DAILY NEWS | FEBRUARY 19, 2002
by Isaac Guzman

Salett's Quiet Songs Speaking Volumes

While many of his peers turn up their amps to 11 and shout rock-rap into the mike, Peter Salett believes in getting attention the quiet way.

The Brooklyn-based songwriter already has won praise for the 2000 single "Heart of Mine," which was featured prominently in the film "Keeping the Faith." Now the singer has toned down his already gentle style to focus on the deftly sketched characters in his songs.

Salett has been playing material from his yet-to-be released third album — tentatively titled "If You're Dreaming" — in a series of Monday-night shows at Fez, where he next appears March 4. With new songs such as "Halcyon Days" and "With Anybody Else," he's introducing his fans to an even softer side of his craft.

"With this record, one of the things that I'm most proud of is that it became about the songs," he says. "In previous records, I have tried to bend a little bit toward rock radio. This record is about my lyrics and my voice making the music something that people can step into."

Salett (pronounced sa-LETT) made his name on the New York club circuit in the late '90s, when his catchy folk-rock soon propelled him into headlining gigs at Tramps and Irving Plaza. Then Salett's childhood friend Edward Norton made "Heart of Mine" the centerpiece of his directorial debut, "Keeping the Faith," which starred Norton, Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman.

Salett has landed songs in several other films, including Morgan Freeman's "Hurricane Streets" and the recent comedy "Wet Hot American Summer." What's striking is that the singer managed to win so much attention with songs that were being released on his own Dusty Shoes label.

Now Salett is looking for a deal that will expand his audience without sacrificing his artistic sensibilities. He's says that the buildup of grass-roots support he got after "Keeping the Faith" is a good indication that music lovers are hungry for well-written songs that aren't necessarily radio friendly.

"'Heart of Mine" brought me tons of e-mails from around the world, even though it wasn't part of a major promotional machine," he says. "Those people had to seek me out and find me. And that's because it was just something that they actually connected with, as opposed to having something shoved down their throat."

Salett's songs have inspired such devotion because they're populated with characters who speak about love and act out their lives in a way that rings true. Like the "polite diplomat" of "Halcyon Days," they're looking for something that remains just out of reach.

"At some level, I'm always writing about me," says Salett, "but each song does have a different narrative voice and a different character. I think that's what keeps people interested. Each song has its own separate rules."

At Fez, Salett is happy to find a venue that's intimate enough for listeners to pick up on the subtleties of his latest work. But despite his recent focus on hushed compositions, Salett says he and his band haven't forgotten how to turn up the volume and have a good time.

"What I like about Fez is that it's a place where people can sit and listen to more than just the music," he says. "It's about the lyrics and the voice and the arrangements and the melody. We can rock, and that's good, but in other rock clubs what I find is that you have to rock just to get noticed."