LARRY PEACE-LOVE YES
Portland area musician interconnects
humanity through art & music
By Angie Helvey, Active Media
You’ve likely seen the artwork of Portland area artist Larry Peace-Love Yes, which often features public installations with a rainbow of colors and positive words, and the talented creative is equally famous for his music! In fact, he wrote his first song at 14, titled “I Hate School,” followed by “All I Wanna Be is Socially Acceptable.” As his music has evolved over the years, Larry has been compelled to focus on connecting people and spreading love — to the planet, to others, and to oneself.
Larry learned to play guitar from a member of Steppenwolf. His mother was a Blues singer when he was growing up, and knew right away that Larry’s songs were something special. “She sent my music to a producer in Atlanta, and he flew me out there to record them with backup singers and a whole band,” he recalls. After that, he played in around nine different bands between the ages of 17 and 23, including a punk group called Stomp Chicken.
In 1992, Larry decided to branch out on his own, and that’s when “Larry Yes” was born DISCOVER MORE ART @LARRY.PEACE.LOVE.YES (later impulsively adding “Peace-Love,” which he says has always felt right). He’s recorded 12 albums since then, the most recent one titled “Everyone On This Planet is Family.” His soulful guitar riffs fuse with heartfelt words of love in a way that just feels good, and quickly gets your hips swaying. “I’ve had this never-ending feeling to share a message of hope and love, for all the creatures of the universe,” he says. “It’s about being authentic and expressing my own humanity.”
Larry’s essence intensified in 2003, when he lost a dear friend and fellow musician, Orion, to a tragic accident. It was Orion’s mother, an extremely talented painter herself, who inspired him to start painting, and he began to find his own style. One day, he needed an art show for an event at his job at Cherry Sprout. He found himself painting pieces of wood from a fence that had fallen in his backyard, each one a different color. “I decided I was going to paint positive words on them, too,” he says, “and that’s how that started. A random moment of inspiration.” His growing interest in threedimensional rainbows and community art displays has led to a variety of unique personal works and invitations to create public installations, including the car he painted at Pioneer Courthouse Square in 2019. To this day, he hosts Free Art in the Park there every summer.
In recent years, Larry has been combining his art and music through different media, such as producing music videos and art shows that work in tandem with each song. His band regularly performs around the Portland area, including at the Waterfront Blues Festival. His bandmates change slightly depending on availability — he often plays with Nate from the Decemberists, and others who sing with him. “We’re actually collaborating on a cover record right now,” he says. He definitely plans to include “Rainbow Connection,” originally sung by Kermit the Frog.
For more information about Larry Peace-Love Yes or to contact him, please visit www.larryyes.com.
