Judge for Patrick Thomas

Sitting in the suburb of Detroit, Patrick Thomas used to dream of the city life; walking to a bar on the corner to play his tunes and feeding off the energy, lights and sounds of the urban landscape. While Motown offered plenty of artistic inspiration and a rich history of music, for a number of reasons the “city” this songwriter was imagining lied elsewhere.

Build Me A City, was just a song when Thomas penned it at the infancy of his touring years. But as four years of criss-crossing from the Midwest to the South, with his band the Patrick Thomas Theory, the song title became a mission. From Austin’s South By Southwest, to an opening slot for the Black Crowes in Birmingham Alabama, and all cities between, Thomas was learning how to capture his band’s explosive energy on-stage, but was still looking for something more. Back home in Detroit, Thomas was being recognized by the Detroit Music Awards for his works as a songwriter, and earning praise from the local press. Even so, the dream ensued. In 2006, Thomas left his band behind and began to tour the States armed with his guitar and the resolve to establish a career as a performer and songwriter.

Two years later, Build Me A City has become a ten song chronicle of a songwriters venture through relationships, the trials of a band and the life of a troubadour. After the framework was recorded with long-time friend and bassist John Dunn (Prince, Eminem, Sponge) and Bobby Economou (Blood, Sweat and Tears, Jaco Pastorius) in a spontaneous twenty-four hour session in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Patrick Thomas built a studio in his loft and spent the next months finding the perfect parts to support his candid and refreshing lyrical style. As of October 14, 2008, Build Me A City is the second release for the young songwriter and has already earned praise by Paste Magazine, even making its way into their Paste Recommends program.

Thousands of miles and hundreds of shows behind him, Patrick finds himself in Brooklyn, New York, walking to shows at the neighborhood bar and thriving off the energy that his new surroundings have to offer. The city in his head has finally been built; now Patrick Thomas is looking for his next mission.