Verity plays Nineteen on the Park July 10
BY SANDRA BOLAN

But when Mr. Verity heard Bob Dylan's music, he knew he wanted to be a singer and a songwriter.

"If he could do it, then I could do that," the Toronto-based singer/songwriter said.

Mr. Verity kicks off Whistle Radio's inaugural House Concert Series on Friday, July 10, at the Lebovic Centre for Arts and Entertainment - Nineteen on the Park.

"It fits in well with Whistle Radio's mandate to promote folks roots music," said Jim Priebe, chairperson of the independent radio station's board. "I love having this kind of music series in Stouffville.

"We do hope to showcase local musicians as well. ... Promoting local music is also a big part of our mandate."

When Mr. Verity started playing guitar in the late 1960s, folk music dominated the radio. But in the early 1970s, the musical tide shifted to rock and roll, and out of pure survival, so too did Mr. Verity.

For 10 years, he toured across North America playing guitar in various bands.

"It was fun and I made a viable living doing it," Mr. Verity said.

But in 1981, Mr. Verity not only decided to give up the rock and roll lifestyle, he gave up music all together.

For the next 13 years, he held down a 9 to 5 gig in a middle management position for a newspaper company.

But in 1994, he was finding the day job a bit limiting and traded the suit and tie for an acoustic guitar.

"I just got tired of not being able to express myself in that way the I'd been expressing myself since I was 11 years old," he said.

With former band mates Shawn O'Brien and Phil Parmentier, Mr. Verity formed the moderately successful group Delta Tango.

However, just a couple years later, Mr. Parmentier was killed in a truck-auto accident on Hwy 401.

"He was a brilliant guy," Mr. Verity said.

Mr. Parmentier's death forced the two other musicians to re-evaluate the band.

"We were very close, the three of us," Mr. Verity said. "Do we want to continue in this format and find another bass player" or move on to solo projects.

The pair opted to part ways.

Since going solo in 1998, Mr. Verity has won a number of awards, including best folk performer at the Toronto Independent Music Awards in 2005. In 2003, Mr. Verity was the folk category runner-up in the North American John Lennon songwriting contest for Northern Ontario.

While some musicians balk at being pigeon-holed into one musical genre or another, Mr. Verity has no problem being labeled a folk singer/songwriter because "it's ambiguous enough you can run with it".

However, Mr. Verity is not your typical sit-on-a-stool-in-a-coffee-shop and play background music kind of performer.

"I get people to sing, I play really hard ... (and) try to have a good time," Mr. Verity said, noting he is often compared to a folksy Steve Earl.

Mr. Verity not only plays guitar, but also harmonica and mandolin.

"I play mandolin like playing a folk, rock, reggae tune - it becomes a different instrument in my hands," he said.

Peter Verity will be launching Whistle Radio's House Concert Series on Friday, July 10 at the Lebovic Centre for Arts and Entertainment - Nineteen on the Park. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are available at the theatre's box office and Barthau Jewellers.

For more on the artist, go to: www.peterverity.com