[Interview_Anticipated-Release] “Meditations Concerning Human Understanding”– Patrick Llewellyn and His Band- Stanhope, New Jersey

by Leigh Silbernagel in Album Reviews, Editorials, Musician Reviews, New Releases, News, Reviews, bands to watch

Rock-pop-folk rock group brings hope back to the music scene

April 29, 2008– On a sunny Friday afternoon outside his house in Ewing, I sat at a black wrought iron patio table with Patrick Llewellyn, founder and lead singer of Patrick Llewellyn and His Band—a folk/pop/folk-rock group out of Stanhope, New Jersey. He began by saying, “Thank you for doing a piece on me, this is great exposure.” But by the end of the interview, I felt I should be thanking him for his profound insights. To date, this interview put me in my place; and opened myself up to a whole world of thinking about music, identity and insights into the music industry that was very humbling and inspiring.

[The Band]

The members are Patrick Llewellyn – Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin, Assorted Instruments, Songwriter, Josh English – Vocals, Guitar, Jake Egan – Drums, Vocals, Joe Mankin – Bass, Erin Hough – Piano/Keys, Banjo, Matt Lott – Vocals, Assorted Instruments, Joe Egan – Guitar, and Brandon Burke - Guitar, Assorted Instruments. Visit Myspace.com/patrickllewellynandhisband.

First, he made it clear that they are not really a band. “It’s really just a collection of friends and we play together. We’ve been playing together since we’ve been 13… it’s really a revolving group of musicians. We started in Stanhope, New Jersey where we still record, play, and practice. We also play with Joe Egan- whose band is The Human Eye (myspace.com/thehumaneye), [and he] owns Missle Silo recordings. His band members are Joe, Jake, other Joe, Matt.” (Joe Egan – Vocals, Guitar, Matt Lott – Trumpet, Piano/Keys, Vocals, Percussion, Sampler, Alex Drach – Piano/Keys, Guitar, Drums, Jake Egan – Drums, Vocals, Guitar, Joe Mankin – Bass). He also mentioned that he works with Josh English. During a live show they perform his songs, Josh’s songs, or songs that they wrote together.

Joe Egan started his own label, but it is not technically a label: Missile Silo Recordings is the “label.” “We started writing songs independently and then started playing together. We started our own thing, not distribution, not really signed.” He explained it to me as, “My first record is on Missle Silo but it is not technically a label. But who knows that the future may hold. Joe Egan has a studio, he hooks it up and we record… He’s a good man.”

When I asked about the name of the band he said it is “Uncreative but for the folk singer/songwriter it works. There’s no real set band so there’s no reason to have a set name. It’s really a collection of people that play with me. We are currently working on folk style songs for the new album, but I’m also currently working on a rock record for a future release, like ball’s out rock and roll.”

[The Music]

The musical influences he mentioned were “Bob Dylan. We’ve been compared to a folk group called the Avett Brothers– out of North Carolina, Bright Eyes- Connor Oberst, Jack White, John Lennon, Jerry Garcia. The inspiration for the music comes from “Absolutely the world around me but I look at love songs from a different angle. I tell it like it is.” Their latest folk style album due out early next year is called, “Meditations Concerning Human Understanding.”

Llewellyn got the title from philosophers Descartes and John Locke. Descartes wrote Meditations and John Locke wrote an Essay Concerning Human Understanding in response to Descartes. Both essays consisted of answering basic human questions like the existence of God. “Everyone wants the answers to the same questions but comes at them with different angles. Everyone is trying to prove the same thing. On the album, I try to answer some deep questions. There’s stuff about the end of the world, politics, the music industry, really just my answers to basic questions.”

This album will be different from his first album. “My first album was ‘Everything Will Be Okay.’ It was a personal endeavor, my struggles like when I had a drug issue. It’s about love, getting lost, being comfortable. But I’m clean now and I’ve settled and have concerns with issues other than myself, namely religion and political struggle. My inspiration for this record is questions we all have. Even when you are arguing with someone you are basically saying the same thing in a different way. No one knows that they are talking about. They just think they do… I don’t know what I’m talking about most of the time. There’s so many issues, its hard to not get lost” in the world. It’s disheartening, but my music is hopeful. I try to address the issues and give hope. I look at the basic general goodness of mankind that I still believe in.” At which point I said, “Like John Lennon, Bob Dylan…” “To an extent. I try to tackle issues and still say, the world can be a peaceful place.”

Since ‘Meditations,’ a folk album, has been written it is just waiting to be recorded, Llewellyn has started another album, a rock one. When asked why the switch to rock, “It’s just another style of music I want to tackle. When you are writing about issues- like music based in lyrics- go for something easy to listen to more mellow topics. It’s just another style, another thing I want to do. I started with punk. Then I got the folk out- the folk came out of me at this time. No songs I write are like anything else I write. I try to change it up… keep people guessing, keep myself guessing. I don’t really write music for other people. I write music for myself first and foremost… I like it, it means a lot to me. If you can relate to it, cool, and if you like it, cool, if you don’t like it, … also cool.”

[The advice for other musicians]

“Don’t try to sound like everyone else. Play for yourself. Don’t rely on a label until it’s absolutely necessary because they will end up —ing you over.”

“Everyone is trying to sound like everyone else. There are a lot of people out there like me who will never get signed- who are doing music for the right reasons. There are people out there that are doing it for themselves. But there are people who listen to the radio and write music that sounds like what they hear.”

“Everything exists to make people fit a mold, like pop culture. And it’s furthering the brainwash of the American public. Music is part of it. Music can be a threaten thing. It can make people think and feel a different way. And the government’s gotta control everything. But I’m not a government conspiracist. There’s a few mainstream musicians who write music for themselves and don’t care. Jack White, for instance. If I could meet anyone in the business it’d be Jack White.”

“There are no challenges except for the challenges that you make for yourself. If you face obstacles you’re doing if for the wrong reasons. Especially in terms of creating art. If you challenge yourself to do the best you can, the reward is knowing you did it. The biggest reward is having an album that I can listen to and know I did my best at that time.”

By obstacles for yourself, he meant “If you feel like no one’s listening and you’re doing all you can. Like, a label will face you with obstacles. I will never record anything for a major label for fear of becoming a commodity. If you are facing obstacles within yourself, give yourself more credit. It shouldn’t matter what other people think.”

We then talked about touring. “You don’t really need to tour. You can be the biggest band and never play a show. Put yourself on the internet. Kinda a shame- takes the soul of music. At the same time it is whatever. The music industry…*****… it just *****. And that’s the most un-profound thing I’ll say all day. But for me? Who knows, touring, recording… I don’t really have a plan I just do it and hopefully it works out. If I made it big for the right reasons I’ll take it, but I will never work for a major label. I don’t even shop at Walmart.”

[The bottom line]

The best part about being a musician is that you can “Say what you think in medium where people listen. It’s a cool way to challenge yourself and get out what you need to say. It’s a form of therapy, getting it out in a melody. It’s stabilizing and it helps you keep your sanity. That’s what music used to be all about… and what it should be about…” ‘Meditations concerning Human Understanding’- Patrick Llewellyn and His Band. Out early winter, or early next year. “Its written just a matter of recording, I want to go over the top, Lots of instruments lots of things going on.”

Go to myspace.com/patrickllewellynandhisband

-leigh silbernagel, April 29, 2008