News and Reviews

CD Review: "...humorous observations...or misguided swipes against society..."  

AUG. 8, 2018, SEAOFTRANQUILITY.ORG, by Steven Reid – Peter Galperin is an NYC based singer-songwriter taking a step back from it all to make insightful, humorous observations. Or indeed, misguided swipes against society, depending on where you come from, what you want and how you believe that is to be achieved. Social media? That has derision thrown its way. The search for spiritual redemption? Nah, we don’t need that. And we also turn a bright, searing, burning, earth churning light on global warming and climate change. Oh and, of course, Trump is front and centre. You knew he would be. How could he not? 

Coated in an Americana-pop sheen, strummed, hummed and thrummed into place with choruses that velcro their way into the deep furry recesses of the mind, if these tracks were about girls, cars and tequila bars then they might be hits. And then, of course, they might not. But Galperin is taking chances by putting himself out there. Dare I say he’s writing protest songs that are devil may care enough to not have their hearts in the 60s? It’s hook laden fun, it’s bold, breezy but never cheesy and it grins so brightly we could cut everyone’s fuel usage in half if only there was a way to listen to it without plugging a device into the wall... Read the full review...

Peter Galperin Returns To The Pacific Northwest And His Musical Roots For Summer 2018 Concerts 

MAY 27, 2018 - NEW YORK - PRLog -- New York-based singer/songwriter Peter Galperin (www.petergalperin.com), fresh from his critically acclaimed 2017 CD "This Burning Sun" and his 2018 Off-Broadway musical, "Bulldozer", returns to his native Pacific Northwest for two engagements – July 26 from 9-11pm at the Cottage Bistro in Vancouver, BC (4468 Main Street), and August 2 from 8-10pm at the Easy Monkey Taphouse in Shoreline, WA (17537 15th Ave. NE). 

Peter – the son of the late Jascha Galperin, well-known Northwest violinist, music educator, and founder of the Everett Youth Symphony and former music director of the Mukilteo School District – grew up in Everett, WA... Read the full article.

Review: Bulldozer: The Ballad of Robert Moses 

DEC. 18, 2017, STAGEBUDDY.COM – Ever since Hamilton we’ve been asking ourselves what goes on in "the room where it happens." Bulldozer: The Ballad of Robert Moses gives us a brutal, rollicking peek. The story, as told by Peter Galperin (concept, music, lyrics and book), is essentially one of idealism, pragmatism, and entitlement gone monumentally wrong. Moses, played by Broadway veteran Constantine Maroulis, is the embodiment of an oily, obsessive megalomaniacal politician -- as recognizable a character today as he was at the height of power in the 20th century.  Moses’ legacy as an urban planner, which includes building the network of highways that connect New York City to the tristate area and the low bridges that kept buses and, by extension, minority New Yorkers from enjoying the parks and beaches of Long Island, has made him one of the most polarizing characters in New York City history. Read the full article...

Review: If You Build It, They Will Come: ‘Bulldozer: The Ballad of Robert Moses’ 

DEC. 18, 2017, THEBROADWAYBLOG.COM, by Ryan Leeds – Who knew that songs about construction and urban development could be so engaging? Apparently Peter Galperin. The musician, lyricist, and book writer is behind the new Off-Broadway musical, Bulldozer: The Ballad of Robert Moses. Galperin, a self-described “grunge rock refugee,” has recorded four CDs but this appears to be his first venture into the theater. For such a neophyte, he’s made an impressive debut, much of which rests on his dynamic score, and an imperfect, but generally enjoyable and informative view into the turbulent career of Robert Moses (Constantine Maroulis). Read the full article...

A Musical About Robert Moses? 

DEC. 11, 2017, TDF.ORG, by Brian Scott LiptonWhy a rocker was inspired to pen a bio-show about the polarizing urban planner – "There's no question that Moses viewed the city from aerial photographs; to him, it was just lines on a map."

If Peter Galperin hadn't moved to New York, he would have never written Bulldozer: The Ballad of Robert Moses, a bio musical about the controversial master builder who reshaped the metropolitan area in the 20th century. "I first came across Moses's name on a highway sign on Long Island shortly after I arrived around 30 years ago," says Galperin, who penned the show's songs and co-authored the book. "As I began to travel more around the region, his name kept popping up everywhere. I've always been a history buff, perhaps because my mom was a history teacher. I soon found Robert Caro's book about Moses, The Power Broker, and reading that was an epiphany. It explained so much about modern New York, especially how much of a mess it is traffic-wise and why there are so many highways on top of or next to each other. I read the book five or six times in just a few years." 

But it wasn't until Galperin entered a songwriting contest sponsored by the New York City Parks Department in 2012 that he decided to musicalize his Moses mania. "I tried to write an up-tempo tune, something they could use as a theme song," he recalls. "But what I ended up writing was a nine-minute folk song called 'The Ballad of Robert Moses.' Not surprisingly, they rejected it." Read the full article...

American Idol’s Constantine Maroulis Starring in New Musical 

DEC. 6, 2017, by Jane Metzler, Fox News Radio He didn't win American Idol his season (Taylor Hicks did). But Boston Conservatory grad Constantine Maroulis is faring better than many who took home the title. The season four alum, a Tony award nominee for his leading role in the hit musical "Rock of Ages" is about to star in a new show. "Bulldozer: The Ballad of Robert Moses" is about the controversial New York power broker and master builder... of everything from bridges and highways to Lincoln Center. 

FOX's Jane Metzler talks with Constantine Maroulis about his life after American Idol and his success on stage. He's joined by playwright/composer Peter Galperin, creator of "Bulldozer." They discuss the show's origins (A NYC Parks Department song competition) and why Maroulis found the role was worth losing his trademark long hair. Listen to the podcast...

Robert Moses musical coming to Off-Broadway 

OCT. 26, 2017, NEWSDAY, by Frank Lovece – Master builder Robert Moses will be the subject of a new rock musical set for a limited engagement beginning next month. 

“Bulldozer: The Ballad of Robert Moses” will begin previews Nov. 25 at the Theatre at St. Clement’s, on W. 46th Street in Manhattan. Starring former “American Idol” contestant Constantine Maroulis (Broadway’s “Rock of Ages” and “Jekyll & Hyde”) as the powerful and controversial urban planner, it opens Dec. 7 for a run ending Jan. 7. Karen Carpenter (the Off-Broadway hit “Love, Loss, and What I Wore”) directs. 

The production marks the New York theater debut of singer-songwriter Peter Galperin, who wrote the music, lyrics and book. Read the full article...

"... a postmodern pop-rock masterpiece that establishes Peter Galperin as a 21st century Phil Ochs." 

SEPT. 18, 2017 by Robert Steven Silverstein on www.mwe3.com – Washington State born / NYC-based singer songwriter Peter Galperin has released a number of critically acclaimed albums including Just Might Get It Right (2014), A Disposable Life (2013) and Perfect World Today (2011). The 2017 CD release of his 4th album, This Burning Sun, is a postmodern pop-rock masterpiece that establishes Peter Galperin as a 21st century Phil Ochs—redefining the significance of the modern day pop musician. It’s a testament to Ochs that 50 years after the tragedies of the Vietnam war, culminating in the end of the Nixon era in 1974, America’s younger generations are in the midst of fighting the latest anti-science power brokers while also trying to establish a kind of 21st century bill of rights on a range of long underrated and too long neglected issues. A strong critic of the current swing to the right in American politics today, Galperin’s forte is crafting catchy pop-rock melodies that touch on a range of significant societal concerns—global warming issues for example, and he brings back the lost art of the protest song with an animated video single from This Burning Sun, called “King Of You And Me”... To read the full article...

Tapping into American political unrest with "King Of You And Me."  

NEW YORK, August 7, 2017, PRlogThe lost art of the protest song is back with the single "King Of You And Me", featuring an animated video from Peter Galperin's soon-to-be-released 2017 CD "This Burning Sun."

Speaking about his new video and album track, Peter explains, "I started writing "King of You and Me" on January 21, 2017 while watching the Trump inauguration ceremony. That day I was stunned, alarmed and ashamed by what I was seeing and hearing – a man who knew nothing about the world - and still knows nothing - telling us that he was so much greater than every politician sitting behind him..." Read the full article...