An Interview with Adrian Patrick of Otherwise as he brings the light through the darkness

We have been very excited about the return of Otherwise to this year’s Monster Energy Aftershock Festival which is right before their new album, Peace At All Costs is released on September 16th. The new album has been garnering a lot of well deserved attention. The first single, Darker Side of the Moon has been quickly climbing the Active Rock charts. In regards to Darker Side of the Moon, Adrian Patrick had this to say: “Darker Side of the Moon is just the beginning of the journey that we plan to take with everyone. The Moon is a heavenly body that we’ve come to cherish and worship throughout our meager lives… but there is another side to it that most of us know nothing about. We hope that our album Peace At All Costs will help the world navigate the depths of its own darkness and break through into the Light on the other side.”

We recently had the chance to talk with frontman Adrian Patrick about the new album and their upcoming tour. Check out the interview here:

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Music Junkie Press: Thank you very much for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press! We are excited about the upcoming release of the new album, Peace at All Costs. Only a couple more weeks away. Can you share a little bit about what the title and what it means for you?

Patrick: Ya, absolutely. You know it was a saying that my Grandmother kind of lived by, you know. Whenever the Irish side of our family would get drunk and start beating the crap out of each other, that is what this little tiny pacifistic religious woman would say. “Peace at all Costs. Peace at all costs!” But I don’t think she realized the double entendres of that statement. You know, to us it is almost like a veiled threat, Give me peace of I’ll take it from you. And so, there were times in my life or a point in my life where those words were really resonating with me. I had those words tattooed across my throat and so you know the first album, which was called True Love Never Dies, which was the tattoo that our cousin Ivan Patrick had on across his neck, so for the second album, it only just made sense for us to name it after the one across my own throat. It really does kind of encapsulates the overall vibe of this album. The songs as as a whole, the body of work, it really you know, it conveys exactly where we are at in our lives and in our careers.

Music Junkie Press: It is amazing. The first single, Darker Side of the Moon came out and it was really well received. It brings out an aggressive hard rock song with an alternative edge to it. As soon as it hit, very well received! Great track. For that song, what did that song represent for you guys?

Patrick: Again, it was a very timely thing, that song, you know, we are constantly searching for light through darkness and that also has a double meaning. Of course, we all want to see the light at the end of the tunnel but being from where my brother and I are from, and you know where our family comes from, you know we also embrace the darkness, we can find light in the darkness, we can find light through going into the darkness. We don’t people to be afraid of that, and you know, Darker Side of the Moon is kind of, not a call to arms, but like our invitation to everybody to come take this ride with us, let’s go check out, let’s go see what is on the other side of the horizon, you know.

Music Junkie Press: Your songs bring out emotionally driven lyrics that bring emotion to life and become even more powerful with the hard rock sound. Creating a connection to the listener, How is for you when you hear how your music has helped, healed or inspired your listeners lives?

Patrick: Ya, it is heavy, it is a lot. You know, sometimes, it’s even, it is even difficult to know how to react when someone tells you that, your song saved their life. You know, when I think about it, in terms of that, a lot of times when you are in the studio writing and you are creating, we are doing that for ourselves and we are doing that because that is what we feel we need to do, and we feel like we have something to say, we feel like there is something on the inside that we need to share with the rest of this humanity. And so, we are not really thinking about the impact that it might have on somebody, you know, And then when you are standing there in front of a person that tells you that “Hey, you know I was going to kill myself but I didn’t because your album came out and I couldn’t stop listening to it.” Oh my God, it is hard to really respond and react to that, absolutely flattered and honored when we hear of the impact that our music could have on a person.

Music Junkie Press: The neat thing is that your fans have been with you for a long time and you can see the change that has been made in them. Over time when you are seeing them again and again, you get to see this great change in them. That is great.

Patrick: Yes, We are all about evolution in progress, we want everybody, to take, go with us on this ride, so, moving forward, keep pushing. It is a good feeling to, when you see somebody who wasn’t, maybe in the best place when you first meet, and then like you said, in the course of touring, and coming back to those places, and making improvements. Hell, we are a prime example of that. The first album, True Love Never Dies, was an extremely dark and depressing and tumultuous times. Especially for my brother and I because we had just lost our other brother, our cousin Ivan Patrick, and you know he was as big a part of this band as Me and Ryan are and that first run, I was extremely depressed, I was, I look back on it now and I think, it is funny when you kind of, you see things in perspective and I think I can’t believe that we pulled that off. I am very proud of the fact that we were able to persevere through such a tremendous tragedy and you know, so again, circling back to what you said, we are prime examples of growth and improvement and evolution and just again, finding light through darkness. We are in a much better place now, personally and we are primed to be even in a better place professionally, this album is very, very well put together. We are excited and I can’t wait to know that once the world hears it, it is going to be good.

Music Junkie Press: You guys bring a lot of depth and emotion through your music. How was the recording process? Was it an emotional process during recording, because you really feel a tremendous amount of passion through the music? Almost like a therapy, because you guys bring out so much through your music, how was it for recording?

Patrick: Ya, I mean the whole, our work is deep in emotions. We basically deal in human emotions and feelings as currency. So anytime, we are recording, you know or performing, you know it is always, it is always extremely emotional for us especially me because I write 99% of the lyrics and every time I sing that song, I go back to that same head space, as to what inspired those lyrics. For this particular album, I think people will hear where we are coming from, you now, there is definitely a lot a lot more, I would say anger, frustration in some of these songs but there is also a lot more, hope and just, I guess happiness, to a certain degree, that are infused into some of these songs.

Music Junkie Press: Now, you guys area also know for your great energy on stage. Your set is always energetic, do you guys have a particular preshow ritual to harness that energy?

Patrick: Well, we all try to, to treat our bodies like as if we are athletes and we try to train as hard as we can, and stay in the best shape as possible, because the output of our energy on the stage is fairly high and you know, we just try to stay as healthy as possible. As far as a ritual goes, we always do a break, a team break, which that is the ex-jock in me that comes out. (laughs) I don’t know if I am supposed to admit that I was an ex-jock. (laughs). I was, I am and so we try to bring that team mentality to every performance.

Music Junkie Press: We are glad to see Otherwise return to the Aftershock Festival next month. We will be there once again, you guys really delivered an incredible set last year. We are very excited to see you guys return to play Aftershock again!

Patrick: Ya, that is going to be a lot of fun because that show is going to take place right around the same time as the album comes out. It is gonna be a very cool, congruence of energy for us because our management owns Aftershock and puts it on every year, our album coming out at the same time, we are going to see a bunch of our labelmates and friends from other bands that weekend and it is going to be a big celebration for all of us guys and we are excited about that.

Music Junkie Press: You just teased us with your song Love and War on Instagram. Sounds like another kick ass track, can we expect to be the next single?

Patrick: I don’t know, that one definitely is in contention for being a single. It is hard, we have run into the same problem that we did on True Love Never Dies, where it is really difficult to pick a single, because they could all be radio songs, you know.

Music Junkie Press: So true! It is like your kids, you can’t pick your favorite, because they all have the certain right to be out there as a single.

Patrick: Ya, exactly, Again that is a good problem to have. We want, well, it is not like we write for radio, we write, we want our songs to be catchy, and memorable, and easy to sing along with, you know, universally relatable. And I think because we have a tendency to write like that, that is what makes every song, you know have the potential to be a single.

Music Junkie Press: Also, what is interesting is with your music, is that, it was like at Aftershock, you guys have a wide range of audience, you don’t sit there and put yourselves in this genre checkbox, because you can look out at the crowd and see all styles, all ages, generations, all singing along to your music. I think that is amazing that you guys can capture with that connection that spans across the borderlines that we are tired of seeing.

Patrick: Ya, I am really glad that you brought that up because that is a huge point of contention for us as we are, that is a part of our frustration is we’re so sick of being classified as an Active Rock Band or a Metal Band, you know, we are just a rock n roll band. I don’t know why the music industry or the radio landscape has become so segmented, you know. You know, If you listen to the songs of True Love Never Dies from song to song and then if you listen to our acoustic EP Enjoy the Pain, song to song, and then you listen to Peace at All Costs, every song sounds different. It doesn’t sound like we are putting out the same album over and over again, or like that our album is pretty much the same song that plays for 40 minutes back to back. You know and that is what we are going for, that is what we want, that is how we want to differentiate ourselves from the other bands and the other groups out there, and to be quite frankly, unfortunately, rock and roll is not as sexy as it once was and largely due in part to the fact that there is a lot of mediocre artists, that put out mediocre music. And they don’t try to do anything different, you know and we always felt different as people. My brother and I in particular, come from a fairly different background than a lot of guys in our business. SO, whether or not, the love, the critics and whatever, the naysayers think we sound different or cutting edge as a band, I know that we are different as people and I know, it is extremely different being first generation Americans. So you know, we try to capture that in our music, you know. For the longest time, when we were trying to get signed, and when we were trying to make a mark and get out into the national spotlight, one of the biggest obstacles we had, was the fact that these record label dudes were like you know, they were like, “Every song, you know, didn’t sound like the same band!, You have no identity, because, and ”. We are like, “That is our identity!”. We don’t want every song to sound like the last song we just wrote you know.

Music Junkie Press: That is great! Because you guys bring this creativeness to your musicianship that should be highlighted and applauded rather than broken down or tried to change. It is great because you see the span of ages in the audience, parents with their kids enjoying the music, you have got an audience that spans the classification of styles and they are there because they love your music. You guys have a wide span fan base and friendships are built and being made at shows. They share the common love of your music and fans from all over are forging new friendships over it.

Patrick: Ya, we see that frequently. I love seeing posts, I just actually read one yesterday,” I met most of you guys on here, you know, through Otherwise in the past two years and I’m just really happy for that…” It is good to be able to connect people that way and we are extremely excited about involving the kids, because that is our next generation and you know we want them to know that One Direction is the wrong direction. There is real music out there and there is real artists out there. Not these, just basically, products, these consumer products that are put together by various corporations, that there is real art, real life out there not just the shiny candy coated pop.

Music Junkie Press: Now, how about If you could go back to your 14 year old self, what advice would you give to yourself?

Patrick: That is so funny that say that, Mari, we actually wrote a song on the album on Peace at All Costs that is called Coming for the Throne and that song is, is exactly how I approached that song. I imagined if I had a time machine and I went back to that first day of my Freshman year in High School and what would I say to that 14 year old kid.

Music Junkie Press: Wow, that is cool, that is one of our main questions we ask, because it is so empowering for the youth of today to hear advice from others and it seems at 14 we never like to listen to advice from others, yet if we hear it from others as hindsight it might help someone through something or help someone out there.

Patrick: Ya, and that is kind of become our focus for this next run, the next tour, you know, we want the kids, to.. The world is a dark and scary place a lot of the times and we don’t want them to bury their heads in the sand, we want them to wake up and we want them to open their eyes and be strong. You know and that is pretty much what I would tell myself at 14 and that is hopefully what I would tell my son someday and it is all right there. Especially in that song, Coming for the Throne, so if you have the album, go back and check that out and you will hear what I am talking about.

Music Junkie Press: I will check it out! Now you guys are going to be touring on your headlining run, make a stop and see us at Aftershock and then continue on your full tour that takes you out for while.

Patrick: Ya, the first 4 weeks of the tour are headliners which is exciting for us, we are stepping up our live game. We are finally going to be getting professional grade equipment, you know, we have been playing on the same gear that we were playing on here in the local scene before we even signed our record deal. So you know to be able to step up our game and try to take it to the next level is exciting for us. You know, ya our headlining tour we are playing a lot of the same crappy little venues that we played before but you know we will get paid more money and you know we get more radio play in those markets. So I am just, we are all very anxious to see the growth and see where this can take us, on this next cycle.

Aftershock 2013:

Music Junkie Press: Lastly, is there anything else that you would like to share with our audience and your fans?

Patrick: Just a big thank you and we can’t really express our gratitude for those people who do support us, the only way I guess we can express our gratitude by letting those people know that, those are supporters, letting them know that they are not alone in how they feel in their darkness and in their light. We have been through, for whatever reason, You know, there are sayings that you see, this meme online That if you believe in God, God only gives us the toughest tests to the strongest soldiers or something along those lines, but for whatever reasons, as a band and as individuals we have been faced with some extreme adversity and we have soldiered on, and we made it through and we are still going. We just want everybody to know to stay strong and you have to keep the hope, keep the hope, because there is no point in life if you running through things hopeless. It is easy for me to say, being in a rock band in American and you know, that there is so many hopeless souls out in the world and I don’t know, the only inkling we even have about what to do about that, is to just make music and try and send out that message of light through darkness and in the end everything will be okay. You know John Lennon said it, “If it is not okay, then it is not the end.”

Music Junkie Press: That is so true, that is words of wisdom. We thank you so much for your time. We look forward to seeing you at Aftershock. Thank you so much for your time Adrian and for your time.

Patrick: Thank you so much Mari.

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I am very excited for the new album and the hope that it brings to people. Otherwise is made of truly passionate musicians who bring out emotions and hope through their songs. I really look forward to seeing them perform on Sunday, September 14th at Monster Energy Stage North at 12:30 PM for Aftershock. Make sure to also check the tour dates below and see if they will be making it to a venue near you.

09/11 Tempe, AZ @ Pub Rock Live with Like A Storm
09/13 Los Angeles, CA @ Whisky with Like A Storm
09/14 Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock Festival
09/16 Colorado Springs, CO @ Sunshine Studios Live with Like A Storm
09/18 Ringle, WI @ Q&Z Expo Center with Like A Storm
09/19 Racine, WI @ Rt. 20 with Like A Storm
09/20 Green Bay, WI @ The Watering Hole with Like A Storm
09/21 Battle Creek, MI @ Planet Rock with Like A Storm
09/22 South Bend, IN @ Cheers with Like A Storm
09/24 Ft. Wayne, IN @ Piere’s with Like A Storm
09/25 Morgantown, WV @ Schmitt’s Saloon with Like A Storm
09/26 Yorks Spring, PA @Fall Jam 2014
09/27 Parkersburg, WV @ West Virginia Polo Club with Like A Storm
09/29 New York, NY @ Webster Underground with Like A Storm
09/30 Rochester, NY @ The Montage Music Hall with Like A Storm

10/01 Cleveland, OH @ Agora Ballrooom with Like A Storm
10/03 Flint, MI @ Perani Arena and Event Center w/ Korn and Avatar
10/04 Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life Festival
10/08 Beckley, WV @ Club 3D w/ Buckcherry
10/11 Broussard, LA @ The Station Bar and Grill w/ Buckcherry
10/14 College Station, TX @ Hurricane Harry’s w/ Buckcherry
10/15 New Orleans, LA @ The Howlin Wold w/ Buckcherry
10/17 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Ballroom w/ Buckcherry

In addition, mark your calendars for September 16th to pick up your copy of Peace At All Costs. It just may be the album to inspire that change in you, give you hope, possibly provide the relief from the obstacles you are facing, and most of all; find the light through the darkness. Pick up the album on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/OWPAACiTunes or Amazon:http://smarturl.it/PAACAmazon.

~ Crank it up loud, Marisol

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