THE END OF INNOCENCE?  PERIS THE THOUGHT

Innocence Mission guitarist Don Peris strikes out on his own, but only briefly

     When Don Peris steps up to the microphone tonight, the only voice he'll hear will be his own. When he strikes a chord on the guitar, the only sound will be of his own making. It will be an entirely new experience for the Lancaster musician.

     Peris, best known as the guitarist for The Innocence Mission, will escape the relative safety of being a member of a band and venture into the less secure realm of the solo artist.

     "I never get nervous with the band, but then I'm only playing guitar," Peris said. "As long as I've been playing with those guys I've always felt secure.

     "I'm sure I'll be nervous (tonight). I've been practicing a lot."

     Peris will be promoting his brand-new solo album, "Ten Silver Slide Trombones," which he has released independently on his own label, Umbrella Day Records. The album, which consists of 12 Don Peris originals, is available at local music stores and through the innocence mission's Web site (theinnocencemission.com). Peris said the album will be distributed nationally.

     Though Peris also will perform later this month at Square One Coffee, 145 N. Duke St., and the Chameleon Club's Lizard Lounge, his solo turn is strictly a sidelight.

     The Innocence Mission -- which includes his wife, Karen, the band's singer and chief songwriter -- plans to release a new album in August.

     Peris said he took the first tentative step toward making a solo album back in 1997 when the Innocence Mission was touring in support of its album "Glow." Peris said he always made a practice of keeping a journal during tours.

     During this particular tour, he also began jotting down bits of poetry, which he later began matching with melodies. "Eventually, I tried to put them on tape," he said. "First off, I wanted just to demo them to see if they were good songs and if they were anything I wanted to bring to the band. Most times, not. I like recording and really did it for a long time for my own fun.

      "Over time, I just got together a whole bunch of songs and different friends had liked them and I started to think maybe I could make them available. I had the desire, the need to get my own record together."

     Peris played and sang every note on "Ten Silver Slide Trombones." As well as acoustic and electric guitars, Peris can also be heard playing banjo, bass, drums and organ.

     The modest album, however, is dominated by acoustic guitar and Peris' hushed vocals. It casts him as a sensitive singer-songwriter, a musical type that dominated music in the 1970s when artists like James Taylor, Jackson Browne and Cat Stevens held sway. Singer-songwriters, especially the sensitive sort, aren't much in favor these days.

     As expected, Peris' guitar work on the album is uniformly outstanding. Though he's not the strongest singer in the world, Peris' thin vocals and plainspoken lyrics are heartfelt and sincere. The album's songs, which Peris said are about real people, real events and real places, are often quite moving.

     "Many of the songs are for specific people," he said. "Many of them are for my son." (The Perises added a daughter to their family earlier this year.)

     Though two of his songs did end up on The Innocence Mission album "Birds of My Neighborhood," Don Peris said he has no plans to replace his wife as the band's primary songwriter.

     "A few of the songs I wrote ended up on the last Innocence Mission record and I wasn't altogether sure that was a great thing because I think my wife ... I love the songs she writes," he said. "If we put mine on there, it displaces hers, and I love her songs so much."

     It's good, then, that he saw fit to release the solo album. His songs deserve to be heard.

Jon Furgeson / Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, PA) June 1, 2001