Diandra Interviews: Xander And The Peace Pirates (Part 2)
You are back! As you should be! If you have read the last interview, it is clear that, like their music, Xander And The Peace Pirates are here to teach you how to be a better, kinder spirit. I do not know why I am so surprised by the amount of love and insight lead singer Keith Xander gave in these interviews. After all, this band’s music is as fun and enlivening as their responses. So grab your pens and your “Oprah Winfrey thinking caps” because the wisdom continues in Part 2 of my interview with Xander And The Peace Pirates…. I already feel my mind expanding!
Diandra: As band of brothers/ friends of vast creativity, what are the tools you use to make sure that communication between each other is fluid and clear?
Keith: As a band of Brothers, we keep the communication and creativity flowing by simply allowing each other to express ourselves in our own way, allowing each other to be who we are without the limitation of being overly opinionated or judgmental. Being overly critical has taught me that if it doesn’t belong to me then I can let it be and thus grow and express myself with more ease without killing the experience with overly critical and self defeating thought processes. This offers more space for inspiration and the expression of creativity through this body/mind instrument. We bring each other back to the realization that it is our shared love and passion for music that brought us together in this way.
Keith: As a band of Brothers, we keep the communication and creativity flowing by simply allowing each other to express ourselves in our own way, allowing each other to be who we are without the limitation of being overly opinionated or judgmental. Being overly critical has taught me that if it doesn’t belong to me then I can let it be and thus grow and express myself with more ease without killing the experience with overly critical and self defeating thought processes. This offers more space for inspiration and the expression of creativity through this body/mind instrument. We bring each other back to the realization that it is our shared love and passion for music that brought us together in this way.
Diandra: Describe the specific, childhood moment when you discovered your love for music.
Keith: I remember having a deep love and passion for music from as young as two. I would be moved by music in ways that other experiences didn’t necessarily do for me. This was fascinating to me: the way music can create energetic movement within our being: hairs standing up and tingles all over. I would dance and sing along in my innocence. A pivotal moment was when I had a serious accident by falling on to a fence post from a great height and rupturing my spleen into ten pieces, losing 4 pints of blood, cracking my liver casing and collapsing my left lung and having to be on life support. This accident left me out of action for months, so I had to give up skateboarding for that period, so I took to applying myself to playing guitar and learning songs and attempting singing.I would record myself on a little Fostex 4 track, and began writing lyrics and songs and recording them to proudly play to family and friends. I was 15 at this time, and the passion grew the more I absorbed the music and felt how uplifting it was, both to myself and others. I would sit and listen to Cream and Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robben Ford, among a few, and attempt to play like them. During this time I discovered Woodstock and would be very inspired by the performances by Hendrix and Crosby, Stills and Nash, Santana, Ten years after, all great heartfelt performances, and I could clearly see the power of love, music and the unity it offered. It was a very inspiring time, a time of discovery and self realisation. I was in love and I still am.
Keith: I remember having a deep love and passion for music from as young as two. I would be moved by music in ways that other experiences didn’t necessarily do for me. This was fascinating to me: the way music can create energetic movement within our being: hairs standing up and tingles all over. I would dance and sing along in my innocence. A pivotal moment was when I had a serious accident by falling on to a fence post from a great height and rupturing my spleen into ten pieces, losing 4 pints of blood, cracking my liver casing and collapsing my left lung and having to be on life support. This accident left me out of action for months, so I had to give up skateboarding for that period, so I took to applying myself to playing guitar and learning songs and attempting singing.I would record myself on a little Fostex 4 track, and began writing lyrics and songs and recording them to proudly play to family and friends. I was 15 at this time, and the passion grew the more I absorbed the music and felt how uplifting it was, both to myself and others. I would sit and listen to Cream and Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robben Ford, among a few, and attempt to play like them. During this time I discovered Woodstock and would be very inspired by the performances by Hendrix and Crosby, Stills and Nash, Santana, Ten years after, all great heartfelt performances, and I could clearly see the power of love, music and the unity it offered. It was a very inspiring time, a time of discovery and self realisation. I was in love and I still am.
Diandra: What is the best advice you have gotten in life? What is the worst? (especially in terms of the music industry)
Keith: The best advice I have been offered Is to follow my heart and intuition, the worst advice was to go on Britain’s Got Talent and Das Super Talent, so glad we followed our heart and not our head.
Keith: The best advice I have been offered Is to follow my heart and intuition, the worst advice was to go on Britain’s Got Talent and Das Super Talent, so glad we followed our heart and not our head.
Diandra: What is the song you most wish you had written and why?
Keith: A song that I wish I had written is Imagine by John Lennon, the message is beautiful and truthful, truly from the heart.
Keith: A song that I wish I had written is Imagine by John Lennon, the message is beautiful and truthful, truly from the heart.
Diandra: Name three random facts about how your band formed that people do not know.
Keith:1) My Brother and I accidentally formed the Band as we didn’t feel like doing anything else when we began living together, a real love for music and playing together was ignited in both of us, inspiration began to flow from us into our experience.
2) Mike (our Slide Guitarist and Producer) joined our band after years of being neighbours and becoming friends, It was years later that we learned just how talented and inspiring this guy is and asked him to join us.
3) Adam Goldberg and Joel would play on some of the Cover gigs Stu and I did for extra cash. It soon became apparent that these were the guys to play on our original material, chilled out talented beings with a great chemistry which makes for the best rhythm section we have experienced. We are thankful to all of them.
Diandra: What is it about Blues & Rock that speaks to your soul?
Keith: Blues and Rock are just Genres. Any music with a powerful message that resonates deep within my being is powerful to me regardless of the style. However, I do see that Blues and Rock are related as much as Soul and Gospel music and even Jazz. The expression may differ, but if the intention is strong and uplifting and the music has a powerful message, then to me it is all the same thing, as we know, styles can be fused, Jazz fusion, Funk Rock, Country Rock, etc, Styles can be combined to create a specific sound, but if the intention is one of Ego and Fame, then it does not resonate as deeply. It is the intention behind the music that causes it to reach our heart’s and spread Peace and Love. It is all about the attitude and intention. That is what makes great music reach the deeper unseen aspects of our being.
It is official, I am going to audition to be a Peace Pirate lol! Still, jokes aside, I love intelligence, and when it combines with a higher sense of being, you gain wisdom. Not only are Keith and the rest of the Xander and The Peace Pirates crew intellectuals, but they are spiritual seekers, which explains why their music resonates with so many. If you want to connect with humanity, you have to discover your own. And by this interview, this band’s humanity is endless and prosperous, which means so is their music. For More Information On Xander And The Peace Pirates or To Buy Their Debut 11:11 Click Here. Or Reread Part 1 Of My Interview Here.
