Bio
Cutting his teeth slumming at clubs like Canal Street Tavern in his hometown of Dayton, OH, Cornell moved to Los Angeles and soon after started working as a session bass guitarist and performed around the world with the likes of Robbie Robertson, American Idol’s Jon Peter Lewis, Dan Aykroyd, Kendall Payne, and working/credited as assistant engineer on the Blues Brothers record, Belushi/Aykroyd – “Have Love Will Travel.” During this time he also became the bass guitarist in Microsoft founder/billionaire Paul Allen’s band–traveling the globe on Paul Allen’s private jets, choppers, and yachts performing at his many parties with Bill Gates, Naomi Campbell, Puff Daddy, Giorgio Armani, Linda Evangelista, and many others.
Eventually, his name and solid reputation as a rock bassist attracted Billy Morrison (The Cult, Camp Freddy, Circus Diablo). He was soon the bassist for the band Circus Diablo opening for Velvet Revolver and Alice In Chains. By 2008, and after a couple gigs with the celebrity, cover band, Camp Freddy, Cornell had now performed with the likes of Dave Navarro (Jane’s Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Billy Duffy (The Cult), Dave Kushner (Velvet Revolver), Matt Sorum (Guns ‘N Roses) Mark McGrath, Donovan Leitch, Ricky Warwick (The Almighty), Warren DeMartini (Ratt), Rob Patterson (Korn), and Chris Cheney (Jane’s Addiction, Alanis Morrisette).
Along the road, Cornell conjured some thoughts of his own. He has patented his own hybrid concoction of rock 'n roll that’s part Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, part John Mayer, and all cocksure swagger and soul. Sometimes it takes a broken heart to write a great album–sometimes you drive thousands of miles playing everywhere you can looking for the right sound. Some might even fly to the UK to play the pubs to find inspiration.
After 18 months of writing, 6,000 miles of driving and flying on a solo tour of the UK and the American Midwest, and one broken heart later after the love of his life left him, Patrick Cornell has arrived at Wrecking Ball–eight songs that tell the story of love lost, the struggle to find one's self, and the healing after letting go.
All of these emotions came to a head at Johnny Cash's house/studio, the legendary Cash Cabin, in Hendersonville TN. “What a great place to find piece of mind, heart and soul. Wrecking balls destroy huge buildings hundreds of years old, but there's always a foundation to build again. I may have lost the girl, but the songs remain,” says Cornell.
Cornell will release a new single from the Wrecking Ball album on iTunes and other digital music stores worldwide each month of 2010 from April – November (8 singles). In December, to close out the year, he’ll release the full album exclusively at PatrickCornell.com and at live performances. The full album will include three unreleased bonus tracks.
– Casey Lynch, The New Times
– Paul Reeves, Producer
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