18 months and one broken heart since I wrote the first song for my new album I'm sitting in Hendersonville, TN in Johnny Cash's studio, The Cash Cabin. I am here with Johnny's son, John Carter Cash, Grammy award winning engineer, Chuck Turner, and my producer, Paul Reeves, listening to the story of the hardest days of my life play back through two small speakers and I'm thinking, "I can't believe I made it through the heartache of losing the only woman I've loved (a girl named Kristy for those of you that keep asking) and still managed to get it all down on tape."Sitting in Johnny Cash's creaky ol rocking chair, rubbing my fingers back and forth into the deep grooves of his initials he carved into the arm of the chair with his pocketknife, I realize the experience I'm having here has been experienced by few. It was only three years ago that I grew tired of thirteen years of playing in bands that always broke up and decided if I was to achieve my musical goal of being a solo artist, I was just going to have to do this by myself. So, I locked myself inside my tiny, Hollywood Hills, guest house for months and recorded my first solo, six song EP on my 12" laptop, playing all the instruments and singing all the songs myself.
Today, three years later, after two, solo, EP's, thousands of personal emails, phone calls, and demos sent to music reviewers, record companies, publishing companies, management companies, booking agencies, PR firms, and law firms, hundreds of coffee shop gigs, house gigs, club gigs, singer/songwriter gigs, one gig where not even one person showed up except the bartender (who wasn't even in the room while I played my set), gigs where people clapped and gigs where people laughed, and a mini UK and Midwest tour with nothing but me, my acoustic guitar and some big dreams (possibly delusions) of being a star, the band I'm watching right now through the control room glass record my new album have played with Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Sarah McLachlan, and on bass is Johnny Cash's own bass player, Dave Roe. Needless to say, I'm in good company and a far cry from that first Hollywood Hills laptop recording.
So what's next? Well, I've spent 18 months writing and now recording the best album of my life (my 3rd), every song about the woman I loved leaving me (partially my own selfish fault), and have handed it over to the powers that be: my management, my producer, and the Artist Development company that helped me put this all together, Paul Reeves Entertainment. Next comes a video shoot, some live radio station performances, and a single that I hope you'll hear on your radio next spring along with the album release. Click here for a preview: Preview New Songs
Every time I accomplish something musically that turns out to not be quite as big as what I'd hoped for I call up my Dad and say, "Well, now what?" to which he replies, "Keep getting up to bat Patrick." I believe this time I'm going to get a hit.
The girl is gone but the songs remain.
Patrick
