Garage Rock: Peter DiStefano's Soul Trigger

Guitarist Peter DiStefano (Porno for Pyros) has added and traded licks for many others, but on 2005’s Soul Trigger, as on 2004’s Gratitude, DiStefano’s got something of his own to say. His solo albums are both apparently products of cleaning up his life while also letting his own creativity be the sole driving force behind a project.

The music combines New Wave with the charge of grunge guitars and funk rock beats. Short verses are followed by blistering guitar solos. The production on DiStefano’s vocals give it a synth, Eurorock feel, and it would be synth rock if not for those heavy guitars and percussion.

While tracks like “Get Away” are traditional fare for a “clean and sober” album, with lyrics like “I push love away/I’m off to smack and crack,” DiStefano’s lyrics reveal many spiritual parallels on Soul Trigger. Intentional or not, themes of grace, forgiveness, the emptiness of pleasures, and redemption emerge—themes which have their origin in God’s Word.

“Selfish” borrows from Psalm 8 with the line, “What is man/That you should think of him?/And his son/That you should care for him?” The psalmist’s rhetorical question is answered by DiStefano’s one word chorus: “selfish.” Man is selfish, not deserving God’s attention.

Yet, DiStefano’s lyrics confess this sin while admitting that only God provides true peace. “Getting out of myself/is the only way to peace/Let me think about you/so I can take a break from me.” As we turn to God and listening to His voice, we move away from our self-absorption and/or self-obsession. A God who cares for us even as we’ve been selfish is freedom from our constant self-attention.

Self-absorption is interrupted by the news of the illness of DiStefano’s father, Vito, on “Never Alone.” The song has the lilt of an Irish drinking son with the regular synth-grunge backdrop. The song also contains a barbed-line perhaps aimed at Robert Smith (the Cure), “Overweight Goth boys weep.” Come on, Peter, boys don’t cry!

Could “Another Love Song” be the words of Christ to us? The truth is that God loved us even while we were still sinners. DiStefano sings, “This is another/love song/for another done wrong.” We’ve done God wrong so many times, and yet, He continues to sing His love for us.

Beyond that, of course, the lyric also explains, “This is the reason/I go off on you/The truth is I get angry/cause you’re the one I really love/and I can’t hold back.” God speaks Law to us, telling us our sin, getting angry with our wickedness. He love us, wants the best for us, has come to forgive us, but still wants us to follow His ways.

The album closes with two songs that are testimonies to DiStefano’s love and commitment for his wife and family. “Family” calms down the tone of the music, so that DiStefano can describe his passion for his wife, a passion and commitment in the small things—the way she puts on makeup, talks on the phone, or eats. Thematically, the song flows into the last track, “Honor,” is a spoken word, almost haunting, echo chamber lyric over faux-Spanish flourish guitar. Here is DiStefano at his best in describing what true love is: “Winners forget they’re in a race/They just love to run./The one true love will bring you joy and ache./So does running.” Commitment is celebrating and honoring your spouse even though it will not always be pleasant, easy, or without trouble.

DiStefano’s musical style doesn’t always match the message—those haunting tones on “Honor” when declaring true commitment, those synth-grunge grudge matches with the guitar while explaining true peace. Yet, those musical hooks mean discovering a message of truth amid the noisy world.

To read more about why this is an online only disc, please see DiStefano’s letter to label and lawyer.

Thanks to Peter DiStefano (Official), Kama’s practically official fansite, and Sanctuary Records for their help.