We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Pat Whelan. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Pat below.
Pat, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
My hoop dreams disappeared my freshman year of college at Western Carolina University. I made the basketball team as a walk on, then two months into triple sessions with the team, the athletic director advised me that I was ineligible to play (by nine tenths of a point). It was devastating. I was shocked, upset, broken, and discouraged. Despite walking on the following year and making the team again, I quit shortly after and never looked back. I’m not proud of quitting or the manner in which I walked away, but it was in that moment I knew what I wanted to pursue. All the time, effort, dedication, commitment, and preparation that I had given the game of basketball. I knew where all that energy was going into now. It was the music, and it put me on a journey I would’ve never fathomed.
Pat, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started writing excessively, doing live shows on and off campus, as the game of basketball took a backseat. I got involved with the campus radio station (WWCUFM/90.5) and television broadcasting channel (Channel 62) as well. I distinctly remember my brother Rick sending me my first original instrumental from his friend/producer Anthony Acid. My roommate Sev and I wrote and recorded to it immediately, and had our first original jam under our belt. We had a sure SM58 microphone hanging in our dorm room closet, the software/recording program acid 2.0 on our computer, and beats on blast at all times. We would burn our initial cds, sign them with a sharpie, and hand them out in jewel cases to anyone who would embrace it. There was a tide shift in those moments. Those creative processes between songwriting, manufacturing, distributing, promoting, recording, and performing became my passion. I released 5 projects during college: My original shoreShot demo, a 50 freestyle mixtape called For Shore Part 1, The New Breed EP with Se7en, Turn of the Tide album, and the Oceanside Mixtape.
When I look at my discography after I left college, I would consider every published album/single release as some of my greatest accomplishments. Slowly But Shorely LP (2010). The Progress Report LP w/ EWald (2012). Return of the Tide LP (2015). Extra Credit LP w/ EWald (2017), Field Day LP w/ EWald (2024). To publish three of those five albums with a musical wiz like Erich Wald is something I’ll always be extremely fortunate for, and very proud of. From signing our songs with different music publishers and music libraries, to seeing those songs land on episodes of The Young and the Restless (CBS) or All American (Netflix/CW). Those are mile markers you don’t forget. I’ve been blessed to have a mix-mastering engineer like Matt Horant on-call for the past decade, taking all of our recordings to a radio ready level. That’s something special. To have a videographer like Jimmy Giambrone in your corner is also one of a kind. I don’t know anyone who gives the underground hip hop scene more visual aid than he does. My team is what i’m most proud of. I feel like I work with some of the best in Jersey when it comes to singer/songwriting, mixing, videography, and illustrators/visual artists. Collaborating with professional athletes like Frankie Edgar (UFC), Todd Frazier (MLB), and Ish Smith (NBA) is a true testament of what can come with the territory when you write songs about your inspirations … real relationships with hometown heroes. Doing concert fundraisers with elementary/middle schoolers, and collaborating with different principals/music departments at local schools isn’t something your average rapper gets to do. It’s a privilege to say I had the opportunity to rehearse and perform my music live with classes full of local kids who related to it.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Knowing your music had a positive impact on someones life. Knowing that they needed your song to get them through their trials and/or triumphs.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Entering the sync world of music publishing comes with its own hurdles like anything else. If you don’t have patience and/or thick skin, you won’t last. It’s an industry where you face rejection 90% of the time. I started pitching/signing solo and/or collective songs to music supervisors/publishers for licensing opportunities in 2017. Some of the songs we signed in 2017 are still yet to place. Some songs we signed in 2018 didn’t land on tv shows until 2020 and 2021. It has taken years of trials and tries for certain things to transpire, and I believe that’s a testament of resilience.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://shoreshotmusic.com
- Instagram: shorestruly
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/shoreshot
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricktwhelan?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: @shoreShot
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/shoreshotmusic
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/shoreshot
Image Credits
Jimmy Giambrone, Liz Wolter, and Adrian Antonio