Black Letter Days

Black Letter Days was formed in the fall of 2009. They have just released their full length self titled debut album. The band blends catchy melodies, thought provoking lyrics, with a slightly heavy edge. Black Letter Days incorporates acoustic instruments such as Djembe, Mandolin, and Melodian into the mix for something a little different.

Band Members

Wayne Schmidt - Vocals & Guitars

Wayne had his first guitar at the age of 5. Other children would take their toy's to school for show and tell, Wayne would take his guitar and pretend he was Johnny Cash. His dad played guitar and Wayne's first introduction to music was his dad's record collection containing a lot of Country Music. When he was 9 he started learning Buddy Holly and Elvis songs off of cassettes his mom bought for him. "I didn't have tablature then so I developed my ear and my only lessons were from friends and my father".

Wayne formed his first band at the age of 12 performing Elvis, Buddy Holly and Beatle covers. When he was 14 he progressed rapidly as a guitar player. He played in the high school jazz band also. Later in his late teens he toured throughout British Columbia and Alberta with Brad Fenton & The Rippin' Rattlers which was a great experience. "Brad would call me on Monday and tell me that by the end of the week we need you to play these gigs, so I would learn 30 songs in like 4 days, and off we would go". "That would prove to be one of the best experiences to progress as a musician since you were always on the fly". Later on he attended the audio engineering program at Columbia Academy Of Recording Arts where he studied music theory and graduated with top marks.
Wayne also taught guitar and bass at 1st Star Music in Maple Ridge in 2006/2007.

He sang lead vocals, and played guitar in the local progressive rock band Nomadic Sanctuary for almost 10 years. During that time he has opened shows for Blue Oyster Cult, Jefferson Starship, Marianna's Trench and Nick Gilder and Sweeney Todd. He owns his own small music teaching. recording studio business where he records and produces local independent bands.

His biggest musical influences are Elvis, Johnny Cash, George Martin, The Beatles, Slash, Alex Lifeson, Jimmy Page, Lyndsey Buckingham, Jimi Hendrix, Zakk Wylde, Pete Townsend, Andy Summers, Jeff Martin, Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, and Jerry Cantrell.

Lora Peeler - Bass and Vocals

Lora has been playing bass for 3 years. She is an accomplished student of Wayne Schmidt's and James Adams.
Lora has had no formal schooling.

Influences are - Wayne Schmidt, Geddy Lee, Paul McCartney, Mellissa auf der Maur, and Darcy Wretzky.

James Adams - Drums & Percussion

ames first started out playing trumpet in the 4th grade but always had an interest in playing the drums. It wasn’t until graduating from high school that he could get a full time job were he could afford to buy his own kit. It didn’t take too long before he was forming a band with 3 of his closest friends.
After several years of playing around in the local Vancouver music scene, he soon put the drums aside (but not away) and picked up his trumpet again to further is education in music. This interest in knowing more about what he was playing brought him to Douglas College where he gained knowledge of both the historical and theoretical sides of music. Soon James had added piano and guitar to his instruments of practice.

James began teaching drums, piano and guitar privately in the early 2000's. He prefers teaching the drums saying, "Drums is my thing man..." He spends a lot of his personal time playing piano and guitar building his ability, both as a player and teacher. "....sometimes it’s nice to be musical"