Review Fix Exclusive: Big Cheese’s Adam Patten Talks Goals in Music And More

Review Fix chats with Big Cheese’s Adam Patten, who discusses the band’s origins and goals in music.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Adam Patten: For me (Adam), I was at my cousin’s house when I was about 6 and he had an electric guitar, I think it was black and green and there was a tiny little amp. Neither of us knew how to play it, so we turned the amp all the way up and plugged the guitar in, it immediately started feeding back and I was kind of blown away, I wasn’t expecting that to happen. We strummed on it for maybe 20 minutes and his mom (my aunt) told us to put it away. I’ve always loved the power and energy that comes from music and I think in some slight way there is a part of me that always remembers that original shock of holding a guitar for the first time.

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Patten: We usually start with a guitar riff or drum beat and just jam on it to see what happens. Sometimes someone will bring in a finished song and we’ll tweak it together and other times we just spontaneously make sounds. Often we yell at Justin until he does something really cool then we go from there. 

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Patten: One of the most inspiring things is seeing other bands who are writing and playing great music. So many good ones like No Ice, Thick, A Deer a Horse, Treads, Fruit and Flowers, The Regrets and many more.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Patten: We call ourselves Grunge Wave because we started out going down a really aggressive and heavy grunge path, but since then we have morphed into a band with a broader sound that encompasses some new wave and some indy sounds. But, we still love to come off the hinges too. 

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Patten: In the studio we will do more overdubs and pay close attention to all the sounds we are getting, it’s much more of a science. We want to represent the song in the best way possible. Live shows depend much more on the vibe of the room, audience and the moods we are all in, sometimes our softer songs will come out much more gnarly once we all get into it. We tend to feed off of each other on stage and that produces a more aggressive feel. 

Review Fix: What are your goals for the rest of 2019?

Patten: To use our music to improve the life of at least one person that hears it. 

Review Fix: What’s next?

Patten: Right now we are in the thick of it, releasing 3 singles this summer and then our full-length album, Wild To Be Born, in Sept. So we’ve got a lot planned in the coming months. 

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Patten: If you feel compelled, check out our new singles on your favorite streaming service.