As the Phoenician sun sets on the commuting westbound cars, the Rhythm Room reverberates with the sound checks of Patrick Park, Sera Cahoone and Sea Wolf. Fresh on the road, the second night of their latest tour, the atmosphere is jovial and energetic.
As Patrick Park made his sound check however, the room stopped its SB 1070 dialogues short and listened eagerly as the singer-songwriter fingerpicked the bittersweet folk-driven melodies of his new album "Come What Will."
Patrick followed up with a more private sit-down session in a small backstage room. In this 10-by-4-foot dwelling, with two cameras, a microphone and two full-grown men, it was safe to say things were a tight squeeze. However, as Patrick laid down a bare, acoustic cut of "The Lucky Ones," his voice radiated through the room's tightly knit walls and cracked furniture. With his flat cap, aged guitar, sweet voice and easygoing demeanor, Patrick transported the room back to the 1960s where a young Donovan Leitch was leading it in song. Singing of lost wonder and a drowning world, his music encompasses a philosophical spirit and folk imagery all too often absent in the auto-tune generation.
A warm smile on his face as he goes into the second take of "You'll Get Over," one cannot help but feel infected by Patrick Park's spirit of music. One man, one guitar, one world and one song to add some new insight to its crazy ways.
Filmed, directed, edited and written by Andy Jeffreys.
