What Do The Beatles Mean to Patrick Coman?

by Kathy S-B · 15 May 2016

Most musicians have an opinion about The Beatles and their impact on their lives. Patrick Coman is inspired by the work ethic of the young and unknown skiffle band who launched their own unique brand of rock and roll during their formative years in the early 1960s. There’s a lot to learn from the Beatles and it’s not just the music they played.

Patrick Coman hails from the great state of Oklahoma, home to many incredible musicians including Woody Guthrie, Tom Paxton, Leo Kottke, John Fullbright, and Jimmy Webb. The Boston music scene is richer with Patrick’s presence in it. He’s spearheaded many great shows and festivals including the Art of the Song concert series and the Americana Festival. For someone who is a fairly recent transplant to the city, he has jumped in with both feet. Patrick also hosts the Local Folk show on WUMB radio. His latest CD, Reds and Blues, is directly influenced by the roots music from his home state.

Patrick is one of many musicians taking part in the “All You Need is Love” Beatles Benefit at the me&thee coffeehouse in Marblehead, MA on Saturday, May 21 at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds go to sending musicians into the local schools for workshops and concerts.

This is what Patrick had to say about The Beatles:

Looking backward through the lens of 50+ years of Beatlemania it’s not hard to imagine that their success and influence was inevitable, so it always inspires me to remember how that their story didn’t start that way. This is a band that hacked around the pubs in Liverpool and couldn’t sign a deal to save their life. Out of desperation they fled the country for Hamburg and started playing these 6 hour gigs (6 hours!) and over time they slowly, painfully, honed their craft until they could move, play, and sing as a single unit. They come back to town a couple years later and they were a changed band. They take over the local scene, then the country, and then the world. Basically the 60s British equivalent of Robert Johnson — local musician of average to below-average talent leaves town, communes with the Devil, and comes back with supernatural powers. In this case it turns out the Devil is in the details, and thanks to the Beatles I’ll never forget that.

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