Shoal Music is not really a typical album project--where you walk into a studio, record a bunch of tunes, and six months later emerge with a finished product. These are actually demos made from 1985 to 1991 while Pat was trying to eke out a living as a musician and pilot in and around Muscle Shoals, Alabama. Although he never stopped writing, aviation eventually won out in the sustenance department as Pat began flying more and gigging less. He didn’t make a proper album until 2004 when Swede Home Alabama was released. Pat had a lot of fun making those recordings back then, and got to play with some damn fine pickers and singers in the process. It would have been a shame to let the tapes waste away in a closet somewhere. They had almost reached the point of no return when they reappeared on a tape machine in 2007, so it was decided to enlist the engineering expertise of Jimmy Nutt in the recovery and restoration process.
The genesis of this collection began in 1985 after Pat bought an Akai MG1212 multi-track recorder, which Robert Byrne kindly offered to let him set up at his lake home (affectionately called Bob World). Robert engineered the first 3 or 4 recordings, but invited Alan Schulman to run the console once they nixed the drum machine and started using Owen Hale instead (a big improvement!). They made music off and on for the next couple of years with Owen on drums, Ralph Ezell on bass, Bill Hinds on guitar and Steve Nathan on keys. The Danger Zone, Shades, That’s All, Settin’ Myself Free, and Fly By Night are a few of the favorites from those recordings. In 1990 Pat met David Hood, Rick Kurtz, and Brian Owings at Raintree Studio (Lenny Leblanc’s place) for an all day session that produced Turn It Up, Hungry All The Time, Bread and Water, and Comin’ Through The Radio. The following year Bill Hinds accompanied Pat on several acoustic demos (including Long Night) at Lee Daley’s Mossy Cave Studio. On a cold and rainy November 24th, 1991 Lee engineered a session at Snakeman Studio with Pat, David Hood, Roger Hawkins, and Bill Hinds. Pat had intended on recording four songs, but had to settle for I’m Just Proud To Be Here and The Blonde-Headed Blue-Eyed Blues after one of his guitars and some other gear was stolen a few days later. Down the road Pat hired Lee to transfer the MG1212 tapes to his Fostex B16 and he continued where he had left off in 1991. They overdubbed guitars, saxes, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals and recut several of Pat's lead vocals while they were at it.
