Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"Patrick Thomas' Theory - Detroit Band often compared to DMB"
Detroit Free Press
February 4, 2005
The lowdown: Patrick Thomas picked up a guitar when he was 13. He hasn't put it down since. "I wasn't that interested in mastering the guitar. It was more that instantly I had songs coming to me," Thomas says. "Granted, a 13-year-old's songs aren't the best, but you have to go with one thing or the other... you practice your scales or you start writing. I just started writing songs constantly."
A fortuitous meeting with local producer Les Schefman while Thomas was in high school -- and contacts kept up while he attended the University of Michigan -- led to the two collaborating on Thomas' first album, "Ghost Town Radio." The album came out in 2003 and was rereleased last year, picking up a slew of Detroit Music Awards nominations. After recording "Ghost Town Radio" during his first two years out of college, Thomas, 25, recruited musicians and put together a full band, eventually christening it Patrick Thomas Theory.
The lineup: The Theorists are guitarist Bryce Carroll-Coe, who, according to Thomas, earns his living at the poker table; keyboardist Jackson Gibson, who just started a recording studio; bassist Sam Tobias, who works in a music shop, and drummer Mike Shea, a Michigan student.
The sound: Thomas draws a lot of comparisons to Dave Matthews and Ben Harper. It used to bug him, but now he's accepted that there are definite similarities. Think a less nasal DMB. It could be worse. When he first met Schefman (who is a partner of Eminem lawyer Howard Hertz in SuperString Entertainment, Thomas' label) at a music competition, the producer called him a young James Taylor. Taylor "kind of reminds you of a dentist's office at the age of 16," says Thomas. "But once you see him live and see the instrumentation and start appreciating what he's doing with his songwriting, now I consider it a huge compliment."
The band is recording tracks for what Thomas hopes will become an EP to be released in April and a full-length album later in the year. It also is up for a slot on the soundtrack for the upcoming "Dukes of Hazzard" movie, but that's not set in stone. "It will be good if it goes for us, (but) I'm not getting my hopes up," Thomas says.
The steady gig: Thomas's odometer has accumulated a lot of miles in the past few years, and he still plays a once-a-month gig at Union Street in Traverse City. His band will be in Traverse City all weekend, then back in metro Detroit for a show at 9:30 p.m. Thursday at Memphis Smoke, 100 S. Main, Royal Oak. 248-543-4300.
- Detroit Free Press
Discography
2005 - All Streets Between EP (mp3s ready for download)
2002 - Jackson Deelye "Live" LP
2000 - MeLt "Beyond" LP
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
JacksonGibson, Bryce Carroll-Coe, Samuel Tobias and Michael Shea have been playing together in different groups up and down the East-coast for the past six years. Jackson(keys)grew up in Northwest Arkansas playing folk and bluegrass music. In 1997, he went to college at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and met met Bryce(guitar) who grew up playing blues and rock in the Motor City. They formed an explosive form of jam-rock that has stayed with their sound to this very day. Playing shows in Florida they met Tobias(bass) who was from New Hampshire and he quickly found the perfect groove to lock their musical creation together. After returning to Detroit the trio added Mike(drums) from Ann Arbor to the tribe of musical travelers. The music has met its rhythm, and the band known as All Streets Between made waves on the Detroit music scene in the fall of 2005.
The music of Jackson Gibson and All Streets Between has been played under many different names in many different states, but it has always surprised and delighted audiences. The combination of Gibsons soulful singing, organ/piano, and eclectic songwriting blended well with the slick southern-style guitar and vocals of Bryce Carroll-Coe. The two southern gentlemen started forming this sound in the cradle of the Rocky Mountains their first year of college.
Interested in starting a jam-band together out of college, the songwriting team of Carroll-Coe/Gibson joined forces with a power trio from Detroit who later became members of the Detroit jam-band Bump, blues/rock trio Smokestack Lightning, and The Silent Partner. The band was called MeLt and they cut their musical teeth playing gigs from their base in Atlanta and Charleston, SC from 1999 to 2001.
The duo then split from their rhythm section and began playing in the Florida area. They met Samuel Tobias attending audio engineering school and knew that he was a rare find. Tobias' funky, articate bass-playing fit in with Gibsons moody keys and Carroll-Coes soaring guitar. A special bond had formed, and the three played gigs in the state until 2003 when Detroit artist Patrick Thomas came calling on the band.
The group then moved to the Detroit area to begin playing in the Patrick Thomas Theory Band, backing up one of Detroits hottest new singer/songwriters. Along with winning a Detroit Music Award for Best Live Performance, and playing showcases at SXSW two years in a row, the band opened for legends like The Black Crowes, Journey, Gov't Mule, and The North Mississippi All-Stars, as well as Better Than Ezra, Lifehouse, and State Radio just to name a few. All the time, Gibson, Carroll-Coe, and Tobias were waiting for the right time to continue their original music. When Mike Shea came to the band in early-spring 2005, the time was right. Mike's intense groove fit perfectly with Tobias' funk and the line-up was set. With Patrick moving to the Big Apple, the Theory became All Streets Between and the new chapter began.
Traveling from state to state, the band plays exciting, soulful, electric shows from California to New York and all points between. All Streets Between is the songs of Jackson Gibson, Bryce Carroll Coe, Samuel Tobias, and Mike Shea-- bringing the soulful South in line with the modern sound of the city with thought-provoking lyrics and mind-blowing grooves. In todays world of searching through the world to find new and honest music, it's comforting to know that "All Streets" lead to home.
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