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| SMITHRADIO frontman and Actor Scott Patterson behind the scenes on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon November 22, 2016 |
By CA Marshall
When he isn’t ‘Luke Danes’ from the epic new original
Netflix series Gilmore Girls (GG), Los Angeles, California Based Actor Scott
Patterson is the frontman for his own band, SMITHRADIO, (previously GORDON), a
band he formed in June 2016 who have been blazing a trail of success ever
since. Following their live benefit concert performances in West Virginia and New
Jersey, the band headed back to LA anxious to begin recording tracks for what
will be their upcoming debut album. Since, there’s been a pandemic among
SMITHRADIO fans clamoring to hear even the tiniest sneak peek and their wait is over with the recent launch of HA HA, the band's debut single.
Before we get into the review, let’s back up a little and look at the chronological
timeline of how this has all unfolded:
At the time of our last interview in September, Patterson was
meeting only a few days later with the producer for the album. A few weeks
later, a photo emerged on the SMITHRADIO facebook page featuring the frontman with
Composer and Music Director Michael Nomad Ripoll (known for his work with Kenny
Babyface Edmonds - “Playlist”, Celine Dion - “Loved Me Back to Life”, Justin
Bieber - “Believe”, Colbie Caillat - “Gypsy Heart”, Barbra Streisand -
“Partners”, and Aretha Franklin - “Sings the Great Diva Classics”) and Steve
Ferrone, Drummer for the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (Ferrone is
a former member of the Average White Band and has recorded and performed with
Duran Duran, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton,
Bee Gees, Scritti Politti, and Johnny Cash). The quote on the photo simply
read:
“With #SteveFerrone and #MichaelNomadRipoll Recording EP! #Epic! #RockBand #RockAlbum #Nomad #ScottPatterson #DebutAlbum #Pumped”
Then, on October 20th, Patterson again posted a
second studio photo of himself with Producer Rich Mouser at ‘The Mouse House’
Studio in LA. This time the message read:
"Zoux Magic! Trax Magic! @nomadsplace @RichMouserMusic @zouxmusic Scott-Patterson-lbhj.squarespace.com/shop/ #RockAlbum #GilmoreGirls #ScottPatterson"
Mouser’s client credentials include: Robert Trujillo
(Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne); Chris Vrenna (Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails,
Tweaker); Joe Holmes (Ozzy Osbourne); Tears for Fears; Chris Cornell; Dream
Theater; Transatlantic; Oleander; Weezer; and Spocks Beard. It is clear that Patterson
has carefully chosen to align SMITHRADIO with some of the industries finest for
the world debut of HA HA.
Following the recording photo posts on social media,
Patterson announced that SMITHRADIO’s debut single HA HA would drop on iTunes,
Google Play, and Amazon November 23rd, 2016, only two days before
the world release of Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life on Netflix sending fans
into a frenzy. On November 22nd, Patterson appeared on The TonightShow with Jimmy Fallon alongside his GG alumni, Sean Gunn and Liza Wiel. Along
with discussion about the new original Netflix series, Fallon also took the
liberty of expressing his keen interest in the new single. (see below).
The timing of the HA HA song release (by Patterson’s newly
formed label ‘Blind Horse Records’) in conjunction with the Thanksgiving holiday and GG Netflix release was brilliant planning on his part, because
it currently sits at number one on the iTunes Indie Rock Song Top 100 Chart
making it the best selling single for 2016 on iTunes in that genre. This has
been much-anticipated from the band’s fans on a global scale. In fact, during a
recent interview with Patterson (for our Spotlight series - see here: GORDON No. 1 and GORDON No. 2), he admits that the band’s international fan base
response has been incredible.
Upon listening to HA HA for the first time, I could immediately
identify with Patterson’s writing style: he admits that Musician Patti Smith is
a muse for his compositions and the classic Punk Rock vocals and instrumentation
you hear in HA HA is reflective of this fact. This is an extremely
heart-pumping raw number infused with creativity unheard of in today’s music
industry and I must say, it’s about time! This is the kind of sound reminiscent
of the early 80’s Punk Rock scene with an original twist of its own. Patterson
is very serious about demonstrating his ability to bring his years of collective
artistic creation (he’s been writing since third grade!), vision, and passion
for Punk Rock music into fruition and he has achieved that in the form of HA
HA.
When interviewing Patterson last, he mentioned that HA HA 'wasn’t like anything anyone has ever heard before', and he is correct in this
claim. This is a song that enters with drums pounding at mach speed followed by
intense guitar riffs that will blow your mind! The lyrics, a mix of emphatic
anger and excitement, are something you can easily imagine on the CBGB stage
back in it’s hey day.
HA HA is the perfect song to debut SMITHRADIO because it shows exactly how far this band is willing to stretch
conventional ‘debut’ boundaries both lyrically and instrumentally onto the
indie music scene. I find that often, bands will come in with something a
little more timid and cautious and this finds them often overlooked when it
comes to serious radio play. HA HA breaks this mold: it is a
song that breaks out of the barn gates kicking, screaming, and waking up the
neighbors. To be perfectly honest, it wouldn’t surprise me if it were picked
up by every major radio station on an international level. HA HA is a crash-course
for GG fans who more than likely wouldn’t expect something like this from the seemingly
reserved, introverted, and grumpy ‘diner owner’ in Stars Hollow. In fact, I could easily
envision Patterson performing HA HA at full on intensity
then dropping his mic, walking off the stage elated, dripping in sweat, and leaving
his audience jumping up and down shouting for more.
Now that SMITHRADIO has spread its wings with the ‘HA HA’
debut, we are looking forward to seeing how high the rest of the album can soar. There's already tour talk slated for early 2017 and an appearance on the TODAY show November 29th. We are confident that we are witnessing the beginning successes from a band that will absolutely go the whole distance.
SMITHRADIO, you are bookmarked and in our top ten and your
fans are ready for more – now, BRING IT!
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SMITHRADIO Social Media Links:
gr8 song gr8 band & gr8 front man what else can one say
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