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Pat's Corner
April 1st was the beginning of the most surprising month of my life. It was
as though a light came on in the basement and the mice found refuge in its
cracks and crevices. This mouse refuses to hide. In due time, I will find
myself in all of the surprise. Until then, I will be out here in the open
enjoying the light.
Unfortunately, I have many friends and family that have been hit with
negative surprise this month. Its is a strange time for so many.
Emotions are high and all seems a bit up in the air. What seemed as
everyday chaos is now a bit unnerving. Odd letters arriving in mailboxes,
strange phone calls, peculiar confrontations in person and unseasonable
weather have all been factors in these past few weeks.
I have had incredible conversations that have changed my life forever. I
have been kind and cruel. I have been calm and as tense as I have ever
been. My lows and highs are of the same reasons and sleep has been a
passing stranger that only stops when I have no time for the visit. Why?
Who cares. This is living. Supporting and be supported, listening and
being heard, these things are what I am alive for. It is a true
celebration of life.
Do children kick ass or what? They are interesting because they are
interested.
They are beautiful because they see beauty. They are joyful and they
provide much joy. They are completely affected by the adults in their
lives. We can change a child's life with one single act. An act of
kindness can be forever impactful. An act of selfishness can be so
memorable. An act of childishness can stunt growth. We owe these children
everything we have, love!
On a more Train note, we have had such great success recently recording our
song, Ordinary, with a producer names Don Gilmore. He is a great guy with
lots of talent. He is from Seattle originally. The song is pretty rock and
we love it. It is exciting. It's inspiration was Spiderman 2 and the song
will be attached to the movie on a couple of levels.
Well, an evening of early to bed to stare at the ceiling awaits me. So, I am
off.
My mother always said, "It will all work out". Simple truth was her gift.
Pat
Tuesday, April 20th
Anyone that I would like to get to know has to go through a bit of question,
answer with me. I'm sure we all have our version of the "interview". This
has no gender boundary. Anyone that I find interesting has to at some point
tell me what he or she finds to be their own most valuable characteristic.
What is it that you value the most about yourself and therefore demand to
have it in return? Morals? Honesty? Discipline? Great work ethic? Great
listening skills? Compassion? Whatever it is, tells a lot about that
person, in my opinion.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to a veterans hospital in DC. I met men that
have served in the armed service on our behalf and come home from Iraq
missing body parts and parts of their souls. Do we get what we deserve?
Did these men deserve that? I doubt it. I do know that these men value the
simplest things in life now. They treasure life, family, friends and good
food. God is a large part of these men now. Faith is eternal. I respect
and honor these and all men across the world that have the courage to enter
war. War is hell. I wish it could end forever. I wish that this sweet
gift of life could soon be a universal victory for everyone.
Today, I am out at sea, unafraid of not returning to safety. I am at ease
with the dark sky and the movement of the waves. I am counting stars
instead of feeling lonely. I am embracing the adventure instead of fearing
the unknown. Today, I am a clear pool of cool water that has become a body
of sea for all to swim in. I am ready for the next stage of this life. My
skin has been shed. My soul is intact. My heart is aware and my mind is
focused on who I want to be. When I feel this way, I am grateful to the
"Justice of the Universe." Do I deserve this? I must. I hope I do. I
want to deserve it. I am ready to let myself deserve it.
Humor, pizza, jazz and sushi are all my friends, right now. Swedish fish
are being kind as well as super hot tamales and any kind of breakfast.
I wonder what good I might do for others sometimes. I am striving to be a
solid human being. I have very high expectations of myself, therefore I
expect much from others. I have music. I am so fortunate. I have friends.
I am blessed. I have family. I have a sense of belonging. I have my self.
I am strong. I have come to life!
Thursday, January 16th
Now when I won that game 15-13, I was tired, sweaty and very fulfilled. The
unfortunate thing about winning is that he will always get the upper hand.
He is like a cat, fox, tiger all wrapped up into a retired electrician.
"Damn it, that Larry." I love that guy. He's a great person and funnier
than I'll ever be.
I have been making very good use of my time lately. It snows in PA, so I
ski. I play volleyball, racquetball, crush my tailbone while sled riding
and I write. Not just that, but this tour that is upon us is really taking
some time getting reacquainted with old material. I have been listening to
so much jazz that I think I am thirty years older in my soul. Chet Baker is
my hero. Ella baby, no one can touch you. Stan Getz, Milt Jackson, you
boys own my heart. If I could ever move people or just one person as these
folks move me, I would be at peace. What a feeling. God does exist! Can
you hear those sounds that stir your deepest rivers, those moods that shift
your wind? Wow!
Hello Atlanta! We are just days away from a brand new experience. Johnny
Colt was talking to Scott and Jimmy and me about this a few months ago and
now that it is so close, I can't wait another minute. I plan on seeing some
friends that I haven't seen in awhile and I plan on having the time of my
life for three weeks and then to LA for the Grammy's. Heeee Hawww!!!
I will leave you with a quote that a friend sent me recently from SHOITSU -
"Plunge boldly into the beyond, then be free wherever you are."
Pat
Thursday, January 8th
I don't know. Maybe I'm spoiled. I live this life that is constantly in
motion. Maybe I'm not spoiled at all. It is hard work. Sometimes harder
than other times. Nonetheless, it takes a very different kind of person to
be a traveling musician or a traveling anything.
I've been writing some lately. Some of the melodies that have shown up are
voluptuous and others are skinny and pale. I love them all. I get to fall
in love when melody comes. I get to fill myself with that warm glance back
and forth between two people that have just met and they both see the same
beauty in one another. It's like magic. "Yeah, I'm spoiled".
Enough about my "feelings" already. I read Jimmy's notes from the road and
I was very inspired by what he wrote. What a great thing he did. He's a
good man. That may be the void. That may be the wonder of it all. To be
for someone a moment to be thankful for. What a gift to give. I don't
spend nearly enough time giving. I think about it and then all of the every
day nonsense takes over.
I love music again. I spent some time being overly connected to it. I am
very competitive by nature. Good and bad, I suppose. I have recently
remembered what really amazing art is in music. From Biggy Smalls to Chet
Baker, I have heard brilliance. I can actually hear again. I can
appreciate what they do and I can do that without thinking that if they are
great, I can't be. I can hear the subtly of the drummers and the delicate
phrasing of vocalists. I can be in the studio with them or on stage.
Imagination! That is what it¹s brought back to me. A movie can't do that.
A DVD is a DVD, a song is a life, a dance, a memory, a tear, a night that
you hope will never end, a night that you wish never happened.
Thanks for listening to me go off. I just needed to remember. Where I fit.
Pat
Thursday, December 11th
The shows have been a great deal of fun. Some of them have been bests for us. We have done a whole lotta shows, but when it clicks, it is seriously clicking. Brandon, Johnny and Tony are raising the bar for Scott, Jimmy and me. I love that. We are bringing our A game every night and, it feels great. There have been a couple shows that I was a bit off but, these guys seemed to forgive me right away. That's what friends do I guess.
While we were in Sydney, we got the incredible news about being nominated for two Grammys. I must confess that I was entirely surprised. I certainly didn't expect anything like that but, that goes to show you how much I know about the world of music and awards. I will say that it is and always will be an honor to be recognized by the Grammy voters as a band of quality. That feels just like you think it might feel....GREAT!!
With all of this, I do have a bit of a dark spot in me at the moment. I can't define it as I wish I could, but I'm sure that it has to do with being far from home and with the holidays soon at hand, it's a bit lonely when you're away. I'm sure to be over this feeling eventually. The snow would probably help a bit. I'm told that some parts of the East Coast have been hit hard. I'll bet it was a huge pain as well as a thrill. All those children out there must have been fired up. I can't wait to sled ride and ski and snowboard. Some of the crew guys are already planning skiing trips. Very smart!
Now back to Australia for a moment. Our visit to Perth was very nice. We had a restaurant disaster but, Perth was beautiful. The crowd at the show was great and the people were very kind. We then moved on to Sydney for six days. We played four shows, two in Sydney, one in Canberra, and one in Newcastle. They were all a lot of fun. Canberra was a favorite for me. I was very comfortable that day. That says a lot. I still struggle with feeling comfortable being myself on stage. I think that being in a country other than America can add to my stage issues. Being in front of a crowd that is there to see TRAIN makes it easier. I know that I am surrounded by friends then.
The weather in Sydney has been on and off. Unseasonal cloudiness and rain has been a factor but, it didn't hinder the amazing views of the Opera House and everything around it. It is quite lovely. The Aussies are gearing up to have barbeque Christmases and that blows my mind. They love it. I suppose if I lived in Australia I would love it as well....the great fish, the pudding, the turkey, it all sounds wonderful. I will on the other hand be in the snow surrounded by familiar faces and a whole bunch of lovely gifts. I better be surrounded by a lot of lovely gifts.
We are in Brisbane tonight. The Australians have nicknamed it Briz-Vegas and Briz-neyland.....funny, right? I love the Briz-neland one. We will be in front of around 7000 people tonight. That is awesome. That one hour on stage is what brings me around every day. Tonight....I rock!
I hope you are all doing well. Come see us in Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco, k? Thanks for checking in and for making "When I Look To The Sky" what looks to be a very popular song at the moment. The radio stations around the US have been getting your calls and they love that. Thanks! I love it too.
Pat
Wednesday, December 3rd
I'm still coming down from being on the Howard Stern Show. It was so much
fun. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the shows that we were on and I
can't wait to do the other shows in December with the entire band. I'm told
that When I Look To The Sky is doing extremely well on radio stations all
over the US. Many other countries should start to play the song very soon.
Speaking of other countries, we arrived in Australia today. After about 33
hours of travel, I will end up in Perth this afternoon. I'm on a plane
right now that left Sydney and surprisingly enough, I don't feel like
ripping all of my hair out...yet. It was great seeing everyone as we all
met up in the Los Angeles airport (LAX). Its always nice to have a bit of a
break from one another. That way when we get back to work, we're all
excited all over again. It does take a minute to warm up to the whole thing
though. It will be a few shows 'til we're really killin' it. Then again,
some first shows are the great ones. Who knows? We're out. We're in
Australia. We're playing music every night. What else could we ask for?
Good question. Christmas list will be on the next post. Ho ho ho!!!
Have you ever taken a minute away from your thoughts and witnessed the
random connections going on around you? I saw an amazing listener today on
the plane. He actually listened to a stranger as though he was completely
riveted. That is a gift. I bet she felt great talking with him. I would
love to be better at listening. I wish that one day a week I could devote
that time to others. No self absorbed nonsense. No feeling sorry for
myself. Just opening my mind to another's life. Taking it in, taking it
all in, like a slow drain would take in bath water. And at the end, leaving
someone, or many with a feeling of peace. You know that feeling of getting
the chance to yell at someone and then feeling so much better so you can
forgive them? That is a great feeling.
We'll be in Oz for two weeks, so I plan on seeing some familiar Australian
faces. I'm looking forward to playing shows with Live, too. I like that
band. They are from York, PA I'm told, Amish country.
All is well and we're getting ready to play some very old, yet familiar songs
next year during our club run. Its exciting for us. We may miss some of
the songs that you want to hear, but we plan on really digging deep into the
past. I hope we can play them properly. Even if we don't, it will be such
a rush to play them at all.
Take care. I'll be talking to you shortly.
Pat
Tuesday, November 25th
The highlight of my week was Thursday doing the Howard Stern show. I love that guy and everybody else at that place. They are so good to me. I feel like I'm hanging out with old friends when I go there. I loved talking to Howard on and off air. I can't say enough about how grateful I am to have been invited on his show. I have been a fan of his for almost 15 years, when I first heard him and saw him on TV when I lived in Los Angeles. I can't wait to be invited back. Have I stroked him enough? No! He was very down to earth, very polite, extremely insightful, cool, funny and I hope to some how hang out with him many times in the future. There! That's enough now. Right?
I really missed Scot and Jimmy while I was in LA and NYC. I did have Brandon though and I love hanging with him. He has become a really good friend. He did a magnificent job this past week (Thanks Brutha!) On Sunday I will see the rest of the guys as we head to Australia. The flight, I NO love. The summer, I YES love! It will always amaze me that I can get from one side of the earth to the other in less than 24 hours. How does that work? Maybe I don't really need to understand everything. Maybe its alright to just sit back on occasion and let someone else fly the plane. Flying can suck the life out of you though. You can't sleep. Then you arrive and can't sleep. Then you have been up for 40 hours and it time to go to bed for the rest of the Australia and I get a second, third or fourth wind and again, I can't sleep uush!
There were a couple of new songs that Brandon and I performed this week. We did "Signed Sealed Delivered (I'm Yours)" by Stevie Wonder on Carson Daly. We also recorded "What Child Is This" at Sony Studios. We just wanted to have some fun while I was doing a bunch of radio stuff there. It was a lot of fun to be busy with music. That's why I can't wait to do our 3 city tour in January / February. There are so many songs that we haven't played for so long. I wonder if we'll remember them. We'll have to rehearse, I guess. Oh wait, I forgot to mention the 3 city tour, didn't I? Well here's the deal; we plan to play Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco this winter. Starting the 3rd week of January. We are going to play 5 nights in each of these cities. We are going to play places that we haven't been to in a long, long time. The venues will be Smith's Old Bar in Atlanta, Schuba's in Chicago and Cafe De Nord in San Francisco. There will be a more formal notice on the site at some point.
To end, I would like to say that I plan on having a most wonderful Thanksgiving. For some reason this one seems to be really special. I have so much to be thankful for. I am almost constantly surrounded by the most extraordinary people. My band, friends, family, producer, engineers, managers, record company folks, attorneys, business managers, publishers and the most amazing fans have been so good to me over the years. I hope that I can bring each of you even a part of the joy that you have brought to me. I am very lucky to have you all in my life and I hope that you have a beautiful Thanksgiving. I'll be thinking of you with fondness and admiration.
Pat
Wednesday, November 19th
Two days after that, I was in the presence of some of R&B and Rock’s most incredible musicians. I shared the stage with Al Green, Don Was, Billy Preston, DMC (Run DMC), Sam Moore (Sam and Dave), Mary J. Blige, Joss Stone, Hall & Oates, Bonnie Raitt, Michael McDonald (of the Doobie Brothers), Musiq, Ziggy Marley, Macy Gray, Teeny Hodges, Narada Michael Walden, Ricky Fante, Darius Rucker and Brian McKnight. This was for an Al Green Special that I was asked to sing on. I sang a song of his called “I Gotta Be More,” (fitting for where my heart and head are right now.) I also sang, “Let’s Stay Together” with Michael McDonald and DMC. Holy Moly! It was fun! Fun? It was unbelievable! I felt so blessed and fortunate to be with them.
I spent some real quality time talking with Sam Moore from Sam and Dave (I’m A Soul Man, Hold On! I’m Comin’!, I Thank You!) What an incredible person. I hope to have half of that spirit and love in my eyes when I am his age. Good for you Sam! I hardly know ya, and I already love ya!
Before I get into all kinds of other descriptions of why my life kicks ass I would just like to say that I am so grateful to all of you for your emails and letters regarding so many issues. From simple things to deeply moving experiences that you share with me. Returning these letters and emails is a very difficult task, but I read everything and appreciate them all. You have all touched my life every bit as much as I have yours, so thank you again.
So, back to New York. I had an amazing Hot Turkey sandwich with mashed potatoes and broccoli Tuesday when I got into town. Oh my! It was so good. I cannot wait to cook Thanksgiving dinner. Wait! I can’t wait to eat Thanksgiving dinner! I may run a 10K on Thanksgiving morning. I may not. If I do, I am a bad ass. If I don’t, I am a bad ass. Oh well, we’ll see what excuses I come up with.
There are some great things that are to finish my week here before I go home and then meet up with the other fellas in Australia. I will write next week to talk about those experiences. Also, Jimmy has been writing a bunch of great tunes lately and Brandon and I put a little ditty together the other day too, so in January, maybe the shows will have some new songs. Or not! Just kidding…..
Well, I am off to sleep. I hope I can sleep. Sometimes the Gods of sleep miss me all together with that sleepy dust. Then they give me a double dose for the next five days.
It was great talking to you. I can’t wait to see some of your familiar faces soon.
Pat
Tuesday, November 11th
For much of this year, I have tried to avoid reading things about TRAIN,
whether it was on the web site or newspapers or magazines, etc... I guess
that I am learning that being a part of an art form like music and
performance can be heart breaking as well as heart warming. I have always
hoped that somehow the music that I contributed to would be loved and
embraced by ALL. Well, that is not real life. It is, however, a feeling
that I can't seem to escape. So, I choose to keep creating and not get too
caught up in listening and reading the critiques of what we do. I have,
with this, missed an opportunity to keep in touch with all of you.
There are so many things that have happened within the band family this
year. About a year ago, when Rob decided to leave the band, we had to
decide how to approach it. We looked at this as an opportunity, not a
problem. The enthusiasm was at an all time high. We were ready to "ROCK"
more than ever. We got a guitar player (Tony L.) to fill in on stage. We
then asked Brandon Bush to play piano for us. These guys turned up the
talent and the excitement and we were off.
Into touring for six months or so, we were forced to make a decision that
would change us musically and personally. We chose to replace Charlie on
bass. We had been a band for nine years and within nine months we went from
five to three original members. Scary! This was a big change for all of
us. "They" say that with change , good or bad, there is growth. I don't
know who "they" are, but I do agree.
Now with this change, we asked Brendan O'Brien to help us out. He thought
that playing with us would be a great time, but he has very little time away
from making records. He did, however, suggest a good friend of his named
Johnny Colt (Black Crowes). After having some conversations with Johnny, we
felt like something great could come of working together. We were right.
Having him with us has been very fulfilling. He is, in many ways, like "The
Wolf" in Pulp Fiction. He always brings his "A" Game.
Through these changes, new TRAIN songs on the radio, a new CD, tours being
booked, band members leaving, and new musicians coming in, our crew has done
an amazing job. They are flawless, almost flawless that is. So, thanks to
them, we sound better then ever. (If you jackasses are reading this, don't
get too cocky. I'm watching you all like a hawk.)
It is now November 11, 2003 and I am soon to be on my way to Los Angeles and
New York with Brandon to perform "When I Look To The Sky" on TV and radio.
We, as a band, decided to perform the song with just piano and vocal during
November. In December, we will be performing the song on other TV shows as
an entire band. W I L T T S sounds really good to us both ways, so we
wanted to mix it up a bit to make it more fun and interesting for us.
I do plan on writing in more often. There are some exciting things coming
up for us in November and December as well as in the New Year. They will be
announced on the site soon, so keep checking in or you'll miss something.
Thanks for reading my note and hanging with us for all these years. I am
happier personally than I have ever been with TRAIN as a band and as a group
of friends. Also, thank you for bringing "When I Look To The Sky" to life
on the radio. A lot of people are calling their local radio stations about
this song and I am assuming that it's you.
See you all soon,
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