Patrick Coman has become a colleague, a friend, and a gent I have a lot of respect for over the past years that I have known him. Doing what he can to help the community here through his music series, his radio show, and being a big part of the NEA Festival both behind the soundboard, the scenes, and of course up on the stage. He will be playing again this year of course, on the WUMB stage at 2 PM outside on Saturday. I caught up with him to talk about the fest and his involvement, and of course his own music as well. Check it out!
1) “Americana” has become the go to term for arguably every genre under the sun. How you do feel you as an artist falls under that umbrella? Where do you pull your inspiration from? What is the style of music that you most closely relate to?
PC: Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I was lucky enough to come up in a region where blending genres was a natural occurance. Thinking back to the “Tulsa Sound” created by folks like Leon Russell and JJ Cale, that music comes from a place where rockabilly, country, blues, and soul all bleed into each other until the lines between them disappear. Those artists and others with a similar mindset, from The Band and Bob Dylan up to contemporary songwriters like Ryan Adams, and Jack White, have all informed the way I approach music and songwriting in terms of seeking the sweet spots where those disparate genres comes together.
2) New England Americana and the Fest firmly plant their roots and morals in “community” and attempting to bring that community together in this big once a year event. The event is a culmination of a community of musicians and artists that is going on all year in other forumsand gigs and so forth. What does that community mean to you and how does it effect you as an artist?
2) New England Americana and the Fest firmly plant their roots and morals in “community” and attempting to bring that community together in this big once a year event. The event is a culmination of a community of musicians and artists that is going on all year in other forumsand gigs and so forth. What does that community mean to you and how does it effect you as an artist?
PC: Community to me is all about that friendly competition. If I go see your show and you sing a song that knocks me out or you’re playing that riff that really gets the crowd dancing, I can damn well guarantee that I’m going to be at home that night woodshedding, trying to do the same thing or maybe even something a little bit better. That’s a community, you push me to be better and then I go out and push you to be better. Pretty soon we all look around and realize we’re all a lot better!
3) Music festivals, in general, are fairly well known for surprise sit ins, improvisational jams and collaborations. If you could see any two of this year’s acts collaborate on stage at this year’s NEA Festival, who would you like to see?
3) Music festivals, in general, are fairly well known for surprise sit ins, improvisational jams and collaborations. If you could see any two of this year’s acts collaborate on stage at this year’s NEA Festival, who would you like to see?
PC: There are already so many collaborations that are happening it’s hard to choose. I’m excited about seeing Greg Klyma & Ryan Fitzsimmons together as Citizen Slim, plus The Blue Ribbons and Marc Pinansky do their thing back to back on the WUMB stage, plus our great in the round sets kicking off Friday and Saturday night at Passim. However, from those that aren’t getting together already, I think I’d like to hear Dennis Brennan lead the The Blue Ribbons through some heavy soul ballad, that would be electric.
4) What local releases are you listening to right now that you think folks should be listening to as well? Any independent acts that really make you say “wow”? Friends that you want a broader audience to dig into?
PC: I host “Local Folk” a regional music show on WUMB so I am incredibly fortunate in that I get to hear tons of great new releases by New England artists. I have been spinning Dan Blakeslee’s “Owed To The Tanglin’ Wind” non-stop lately, I also just got a copy of Cold Chocolate’s new album which is incredible, and Susan Cattaneo’s album that came out early this year was just a gorgeous record from start to finish. The latest from Greg Klyma, Dietrich Strause, Ryan Fitzsimmons, I could go on and on …
5) So, what do you have coming up either before or after the festival? Any shameless plugs you want to make whether it be shows, recordings, or anything at all?
PC: Yes, I am really excited that my latest album Trouble (In The First Degree) is going to be coming out later this fall. I am so proud of how it’s shaping up and I’m especially thrilled to be this close to the finish line. We’ve been working on it for almost a year which is very different from how I’ve recorded in the past where I would bring in a batch of songs that were basically ready to go and record a bunch of live takes and call it a day. This time we were much more deliberate in our approach to the arrangements and I think I was fortunate enough to work with people who were able to push me further than I’ve been able to go with my previous albums. It’s all that friendly competition I was talking about earlier, I suppose.