EMQs with The Male Pattern
Hi everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with USA solo project, The Male Pattern. Huge thanks to Will Schwartz for taking part.
What is your name? What do you play, and can you tell us a little bit about the history of the band?
My name is Will Schwartz. I play guitar and sing and write songs. The Male Pattern is just me for now, but I’m open to collaborators joining on records or live. The project is focused around songwriting. I used to write and play songs, and took time off when I went to graduate school for fiction and learned how to teach. I started writing songs again when I had kids – I found I could do it in small pockets of time that I had to myself – and the songs kind of took on a life of their own.
How did you come up with your band name?
I found myself writing songs that were all about sad men – men reaching or having approached middle age who don’t have the dignity of maturity or the charm of youth. I wanted to mine this terrain for laughs – bald guys, guys with shitty jobs, failing marriages, resentful kids, who, in previous generations, were bestowed some kind of status through patriarchy or social standing, and today are just like overgrown kids. I drew a lot from the work of Tim Robinson and Tim Heidecker. I found that all the things that I find to be funny live in characters like this – asinine politics that are driven by petty grievances, unchecked consumerism, desperate and flailing longing for happiness, the perception that you’re surrounded by enemies. The Male Pattern was a natural fit for the project, as it speaks to hair loss, but also describes these patterns of behavior that kept appearing in my songwriting.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
I’m from Queens, New York, and grew up in New Rochelle, New York. I’m not really plugged into any scene, so I don’t have a great answer to this question!
What is your latest release?
“I Was Shot in the Heart,” a narrative album follows the story of an unnamed suburban dad as he navigates his acrimonious divorce, spends too much time watching TV and on the computer, gets addicted to pills, loses his job as a mortgage broker, shoots and kills a small-time drug dealer, finds god, and commits suicide by cop in a White Plains 24/7 Stop and Shop.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Bob Dylan, David Berman/The Silver Jews, Bruce Springsteen, Randy Newman, Terry Allen, Van Morrison, John Prine. Country music from the 60s and 70s, especially Willie, Waylon, George Jones, and Townes Van Zandt.
What first got you into music?
When I was maybe 4 years old, I got my hands on a cassette of Tom Petty’s “Greatest Hits.” I had a Walkman, and took it with me everywhere.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician, who would it be?
I feel like my work draws a lot from Terry Allen, who kind of hits the same sweet spot that I do, between literary narrative and tightly composed country songs, a dash of surreality. I love him and his music.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
I don’t have a good answer to this. I haven’t been to many festivals. I can’t stand waiting to use the bathroom or the lack of decent food. But I was tempted to go to the Solid Sound Festival last year, and I think I’d be a good fit for it.
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
Nothing comes to mind!
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Always be reading. Read books, magazines, read closely, and log off.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
I would bring back Hank Williams. There’s a tradition of country songs about Hank Williams ghost talking to them, or just claiming that you have Hank’s beyond-the-grave stamp of approval. I’d like to have the last word on that.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
I love writing songs—every part of it. I love having them recorded, but I hate recording – the repetition of it, the need for technical knowledge and imagination. Not for me.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
More state funding of the arts. I don’t think artists should rely on the market for remuneration.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
Terry Allen, “Lubbock (On Everything)”
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CD’s or Downloads?
Vinyl. It forces you to listen to and experience albums, invites longer and closer listening, and they look and sound great.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
I played a show last month at the Sunview Acropolis in Greenpoint. It’s an arts collective that’s run out of an old diner in Brooklyn, and it still looks like a diner, has all the diner trappings, but is a really warm and lovely space run by great people.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I write novels and short stories, I teach college English, and I’m a dad and husband. I think without music, I would still be very busy and happy! I’d probably read more.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
I’m interpreting this as dead or alive. I’d like to have a roundtable of ideas, so I’m picking heavy hitters. Karl Marx, without a doubt. I think I’d bring on Foucault, Lenin, Jacques Ellul, maybe Rosa Luxenburg. I’m serving linguine with clams.
What’s next for the band?
I’m currently recording my next album, tentatively titled “Some Guys.”
What Social Media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
https://linktr.ee/themalepattern
Time for a very British question now. As an alternative to the humble sandwich, is the correct name for a round piece of bread common in the UK either a Bap, a Barm (or Barm Cake), a Batch, a Bun, a Cob, a Muffin, a Roll or a Tea Cake?
I’m out of my depth. But I’d probably call it a roll.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
No! Thank you for your questions and/ your time.
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