Peter Getty

Peter Getty, a Glasgow-based Alt. Country/Americana/Rock singer-songwriter. He has been crafting and performing music since childhood. 

Introduced to KISS by his brother (who would become known as Punky Mendoza in the band Heavy Pettin’) he was inspired by Peter Criss, so he pursued a career as a drummer and singer. At just 13, he recorded his first record in 1988, co-writing and singing the track “Here We Call Here We Stand”. The other two tracks were ‘Big World’, again with Peter on lea vocals, and ‘This Is My Way, featuring David Treanor on lead vocals.

Peter and David would go on to form their first real band, Little Savages, with Peter on drums, David on bass, Martin Campbell on keyboard and guitar, George Young on lead guitar, and Gerry Poland on lead vocals.

The highlight of the band’s short career was headlining a hometown show as part of the closing of festivities celebrating Glasgow’s European Year of Culture.

‘My folks were always so proud of Punky, and loved showing our neighbours the magazine and newspaper clippings. We all were,” Peter said. ‘So it was cool to see me and my little band in the newspapers for the Year of Culture show. I was still in high school and I’ll never forget walking down our street on the way hone from school, and seeing my Dad showing our neighbour the newspaper. As I got to them he said “here’s the rock star”. That was so cool. I’ll never forget that.”

In 1991, Peter joined The Road Masters as their drummer, embarking on his first tour. This included playing at the three-day motorcycle festival on the Scottish Isle of Arran, which ignited his passion for motorcycles.

Peter then begun session work for multiple bands, playing a myriad of styles. But he never felt fulfilled.

“As much fun as smashing drums was, and I had a lot of work with tons of different bands of tons of different styles, there just wasn’t much call for singing songwriting drummers. So the drum set went away and to the front of the stage I went.” He said.

Peter became singer and frontman of Glasgow band “Exit” in 1992. He then transitioned to performing solo acoustic and released several EPs.  Given his background where musicians rarely used their own names, he adopted various stage names during this period.

“I cringe thinking back to some of the dumb names I was using”, he laughed, “but that was pretty much the done thing at the time. As were the dumb hairstyles I experimented with!”

As the late 1990s saw a surge in singer-songwriter popularity and Peter began writing more personal songs, he abandoned the idea of “rock star” names and embraced his true self. As well as music, Peter also wrote novellas and plays, and wrote and performed his own poetry recitals.

In 2008, Peter composed a song with the view to giving to Heavy Pettin’. However, he was advised to keep it for himself. “Burn” was recorded with Peter on guitar and vocals, studio musicians providing bass and drums. He released Burn as an EP. The EP featured an acoustic cut of his track “A Rose By Any Other Name”, which featured Peter’s brother, and hero, Punky on acoustic guitar.

“I hadn’t played that song in about 10 years,” Peter said, “and Punky had never played it. The producer and engineer were encouraging us to do more, so I quickly showed him the arrangement and we cut it live; two acoustic guitars, one vocal. To this day it’s one of my most favourite things I have ever done."

Shortly after, during a period of personal upheaval, Peter embarked on a “Have Guitar, Will Travel” tour, performing almost every night in various venues, rarely repeating the same set twice.

Despite his nomadic lifestyle, Peter continued to create demos during this time, including “Coming Home”, “Shadow Games”, “Waiting for the World”, and a fan favourite that became a staple of his sets to this day: “Snake Eyes”.

The gigs kept coming, including a support slot with renowned American artist Chris Trapper of The Push Stars.

At this show, Peter decided to form a band again to move from support slots to headlining.  His first call was to friend Mark Robertson to fill the guitar and backing vocal slots.  Mark was more than just a musician; he was Peter’s foil, right-hand man and consigliere.

They continued performing acoustically while searching for suitable musicians.  They performed two shows as a trio with a mutual friend on bass, including an afternoon outdoor show in the Sloans Ballroom Courtyard (Peter had previously performed solo there).

Peter and  Mark recruited Declyn Emslie on drums and Richi Neville on bass.  The live debut of Peter Getty & The Stone River band came after only two rehearsals,  at The ABC2 in Glasgow on Saturday 5th May 2012. They were the first band on a five band bill.

Peter and the band then embarked on a hectic schedule of gigs and radio appearances, often playing two shows a day.  They recorded a live session for Celtic Music Radio in the afternoon and then played a raucous show in Glasgow venue Box.  They also played a sold-out show at Maggie Mays, then afterwards, Peter and the band and their fans went around the corner to play a late-night full-band acoustic show in McChuill’s.

Colin Hunter took the drum stool at Stereo, Glasgow, after Declyn’s no-show on the day of a headline show.  Despite a brief backstage run-through with Peter and a soundcheck of “Snake Eyes”, the show turned out to be one of the band’s best.

Emslie was clearly dismissed for his unprofessionalism and, as Colin was a performer in his own right, the drum stool remained vacant.  Richi recommended John Hesford as the new drummer. Frazer Mackay, a multi-instrumentalist and multi-talented musician, joined the band at the same time.

The expanded Stone River Band made their debut at The Garage, Glasgow. The fuller sound and additional instrumentation allowed Peter to introduce new songs to their already extensive repertoire.

In 2015, Peter, Richi and John recorded their debut EP, available on Reverbnation.com. The band continued to deliver powerful and spontaneous live performances, including a benefit for the victims of the Clutha helicopter crash in Glasgow, just the night after the incident.  When called upon, Peter and the band didn’t hesitate to step up, even one short week before an incendiary show at Oran Mor in Glasgow’s West End.

On the day of the 2nd anniversary of Peter and The Stone River Band’s debut at the O2 ABC2, they returned as headliners. It was a show of shows, a triumph for the band and for Peter.

Peter declined a management and record deal that excluded the band, a decision he now considers “really fucking stupid”.  He continued playing the circuit but faced challenges from outside influences, which culminated in the loss of a Dutch tour.

On August 11th 2018, after two shows in one day at Ivory Blacks and Box, Peter essentially disbanded the Stone River Band.

“It’s my name on the bill and I wasn’t interested in the egos of girlfriends and wives of people I hired to be professionals who I sacrificed for,” he explained.

Undeterred, Peter set off again, guitar slung over his shoulder, playing wherever and whenever he could. He also visited Matchbox Sound in Hyndland, Glasgow, to record “Whose Side Are You On?” featuring Peter on drums, bass, guitars and vocals, and “Can I Go Home Again?” with Raymi Rashid, who produced Peter’s first solo demo, in the drum stool.

Everything halted when the world went into lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and like every other musician of that era, Peter composed and recorded, patiently awaiting the world’s reopening.

Upon reopening, he resumed his usual routine performing wherever there was a stage and an audience.  “Performing live is the best part of being a musician,” he said. “Getting to connect and communicate with audiences in real time is a gift.”

He also began releasing singles globally across all streaming platforms. These included reworked versions of his classic favourites “Soul to Save”, “Snake Eyes” and “It’s Not My Time” as well as new tracks like “Devil’s Last Ride”, “Heart’s Are Broken At Night”, “The Horseman Comes Around”, “This Hobo Heart of Mine”, “Valentine’s Day” and “The Road To Letting Go”.

In November 2026, Peter released his critically acclaimed EP “Promises In The Rain”. This marked the first time his releases were available worldwide on vinyl and CD simultaneously with streaming platforms.

All six tracks – ‘Soul To Save’ (in another significantly altered version), ‘My Father’s Forsaken Son’, ‘Promises In The Rain’, ‘Something So Wrong, So Right’, ‘You Don’t Come Around Here Anymore’ and ‘True For You’ (the vinyl edition included ‘Devil’s Last Ride’) – were composed and performed entirely by Peter himself.  He also produced the record.

‘Doing everything on the record meant I had complete control,’ he said, “but it was too much. I was writing the songs, recording every instrument, then mixing and mastering, whilst still rehearsing for my shows, as well dealing with bookings and releases. It was way too much.”

Peter had decided to add more instrumentation to ‘True for You’, the albums closing track, only to discover it was already done; “I worked out some mandolin and harp for the track, got everything ready to record, and saw I had already did it. My mind was so full I had no recollection of recording the parts,” he said.

He knew something had to change. He knew Matt Starr (Mr. Big, Ace Frehley and The Knack) worked with independent artists so he decided to reach out. Matt was excited by the tracks and the project, even going from simply playing drums, to producing the tracks also.

“Betting on myself and reaching out to Matt was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.”

Matt played drums and produced Peter’s latest single “Our Town” (again available on all streaming platforms and with a limited run of 12” vinyl). They continue to work together on upcoming releases throughout the year. Their next scheduled release is Peter’s protest anthem ‘The Revolution Will Be Streamed’, also featuring incendiary guitar work from Joe Collins.

“I’m excited about what’s coming along the road,” Peter says. “Working with Matt, and working with Joe has been a great gift to my work, and to me personally. They have taken so much pressure of my shoulders, and brought so much to my work.”

In terms of what he wants his music, and all music to do, Peter said: “The world is in a dark place right now, with racism, bigotry and hatred being normalised by people in the highest offices. We have to address that, and what better way than through music. Music has brought people together for decades. And it will do it again.”