Don Peake returns to SOUTHERN KNIGHTS ATLANTA!

[kitt1]

Folks, I'm happy to announce the return of musician and Knight Rider composer Don Peake to Southern Knights Atlanta. Don was the composer for all four seasons of Knight Rider. Also Don is one of the legendary studio musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. Don played on songs from Marvin Gaye to Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5. He also toured with the Everly Brothers and Ray Charles among others. Don said he had a great time last year and looks forward to returning this year. Last year Don exclusively premiered the release of Knight Rider soundtrack volumes 4, 5, 6, and 7. Keep your scanner peeled for another Southern Knights Atlanta exclusive release if things work out. Join us July 31st & August 1st. http://www.southernknightsatlanta.com/

[KFCreator]

That's awesome to hear and I would be thrilled if there was another music release! However, since you are in contact with Don, and I'm sure I speak for many of the fans who "pre-ordered" the releases last year before they were released through the label, if there is another release could you please urge him to set up a better payment/order system for those fans who want to do the same "pre-ordering" again, assuming he offers it? I haven't been able to reach him via E-mail and I think many of us felt a bit burned by the way it was set up last year where we sent him money through PayPal and then heard little to nothing from him for weeks afterwards about when we could expect our shipments. I'm just extremely hesitant to do the same thing again. In my opinion, I think it would honestly be better if he just didn't offer a pre-order of the scores before they were officially available on the label. Whatever inventory doesn't sell at the event, just hold it and give them all to the label and when they go on sell on the website, let it be on a first come, first serve basis.

[kngt2k]

Okay, first off I have known Don Peake since 2001, and a nicer, more generous man I have rarely met. besides being a legitimate musical legend, having played on some of the greatest music ever set to Ampex Tape. Gotta be honest here I have NEVER had a problem getting hold of Don. You are aware he is on Fb, right? and he DOES look at his page.

Look... I know for a FACT he makes sure people who order from him get what they pay for. Do you think that when you order something you will get it within 24 hours? Did you consider that maybe the reason it took as long as it did was because it took a while to produce the albums? When you "pre order" a movie, do you get it before it's release date? No. You are just guaranteed that it will not be sold out before you get your copy or before your order is processed.

Don Peake is a fantastic guy... and this thread is supposed to be announcing his appearance at Southern Knights Atlanta... not a place for you to air your grievances.

Don is a great guy... can we please not do this on this thread?

[KFCreator]

My intention wasn't to attack Don at all, I know he is a great guy. I had the opportunity to meet him at the Knight Rider Festival in 2011 and it was amazing to talk to him and you're right, he is a genuinely great guy. I have had trouble communicating with him though on numerous occasions, and I'm not sure what the reason for that is, although I'm sure he is super busy with both professional work and his personal life, so I understand that. But the Email address on his website didn't work the last several times I tried it and Facebook hasn't been a reliable way for me to get in touch with him in the past. But I don't have a problem with him at all and I didn't mean for it to sound like that in my above post. On the contrary, he is held in very high esteem by myself due to his work on Knight Rider and because he has been so warm and gracious when I met him in person.

My issue was that they did this same thing last year where they brought him in for Southern Knights Atlanta, arranged with him to make the release of the new scores an exclusive event (and they were extremely limited quantities to begin with), then they told all of the fans that "Hey, if you want to pre-order those exclusive scores before they're gone, just send money to Don via PayPal and he'll send them to you." Which I (and many others) did, to the tune of up to $100 ($25 for each of the 4 scores). Then those of us who sent him our money heard little to nothing about when we could expect delivery for weeks afterwards. I for one tried numerous times to contact Don during that time and was assured that I would get the scores but eventually but no firm timetable was given. And while yes, I did eventually get them in the mail, I wasn't alone in my experience. To be honest, shelling out $100 through such an informal system and then the lack of updates for days or weeks at a time was nerve-wracking. I know Don was doing everything he could at the time but as far as I understood it, the scores had already been manufactured as of the Con last year, and all that had to happen was to ship them to everyone once money was received from the fans.

Ultimately, my point to all of this was that if Southern Knights decides to release another Con exclusive set of scores from Don this year, I just want there to be a smoother (and more reliable) system so that the fans who want them can get them. That's all.

[kitt1]

KFCreator,
I need to make something crystal clear. Southern Knights Atlanta had NOTHING to do with Don Peake releasing those KR soundtracks. It was not a "con exclusive". Don was planning to release them anyway and decided to premiere them at Southern Knights Atlanta. Needless to say, we, myself and the attendees were very honored that he chose to do so. As I understand it, the flash drives only arrived from the manufacturer just a couple of days before the event.

I completely understand why Don would want to premiere them at a KR event. He had a ready made market. Just smart business. If he decides to release any other volumes, and premier them at Southern Knights Atlanta, again, we will be honored. That decision is Don's alone. Unlike other events, he is welcome to bring, and sell anything he would like to.

You are correct, he is a genuinely great guy. He went above and beyond for everyone the whole weekend. He apparently had a great time at last year's event since he will be returning this year. Besides his involvement in Knight Rider he is a real historical icon in the music industry. He has worked with all the greats over the years. I could listen to his stories all day.

I see your location is Seattle, Washington. I know that's a long way from Atlanta, Georgia. However, I hope you can eventually make it to one of our events.

regards,
Mark Puette
Southern Knights Atlanta

[KFCreator]

Mark, I thank you for the kind explanation and for the invitation to come to one of the events in Atlanta. You're right, Seattle is a long way but I would love to attend one at some point. Hopefully it'll happen in the not too-distant future.

I went back and looked at the original announcement here on KRO from July 11th last year of Don appearing at the con and I guess my misunderstanding stemmed from Don's own words, which were "BIG NEWS! A SOUTHERN KNIGHTS ATLANTA EXCLUSIVE! NBCU has just given me permission to produce 250 flash drives of Volume 4, V5, V6, and V7 to be
sold at the Atlanta convention! This will be Exclusive to your event until later this year." So, you're right, it wasn't the organizers of the con that made it seem that way.

As far as this year's event goes, I am eagerly awaiting to see if Don does announce any new scores. I know he surveyed everyone here a while ago asking which episodes we all really wanted to see and I know he said that Goliath was a top priority and that he had most (or all) of that score available. I also wonder if we'll see any more from the episodes on the previous scores as some of them aren't the complete episode(s). For instance, the score from Knight of the Juggernaut is missing a good chunk, especially from the second half of the episode. I also really want to see scores from Knightmares, Race for Life, and Soul Survivor so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it happens someday.

[Joe Huth]

Hey Adam,

I worked with Don a while back to figure out what episodes he had the music for, and what episodes were highly sought after by fans. Unfortunately, the tracks for "Goliath" and "Goliath Returns" were not found. That was about a year or so ago....maybe something has changed.

I am hoping to attend Southern Knights once again this year, as I had an amazing time at it last year. If Don releases any new tracks, I would be willing to pick up some extras for a few people who want the tracks but can't attend the show.

Joe

[KFCreator]

Thanks for the info. Joe, and for the offer if you are able to attend and if new releases are announced and sold by Don! That's disappointing to hear about "Goliath" and "Goliath Returns," I thought I recalled that at one point he said he had tracked them down but I think that was a couple of years ago at this point, maybe more, and I honestly don't recall which thread on here it was where he said which episodes he had music for and which ones he was still trying to find. Still, the fact that he's sitting on a vault of quite a good number more episodes from the series that are just waiting to be remastered and released one day is exciting to think about. I know Don said he was looking for ways to come up with the funds to make those tracks see the light of day somehow and I always thought a Kickstarter or GoFundMe.com campaign would be a great way to help him along his journey.