Patrick Bloom
Iowa City, Iowa, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"As good as Bloom's music is, his lyrics are what make him stand out. Bloom writes about real people and places. He seems to have the knack for taking the very ordinary in life and dissecting it to show the true unappreciated beauty of everyday life." - Ryan Parker
"Million Miles Away might be the best Jayhawks song Gary Louris or Mark Olson didn't write." - Steve Horowitz
“…Bloom captures the essence of everyday life with a poignancy that evades the pitfall of becoming maudlin.”
- Don Grant
“There is an honesty and generosity in the way Patrick Bloom presents his carefully crafted studies of the human experience. His subjects are not extraordinary. In fact, it is their ordinariness that makes them special. They are stories about you and I. Bloom's jangly folk-pop infuses every track with a gently beating heart creating a beautiful collection.” - Jeff Weiss
"...Bloom works in the vein of Walt Whitman and Bob Dylan. A tenor with a guitar who is able to conjure imagery and narrative, Bloom brings the vast landscape of Middle America down to a remarkably human scale as his evocative songs unfold." - Cedar Rapids, IA
"... every time I listen to his lyrics, I think to myself, 'Man, I wish I could write like that!' Then I hide in my closet and cry." - Patrick Kelly
"This is the kind of masterful songwriting that you rarely hear these days. You’ll hear it in an artists like Gillian Welch, David Rawlings, and Steve Earle, and maybe a handful of other contemporary songwriters, but, for the most part, folks with this kind of talent are few and far between." - Teddy Goldstein
Discography
-Solo (Recording as Patrick Brickel):
Patrick Bloom- Moses
Released 2008 on Mud Dauber Records
Freedom- A Mud River Music Compilation
Released 2005
Patrick Brickel- (Songs From) The Pink Sofa
Released 2004 on Trailer Records
Live Java Blend- WSUI Benefit Compilation
Released 2004
-With The Letterpress Opry as writer & instrumentalist:
Hot Unsigned (and unsung) Americana Compilation
Released 2003 on Catamount Records
The Letterpress Opry- Americana Gothic
Released 2003 on Feral Dachshund Records
The Letterpress Opry- Sycamore Tree (out of print)
Released 2002 on Feral Dachshund Records
-As Session Player/Engineer/Producer
BeJae Fleming- Destination Unimportant
Released 2005; Trailer Records
Ben Schmidt- Write It Down
Released 2005
Catfish Keith- Sweet Pea
Released 2005; Fish Tail Records
Greg Brown- Honey In The Lion's Head
Released 2004; Trailer Records
The Mike & Amy Finders Band- Where You Are
Released 2004; Neighborly Records
Catfish Keith- Rolling Sea
Released 2003; Fish Tail Records
Going Driftless- An Artists' Tribute To Greg Brown (compilation)
Released 2002; Redhouse Records
Ben Weaver- Hollerin' At A Woodpecker
Released 2002; 30/30 Industries
Catfish Keith- A Fist Full Of Riffs
Released 2001; Solid Air Records
Jack Norton- Dance Real Slow
Released 2001; 30/30 Industries
A Nod To Bob- An Artists' Tribute To Bob Dylan (compilation)
Released 2001; Redhouse Records
Greg Brown- Over & Under
Released 2000; Trailer Records
Thunder & The Plains- Eric Straumanis
Released 2000; Trailer Records
Joe Price- Designated Driver
Released 2000; Trailer Records
Ben Weaver- Living In The Ground
Released 2000; 30/30 Industries
Libby Kirkpatrick- Songs From The Ether
Released 1999; Heart Music
Beth Amsel- 1000 Miles
Released 1999; Good Egg
Photos
Bio
-#6, Moses- Freeform America Roots chart
-#10, Moses- Roots Music Report Folk chart
-#14, Moses- Euro Americana chart
-Editor's Pick, Moses- CD Baby
-Featured Staff Favorite, (Songs From) The Pink Sofa- iTunes
-Editor's Pick, (Songs From) The Pink Sofa- CD Baby
-Featured Lyricist- American Songwriter Magazine
-Featured Songwriter- International Narrative Song Competition
-Iowa Arts Council and National Endowment For The Arts grant recipient
-Top 5 Most Added Albums, (Songs From) The Pink Sofa- Americana Music Association Airplay Chart
-Finalist- South Florida Folk Festival Songwriting Competition
-Alternate- Telluride Bluegrass Festival Troubadour Contest
-Runner Up- Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Songwriter Showcase
Transplanted to the black dirt of Iowa via the housing projects of east Los Angeles and the working class industry of Long Island's Southern shore, Patrick Bloom's feet have taken root in the rich and muddy musical history carried along the Mississippi River. He's been labeled a "masterful songwriter" by the Grand Island Independent, and a reviewer from Modern Vertebrate once wrote "every time I listen to his lyrics, I think to myself, 'Man, I wish I could write like that!' Then I hide in my closet and cry." He currently has surrendered to the violent weather patterns of the Midwest where he lives with his wife and baby daughter.
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The usual fodder of a musician's bio won't describe Patrick Bloom. Because you won't hear his roots in his music. You won't hear his birth in a tough LA housing project, or his childhood on the industrial banks of Long Island's gritty Southern Shore. And though he's commonly classified as an Americana artist, you won't be able to pick out the strains of all the artists who've influenced him. Because his work is so clearly his own, a mix of so many influences.
However, you might be able to hear the strains of Patrick's present. There is something about his songs that resembles the Iowa landscape he's claimed for himself. With an understated surface, a slow building tension, and a kind of rural prettiness, his songs climb low hills and then burst forth with the sudden onslaught of a summer storm on the prairie.
And you might hear his recent fatherhood in his music, as his songs do resemble- in moments- lullabies and nursery rhymes, before they turn over to reveal surprising ferocity and passion. Lyrics of anger and frustration, heartbreak and wanderlust, doubt and faith all coexist in these songs beneath a veneer of softness, beneath gently swelling melodies and plaintive harmonies. Sex beneath love. Violence beneath patience. Bones beneath skin.
With the onset of 2008 comes Moses, Patrick's long awaited follow up to (Songs From) The Pink Sofa. A fluid and emotionally rich collection of songs, Moses threads its way through the minutia of daily life, flawed plans, and quiet redemption. Moses is being released on Mud Dauber Records; more information can be found at www.MudDauberRecords.com or at www.PatrickBloom.com.
Links
