Graham Patzner, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who fronts the Oakland band Whiskerman, said the songs he wrote for the band’s new album, American Hell, were inspired by the current political climate.
“They were written over a period of years and just happened to become relevant as the time passed,” Patzner said. “The narrative of the album is inherently American, but becomes a bit demonic as things progress. It has a bleak ending. If it were a film, it would be a horror movie.
“When we started the band, we were more folky and bluesy; some people called it ghost-folk,” he continued. “We’ve never been tied down to a specific genre. We’ve always had arrangements that dip into many styles. This one leans more toward country and folk, with touches of rock, soul, punk and other stuff.”
American Hell is being released in two parts. Part I came out in January, Part II was released in May. The entire album will be released on CD and vinyl LPs later this year. “The songs span the whole trajectory of the band, stylistically,” Patzner said. “The song ‘Ram’s Head’ was on our first album, and it’s one of our signature tunes. The arrangement has changed over the years. Once Charles Lloyd joined the band to play electric sitar, it became a crowd favorite, so it was great to get a definitive version of the song down.”
The music was going to be recorded at Brothers (Chinese) in Oakland, with the whole band—Charles Lloyd and Jeremy Lyon on guitar, Will Lawrence on bass, drummer Dan Schwartz, and Patzner on lead vocals, organ, violin, trumpet, piano, synthesizer and guitar.
Right after they began the process, the pandemic shut everything down and they had to rethink their approach. “The basic tracks were done live, then we tinkered with them over the years,” Patzner said. “The overdubs were done in a lot of places, including the studio in my home and Jeremy’s studio. We spent a lot of time polishing the tracks.”
American Hell, Part II opens with “Ram’s Head,” a song that describes the quest for the American Dream that ends in frustration for so many. A wash of ambient sounds introduces Lloyd’s sitar hook, as the band comes in with a slow rock beat. Patzner’s keening vocals describe his search for freedom, symbolized by the ram who is always just out of reach. The song ends with a long instrumental coda marked by sustained guitar notes, Patzner’s wordless cries of anguish and atmospheric sounds that slowly fade away.
“El Dorado” uses the myth of a lost golden city to describe the slow collapse of capitalism and the pain it causes. A slide-guitar introduction and heavy bass piano notes give the song a country feel. The bass and drums lay down for a slow, somber tempo, as Patzner’s mid-range vocals express the heartache he feels as he sees his dreams, and the nation, crumble. “Oh my lord look at the mess we have made …” he croons.
“I wrote ‘El Dorado’ a while ago,” Patzner said. “It’s about the futile attempt to find the ideal life and make a living as an artist or musician. As I mentioned, these songs were not meant to be intentionally relevant, but as things unfolded they became that.”
Patzner said he’s played music since he was five years old. “My parents are classically trained musicians,” he said. “Both of my brothers are as well. Anton plays violin, and Lewis plays cello.”
After dropping out of college, Patzner began playing music and made three solo albums with the help of his brothers. The band he started to play his songs live slowly evolved into Whiskerman.
Patzner said the band was named after the title song of their eponymous debut, Whiskerman. “It was about a messianic figure that came back at the end of days,” he said. “One night, after a show, a guy came up to us and said, ‘I figured out who Whiskerman is. It’s Jesus.’ So I guess we’re a Christian rock band?” He laughed. “I was heavily religious growing up, but I’m not into the church anymore. I think religion has caused a lot of the problems in this world at this point.”
Whiskerman plays Saturday, July 18, at Point San Pablo Harbor, 1900 Stenmark Dr., Richmond. 510.233.3224. pspharbor.com. For more info and music, visit whiskerman.com and whiskerman.bandcamp.com.
