Pop Culturalist Chats with Patrick Droney

Meet Patrick Droney: a new voice in music and a once-in-a-lifetime talent that the industry has been longing for. At a young age, he realized his passion for music and dedicated his life to his craft, traveling around the world in pursuit of his dreams. His journey has led him from New York City to Los Angeles, and now to one of the music capitals of the world, Nashville, where he’s spent the last two years working on his self-titled EP, which pays homage to the past eight years of his life and the people he’s met along the way. For Patrick, it’s his introduction as an artist, and we’re more than happy to say, “It’s nice to meet you.”

PC: How did you get started in music?
Patrick: I was raised on blues and soul music. My dad was a guitar player in the ’60s and ’70s, so at an early age, I learned how to rock out to my dad’s guitar. It was probably around six or seven when I picked it up and it became my thing, and then I just ran with it. It really started with my dad.

PC: How would you describe your sound to new listeners and who or what has had the biggest influence in your development as an artist?
Patrick: I would call my sound the “New Classic”. It’s taking what I love from the music that I grew up listening to and the familiarity of that sound and putting my own twist on it being a 26-year-old living in 2018. It’s taking from what’s behind me and also looking ahead. I think it’s familiar but it leaves you feeling like there’s something on the horizon as well.

I’ve always been inspired by troubadours like Jackson Browne, Carole King, James Taylor, Eric Clapton—all those guys and girls who wrote stories about their lives and the human condition, and then paralleling that with my own experiences traveling.

I went to NYU and that was such a fundamental time period for me: living in the city as an eighteen-year-old who had spent the last ten years of my life trying to do this professionally as a kid. Life hit me in the face in the way it does when you’re in college but you happen to be in this massive city where everything’s happening around you. From there, I went to Los Angeles and eventually made it to Nashville, where I’ve been for the past six or seven years. The places I’ve been, my experiences, and the people I’ve met in those places have been what I shaped this EP to resonate around.

PC: Your self-titled EP is out now. What was the inspiration behind the work?
Patrick: It encapsulates the last eight years of my life—growing up being in the real world, experiencing loss, falling in love, living in New York City, leaving New York City. Life hits you like a ton of bricks sometimes. These five songs touch upon that. There’s a lot more but I tried to find touchstones of the big picture things that happened to me from 18 to 26.

PC: What was the process like when you were choosing the five songs?
Patrick: Nashville is a song’s town and the craft is of the utmost importance, so, I’ve been writing and writing for about two years for this project. I’ve written hundreds of songs, but for me, what ended up being the litmus test was playing these songs live. It’s about what people will connect with and what’s the song that someone will come up to me after the show and say, “I felt that” or “I understand that”. I also didn’t want to write five love songs and put them out and have that be my first cycle. My song, “Always Been the End of the World”, has a global perspective and I felt like it was my responsibility to speak in broader terms and not just about my personal love life. There were a lot of factors that came into play, but now I’m just excited about this introduction. These five songs will set the foundation for the next batch of songs that we release.

PC: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from being a part of this industry?
Patrick: Patience. This EP is my introduction and I feel grateful to be here, but it’s taken almost sixteen years. We live in a day and age where it’s about the instant gratification lifestyle. I’m 26 and I want things to happen quickly, but I’ve realized over time that you need to have patience. We live in this playlist culture where you put out a song and your song’s out for a week and that’s great, and then you make a playlist and that’s awesome…but what happens the next week? What happens the next month? This career is a lifetime. How do you make fans that are going to stick with you forever? You have to keep pushing forward, have the right intentions, and try not to do everything too quickly. I feel like I’m really prepared now to say hello and to stick around because I’ve put the time in.

PC: Were there ever any moments of self-doubt? How did overcome that?
Patrick: I can name countless times when I hit a wall, but when you’re meant to do something and you’re blessed with a gift and have the opportunity to be successful with it, it’s your responsibility. You have to pivot. I moved from New York to Los Angeles when I got a deal and I spent three and a half years there. I thought when I moved to Los Angeles that it was my time and then all of a sudden, I was there and unfortunately, it wasn’t. You have to wake up every day and be humbled by the fact that you’re never going to get where you want to go because the finish line is going to keep moving. You have to lean in every day and fight the good fight. It’s a tough journey, but I really think it’s worth it if even one person felt like they were moved by my music and that’s why I do what I do. It’s been incredible how many people have reached out and been moved by this EP. It makes all the nights of “I can’t sleep because I’m so nervous about my future” worthwhile. It’s a tough road, but it’s the one to be on.

PC: With your EP out now, are there any plans to hit the road later this year?
Patrick: Absolutely! We’re going to be touring this thing really hard. It was about getting the music out there, and right now, we’re letting it sit for a second so people can digest it. Later this fall, we’ll be hitting the road, and will continue all through next year. Touring is my favorite part! I look at the album as a means to go out and meet people and connect with them in that kind of special air that happens when you’re making music for an hour. It’s just you and those people in the room, so that’s my favorite part and I can’t wait to hit the road.

PC: Do you have a venue or festival that’s on your bucket list?
Patrick: It was the Apollo Theater and I played that, which was amazing. I would love to play the Montreal Jazz Festival. I grew up watching my heroes play that stage, so that would be amazing, but honestly any stage where people come see me and connect with what I do is a stage I want to play.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Patrick: The O.C.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Patrick: About Time

PC: Favorite book?
Patrick: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Patrick: I just saw Springsteen on Broadway. It changed my life.

PC: First album you bought?
Patrick: From the Cradle by Eric Clapton.

PC: First concert you attended?
Patrick: B.B. King at the Kevin Theater in Pennsylvania

Make sure to follow Patrick on Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, and Instagram, and pick up his self-titled EP on Amazon or iTunes.

Photo Credit: David O’Donohue