James Patrick - Vocals (Lead, Background, Kargyraa and Sygyt), Guitar (Electric and Acoustic), Bass (Electric and Upright), Keyboards (Piano, Organ, and Synthesizer), Wind Instruments (Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba, French Horn, Soprano and Alto Recorder), Drums and Percussion, Loops, Commodore 64 and Atari 2600 Programming.
Influences
J.S. Bach, Henry Purcell, Beethoven, Tchaichovsky, Mussorgsky, Dvorak, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, John McLaughlin (including Mahavishnu Orchestra), Weather Report, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, The Beatles (after and including Rubber Soul), Yes, Genesis (Peter Gabriel era), King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons Project, Boston, Journey, Bob Dylan, The Band, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam, Tad, The Melvins, Nirvana, Mother Love Bone, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Beck, Moby, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Treewave, and The Cranes. I am certain I am leaving some out here.
Sounds Like
Honestly, I would rather you tell me what I sound like. I can only describe it as genre-hopping; one look at my influences will alert any sensible person as to why.
James Patrick happens to be one of the last, dying breed of the true "solo artists"; sure, there are many who are touted as front-men nowadays, but only once in a great while does one find an incredibly powerful artist capable of such a diversity of writing styles. He plays all the instruments on his compositions (and not just guitar and bass - his capabilities include horns and even Commodore 64 computer programming!) and astounds with rich vocals ranging from choirs of airy falsetto to gritty rock and blues phrasing. After listening to any of his works, it is easy to see that James Patrick isn't merely a one-man band. He is a one-man orchestra.
"I have always enjoyed listening to almost any kind of music," he recalls. "It just seemed natural to draw from all those styles when I wrote my own songs. I've always found it hard to find other musicians who were capable of playing so many styles like that; I can hardly find people who even like all the styles I like anyhow. So recording my own material was also a very natural thing for me to do. I already know exactly how to play everything, and what I want to hear at any given time, and very rarely do I have the problem of arranging a composition where there's an instrument or part that I can't play myself."
James still remains modest, however. "I'm not saying that I've mastered everything I play. I have played with many musicians who concentrate their talents on their instrument or craft, and they blow me away. I suppose the best way to put it is that I am good enough at what I do to play what I hear in my mind." Which is more than well enough, given the incredibly intricate arrangements he manages on every tune. "That is another downfall to doing things by yourself," he adds. "I not only have to play everything, I have to engineer, mix, produce, and master everything. I have some great tools to work with, and that helps, but it often means recording one song can take several months."
Beginning at age 8 by singing with his family, James Patrick had learned at an early age how to blend in three-part harmony. "A lot of that came from listening to bands like Boston and Journey. I get a lot of flack when I tell people that these bands have a special place in my heart," he jokes. It was in middle school when he joined the school band, and began learning more about music theory. After gaining an extensive knowledge of brass instruments (and even winning a few awards along the way), James then started playing guitar and bass. "I actually started playing the guitar like a bass because at the time I couldn't afford one. I always loved bass, because a bassist has the most important job in the band, really. Bass is extremely important to both the rythmic and melodic part of any song, so a carefully crafted bass line can really make a song." He adds, "Learning to play guitar was a side-effect; at first I really only learned it to show others how to play my songs. I've picked up a few things over the years, though, so I'm pretty confident of my skills."
In high school James refined his abilities, earning praise and commendation from many of his teachers, as well as earning more awards and turning the heads of several music professors at competitions held by local universities. Afterwards, he attempted (unsuccessfully) to form a band. "Finding musicians with their priorities in the right place was the real problem," he mentions. "Everyone seemed too preoccupied with girls or drinking or whatever. These are the trappings that I wanted no part of. That's when I bought recording equipment and began to play by myself."
That's not to say that he was never successful in a band. James Patrick was the lead singer and bassist for Apparatus, a once popular band in Huntington, WV, and has also done some work with Touch Rx, headed by former Bliss-virtuoso Jordan Lucas. However, James doesn't appear to feel any loss working on his own. "Playing with people who share a vision with you is great. I love finding that chemistry and togetherness. But I still have my own ideas, and there's a certain sense of accomplishment you feel when you create a work and bring it to full fruition. Working by yourself can be a real challenge, and sometimes it gets to be overwhelming, but in the end I listen to the finished product and it makes me glow inside."
Want a job doing live sound for a big sound company? http://www.rcscorp.cc/ I do some work for them. They offered me 8 grand to do monitors on the Mickey Hart tour last fall which was only 2 months long.
James, my man! I don't often do these post things, but I thought this was worthy. I just recently heard, for the first time, the "Relayer" album by Yes. Have you heard this bit of magic? If so, what's your take on it?
Hi James ... and thanks so much for the add. Hope you'll check out my site and let me know if I can ever be of help. Keep me posted on your performances so I can advertise them, too. I highlighted the show this Thursday at Rockstation on the homepage! Stay in touch, and have the happiest of holidays!
ah ha! (not the band) - i see says the blind man, i didn't notice them at first, but yea very cool setup.....i would like to hear some of your mixes of recent. i would also like to watch the documentary once its out.....lemme know bro!!
hey man cool studio pics, i wish i had enough room to add some room treatment for the acoustics of my bed room. for me it just seems like a waste, i would rather have a separate room dedicated to mixing/recording like u do. what do you do about monitors? headphones?
haha yea good call man, my music creation station does look exactly like conky from pee wee's playhouse...........it gives me the magic word of the day everytime i use it, however its a little more sophisticated than the original conky. simply because i can watch penny cartoons on the nice flat panel LCD display...hahahahah
Yes, Ekistics turned out awesome. It really is a shame that all of us live so damn far apart when we actually learn what the hell it is we can do. But I suppose with technology, we are only a click or mp3 file away. These tunes sound great man, how many others do you have recorded?
Hey long time no see! If I might inquire of your deep musical brain: I've just got big into moby, can you recommend anything else similar or complimentary?
Wuddup muh cracka, Just checkin in on yah. Ive been kind of distracted by the rising water of my financial demise but dont let it make ya think im inaccessible.
