Patrick Quinn

Patrick Quinn's first album The Desired Melancholia was built from several years of honing his songwriting craft, resulting in a collection of quietly powerful folk songs. The Spring Hill, Kansas, resident -- who is also an accomplished painter --has established himself as one of Kansas City's foremost singer-songwriters. We are excited to share an exclusive interview with Quinn in which he talks about writing and recording his new album, the Kansas City music community, and his book, music and movie recommendations.

Where do you live and work?

My name is Patrick Quinn. I play music either under my own name or the moniker The White Skull. I live in Spring Hill, Kansas, in an old farm house and I work in the West bottoms of Kansas City out of my studio in the Hobbs building.

What does a typical day look like for you?

I get up and go to work at YJ's Café after work I head my studio in the West bottoms to work on projects, whether it be paintings,recording and writing music or illustration.

What was your experience writing and recording your album,The Desired Melancholia?

The writing was pretty random and took place over the last couple years. The recording was more scheduled. I went in to record at Rob Nold Audio and we just sat down to record songs until we were done.

What did you learn that you'll bring to future recording projects?

To always make sure I have a really polished set and to really know what I want everything to sound and look like before I go in for recording.

Tell us about a song on your new album that you really struggled to get right. How did you break through the creative block?

The song in my album "Baby Red" is one that I struggled with. I changed it quite a few times before the recording. I just had to work with it until I got of the sound the way that I wanted it to.

What artists do you look to these days for inspiration?

What I listen to you now is a pretty generous mix of different artists. I find that musicians like Richard Swift, Peter and the Wolf, Roger Miller, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, etc., all help inspire from day to day.

What do you admire most about these artists?

What I admire most about the music I listen to is that it's songs written by artists the way that they wanted to make it, music that eventually went on to be heard by a much wider audience.

What most excites you about music and creativity in Kansas City?

I think music in Kansas City is for the most part a pretty close knit tight really great community and getting to know the people in that community and becoming a part of the bigger thing in Kansas City is really exciting to me.