Patrick Watson : Why I Love Music

Below I mentioned a few reasons why I missed working in the music business, and brought up a reason that I didn't miss it, at all. Taylor Swift, I still don't like you and that won't change. However, I feel I need to clear the air a bit. I LOVED working in music. I absolutely loved it. Since I was kid, music has been my right arm. From playing the drums at age 9 to working in the business for 8 years, I love everything about music. Everything. I loved hearing new bands, signing new bands, pitching new songs, and especially loved going to shows. If you've noticed a constant adjective within this post so far, it's love. That's what music is to me, it's love.

I never felt music like I truly did when I worked for Patrick Watson. I was taken under the wing of Superfrank Copsidas and Foye Johnson at Intrigue Music, snatched up from the William Morris Agency in 2003. These guys were big time to a somewhat recent college grad, and they still are today. Intrigue was James Brown's management company, and as befits the credo of being a member of the Brown family myself, I too had rhythm so I was convinced that James and I were related. That couldn't be farther from the truth, but it was a fun thought. Music was now a "professional" passion of mine, and I was about to embark on a truly amazing journey; a journey into the world of Music Publishing that will FOREVER stay engrained in my heart and soul.

In short, music publishing is this. There are two sides to the music world, 1) the label, 2) the publishing company. The label releases records, assists in tour funding (hopefully), and makes sure the CD/ MP3 etc is on the shelves. Publishing is more fun, and very different; you are responsible for collecting pub royalties, registering song titles with the appropriate societies (ASCAP, BMI), and most importantly, you're responsible for exploiting the copyrights. To the laymen, that last sentence means you get to listen and FEEL good music, and fit it in with TV shows, movies, commercials, you name it. It's a dream job. Think of Grey's Anatomy. Everytime you hear the Fray, someone pitched that to match the scene(s) perfectly. Speaking of Grey's Anatomy, back to Patrick Watson.

Superfrank and Foye gave me the task of getting their other clients' music off the ground and out into the public eye. At the time, Patrick's first record, "Just Another Ordinary Day" was just out, and we were putting it into record labels' hands. It was a task I was happy to take on. In addition to that, I was responsible for pitching the record for use in TV, Film, Advertising, etc. Again, shoes I was more than happy to fill. What happened from here on was unforgettable. I immersed myself so deeply into his music, that I could tell you what the chord changes were, and how long each song was. In other words, I was living his music. Then, "Close to Paradise" came out, his 2nd record, and I was speechless. I remember Foye and I sitting at our desks on speaker phone with Patrick, while he's at his apt in Montreal playing "The Great Escape" on piano and singing us the vocals. Both Foye and I were silent for the 4 minutes he played the song, and we knew it was "the one." I teared up, Foye did as well, and we looked at eachother and smiled. It was an absolutely amazing experience.

Bringing this entire post together...for those that have seen Grey's Anatomy, you've heard Patrick's music on 3 or 4 different occasions; one of them was "The Great Escape." This song became an absolute treasure. It was in the top 5 on itunes downloads, in 2 different movies, and countless television shows. Why do I love music? This is why. One random Thursday afternoon at Intrigue Music, listening to a new song by an as-of-yet unknown artist moved me like no other song I've ever heard. And then that song becomes a hit. It knocked me to the floor when I heard it live on speaker phone, and it still does today. You never know when "that" song is suddenly going to make it into your life, but you'll never forget it. You never forget where you were when you first heard it either, as it has it's own internal timestamp.

Patrick Watson is what music is truly meant to be: honest, truthful, and beautiful.

I found a cool montage of photos of Patrick with the tune behind it. Here you go: