NFV Song Spotlight: Trent Peltz's Wish I Knew How To Find Her

Doing some research on Trent Peltz, I came across an article that mentioned that he backs Grace McKagan on bass. I've seen Grace McKagan a handful of times and so I decided it was time to glance through some photos. (If interested, I covered Grace McKagan for Buzzbands, which you can read here when she opened for Irontom.) And yes, indeed, I do have photos of him on bass. He also played with her in the band The Pink Slips. I'm going to tuck that piece of information away as those who read my blog know that I love referencing the intertwining of musicians across various Los Angeles bands.

Trent Peltz at Bar Lubitsch

Why was I doing that research? Peltz had just recently finished playing a WFNM night at Bar Lubitsch and I was doing the research for this blog post. For the night, he was the last performer on stage. Now I notice trends and often times the last band playing a WFNM doesn't always have the largest crowd (I admit, I often sneak out after the first couple songs). Though the WFNM crowd is much younger than me, I'm guessing that we all need to work the following morning and need some sleep -- or maybe the crowd is off to the next bar to party it up later into the night. Anyways, on this particular night, the crowd might have been at peak attendance for the night (another artist also had a large crowd). I decided I was not going to just leave after the first two songs. The crowd couldn't be wrong. 

Trent Peltz at Bar Lubitsch

The very first song "Wish I Knew How To Find Her" blew me away. It reminded me of Charlie Overbey. It is a distinct Americana-Country tune. Via my Instagram scanning, I don't think he has played one of the Americana-Country events across Los Angeles such as Americana Joy, Americana West Music Fest, and Grand Ole Echo, but I have to believe it will happen soon enough. 

It is a song about a deep desire to find The One and perhaps the rumors (or partial truths) that his potential female love interests learn about him. 

You heard I like to sleep around
I swear I'm not that bad
Heard I sometime's get real mad
But I don't roll like that

Trent Peltz at Bar Lubitsch

Dressed as the man in black, Peltz switched between guitar and keys and playing with three band mates. His next song "Permanent Mental Vacation" is a song of determination, a song about wanting to prove to his dad that he is an adult. Based on the lyrics, his dad no doubt asked him during his high school years, "What in the world are you doing." The opening track of the album "Cowboy Shit" was a real barn burner, tambourine included. 

Most of the songs from the set can be found from his 2024 album End of an Innocent Nation though the song "Getting Older" is unreleased. He also played one song from his debut album Crossing Bridges, "Out Of My Mind." That song had a solid guitar solo, which made for fun times.  

Comment of the set: "Everyone get the f*ck up here, because now it's a hype party." That caught his videographer off-guard. At the time, the crowd was perhaps ten feet from the stage, which resulted in part of the crowd being stuck way in the rear. The crowd rushed to the front of the stage, followed by those in the rear. His videographer turned to me and said, "I'm trapped." Where was I? I had already taken a spot standing atop the long couch so I was perfectly fine as I continued to take photos. 

 

Trent Peltz at Bar Lubitsch

Setlist: Wish I Knew How To Find Her, Permanent Mental Vacation, A Party We All Must Attend, Getting Older, American Way, Cowboy Shit, You Really Got Me (The Kinds cover), Out Of My Mind, Going To Hell.