Song: Carry On
Album: Carry On
Okay, so if you've been listening to Red Dirt you know his name. Hell, if you've been listening to mainstream country them I'm sure you know his name. Pat Green is just awesome. I love his style, I love his attitude, I love how he stays true to himself and the things that he loves.
Pat was born in San Antonio, Texas and raised in Waco. His parents divorced when he was seven years old. After high school, Pat went to college at Texas Tech University where he started playing gigs around the college. He did this mostly for fun and who could blame him? Lubbock seems to bring out that side of some of our favorite Red Dirt artists.
Well, he didn't always have the love for independent music like he does now until his was in college at Texas Tech. I love this quote by Pat, "Country music – specifically some of the great Texas writers – didn’t really connect with Green until a little later. “After my senior year in high school, the summer before my freshman year at Texas Tech, I had a female friend who was listening to Robert Earl Keen, and I thought his songs were so incredible,” Green recalls. “The stories were great, and the music was so much deeper than the crap on the radio, they just painted a better picture with deeper colors. Robert’s music turned me on to Jerry Jeff Walker, and that led me to go further back. Sure, I had already heard of Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash, but now I explored it all. I fell in love with country music and the way it can be a great way of heartland storytelling – and so far from the plastic world it could be at the time, and sometimes still is. That’s a battle I’ll always have to fight, and I don’t always win the battle, but if you’re trying to make a living at this, that’s the river you have to negotiate.”
I couldn't have said it any better myself! Pat didn't commit to his music until his step father fired him from his job as a fuel wholesaler. His step dad realized Pat's talent and new that he wouldn't fully commit to his music without a little "help". I'd like to thank that man for giving Pat the push he needed. Pat made a name for himself and sold over 250,000 albums BEFORE he signed with a major record label.
His success slowed down when he tried the Nashville scene, though his loyal fan base stayed true. It didn't take Pat long to realize, once again, that his heart was with the independent music scene. He came back to his Texas roots and last year released a song with Lyle Lovitt called "Girls From Texas". It's a great song and I love it, even though I'm an Oklahoma girl.
Yes, that picture is of Pat Green with my favorite band, Prophets and Outlaws. It's awesome. They're awesome. Love it. Anyway, that picture just makes me happy. Pat Green is a musician that has blazed his own trail and he does everything in his power to support other artists like him. Artists with a different sound and style trying to make their own way and not giving in.
I love me some Pat Green. I can't choose a favorite, but I do love "Three Days" and "Don't Break My Heart Again". He's got so many great ones and I'm thrilled that he isn't about to stop.
Enjoy!
--kk
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