Royal Pines - Old World CD $10.00 shipping included
Meet the Royal Pines
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Demo2DeRo: Royal Pines - Chicago Sun-Times, March 4, 2009
The best country-rock captures one of my favorite qualities in real country music--the forlorn, foreboding and slightly psychedelic vibe that one gets from listening to an act like the Carter Family--then merges it with the power and drive of great rock 'n' roll. And that's exactly what you get in songs such as "What I Said I Saw" and "These Bodies" by the Royal Pines.Singer and songwriter Joe Patt isn't kidding when his band's MySpace page (www.myspace.com/royalpines) lists under influences "creepy teenagers and weird old men," while the "sounds like" slot offers "champagne in the cemetery."A veteran of Columbus, Ohio's fertile garage-rock underground, where he was best known as a drummer, Patt moved to Chicago in 2002, did time in several other local bands and finally came to the front of the stage and formed his own group with lead guitarist Brian Harper, bassist Brendan O'Mara and drummer Joe Gerdeman. To date, the band has one strong and wonderfully creepy album to its credit, appropriately entitled "Old World" and released on Ohio's She He It label, but I for one am eager for more.
--Jim DeRogatis
Sharp Darts, Chicago Reader - November 13, 2008
...the Pines are smart enough to know when to mix it up a little bit, and those digressions provide many of the highlights on Old World—like the stomping, surprisingly funky “Prayer for Static†and the droning, psychedelic “These Bodies,†which starts out in the neighborhood of “Tomorrow Never Knows†and ends up somewhere much darker and weirder.
--Miles Raymer
KEXP Equalizer Chicago - August 7, 2008
To Do/City Beat Recommends - Cincinnati's City Beat, Oct. 08-14, 2008
In the 1990's, Joe Patt was known 'round these parts as drummer for the wild-eyed, noisy Hairy Patt Band. Patt took the band to Columbus, where he later played with another popular regional band, Them Wranch. In 2002, Patt headed for Chicago, put down the drumsticks, and formed The Royal Pines, for which he sings and plays rhythm guitar. Taking some unused songs Patt had been working on over the years, The Pines went into the studio in 2007. The resulting debut, Old World, is a fine mix of Indie and Roots Rock--grounded, twangy, raw and swampy yet also shimmering and textured. Like a combination of The Ass Ponys, early R.E.M. and Built to Spill, Old World is generally high energy, but there's also some creepy and noisy atmospherics that give the music a slanted, somewhat psychedelic aura. --Mike Breen
"Columbus Rock Royalty" - A-List in Columbus Alive, Oct. 9, 2008
Columbus expatriate Joe Patt returns from Chicago this weekend with a new band in tow. On [the] debut Old World, the ex-Hairy Patt Band/Them Wranch drummer goes Grohl style and lead Royal Pines through a variety pack of Americana-tinged indie rock. Some of it sighs, some of it swaggers. "What I Said I Saw" and "These Bodies" sound like Neil Young through a filter of fellow Young disciples Built to Spill. "Rose Hill" recalls Jay Farrar's glory days. And the straight-from-the-'80s rustic new wave of "This is Grand" could be a lost Camper Van Beethoven single. All of it fits together splendidly and bodes well for the band's show Saturday at [Café Bourbon St.], where Old World will be available in Columbus for the first time. --Chris Deville
Trifecta: 3 Shows with Buzz - Columbus's The Other Paper, Oct. 9, 2008
With a pedigree in such legendary local bands as The Hairy Patt Band and Them Wranch, as well as a stint with the Country Teasers, one imagined Joe Patt eventually might put the drumsticks down and lead his own combo of dark, Americana-tinged rock. He has done just that with the Chicago-based Royal Pines. The band's latest, Old World, is a vibrant little collection of Patt's tunes that harkens back to obvious touchstones like the No Depression fare, but also embraces a great deal of '80s college rock, as well as moodier British acts. The atmosphere is somewhere between the darkness and the light. --Rick Allen
"Patt the Guitarist" - Columbus Alive, October 4,2007
Joe Patt's drumming and his eerie, demented lyrics played a big part in
shaping the ragged, rootsy punk that came to define Columbus' underground in the 90's, first with The Hairy Patt Band and then with Them Wranch. Patt has since moved to Chicago, but he returns Friday with a new band--Royal Pines--and a new instrument. From behind a guitar, Patt sings dark-hued country [-ish! - Ed.] tunes in the style of Neil Young and Jay Farrar. It's not as ferocious as his old bands, but it's just as haunting. --Chris Deville
