Many old and new friends will have fond stories of Pete, here are some of my most cherished ones: Tiger Moody, Pete V, and Freddy Alva, 2015
I can’t think of a more charismatic performer, his stage monologues were the stuff of legend, blending history/politics/social commentary into astute observations that would make one laugh while making you think about the, at times, absurd reality of it all. That brilliance only expanded when he formed The World/Inferno Friendship Society, a sprawling collective that blended punk, soul, klezmer, polka, jazz and a vaudeville live show that became more than a band but a way of life for the participants and its growing legion of devoted followers. The musical and lyrical prowess he displayed was firmly in place by the time he recorded Sticks & Stones unsung masterpiece "Theme Song for Nothing," from the 1992 album, The Strife and Times: It was like this incredibly urbane intellectual from a bygone era had landed in the body of too smart for his own good suburban punk rocker, standing out like a diamond in the rough, forever in stark contrast against the banality of everyday life. Sticks & Stones performing in Nuremberg, 1995. I’m sure no one from Bridgewater, NJ ever had his accent and that was one of the key elements to understanding him, always cutting a dashing figure straight out of a Dashiel Hammett novel, trench coat and fedora permanently in place.
Pete had this affected speech pattern that, if you didn’t know him, would come off as pretentious but over time would charm you and become incredibly endearing. Having met him through his old band Sticks & Stones at the CBGB’s matinees, we became friends as the '90s started and he formed the exotic punk cabaret entity known as the The World/Inferno Friendship Society. Jack Terricloth was the alter ego of a truly unique individual that I knew as Pete V since the late '80s.
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