremely proud of my service to this great nation!
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