Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick O’Kane.
Hi Patrick, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My name is Patrick “Patches” O’Kane. My dad was a musician and played in bands ever since I can remember. There were always instruments in the house, and when his band would come over for rehearsals, I would sit on the floor and watch his drummer play in awe, staring at his hands and feet. His drummer would leave his drums set up in our basement so he didn’t have to pack them and bring them back every time for rehearsals. Dad said by the time I could reach the pedals, I just started playing very simple beats. When I got to middle school, I wanted to be in the percussion section of the concert band. They said if you have rhythm, you can be in the percussion section. I tried out and got it. I was first or second chair percussion from 6th grade to 11th grade. I asked my dad when I was about 12 or 13 if I could get a drum set, and I would mow the grass to pay him back. He would put on old funk, Go-go, jazz fusion, reggae, & many different genre records and just tell me to play along to them. The Roots was one of my favorite records to play to. QuestLove is a pocket monster, and I loved the grooves that were all over their album Do You Want More?!? I was also a lacrosse player, being from the East Coast in the DC, MD, VA area we call the DMV. I got very good and got offered a decent amount of scholarships to play in college. By the time I was ready to go to college, I was burnt out from playing sports and was kind of over school. I decided to not go to any of the schools that offered me scholarships and just worked my tail off. I got a little lost in life and didn’t know what I wanted to do. My mom encouraged me and said you have always loved music. Maybe do something with that. I started DJing because I had no idea what a DAW was or anything along those lines, and being able to mash songs up together and making remixes was so much fun. I met my good friend Mike, now Mike’s Dead, and we started a DJ duo (Patches & Cream). We started DJing together and actually playing a lot in D.C. We played almost every club in the city & eventually got booked to be openers at EchoStage (one of the top super clubs in the country every year in DJmag). It was a blast. After a while I started getting sick of opening and playing other peoples music, I wanted to make my own. That is when I found Icon Collective production school in LA. I packed up everything and left the area I knew and everything behind to start this journey in 2015 that we are still on to this very day. 6 months after I left, my boy Mike was right behind me. We decided that we didn’t want to keep going with the duo because DJing music and making your own is very different. I gravitated towards making hip-hop beats and wanted to be more of a producer. That is when I met two of my best friends out here, Sampson Beats and Cody “Dopecal” Lewis. Making catalogs of hip hop, pop, R&B, and all kinds of different music & beats, with them putting out a decent amount of music. We started our own little collective called LKMND (Like Minded). I wasn’t playing as much drums at that time just focusing on production and getting better in the DAW, finding rooms with people who were better than me to keep learning and growing. Being at a more EDM-dominated school, there was still a live room with a drum kit in it. I met my buddy Luca at this school as well, and he is a guitar shredder. We found out we played instruments, which was a rare find at this school at the time. So we would go in the live room and jam together as much as we could which blossomed into an incredible friendship, We found some other kids who wanted to play with us too. Chase Brawner, the guitar player in the band 3TEETH, was so excited to see students playing instruments he convinced us to learn 10 covers, and he would book us our first show across the street from the school at a little dive bar called Joe’s. We did it, we played the show, and it was incredible, which definitely got me back into playing my instrument, where it all started. The second week of my time at Icon Collective, someone I shall not name spilled coffee on my laptop that I had bought off the streets in D.C. I was devastated and needed a computer for school. I had to get a new one, which was rough. I had no money, and I was a poor student in an expensive city. I had no car, so I had to find a job close enough to walk to and work the remainder of the time I was attending school. I was washing dishes at a pizza place. It was terrible. Icon would have pizza on Friday every week, and I would only eat pizza on Fridays for a while because I literally had no money for food or anything, and I didn’t know anyone in LA. I lived at the school and worked. Chase would give me a full pizza on Fridays, and I would live off of that. It was rough times. After school was over, I had to keep grinding and growing as a producer and musician, living with friends along the way that I had met out here during the year I went to school. There would be 5 of us in a two-bedroom just to survive. Very poor but rich in spirit, just excited to be on this journey. Fast forward a few years later, I went back to Icon to visit some staff members when one of my favorite staff members, John Coffey, was standing outside waiting for his food to be delivered. He offered me an interview on the spot. I crushed it and got the job working as a Studio Coordinator at the school right before the pandemic hit. We moved locations to a new beautiful building where we fortunately still had work throughout the pandemic, putting the new school and all the studios together, installing the new SSL consoles, and all that. I learned so much working at Icon. I still work here to this day. After Mike and I decided not to do the duo any longer, he started making beats as well, which blossomed into his new project, Mike’s Dead. He was doing his thing, and after a while, he needed a new drummer. A very full circle moment, I played my first major music Festival, Aftershock, in 2022 with him and my buddy Luca (The guitar player for Mike). It was an incredible experience. Definitely made me get back into drums a lot more seriously and up my skills on the kit. After that, I continued to produce Hip hop records and put a couple of projects of my own out. I had my first hip-hop project (P.S. I’m OK) printed to vinyl in Paris, France. Something I had always wanted to do. Kept playing shows all over LA with different artists and continued touring a bit with Mike. This past year, in 2023, we had the honor of opening for Ice Nine Kills on their Fear The Premier Tour and got to play all over the country in front of thousands of people. I also had the opportunity to keep learning while working at Icon Collective and got to take the Studio Tech III class with Joel Gutman, who has a lot of experience working at Sony and recording for Alicia Keys, Teezo Touchdown, Flatbush Zombies, and many more. That is where I really dialed in my Micing Techniques and learning the SSL console, and sharpened my skills in more of an engineer and recording role. I recently got my first endorsement from an incredible drum company, SJC. We have a lot of opportunities and tours coming up in 2024 with Mike’s Dead, which should be announced very soon. Being a self-taught drummer who never had lessons, I really wanted some direction on what to work on and get better. This is how I found The Shed Camp Club with Damani Rhodes, Drum Coach Somadhi, and Brandon Harris, who are all incredible musicians and have played for many massive artists. I started that Journey at the beginning of this year, 2024, and am very excited for a full year of Drums, Music, Production, and Touring. This year I am very focused on becoming a better drummer, growing my online presence, trying to lock in more endorsements, becoming a better producer, engineer and just overall person. I know that is a lot, but this is the short version of my story.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Since I moved to LA in 2015, there have been so many ups and downs, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It has built me to be the way I am today. There are no days off in the music industry. Being poor, not knowing where your next meal is coming from, to eventually getting to the point where I am surrounded by the most talented and incredible people. Doing what I love every day. There are always struggles in life. One being 3,000 miles away from my entire family when life happens, and you still have to stay focused on the mission. It is never easy. I think I had some incredible advice when I got to LA. An older gentleman told me if you aren’t willing to put in a 10-year free internship before you see some success then you should just pack up and go back home and pick a different career. You really have to fall in love with the process in art because the only way to fail is to give up.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a drummer, producer, beat maker, & I dabble in some engineering roles. I definitely specialize in drumming & producing beats. Since I have always been surrounded by music and was introduced to such a variety of music at a young age, I think I have a really good ear and understand arrangement very well. I am known for my beats, playing/programming drums, and recently recording drums as I have gotten a lot more into different kinds of mics and different micing techniques. I am most proud of making the leap off the cliff and believing in myself to come out here and leave everything behind and really do this. Also, all the music I have made and put out with so many incredible artists I have met along the way. A year or two ago, I sent a beat to one of my favorite Hip Hop artists, Benny The Butcher, who is a part of Griselda. Getting a response from him telling me that he was vibing with my beat was cool, knowing that someone that I respected and looked up to was liking what I was doing. Nothing ever came of it, which is all good. You have to get used to that in this game. But just a cool experience for sure. What sets me apart from others is my work ethic. I have a different gear than most. I have a wide skill set and just work as hard as I can until I fully understand something, and won’t ever stop. I stay hungry, and I stay humble. Keeps me going. I always say it’s just the beginning; it is just the beginning. I don’t think I will ever be satisfied where I am at till the day I die.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
Like I said before, some of the best advice I got when I came out to LA to pursue this life was if you aren’t willing to put in a 10-year unpaid internship to start tasting a little success than pick a different career. There are going to be many ups and downs. Make sure you are making your art for the right reasons. Be original. Stay hungry. Everyone loves making money doing what they love, but money comes and goes. Fall in love with the process of your art. Practice makes Progress. Music industry is a lot smaller than you think, so don’t be an A** hole.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lkmnd.com/psimok
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patchesthedrummer/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@patchesthedrummer/featured
- SoundCloud: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2AUTOHMzmXGV7hL7RlFu01?si=f682e10756924e4a
- Other: https://linktr.ee/patchesthedrummer
Image Credits
Carter Louthian
Savannah Bright
Zack Shada
Jerry Castro
Mark Neilssien
