The country kind

As fate would have it, when Brad Petersen moved to Chico in 2007, the first show he went to was a Chico Area Music Awards (CAMMIES) blues showcase at the old Woodreaux Cajun & BBQ (the short-lived restaurant in the space that is now Quackers’ Crystal Billiards room). The lively show featured a big crowd and a bill packed with some of the area’s best performers—including Maurice “Big Mo” Huffman.

“One of the things I couldn’t believe was the incredible music scene [in Chico],” Petersen said, and he credits that night’s introduction with getting him started on his somewhat late-blooming country music career. “I wouldn’t have met the great people I have and none of this would have happened,” he said.

The most recent development for the 52-year-old vocalist/guitarist is his first recording, a six-song CD titled Second Chances, that will officially be released this Saturday, June 16, at Unwined Kitchen & Bar.

“[Making a record] is something I’ve wanted to do all my life,” said Petersen, who’s been a music fanatic since he was a kid begging for rides to Recycled Records to buy the latest Rolling Stones or Van Halen album in his hometown of Monterey. “If nothing else ever happens, I’ll leave this behind,” he said.

His parents got him his first guitar, which he taught himself to play, when he was 13. However, even though he says his family’s home was always full of music, it took him a while to get up the nerve to play in front of anyone.

“My great-grandfather and great-grandmother came out from Oklahoma and they worked in labor camps in Winters, and they had 10 kids. And most of them played an instrument,” Petersen said. “So when we would have family reunions, all of them would get together and sing and play country music.

“When I first got the guts to sing, I got up and played a couple of Merle Haggard songs.”

It was a fitting choice. Petersen has lifelong connections to the legendary country musician, starting with his music.“He was my greatest influence in country music,” Petersen said. “My parents listened to him, so I grew up listening to him all my life.” He also had a cousin who knew Haggard’s kids, and Petersen became good friends with his son Noel.

While living in the Monterey area, Petersen played some open mics, but once he had a daughter—eventually raising her on his own—priorities changed.

Petersen came to the North State for a job as a dental tech, and he moved his then-teenage daughter Grace with him to Chico. Encouraged by the welcoming scene, Petersen started to hit open mics, and he also got involved with KZFR community radio. His show, “Studio 416” (Saturdays, 1:30 p.m.), is a live music/interview program—featuring local and touring artists in the studio—that’s been on the air for roughly six years.

In 2014, he took the plunge, performing his first gig leading a band, Brad Petersen & Friends, at the old Cafe Flo, then making the rounds—from The Maltese to the Tackle Box.

“[We play] songs I’d been doing all my life,” Petersen said. Mostly, it’s covers of the big, classic country stars—Haggard, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson. “We try to play honest versions of country songs,” he said. But Petersen also has a few originals in the mix, like “Second Chances,” the title track and one of two originals on the album. Tom Probasco recorded the CD at the local Studio Palmetto and it features an impressive cast of local guest players (Aaron Jaqua, Josh Hegg, Vera Bridges, among others) and visiting musicians, including a couple of members of Haggard’s backup band, The Strangers—keyboardist Doug Colosio and mandolinist/violinist Scott Joss.

Petersen’s rich baritone is put to great use on the slow-tempo covers, including Nelson’s “Me and Paul,” Ryan Bingham’s “The Weary Kind” and a couple made famous by Haggard—“The Way I Am” and “If I Could Only Fly,” the last of which features both of the Strangers. “For me to get Scott Joss and Doug Colosio to play it with me,” Petersen said, “it’s like, I can die now”.