by Nick Christophers
It is refreshing to see artists who left their guitars in the closet for a bit return and restarts their engine. This would be the case for the California artist, Patrick Ames whose eclectic mix of rock, R&B, folk, and pop is a unique recipe. His music is raw, deep, and passionate. He opts to work on his music with DIY approach which has worked out well from his Liveness LP to his recent flurry of singles.
Every part of Patrick’s work is passionate in every way. From his lyrics to the musical arrangements. It seems ages ago when Ames first picked up a guitar in 1968 that was left over by his brothers. He would delve into music through College where he studied book publishing. Yet the music circuit was a demanding road and left his guitar to this side until he returned to it many years later.
“My mother sang in the local opera and my father loved modern pop music and the top 40. From her I learned that people walk around and sing at the top of their lungs, and I learned the same from Dad. He used dance naked in the living room to Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass. I knew then that music was my calling.”
It is never too late to live out your dreams. Patrick at 60 years old is doing just that by cranking up his guitar and belting out one single after another. From his Liveness LP in early 2020 to singles like “Four Faces,” “Like Family” to “Affettuosos” he has painted a wild canvas of spiritual and thought-provoking music.
Patrick has delved deep into his past to formulate the lyrics and music he is now belting out. He does this to find some balance in the present world we live in. His music has been well received on streaming services even though Patrick views them as listeners rather than fans. The most recent EP “All I Do Is Bleed” leaves a lot to the imagination of what it has to offer. After returning from his trip to Buenos Aires he injected Latin flavor in his already eclectic palate.
“The way I write a song is wait for that little riff to come, that riff that catches your ear and tilts your head a few degrees. Then I match that riff with a few lyrics to match. We play around with it and soon the lyric riff and the music riff match up and we start to churn one way or another, slightly determined by lyric choices. When I perform or record, I’ll usually take the same song down different genres like top40, Latin, folk, R&B. Seems natural to me.”
When Patrick performs in small venues in the San Francisco Bay and Napa area he is usually joined by vocalists, mother and daughter, Chana and Mikaela Matthews, and Argentinian guitarist, Paulo Augustin Rzeszut. He generally prefers intimate settings opposed to larger venues. So far, he has released 4 singles which have been produced and mastered by Jon. For future projects Patrick is looking to release an LP with horns. He also plans to lock in a steady gig on his way to 20000 hours as well as continuing with Chana and Mikaela Matthews, his mother/daughter team of vocalists.
https://soundcloud.com/patrickames/second-wave
https://patrickames.com/
