As his stage name suggests, nobody likes you pat is no stranger to self deprecation. “It’s just something my mom used to say to me,” he teases. “No, just kidding, but it was a phrase in a producer tag I used to use — like when making beats for rap artists. I just thought it would be a funny name to go by. It’s a good bit.” Jokes aside, Pat often finds himself neck deep in paranoia and self loathing. The harshest of battles are internal. “I’ve always struggled against social anxiety and obsessive thoughts. So, it’s very easy to leave a normal conversation feeling like I said or did something that made the other person hate me — even if it’s someone I’m super close with and trust.” He’s an all-or-nothing type of guy with a sarcastic sense of humor that occasionally rubs folks the wrong way. “When it comes to the relationships (of all sorts) in my life, I’d say I am pretty juxtaposed. I can get really serious really fast and talk about the hard and dark stuff in my life, even with someone I don’t know very well. But I tend to sprinkle a lot of dryness and subtle jokes in there, so sometimes people think I’m being an asshole or nihilistic. But people close to me know it’s just my personality. I’m also very self-critical and (hopefully?) pretty self-aware, so I can usually pick up on what version of myself enters what relationship or conversation.”
He pays homage to those who truly love him with his new single, “what a good friend is for.” Emotional intimacy is earned. Friendship is a sacred bond in Pat’s eyes. “I have countless acquaintances. I have several friends. I can count my closest friends on one hand. That type of relationship is special, and it’s the undergirding of any other type of relationship. ‘Agape’ love comes before all other types of connection. Unconditional care and sacrifice are parts of the package of true friendship. And I just don’t think we celebrate that enough. I don’t think we consider that enough. Being a good friend is not just enjoying someone’s company. It is entering the trenches of life with someone and seeing their best and worst parts and choosing to bear their burdens with them.” Platonic relationships are just as important as romantic ones, if not more so. Friends make our existence a little sweeter. “I just think it gets brushed under the rug as a topic. It’s not taken as seriously as it should be and can be seen as childish or uncool to care deeply for someone outside of yourself or a romantic partner. Imagine your life without the people who know you deeply and care for you, flaws and all. That’s no life at all. We need art about that.“ This theme of the purity of human connection will be carried over into his forthcoming EP via Nettwerk. “It’s pretty much an inside look at personal letters I’ve written to the people closest to me. It’s simple and quiet and very real.” His music revolves around authenticity. “If I release a song, you can count on it that it’s gonna be from the core of who I am, in one way or another. I can’t write any other way.” You can sense his full heart in every lyric.
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nobody likes you pat Honors Platonic Love in New Single, “what a good friend is for.” Photo Credit: Charlie Flatten.
