Singer-songwriter-guitarist Lee Perreira

Soulful Stylings 

The blues-infused rock n’ roll tunes of singer-songwriter-guitarist Lee Perreira intrigues writer Lynette Carrington.

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Lee Perreira has been a fixture on the local music scene for many years. Perreira has performed supporting Train, The Fray, “American Idol” winner Lee DeWyze, Matt Nathanson, Jimmy Gnecco, INXS, Scott Stapp of the band Creed, Keaton Simons, and many other talented musicians. Influenced by a variety of musicians from various genres, Perreira has honed a unique style that has garnered him fans and plenty of glowing reviews.

Perreira hails from Long Beach, California, and took up playing guitar at the age of 12. Perhaps the sweetest musical note is one that Perreira shares from his youth. “My earliest recollection of music was listening to classical music while sweeping my grandfather’s garage floor for $1. What a great memory,” says Perreira. From that early influence, his ear grew more eager for a variety of music and diverse sounds.

“My earliest influences were Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. They have absolutely evolved over the years and I have delved into much more blues and soul music,” he says. Perreira’s soulful vocal style combined with rich classical blues riffs has been further influenced by The Black Keys, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Citizen Cope, Aloe Blacc, and Gary Clark Jr.

Perreira plays solo and with bands, too. “When I play full band, I hire top-notch musicians and I play all around Arizona,” he says. “I also play many private events, weddings, and corporate events, etc.” He covers a wide range of musical artists including Bruno Mars, Drake, Stevie Wonder, Joe Cocker, and Lee Brice, along with his own solo material.

Perreira’s debut solo album, Melodies for Marie, is available on iTunes and Amazon.com. Creating a record was a positive experience for Perreira. “Recording this amazing album was exciting for me because it was my first solo album (EP),” he says. Perreira called on an award-winning producer to further up the ante. “It was nice working with Grammy Award-winning producer Joshua ‘Igloo’ Monroy. I have recorded many times before that, and many times after, but what wonderful release that one was!” Monroy has worked as a vocal engineer, engineer, producer, and composer with artists such as Quincy Jones, Ludacris, OutKast, T-Pain, Justin Bieber, The Notorious B.I.G., and many others.

A staple on the Valley’s music scene, Perreira has worked with many other local and national musicians and producers and he counts Monroy, Simons, and Kyle Phelan as some of his favorite musical collaborators. “I like the sense of community among the musicians. We all really support each other, creating work and gigs for one another or just going to support them while performing,” he says.

In high demand, Perreira performs nearly 300 shows each year and about half of those are weddings, corporate, and private events that frequently come about by word-of-mouth. You can check Perreira out at his many gigs throughout the Valley. For the remainder of 2015, he’ll be appearing at Copper Blues, The Beverly, Jade Bar, Culinary Dropout, and The Fillmore Vig.

Next up for Perreira is a different experience. He’s gathered some of his recording gear and he is in the process of producing his own music. To learn more about Perreira and see some of his videos and appearance schedule, visit leeperreira.com.