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A STITCH IN TIME

In addition to my solo music and Salemtown music, I’ve worked as a studio/touring bass guitar player since I was 15.

These are some of the photos and stories of my journey…so far…

With my old band, Blackjack Billy, receiving our Canadian, platinum records, for our hit song, The Booze Cruise. This song was also #1 on Sirius XM’s The Highway for three months that summer and the fastest selling country song on iTunes that year.

With my old band, Blackjack Billy performing at CMC Rocks in Hunter Valley, Australia for 15,000 Aussies. Such great people. This trip was wild. We were actually playing three weeks of Spring Break at Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City Beach, FL and this show was booked right in the middle of that residency. So we took a three day break to travel to Australia and play this show. Three days to get to Australia and back! Insane. We flew from PCB to Atlanta to LA to Sydney, Australia. Straight through. 24 hours. Arrived in the morning, played the next night and flew back to resume our Spring Break residency. Wow. And ouch. The jet lag was off the charts.

My first big gig in Los Angeles. I was the assistant engineer on a Blues Brothers album with actor, Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi. Just a kid, no tattoos yet.

My first big gig in Los Angeles. I was the assistant engineer on a Blues Brothers album with actor, Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi. Just a kid. No tattoos yet.

With Robbie Robertson from The Band after a jam session on Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen’s yacht, The Octopus. Jamming with Robbie was a dream come true for me as I am a huge fan of The Band. I even got up the nerve to ask him what he wrote, The Weight, about. He told me, but I’ll never tell.

On the bus with Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray after a show in Florida with the celebrity, cover band, Camp Freddy. Mark is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. It was so cool to play some songs with a guy I grew up watching on MTV.

On the bus with actress, Juliette Lewis, after a show in Florida with the celebrity, cover band, Camp Freddy. Juliette was very sweet to me and wow, what a singer! Many people don’t know she is a musician too, and her voice is killer. She got right up in my face during the show and belted out a chorus. I almost dropped my bass.

Performing at the Viper Room in Los Angeles with celebrity, cover band, Camp Freddy. After 10 years in LA, I stepped on stage with three musicians that made me say, “wow, how did I get here?!” From left, me, Dave Navarro from Janes Addiction and The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Matt Sorum, drummer of Guns ‘N Roses and Dave Kushner from Velvet Revolver. We played Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie and Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love by Van Halen. I had to really focus on by bass parts because I was so excited to be up there. Dave Navarro turned around at one point and played guitar right with me motioning to hit some accents harder on Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love. I did. He smiled and turned back to the crowd.

Long before Tom Brady, there was me haha! I was a little nervous when I first met Giselle. I mean, she was the most famous model in the world! This is her and I at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Turned out we lived only a mile from each other in LA. She is a really sweet person and had I had any game way back then I would have asked her to marry me. Such is life.

From left, Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), me, Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), Matt Sorum (Guns ‘N Roses), Billy Morrison (Billy Idol). This was such a fun show! I had to learn about 10 songs by all the different musicians bands. But, I remember playing My Generation by The Who with Robin Zander singing and there are four, short bass solos in it around minute 1:04. I learned them note for note and during rehearsal I nailed them and Robin turned around and said, “Man! You played those just like the record! Killer!” I was pretty stoked on that compliment from him…and relieved that I didn’t mess up.

With my old boss, and bandmate, Microsoft co-founder/billionaire, Paul Allen. Paul was a great guitar player and music enthusiast and took a full band with him when he traveled to one of his three yachts in different parts of the world. Long story, but I worked for him for three years in his Beverly Hills recording studio assisting with the various recording sessions that would happen there as well as traveled with him as the bass player in his band. So many stories to tell… Paul died in 2018 and I miss him a lot. He was kind, shy, intelligent and kept up with me and my music career after I stopped working for him until the year he died. He gave me, just a kid from Ohio, the opportunity of a lifetime.

With the celebrity, cover band, Camp Freddy in Los Angeles after performing at the Sunset Strip Music Festival. My good friend and bandmate, Billy Morrison (The Cult, Billy Idol) founded Camp Freddy and invited me to play acoustic guitar on a couple songs at this show. From left: me, Billy Morrison, Billy Duffy (The Cult), Donovan Leitch, Chris Cheney (Alanis Morissette, Janes Addiction), Matt Sorum (Guns ‘N Roses), Brett Scallions (Fuel).

With Steve Stevens, legendary guitarist for Billy Idol, after a show in Florida. I had the pleasure of playing two shows with Steve and not only is he an unbelievably gifted and innovative guitar player, but he is so kind. I was a little nervous the first time I played with him because I was right next to him on the same side of the stage. I wanted to play really well so he’d like me! I did play really well and got some pointers from Steve on my bass tone, which was really helpful.

With Billy Duffy, guitarist of The Cult, after performing together at the Sunset Strip Music Festival. We both brought our j200’s haha. I believe we played an acoustic version of Rock ‘n’ Roll Star by Oasis. Billy is an amazing guitar player and song writer and has a hilarious sense of humor. Always kind to me. We bonded over both being Manchester City football fans. He was wearing a Manchester City wrist band when I told him I was a fan and he immediately took it off and gave it to me. I still have it.

BIOGRAPHY

What makes Patrick Cornell believable as an artist is his clear vision of who he is and what he is trying to accomplish.

With 15 years of classical and jazz training and inspiration from rock n’ roll greats, the Dayton, OH native left the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music as a jazz/studio music major and moved to Los Angeles, California to start his professional music career as a studio/touring bass guitarist for hire. Rising through the LA ranks he toured the world and performed various gigs on bass guitar with such notable artists from Dave Navarro (Red Hot Chilli Peppers/Janes Addiction), Matt Sorum (Guns N’ Roses), Steve Stevens (Billy Idol) and Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray) to American Idol finalist, John Peter Lewis to rock n roll legend, Robbie Robertson (The Band).

Cornell eventually migrated to Nashville and has gone through a transformation from a session bass player into a full-time songwriter, producer and solo artist. Taking direction from the Nashville’s songwriting community and culture, Cornell’s lyrics focus on telling a complete story. He writes from a reflective perspective with the intention of telling stories relating to a broad audience.

If you ask him why and how he’s accomplished all he has, his response is simple: “It’s God-given.” He argues that none of what he’s accomplished has happened because of anything that he’s done on his own. Still, he’s done a lot. So what is he most proud of so far? “My hair,” he jokes.

As Patrick focuses on the future, his goals are simple: release music and play shows. Join his email list and follow him on social media to stay updated on upcoming projects and shows.

–Sarah Schumacher, Disney Music Publishing