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Patchwork Blue is one of those bands that is able to play in totally different settings and make it work like the most natural thing. A three piece based in Colorado, Patchwork Blue is Sam Larson as bass, Ryan Edwards as lead vox and acoustic guitar, Nate Brown on drums. Ryan did an email interview with me in June/06.
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What do you think it is about this line up that works?
Ryan: We recorded "Junction" with my brother Matthew on the bass. He and I started Patchwork Blue back in August 2001 as a four piece. He, being the solid musician that he is, just got accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. So, we now have the talented Sam Larson (also from Fort Collins) to fill his shoes. Nate Brown on drums fills out the rest of the crew. I think the thing that makes this concept work for us is we play music that we would want to hear in our CD players or on the radio. We sample from several different genres including rock, jazz, funk, blues, Latin, and randomly some reggae. It keeps us sharp and focused. Otherwise, ultimately the fear of going back to a 40-hour-a-week job will always make music work for us.:)
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Tell me about this upcoming tour! You're putting it together on your own, what challenges have you faced while putting this together?
Ryan: We are incredibly excited about the tour! It is our first coast-to-coast expedition and we are lining up some dates that should give us some opportunities to get the music out there. There have been quite a few challenges booking this tour being that we have never been to some of these cities, let alone states. Venue owners really want to know that there is going to be some kind of draw for us when we get there...so, we promise that we will threaten our closest friends that live in the area with their lives if they don't come to the show. Just kidding....but seriously.:) We've been very lucky to have Amanda Mervine, our P.R., working day and night on this to get us the best possible tour we could have. If any of our friends read this...we're not kidding...we know where you live.:) See you on tour!
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This tour is in support of your new disc, tell us about the creation of the disc. Where was it recorded? Who did you work with?
Ryan: We recorded "Junction" at Immersive Studios in Boulder, CO. The wonderful people over there took us in, fed us, and worked us until we collapsed. It was awesome! The engineers on the album were Todd Ayers and Mike "Yacho" Yach. When we went to record this album, we probably had about three CD's worth of material that we could have referenced. For about 5 seconds, we actually considered being the first independent band to release a three-disc set as their official debut. Again, that only lasted 5 seconds. Ultimately, we picked 10 songs that we were really enjoying at the time and practiced rigorously on them until we could walk into this very nice studio and nail them in 1-2 takes. So, that's how we did the album. We all three played our instruments in the same room (to give the album a live energy) and had our respective amps in separate rooms as to avoid potential bleed in the microphones.
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Ryan on being hands on
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'We love to be involved with it, but ultimately if someone can do a better job at it than us, we are usually pretty open to it. The brand is a big deal, but I love suggestions on how to make it better.'
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Other than the tour, what are you up to promo wise for this release?
Ryan: Well, we have been marketing the album online through the very popular myspace.com and other online avenues. We're selling the CD on www.CDBaby.com/cd/patchworkblue (shameless pitch). Our biggest success for selling the album usually comes from live shows. Generally speaking, that is where we are the sharpest and usually attract the most fans.
How important is it to you to be hands on about all the non musical aspects of Patchwork Blue? (fliers, cd artwork, web design)
Ryan: We love to be involved with it, but ultimately if someone can do a better job at it than us, we are usually pretty open to it. The brand is a big deal, but I love suggestions on how to make it better. If someone has a cool idea for a promo for us, I will listen. We did the CD design ourselves...that is, with the help of the lovely Theresa Fifi Thatcher (Fort Collins) who did the cover and back art. Our P.R. ends up doing all of the press materials (with small amounts of help from the band) because we are too poor to hire anyone else and besides, she's good at it.:)
Do you feel you have any specific advantages or issues being based in Fort Collins, Colorado?
Ryan: There is a TON of great music here! I'm not exaggerating at all. Some of my favorite bands play in this state every day. I wouldn't say that there are any specific advantages to being from this state, however, I will say that because there is so much great music, it definitely makes our band keep its game sharp.
Are you looking for label support? What are you looking for in a label?
Ryan: I would like to see Patchwork Blue with a label at some point in the near future. A lot of the stuff that we end up doing to promote ourselves we would rather hire someone to do and spend more time playing music and meeting people. We would definitely want a label that is interested in working with us over time and help us develop and evolve as solid musicians. Basically, it would have to be a situation where a label believed in what we are trying to do and invested in that concept. Is that a little too idealistic?...I hope not.
You are a three piece, but note that with your range you sound more like a five piece, can you go on about that some?
Ryan: That is probably our biggest source of pride in Patchwork Blue. It is really the way we organize/compose the songs that brings that out. We try our best to take a percussive approach with each instrument as well as modify chord changes to bring out as much life in each song as possible. When we were a four piece, each of us were very laid back in our instruments and played the song in our small paradigm. When we became a three piece, we had to work hard on filling the gaps in the sound with the instruments we had. We had tons of space to fill, so we became more proactive musicians in order to play the music as it sounded in our heads.
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The Playlists
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Ryan's Playlist
1) "The Scientist" - Coldplay- Best band in Popular Rock right now. I went and saw them in Denver in February...absolutely brilliant!
2) "Graceland" - Paul Simon- Solid album...solid song. I just learned how to play it.:)
3) "Monster"-Vices I Admire- We're great friends with this Fort Collins band and this song is phenomenal.
4) "Hate Me" - Blue October - The lyrics in this song are great!
5) "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage" - Panic! At the Disco - Catchy and fun song. Very clever.
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