Patrik Michaels

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But for up-and-coming country singer, Patrik Michaels, independent is the way to be. His single, "To Get to You" from his latest album, <I>Feels Like Home</I>, went to #21 on the Country Charts from the Nashville Panel, a weekly country singles countdown compiled by the radio industry. He was nominated in the "best new male debut" category for New York City's 1999 MAC Awards. His group, The Patrik Michaels Band, was also a national finalist in the 8th annual Jim Beam Country Band Search in Nashville. To put the icing on the cake, <I>Feels Like Home</I> has independently sold over 10,000 copies.</div> <div>       The press has been whispering "Will he be country's next big star?" With marketing techniques acquired from his previous career, a soulful voice, and music from the heart, this artist has a very good chance of making it to the top.</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>From Model to Musician</b></I></div> <div>      This former Levi's jeans model began his road to fame as an actor in southern California during the late 1980's. He appeared in television commercials for Budweiser, Jell-O, and had roles on the NBC comedy <I>Nut House</I> and the soap opera <I>The Bold and the Beautiful.</I></div> <div>      "It (his experience on <I>The Bold and the Beautiful</I>) was off and on for a year and a half and then they threw me off the show. But it was a great experience and I learned a lot about the acting business," Michaels told <I>Singer Magazine</I> in a recent interview.</div> <div>       Patrik added that the acting business and the music business are very similar in that an artist has to know how to market and package him or herself. "You have to look good in front of the camera. So you have to know which angles look good in front of the camera and which don't, which colors look good and which don't. It's all in marketing yourself. If you take a bad picture and then represent yourself as a singer, no one's even going to take the time to go past that and listen to your music."</div> <div>       In addition to being photogenic, Patrik has learned that having a sparkling resume, biography, and press kit are key to success.</div> <div>       "You have to look polished and professional at all times," he said.</div> <div>       His knowledge of artist marketing didn't come naturally. Patrik admits he learned the hard way. "People don't realize that it takes a lot of dedication and knowledge and you can't do it all on your own. You have to have a lot of help from other people. People are always afraid of asking for help but you have to get as much help as possible from everyone else."</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The Wedding Singer</b></I></div> <div> <I><B>       </b></I>Like many beginning vocalists, Patrik had a case of stage fright that needed to be cured. He found karaoke singing to be the perfect medicine. "I was terrified of singing in front of people, " he confesses. "I've always wanted to sing, so I would secretly go to these karaoke stores and buy the songs I knew from the radio. I would take them home and I would rehearse with my little karaoke machine."</div> <div>        In the privacy of his own abode, Patrik would also sing secretly with the radio, trying to sound like the artists he heard. He didn't think he had any talent because he thought everyone could sound like the voices on the radio. Patrik would make his younger brother, Christopher, sit down and compare his voice to the radio. "He was my captive audience. No one else in my family knew that," Patrik said.</div> <div>       Years later, Patrik's karaoke and radio singing practice paid off when he decided to audition to be a wedding singer in Los Angeles. Patrik soon branched out from just singing in weddings to Bar and Bat Mitzvahs or the Lion's Club, and just about anything else in order to gain experience. He soon found there was more to a singing career. </div> <div>       "I started thinking about where I wanted to go with this and that I couldn't be a wedding singer all my life. There's more to singing than just singing at parties and benefits. So along the way I met up with people who were in the recording industry and I let them listen to my music and I asked for their opinions or the opinions of their colleagues. They were really excited about the voice and in the direction I was headed."</div> <div>       With a little helpful advice from his contacts in the recording industry he began writing sentimental country music and recorded a demo. He met with a producer in California who saw his potential and signed him to a recording contract with Waterbury Productions. Unfortunately, Patrik ran into a roadblock on his path to fame.</div> <div>       "I was in the middle of recording my debut CD when six months into the deal they went bankrupt. I learned that when there's money involved you have to be very careful about whom you hire. Because if and when the money ever goes - those people go too."</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>A Clean Slate</b></I></div> <div>       Patrik realized that the studio's bankruptcy was not the end of his career. He wanted a clean slate and in 1995 decided to move to New York, put a band together, and play in clubs. He played the New York club scene for a few years in venues such as The Bitter End, CBGB's, Don't Tell Mamma, and Le Bar Bat.</div> <div>       He then met a producer whom has worked with British R&B legend Dusty Springfield (who died of breast cancer in 1999)."He (the producer) fell out of the music business for awhile and then I came along. He got excited again about the whole music business and decided to take a chance on me. So we recorded my CD, <I>Feels Like Home</I>, and we hired a radio promoter. The single, <I>To Get to You</I>, went to #21 on the country charts."</div> <div>        The single received radio airplay on 350 stations across the United States. Patrik's motto of "never give up" was paying off. "Even if you think it's the end of the road, you have to keep on trying. Just never give up and think it's over even when you hit a roadblock. You've just got to keep doing what you love. And if you love it, then something will come of it eventually."</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>A Sentimental Kind of Guy</b></I></div> <div>        Patrik's sentimental music and lyrics grow from his life experiences, centering on family and love. "I think that's what it's all about in life - family and love. You're always going to have a family no matter what. Love is very important too. Love is about everything really. So, they're the two things I write mostly about."</div> <div>        It's no surprise that his country chart single, <I>To Get to You</I>, was also written about a personal experience. The song is about a guy telling a girl that there's nothing he wouldn't do to get to her, including crawling through the desert on his knees to get through to her and let her know how he feels.</div> <div>        "So he's telling her in this song, I would do anything to get to your heart, to get to you and to let you know that I'm really in love with you and there's nothing I wouldn't do to be with you." </div> <div>        The song was written about a girl Patrik met who didn't take him seriously because he wouldn't commit. "She decided to leave and I was like 'wait a minute.' I realized this person meant the world to me. So that's what the song was inspired by."</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>A Star is Born</b></I></div> <div>        Patrik knew from his high school years that he wanted to be famous. In his homeroom he had a folder on which he wrote "New York City" and "Los Angeles." </div> <div>        "I always knew I was destined to live in L.A. or New York and I was going to be famous, but I didn't know with what. I thought it was going to be acting. But I knew somehow that I would, that a lot of people would know me. I would be famous. There was something inside me that just knew."</div> <div>        Patrik may be close to seeing his destiny manifest itself. He's currently writing material for his second album and is preparing to dive into the pop mainstream, following the likes of Shania Twain and Faith Hill. Patrik is well aware that there hasn't been a male country crossover star in some time and hopes to change that. </div> <div>       "I really want to go pop and mainstream and less country than this CD was, because a lot of the country acts are. They're all kind of going the pop route, which expands the audience even more and there's really no male country act that is doing that right now."</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Your Money or Your Label</b></I></div> <div> <I><B>       </b></I>Patrik is proof that being on your own is okay. He's currently signed to PM Star Recording in New York and managed to make it on the charts without the power of a major label.</div> <div>       "When you sign with a major label, everyone thinks your life is set and you're going to be a big star. They give you money to record and for the production and marketing of your CD, but people don't realize that you have to pay them back. So, basically, they're a  loan officer giving you a loan."</div> <div>       Patrik suggests that other up-and-coming songwriters and singers self-produce their own CDs and be as independent as possible, because all the profits go to the artists if they are on their own. "If you're with a major label, all the profits go to them until you pay off your debt. A lot of kids don't realize that."</div> <div>       "A lot of the major labels are shutting down right now or being bought out and it's a scary time for music and the underdog. The independent labels are actually taking over." </div> <div>        Patrik concludes that being independent is a smart way to start out in the music business while an artist  is finding an audience. Then, once an artist develops a larger fan base, he or she should get the backing of a major label. "When you have a huge audience it would be wise to go to a major label. But when you're just starting out I think the best thing to do is build your fan base and get out there as much as possible and be heard."</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>