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Pat Beary is a multitalented singer/songwriter living and plying his trade in Northern Arizona. Drawing influence from such venerable pop composers as Elvis Costello, Michael Penn, Evan Dando, and Tom Waits, his songs tend to be filled with a rich, introspective wordplay; their melodies woven together with the lyric, creating a great sense of depth. This young composer shows an honest commitment to the true craft of songwriting. He’s one of those too-few uncompromising writers, unwilling to settle for mediocrity in his work, leaving the studio floor littered knee deep at all times with ‘not quites’ and ‘not yets’. Stubborn is a word he’s accustomed to hearing near his name. Shortly before taking up the guitar, a badly broken right arm insisted he learn the instrument with his picking hand barely protruding from a plaster cast running from shoulder to wrist.. |
Not to be deterred, subsequent years of studying music theory, voice, composition, jazz and classical ensemble work have given him a broad understanding of his art, while the years of exploring and paying dues in smoky bars, cafes and coffeehouses have served to push him to reach for higher ground. 2002’s “8/ROUGHLY” offers eight fine examples of his intuitive strength as a storyteller. From the sublime sadness of a jilted lover’s rebuttal in “Copout”, to the hopeful longing of “A Fool Like Me”, or the lonely-guy envy at an old friend’s wedding, quietly confessed in “2 Lovers”, there is an immediate intimacy, an authenticity, that’s hard to ignore. All the while, a low, tremulous voice, and thoughtful, stream-of-consciousness guitar playing illustrate an uncommon appreciation for the organic nature of acoustic music. More recently, 2005’s “DON’T BLAME THE SUN/the last of the great singing telegrams” finds Beary’s focus tightened, with the album clearly , sometimes painfully, recounting the personal travails of several years of a gifted writer’s life. The album’s opener, “House”, effectively sets the tone for the body of work that follows: “…you know I hate to have to be the one to tell/ but the facts are finally speaking for themselves…” The songs that follow serve to piece together a story of turbulence, tenderness, ignorance, absence, acceptance, and revelation. The closer, “Singing Telegram”, forces closure on the matter: “…and so what if stepping aside would mean watching it all walk away/ just in time, I’ll send the last of these great singing telegrams that I wrote for you.” These are pictures, painted in broad strokes, telling stories in a dream state blow-by-blow style that only deepens on closer inspection. Pat is currently performing, while working on “DON’T BLAME THE SUN”’s follow up. |
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