The “Battle” of a Band? Trying to make a living in a local band can be a grueling challenge, not to mention lifestyle; especially, if the band has aspirations of moving up to the big leagues. In order to GET to the big leagues, a band’s chances are greatly enhanced if they’re located close to the action, where a culture of creativity is taking place on a daily basis. Playing nightclubs and special events can be detrimental to a band trying to seek an identity… a SOUND. That seemly mysterious “it” factor that separates one band or musician from another. I remember standing in the lobby of a well-known nightclub where we were playing in Little Rock, Arkansas, called The Checkmate; looking at the “wall-of-fame”… a wall full of Top 40 band’s promo photos. These were the bands that had played there, at any point, thinking like us, it was just a stopping point on their way to the top. Suddenly it hit me, our band doesn’t look that unique at all; in fact, we look pretty common. You see, I thought with all of the bright colored “hip clothes” we wore, and had struggled to buy on our less-than-minimum wage (when you count the actual hours we worked), made us stand out. Okay, I know every generation has a style and that’s fine. I’m just pointing out the obvious. A famous king once wrote, “There’s nothing new under the sun.” The tattoo look has also become very common and not really unique, at least at this point in history. What makes a band unique is not the clothes or the “look.” It’s their original music; the songs they write themselves, that matters going forward to that Top spot. So, what’s the big “Battle”? Writing the songs! Most writers take years honing their craft, and working with other experienced writers to keep the juices flowing. It takes a lot of time and discipline for a band to sit down with an idea… a “hook”… and write a good song; then hammering out the arrangement and the parts for the instruments. If a band just likes to party and sleep all day after a night of… well, doing what many bands do… then the singers’ voices are greatly affected, and they begin ducking notes and are unable to perform at maximum level, when the RED record light comes on. Same goes for the rest of the musicians. Tempers flare and feelings get hurt when the party’s over and the real work should begin. It’s tempting to get high, because the future looks brighter at night when the enhancers are present and the party’s jumping. But, when the light of day strikes, many bands just go into hibernation. Those midnight dreams become distant memories… until the next party. Most entertainers/musicians NEVER conquer that demon…“The Battle.” So, hours turn into days, and day into years, just “talking” about making it big, but never getting even a taste of what that could be like. Not preaching, just stating what I saw in my years as a band leader, writer, producer, musician singer, and performer! Our band spent thousands of hours writing, rewriting, recording, and traveling. We talked big, but we worked bigger! As the lead singer, I sang as many as fifty to sixty songs a night, and still had to be ready to go into a vocal booth and record for hours upon hours, even though my voice was almost gone. For most of our jobs my voice was usually ragged out, which meant I had to take care of it the best I knew how during the down hours. Many times our band set up and broke down our equipment, then had to drive for hours back home, only to get up the next morning and head to practice or the recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee. So, if you hear me ducking a few notes, or a few discords on this album, you may understand why. Often, it was a long day and night, but we felt we had a goal and wanted to make our statement in the music world. So, as one of our drummers John Madison once said with confidence, “Good… bad… or otherwise… we got our original music recorded, and we got it out there.” I couldn’t agree more! This is a “LIVE” album from Philip Paul & Patrol… there’s no punching in and out to correct mistakes… no auto-tune or retakes. What you hear is one-take, and I think you’ll agree… it’s great! I believe the guys playing on these tracks, and pictured on this photo, are not only great musicians, writers, and a well-disciplined group of men, but I’m a witness that they are also great people, that you would love if you ever had the opportunity to meet them. I hope you enjoy what those years of struggles, tears and, yes, FUN have wrought. We have more albums of “our work” on this site, if you enjoy what you’ve heard. Did I mention! Great bands are made, not born! Philip Paul