Peter H. Cummings: Biography

Peter Herrick Cummings • Music • Bio • Writing • Art • Share • Friends

A brief biography:

Peter H. Cummings (1962-2004) was an American songwriter/musician/artist from Storrs, Connecticut.

At an early age he showed an easy affinity for music, quickly learning piano, drums, harmonica, and later, guitar. His influences came largely from the British Invasion sounds of the Kinks, the Small Faces, the Beatles, etc.

In 1980 he and Gideon Freudmann formed Fern Hill, later changed to 'Holiday Clocks', an acoustic duo that released their first LP with the same name in 1984. The sound was a folk-psych blend of guitar and cello and vocals. Later they would release 'More Batteries', an offbeat collection of short, surreal pieces recorded in a farmhouse apartment in Easthampton, Massachusetts.

Peter and Gideon broke up the act in the late eighties after a brief attempt to expand the act into a foursome, and Peter went on to record a series of solo tracks that were released as 'Americans' and 'Fallopian Tollbooth'. Some of the acoustic selections were given a full rock treatment on his 1991 album 'Throne of Wax', recorded with Greg Kammer on drums, Guy Wallis on bass, and Chris Duers on lead guitar.

During the mid-90's, Peter lived on the Cape and recorded some work with Joe Johnston under the name 'Mother Bodfish'. A series of unfortunate instances landed him back home by the late 90s, by which time he had been diagnosed with Scleraderma.

Though he knew this was a terminal illness, which ravaged his fingers and made guitar playing impossible, he moved on and kept creating, learning digital graphics, and returning to keyboard-based music with his self-produced album 'Cartoons'. Within a few days of the tsunami of 2004 he collapsed and died from a heart attack.

Peter was a brilliant musical artist, very funny fellow, and lifetime friend who is missed greatly. I hope you enjoy his music and that he will live on with what he has left behind. .
-David Longey

Note: A more comprehensive biography is in the works- stay tuned.