Patrick Coman: songwriter, musician, radio host, series promoter, booking agent, sound engineer, and just a damn good guy. He checks in about the big Dylan Tribute show on April 30th at Johnny D’s below. And remember, get your tickets early at the link directly below!
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=4206574&pl=jds
1) So…Bob Dylan. How has listening to Dylan shaped you as a songwriter over the years? Anything in particular stand out as steering you down this road?
PC: Bob Dylan is such a singular songwriter it’s hard to parse out one particular area of influence. Without him I probably wouldn’t be writing songs, and the people who inspired me to write songs probably wouldn’t have written songs either, it’s not just a matter of style but the whole idea of a singer/songwriter as we know it wouldn’t exist without him.
2) Favorite 3 Dylan songs…go!
PC: Buckets Of Rain, Ballad Of A Thin Man, and Like A Rolling Stone
3) Without giving too much away, what are the reasonings behind your song choices for covering Dylan?
PC: I’ll be picking some songs that were instrumental in me first getting seriously into Dylan’s work as a teenager (hint: they’re all from Blood on the Tracks), his catalog is so huge you have to find some way to narrow it down or else you’d never make a decision!
4) One thing that both Red Line Roots and For the Sake of the Song are keen on is community development and fostering. How have you seen that grow here in town over the years (or in your own music community?)? Do you think it has become stronger? Anything you’d like to see change?
PC: Maybe a weird one for me to answer?
RLR: Ok, well I will answer this one for Patrick. Since I first met Coman, he has been an avid supporter and champion for the local arts and music. His For the Sake of the Song Series started in his living room and has grown exponentially over the past few years, but the key idea never changed, support local songwriters and their love for music. It’s hard to argue against the fact that Patrick is one of the most dedicated folks to local music in this town and we are damn lucky to have him.
5) Anything else, please plug away at anything you have going on personally as an artist that you would like to clue folks in on!
PC: Well, I’m helping to organize this great For the Sake of the Song Roadshow, which celebrates a homecoming April 30th at the Davis Square Theatre with Redline Roots and bunch of great bands, so that’s pretty exciting! I’m also frantically wrapping up the mixing and mastering for my first full length album in five years called Trouble (In the First Degree), so these are busy times for sure.
Check out Patrick online at: www.patrickcoman.com