During my early days as a music critic for the Deseret News — nearly 20 years ago — there was an influx of local music inspired by folk.
One of these artists was Peter Breinholt.
He was a 24-year-old college kid armed with a guitar and a band called Big Parade. (I say he was a kid because he's almost three years younger than yours truly).
Breinholt released his debut CD, "Songs About the Great Divide," in 1993, and by early 1994, it had pretty much taken a life of its own.
I reviewed that CD, but for some reason, the review isn't in the Deseret News archives.
Still, I remember how fresh the music sounded and how it was an important CD in Breinholt's career.
Little did I know just HOW important it was at the time.
Now, 17 years later, Breinholt and some of his original band members are celebrating the album by playing all the songs live in concert tonight.
I spoke with Breinholt last week, and even though he may be older and wiser, and sells out the Sandy Amphitheater and Kingsbury Hall, he really hasn't changed in all these years.
He's still a gracious, humble artist who just wants to play music.
And he had a lot to say about "Songs About the Great Divide" and his decision to celebrate the album with the upcoming concert.
"I remember 2003, I had a fleeting thought that the album was 10 years old," Breinholt said. "The original idea was to go back to the studio where we recorded it, because they use it as a performance hall, to play the album live.
"I thought about it but didn't do anything about it."
Last autumn, Breinholt tried to get the original musicians who played on the album together.
"A lot of what makes that album is the musicians that played on it," he said. "We played some house concerts, but we didn't play all the songs. And then the night before we played our first show, They Might Be Giants played at the Depot and did the whole 'Flood' album. And after the show, I thought we should do the whole album."
Breinholt never thought the CD would be the catalyst for his success as a singer/songwriter.
"We had never really been in the studio," he said. "We were college students, but not music students.
"At that time I remember hearing about bands in Utah County playing all original tunes and selling out restaurants like Pier 54," he said. "My goal was to record all my songs and sell out those places and I would be happy."
"Songs About the Great Divide" surpassed Breinholt's expectations and solidified him and the band — which included guitarist Michael Waterman and bassist Mike Ensign — as a hot commodity in the local music scene.
The beauty of the album, for Breinholt, is the fact that it captures he and his band at the cusp of popularity.
"We went back into the vault and listened to the original tracks a couple of years ago and remixed some songs for a 'best of' album," the singer said. "As we listened to the songs and the outtakes and the talking, what struck us the most was (we realized) we could never replicate what we did.
"It's a snapshot of the time where we were friends," he said. "We didn't know a ton, and there was this energy and excitement, but also a kind of innocence to it that is gone, really."
Still, the audience will get some of that innocence back when they see Breinholt tonight.
If you go ...
What: Peter Breinholt
Where: Sandy Amphitheater, 1245 E. 9400 South
When: July 30, 8 p.m.
How much: $7-$10
Phone: 801-467-8499, 800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
e-mail: scott@desnews.com