Jim Patton & Sherry Brokus

Jim Patton and his wife and musical collaborator Sherry Brokus make the kind of music that’s driven by both passion and purpose. They take sketches of everyday life and transform them into songs that ring and resonate in ways that are both mindful and memorable.

With "Harbortowne", the upcoming new album from the Austin based duo, Patton and Brokus return to the seminal sound of classic folk rock and create an exhilarating sound that provides the essence of true Americana.

Set for release on October 18th, 2024, on Berkalin Records, "Harbortowne" was recorded and produced by Ron Flynt of the acclaimed power pop band 20/20 at Jumping Dog Studio in Austin, and was mastered by Jerry Tubb at Austin’s Terra Nova Studio.

Manufacturing and printing was done by Affordable Sound in Austin. The cover art is by Matt Eskey and R Gene Munger is credited as 'spiritual advisor'.

The album also features a sterling assortment of acclaimed instrumentalists, among them, Flynt himself on vocals, bass, keyboards, harmonica, and acoustic guitar, Rich Brotherton playing acoustic guitar and mandolin; Warren Hood on fiddle, John Bush playing percussion; and singer BettySoo on backing vocals. Jim sings and plays acoustic guitar and Sherry provides vocals and percussion.

The album’s release was preceded by 4 singles, “Harbortowne”, “Just Doesn't Work Anymore”, “A Woman Like You” and “Lottery”.

“The working title for the album was ‘Pattonville’, the result of a joke our friend and fellow musician Jeff Talmadge made”, Jim explains. “The characters in these songs are all derived from a world I've created in song. I originally wanted the album to be like Sherwood Anderson's 'Winesburg Ohio', or Edgar Lee Masters' 'Spoon River Anthology', a series of seemingly disconnected stories about a town where I resided with characters could come and go from song to song. This isn't exactly that, though
you can still see some of the remnants of that earlier idea”.

"In that regard, the title track sets the tone for the album overall. 'Harbortowne' refers specifically to Annapolis, which was the nearest city where we could be assured of finding trouble when we were kids”, Jim recalls. “I never carried a gun like the character in the song, and the people involved are totally made up. But when I sing, ‘I'm gonna meet up with my friends, we’ll head on down to the Trouble Inn, when we get down to Harbortowne', it’s all about the excitement and anticipation that generally accompanied our youthful adventures and indiscretions”.

Each of those aforementioned songs maintain that fictional theme. Jim says, 'The Juggler' is an older song which he originally wrote in 1985 and, when its was subsequently released as a single to college radio made it into the top 10 in Pleasantville, New York, which also happens to be the home of Reader’s Digest. It's about a man struggling to find a place where he can fit in”, Jim explains. “There's a path he was supposed to take, the same path that his friends took, but one which he isn't comfortable pursuing. Yet he still struggles with it and he feels like a fraud who’s one step away from being exposed”.

Jim says that “Never Going Back” was also spawned from archival origins. “I began this song with my friend Phil Leonard at Davidson College in 1969 and finished it this year”, he explains. “It's pretty much the story of my first love, thinly disguised by a lie or two here and there. Severna Park is the origin of the story, it’s the place I leave before declaring I’m never going back. We were kind of looking for a Gordon Lightfoot feel on this one”.

Likewise, “The Lottery” is an older song as well. “I began this one with my ex-brother in law, the late Scott Evans, in 1988 or 1989”, Jim explains. “When I rediscovered it, none of the lyrics rhymed and the line length was whatever fits. However the idea is still the same. It takes winning the lottery figuratively to lead a decent life in America. It also notes how simple the guy's requests are, and what he plans to do when he wins. No 'I'm going to Disney World’ for him. He's going to smile when he pays his bills”.

Other songs bear special significance as well. “Missing You” reflects on a friend who passed away many years before, and is still missed to this day. “Slap In The Face”, written with Jeff Talmadge and Steve Brooks, is a song that shares the gratitude he gained from the mentors that offered their insights and inspiration.

“Back Out In The Storm”, another co-write with Jeff Talmadge, relates the fact that these days, it’s not about getting ahead, but rather simply staying afloat. He calls “Until The Fire Is Gone” his annual 'State Of My Union' address. The central character is near the end of his life, but hasn't given up hope that perhaps the best is yet to come.

As a whole, the album marks a return of another sort, that is, to the sound he procured as a member of his early band, Edge City. “Our 1st acoustic album was called 'Plans Gang Aft Agley', and that's still what I'm writing about, plans going wrong”, Jim notes. “Although I think this album takes a lighter approach to that than I usually do”.

Patton has always found reason to retrace his history, particularly those experiences and encounters that helped shape him as a man and musician. Edge City was his Baltimore area band before he moved to Austin. Formed in 1984, the group performed at many of the great venues of that earlier era, CBGB's, 8X10, The Bayou, Max's on Broadway, The Marble Bar, and The Brickhouse in Pasadena, Maryland.

“We played Grateful Dead type festivals and punk clubs, but we were neither Dead like nor punk”, Jim insists“. We heard ourselves on the radio for the 1st time on WHFS, the influential progressive rock station out of Annapolis, and they played us regularly on morning drive time and at noon“.

Jim and Sherry continue to reside in South Austin, playing a prominent part in a musical community shared any number of spectacular songwriters the two consider friends and collaborators. Since the pandemic, the pair have managed to release at least one album a year. “I think some of my best work has found its way to our last couple of albums”, Jim maintains. “I play both live and in the studio with some of the most wonderful musicians in the world, all of which are wonderful people, as well".

The couple first met at a bar in Arnold, Maryland, when Sherry approached Jim on a break and asked if she could sing a song with his band. Jim subsequently suggested she sing Neil Young's "Cowgirl In The Sand, and from that point on, the 2 have sung together ever since. Aside from their early musical influences, Richard & Linda Thompson, Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Everly Brothers, and Emmylou Harris singing with Bob Dylan, Jim cites 20th century American literary giants, from Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Faulkner to Kerouac, Salinger and Raymond Chandler, as well as the friends he grew up, doctors, lawyers, waitresses, teachers, water rats, gravediggers and “the guy who drove the truck that emptied the port-o-pots all over the state” as the sources of his lyrical inspiration.

“I learned acoustic guitar by playing Bob Dylan songs, and electric guitar from being in a band that played Rolling Stones songs”, he recalls. “And that was pretty much it for the covers”. The critics concur. Americana Highways wrote, ”Influenced by 20th century novels and real life tales from the world around us, Patton and Brokus have melded whimsical amusement with authentic observations". Blogcritics offered a rave as well, noting, ”Jim Patton and Sherry Brokus, pair literate, well told vignettes with engaging and melodic folk rock".

Of their last full length album, "Big Red Gibson", Rootstime raved “Musician Jim Patton keeps writing and singing splendid folk, country and rock songs with his lovely wife Sherry Brokus, adding memorable new material to their already comprehensive discography”.

Not surprisingly, any number of their fellow musicians have contributed their kudos as well. “I met Jim and Sherry when I first moved to Austin in 1998”, producer and guitarist Lloyd Maines mentions. “I had the opportunity to work on a record with them and I’m glad it worked out. They are so passionate about their music. I’ve always been drawn to artists who write about their life experiences, and that’s just what Jim and Sherry do. I’m glad to be a part of their music”.

“I’ve known Jim & Sherry for over 30 years in music travels”, singer songwriter Troy Campbell adds. “They consistently carry the message and the records keep getting better”.

“I may remain under the radar as a songwriter, but I have the respect of other songwriters”, notes Patton. “And that makes me very happy!".