Peter Getty

Peter Getty is dedicated to environmental issues of all kinds. Supporting many philanthropic organizations and initiatives, Getty also writes to help promote environmental awareness.

Organizations to which Peter Getty is particularly devoted are World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense Fund, Global Green, Greenpeace, Sierra Club, and Friends of the River.

Getty's family took many camping trips around the country, including to the Sierras, Muir Woods, and Point Reyes. Bonding with nature in this way helped shape his values. As an adult, Getty continues to spend time in nature, taking trips on the Tuolumne, the Rogue, Smith, and Colorado Rivers.

Enjoy nature, leave a light footprint, and listen to experts.

Peter Getty has also worked in the music industry as an artist and producer. His father was a composer of symphonies and opera, and the Getty household was full of music. Peter was already playing piano by ear at the age of 2. When he was 7, Peter was taking structured piano lessons with a private teacher. In his teen years, Peter Getty began diversifying his instruments, particularly taking to the guitar and bass. While an undergraduate at Harvard, he began writing and singing.

After college, Peter Getty created the indie-pop band Virgin-Whore Complex. He was the principle songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist for the band. He was known by the stage name Spats Ransom.Their music was lo-fi, and involved many instruments and complex boy/girl harmonies. In California, VWC teamed up with producer Scott Mathews, who helped bring the group to experiment with other music styles, particularly west coast surf music.

Stay Away From My Mother was the band's first LP, released in 1996, Succumb was their second, released in 1998. These albums garnered praise by critics, but the band eventually stopped playing. Getty refocused his music career to create the record label Emperor Norton. Here he worked with a number of acts, ranging in styles from electronica to hip-hop to dance. Getty ran the label from 1995 to 2004.