Field Medic sings through tour anxiety on “used 2 be a romantic”
“My anxiety’s spinning on a compass.”
Photo: Tim Vickers
Kevin Patrick, who has already recorded and released a lifetime’s worth of work as Field Medic over the past two years, will return withfade into the dawn, his first Run For Cover full-length since 2017’sSongs from the Sunroom, on April 19. It’s the 27-year-old singer-songwriter’s most complete and, in parts, surreally beautiful record to date — drifting off into lush acoustics more often than it relies on tinned noise, laced with twilit reflections on ruin without succumbing entirely todarkness.
使用的记录被称为“第二个2 be a romantic,” premiering below. It’s one of Patrick’s more straightforward folk-leaning songs, built out with a full band and sweet, simple melodies. It is plainly an account of a show gone wrong and the perils of relentless touring: "My anxiety's spinning on a compass,” he sings early on. In an email to The FADER, Patrick recounted the night that pushed him into writing the song. It was, he wrote, a combination of loud-talking show-goers and general tour brutality. This is it in full, exactly as Patrick sent it to us:
i was on tour supporting rock bands as i often am, & generally when i take the stage audiences are willing to chill out & listen to some mellower songs for my set. sometimes it’s a game of give & take, but for the most part it turns out all right & i hear a lot of “i don’t like acoustic music, but i liked you.” (haha) there was a particular show in new york at this venue that was sold out at 500 capacity, but i swear could fit another 500 people. it’s this giant warehouse in brooklyn & the stage is in the far corner & the bar on the complete opposite end. i fought my way through the crowd with my two guitars & boombox to set up, & when the house music died people were still raging & chatting & clinking their glasses. i started off with a number with a huge beat hoping to win their attention but it became clear to me after a few songs in, people just weren’t going to be quiet & listen at all. i’m not the kind of person that feels like people should pay attention to me just because i’m standing there on the stage - i’m more than willing to work for it, but when it becomes obvious that i’m not even going to get that chance it can feel very disheartening. this particular show was a record breaking case of what my friends & i call “clam chatter”. i powered through the set & walked off stage early. disgruntled, all i wanted was to go have a smoke & get a few drinks in me to forget what just happened, but since i was far from home & tour without a tour manager or merch person i had to put my stuff away & immediately face the fray to go stand around at merch hoping to make some sales to turn the night around in some spiritually meaningless, but financially sound way. i was hungover on amtrak on my way to boston the next day & wrote the song in my head. i played it that night & then the first thing i did when i got home from the tour was record the song in a frenzy to expel those bad feelings. it was never even written down on paper, it was just a blast of internalized feelings & i’m glad to have it out. the lyrical content actually makes me a little uneasy listening now because it’s so revealing. tour is weird.
Listen to "used 2 be a romantic" below and check out Field Medic's upcoming tour dates at the foot of the page.
3/14: Austin, TX - Cheer Up Charlies (SXSW)
3/15: Austin, TX - Pearl Steet Co-Op (SXSW)
5/1: Minneapolis, MN - Bryant Lake Bowl
5/3:芝加哥,IL -楼下在地下
5/4: Cleveland, OH - Agora Theater & Ballroom
5/5: Pittsburgh, PA - The Mr. Roboto Project
5/7: Washington, DC - Songbyrd
5/8: Philadelphia, PA - Everybody Hits
5/9: Allston, MA - O'Briens
5/10: Middletown, CT - Mac650
5/11: Brooklyn, NY - Alphaville
