Patchwork

Artist Information

Biography

After a year on the road, Jeremiah Nelson relocated to Madison, WI, where he and professional urban forager, Christopher Billingsly took up residence in a warehouse-turned scrap metaling space /recording studio, affectingly dubbed, The Warehome. After spending a few months living in the Warehome, Nelson emerged with a batch of songs that echo the space they were born with nods to influential luminaries along the lines of Dylan and Lennon/McCartney next to hints from modern pioneers like Faraquet and Karate. The recordings ranged from scatterbrained rants to hauntingly spare lo-fi gems. “Interstate Love Song II” the most raucous track from the new album, Take me down the Interstate climaxes over clanging guitars,

“Tell me what are you supposed to do? / First you’re dumb and in love then you’re old and immune... / Every place feels the same / It’s just another stop on the Intestate.”

The album is a soundtrack to life on the road, drunken sing-a-longs and hard-earned thinly-spread paychecks. It’s not for the faint hearted but its dog-eared beauty should resonate with folks who have been through put through the ringer a couple times.

Instrumentation

Jeremiah Nelson - guitar / vocals (for solo shows)
+ or - these folks:
(for band shows)
Chris Sasman -drums
Josh Tyack - bass
Josh Harty -guitar
Shawn Drake -violin

Discography

Take me down the Interstate (2008)
Work and Worry Ep (2007)
Dancing on a fallen sky (2005)

Links

• PATCHWORK on myspace
• facebook
• Patchwork on Virb

Audio

• laura lee
  Listen   Download
• a ok
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• fallout shelter signs
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• Caravans & Limosines
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• blue, black & green
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• Kicking Apples
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Video

"Caravans and Limousines"

Photo Gallery

Press

• compelling voice, both as a songwriter and a singer [+ Show ]
  

  "The one sheet accompanying this six song indie CD from the Oshkosh band Patchwork dubs the music "e..."The one sheet accompanying this six song indie CD from the Oshkosh band Patchwork dubs the music "experimental folk." Thats as good as any label but I just call it damn good music. Patchwork is singer/songwriter Jeremiah Nelson and a rotating cast of musicians. Nelson has a compelling voice, both as a songwriter and a singer. The music is graceful, thoughtful, and leaves you wishing there were more. Even the trippy electronica that closes out "Chasing Down the Sun" seems steeped in rightness. Is that not the mark of good music? Check them out at a local club near you.
  - Jim Lundstrom
  
  Fox Valley SCENE

• Patchwork - Editor's pick in the Onion [+ Show ]
  

  Oshkosh singer-songwiter Jeremiah Nelson and a shifting cast of musician friends make up Patchwork, ...Oshkosh singer-songwiter Jeremiah Nelson and a shifting cast of musician friends make up Patchwork, playing friendly tunes that stick unexpectedly on first listen. The gentle melodies, vocal harmonies, and strings could all melt into pretty indie-rock nothings, but the production keeps it all clean and direct, and melodic. The best track on Patchwork's Work and Worry Ep, "Stolen Tulips", chugs along pleasantly on the verses and floats into a fanciful chorus, tying the peices together with a solid vocal melody and guitar hook. Live, Nelson usually plays as a duo with a violinist, and though the arrangements do add a lot, the songs should hold up nicely in a simpler format. Opening Noah Harris, Hayward Williams.
  
  -Scott Gordan, the Onion

• Left of the Dial Magazine [+ Show ]
  

  "It’s poetry and rust, modern precious pieces assembled in smart combos." read entire review: ..."It’s poetry and rust, modern precious pieces assembled in smart combos."
  
  read entire review:
  
  http://www.leftofthedialmag.com/?p=251

• Sign This Band feature [+ Show ]
  

  SIGN THIS BAND (#8) For today's segment, I've got the joy of bringing you a band that makes me wan... SIGN THIS BAND (#8)
  For today's segment, I've got the joy of bringing you a band that makes me want to take a road trip to an area filled with corn fields and the beauty of nature, because that's the impression I get from listening to Patchwork. Perhaps it's the passionate and expressive lyrics that at times make you recall the wonder of our very planet. From the sweetest and most graceful snowfall to the way the sun gives the sky a pinkish-purple hue as it dips just below the horizon- these are the things you can hear as the context for Patchwork's music. At it's core, the group is simply Jeremiah Nelson, who happens to be from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, a town that I've driven through before and know how nature-filled and peaceful it can be. To hear a location's reflection within an artist hailing from that area can be a powerful tool, especially in a display that the artist is attuned to his or her or their surroundings. Jeremiah, along with his band of constantly rotating musicians, play a brand of folk rock that sounds very much akin to Mr. Jeff Buckley. Of course there's not quite the same vocal powerhouse behind the music, but Jeremiah has a Stephen Malkmus kind of voice that works really well in the songs. Now last I heard, Jeremiah was preparing the "Work and Worry" EP for sale at shows and somewhere online. Checking around the web, I haven't found any "buy" links yet, but if you're looking for an early taste of what sweetness is to come, here are a couple songs for your listening pleasure.
  
  faronheit.blogspot.com

• "Remarkable lyrical skill" [+ Show ]
  

  Combine a chill country beat with crunchy distortion and you’ve got something like Patchwork a.k.a. ...Combine a chill country beat with crunchy distortion and you’ve got something like Patchwork a.k.a. Jeremiah Nelson. Simple chord progressions lay the foundation for intelligent lyrics about the small town anguish of Middle America. Mr. Nelson takes his time, giving a kindergarten story hour feel to his Smog like odes. Patchworks intricacies should sate indie kids' needs, but other listeners may hunger for more.
  
  Like Smog, Nelson’s delivery is uncaring and emotionless: been there, done that. He speaks of things he's seen since childbirth. One dead end job feels like the next and another hookup leaves him calling out the last woman’s name in soft dreamy verses and Pixies-like loud choruses. On some songs Nelson keeps the noise up the whole time with booming drums and distorted rhythm over tinny leads. Blue, Black and Green, which carries the EP’s name Work and Worry, is almost danceable in the American Bandstand tradition. A vision of indie-scene kids doing the twist is enough to make some people laugh, but Nelson plays into their hands, feet and hips.
  
  Like an apathetic Ben Kweller, Nelson drags out the small town formula once again making music aficionados wonder why urban expansion is such a band thing. Nelson isn’t half bad, but the themes are overdone and his spin leaves something to be desired. With remarkable lyrical skill, Nelson/Patchwork would take the indie world by storm if he took the worn vinyl off the record player and dropped the needle anew.
  
  -Jenna Thompson
  12/04/06

• Really nice stuff. [+ Show ]
  

  Patchwork out of Wisconsin, has a nice neo folk sound like a Great Lake Swimmers or maybe an acousti...Patchwork out of Wisconsin, has a nice neo folk sound like a Great Lake Swimmers or maybe an acoustic Alaska! or maybe even an upbeat Iron and Wine. Really nice stuff.
  http://www.thepunkguy.com/?p=1316

• Experimental Folk
  

  "Folk Rock injected with unleashed experimentation and gripping smoothness"

• In the words of one Oshkosh resident, [+ Show ]
  

  In the words of one Oshkosh resident, “Patchwork rocks so hard that your guts shake inside your body...In the words of one Oshkosh resident, “Patchwork rocks so hard that your guts shake inside your body and causes it to dance uncontrollably when the music plays good.”
  
  

Setlist

solid gold hits

Basic Requirements

Calendar