Paramedic

..Jesse understands himself as standing firmly within the hip-hop tradition and rightly so. His lyrical gift of gab, smooth flows, and politically charged battle raps would surely be envied by even the most established hip-hop veteran..

..It is indeed hard to find a flaw anywhere on the album: the rhymes are complex, the singing proves that he has more soul than his race will allow, and the lyrics are consistently apocalyptic...

..if you have not yet picked up this album, then you must waste no more time in doing so. - PBC Mosaic - Luke Mcphee - February 8, 2006

For their self-titled debut as Paramedic, Jesse Peters and Craig Learmont recreate an organic, live band sound that is a mixture of funk, soul, jazz, rock and hip-hop. It's mostly a combination of styles, but the two sometimes keep it pure, like with jazzy piano track “Wurlitzer Interlude.” Throughout, the production works to engage the listener in the songs and then draws them into the vocals. ...Jesse, as a rapper... mostly impresses with an energetic style that he’s willing to play with, whether it’s with positive, life-affirming gospels or angry, political condemnations. Or, as he neatly sums up on “Be Set Free”: “I still gots to love ya cuz you’re my fellow man, but if your cause ain’t right I will oppose it behind this microphone.” He speaks on hypocrites, pop stars, corporate labour, fake Christians and George W. Bush, as well as love, spirituality and God — and is funky while doing so. If only hip-hop had a few more groups like Paramedic, the scene would surely be a lot healthier.
- Exclaim! Magazine - June 25, 2006 - Thomas Quinlan

Smooth, smart, soulful. Rapper/singer Jesse Peters and his group, Paramedic, will resuscitate your interest in hip-hop with their funky, jazzy self-titled full-length. The emergency musical workers get their party groove on for tracks such as For the Love of the Funk, but Peters also tackles the tough subjects, including consumerism and his own faith. "You're like Maynard James Keenan / Just an industry tool / It's a perfect cycle really, consume and consume," he raps on Ain't Nuthin' But a Brand Name."Your pastors love $3,000 Armani, teach lies to the sheep," he accuses on Church Inc. You'd never guess the crew is straight out of Three Hills; they have the grace, sophistication and vocal stylings of one of New York's finest. - Edmonton Journal - Sandra Sperounes - May 20, 2006

Whisked out of his Yukon home by the nationwide success of the Peters Drury Trio, Whitehorse-born keyboardist Jesse Peters is coming back with a funksoul sound the likes of which ye have never seen.

Joined by brothers Jody on guitar and Graeme on drums, Jesse’s Paramedic is launching Love, Doubt and Soul, the latest album by the Alberta-based studio duo of Jesse and bassist Travis Switzer.

Paramedic’s funksoul comes with a purpose, says the band. This sets it apart from the legions of purposeless funksoul bands of yesteryear.

Strains of social comment infiltrate Jesse’s lyrics.

“Jesus was a carpenter, ain’t no gunmaker,” sings Jesse at the top of Carpenter.

Smooth sums up the Paramedic sound. Their musical medicines comes with a hefty spoonful of sweet, sweet sugar. A velvety bassiness completes the package, supporting an across-the-board mastery of all things vocal and keyboard. - Tristin Hopper-Yukon News

..The sound of Paramedic is one that is on its way to bigger things. The band creates the perfect setting for Jesse's hard hitting lyrical style, and betrays their love of being able to perform together.

The crowd, obviously pleased with getting more than their money's worth out of the show, snatched up the CDs and T-shirts at the end of the two hour concert.

If you missed out on this energetic show, you may get another chance; you can check out their schedule at www.sonicbids.com/paramedic.

If you can't make one of those shows, go find Jesse Peters right now and buy the CD. That's right. Right now. This instant. It is that good. - PBC Mosaic - December 2005 - Matt Westerland

...Jesse's actually got a fairly extensive musical background - he was trained in classical piano for 17 years and toured with the Peters Drury Trio for several years..

..Peters is used to a little juxtaposition though.. he likes to work a pretty extensive list of influences into his work with Paramedic, from blues and fusion to more classic hip-hop influences like funk.

It's partly because of this jumble of styles that Peters recruited a full-on backing band to perform with him at all his shows, though he admits that he thinks the best kind of hip-hop comes with the live band experience anyway. - Vue Weekly - December 2005 - David Berry

..Even if you wanted to listen and not move, it was difficult to do so. They had some really funky rhythms and sexy bass lines that were almost contagious....

My favourite moments of their performance, on the other hand, were when they actually “had melody” (their words, not mine). The vocalist grabbed an acoustic guitar a few times and actually sang, (though not through the entire length of any song), and the sound seemed to suit them as well as the true hip-hop did.

The vocalist showed off his beat box skills, which were insanely good, and his techno beat was definitely the best.

The crowd wanted an encore at the end, but Paramedic had already exhausted their repertoire so they had to improv and freestyle a bit around “Walk This Way”. It ended up being one of the best performances in their set.
- U of L Meliorist - March 2004