The Josie Show with Pat Melfi

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Br br bro bro bro bro around the world on
the world Wide Web. Ladies and Gentleman period is the.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
Most The other stations are tuning in too. Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Broadcasting live from the Josey Network Studios in downtown Madonna, Tennessee.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
It's that time of week again. It's time for the Josie.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Shoe, bringing you the most exciting music, moves and guests
from around the world right here on the Jersey Show.
Please make walking beautiful. It's Hannity. Hello, America's dy else business.

(01:04):
Josie as said, Hey over.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Here, Hell everyone, and welcome to the Josie Show. My
special guest today is Pat Melfie. He's a former MCA
Records VP of Finance. He's done concert production manager to
Michael Peterson in the Imperials. He has his own music out,
so there's so much that we're going to be able

(01:27):
to talk to him about today. So let's just bring
him on right now. Hat Melfie, Hi, Hey, how are you?

Speaker 4 (01:33):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (01:34):
I'm doing wonderful. Thank you so much for joining me.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Today, you bet chat.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
Thanks for having me my pleasure. So, first off, congratulations
or in order, because you have your first number one
song as a songwriter for your song the Leftover Guy
chart is number one this week on the European Country
Hot Disc Top forty chart. So what was going through
your mind when you found this information out?

Speaker 4 (01:54):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, first of all, I didn't believe.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
It right ixactly.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
I would like, really, I wrote this song in nineteen
eighty nine, you know.

Speaker 4 (02:05):
Yeah, and it's ever since I got with Michael, you know,
he has encouraged me to, you know, get down to
business with my own music, which I've intentionally not worked
on over the years because I was too busy taking
care of others, you know, which was my calling in life,
was to help other people get out on the road

(02:25):
with their music. So I left mine sitting in a
vault someplace. Then my daughter found it and she was like, Dad,
we need to be doing stuff with this. Oh, darling,
it's too late for that. I'm an old fart who cares.

Speaker 3 (02:42):
Oh no, no, yeah.

Speaker 4 (02:44):
So anyway, you know, started working with Michael about two
years ago, and you know, he's a great songwriter, and
he started looking at some of the stuff I was working.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
On and he started helping me out. And next thing
I know, we're putting stuff out for both him and I.
That's amazing.

Speaker 4 (03:01):
Yeah, and so this was my first shot out of
the gate and they released it over in Europe first,
and I guess I found out that it was number
one in the UK.

Speaker 3 (03:13):
That's incredible. Wow, that's so neat And it's so interesting
that so long ago you wrote this. So I'd love
to kind of go back to your mindset at that time,
you know, tell me about the leftover guy and the
inspiration behind it. What was initially the spark to write
this one.

Speaker 4 (03:27):
Well, it wasn't a good time in life. There was
you know, quite a bit of travel going on, right
and at the time I was married, and you know,
sometimes people have needs that don't get fulfilled when you're
out on the road. So you know, I basically was
feeling like I was the leftover guy when she said goodbye.

(03:49):
So that's kind of what it was. It was a
sad story, but it was true heartfelt story, you know,
and I felt like she traded, you know, she traded
some strangers smiling for you know, trade of my best
years in for some stranger's smile.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
And so now I felt like the leftover guy.

Speaker 4 (04:07):
Right.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
It's so relatable though, I mean, so many people could
feel this this exact same way that have been in
the same situation, and and with your music you could
help so many others too.

Speaker 4 (04:17):
You know, well, I think that's probably what happened was
I was probably I realized after I had got the
news that that's probably what did it.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
That there's a lot of people that could relate to that.

Speaker 4 (04:29):
So I heard once before that you know, if you're
going to write a top song or number one song,
that you should, you know, become an expert on the
subject so.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
That the subject, the subject, the subject will appeal to
the mask.

Speaker 4 (04:44):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah, and it is a great song. I hope everyone
checks it out. It is available on all you know
digital streaming platforms. You can check it out. But also
there is an album out Whiskey Kicks and Broken Spurs.
What is the best way you would describe this album
and the songs on it someone who may not have heard.

Speaker 4 (05:01):
It yet, I would say that, again, it's from that
same time frame.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
So during that during that time frame, I was coming.

Speaker 4 (05:10):
Off of the Supertramp tour that I was running across America,
and I was going I went into a rehabilitation period
of time and life at that point, and so everything
part of that rehabilitation was to you know, you have
to relocate, you know, kind of leave things behind and

(05:33):
change the environment, otherwise you just fall down again.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
So I.

Speaker 4 (05:38):
Moved to a place called Temecula, California, and it was
out in the country at the time. It had a
population of about five hundred and it was very quiet,
and it was easy for me to you know, get
involved in what I thought would help me to stay
straight for a long time, which I have since then.

(06:00):
It's just really kind of cool because that's been over
forty years now.

Speaker 3 (06:03):
Yeah, congratulations, Yeah, thank you.

Speaker 4 (06:05):
So you know it, h it was the it was
the country, if you would, even though it was in California,
it was located in the country. So I got into
my western world and things of that sort. So the
album became very much like a whale and Jennings was

(06:28):
like Christofferson, Willie Nelson, those kind of guys. So it's
I made it a concept album. It's you know, it's
steeped in outlaw country and southern rock. Southern rock. It's
pretty gritty and pretty poetic. It's most of the songs
would be for fans of Coulter Wall or Johnny Cash
or Simpson, Chris Dapleton, that kind of stuff. So it's

(06:51):
a great in my opinion, it's a great.

Speaker 2 (06:56):
Sound. You know. It's like Chris Tapleton is pretty.

Speaker 4 (06:59):
Hot right now in the what they're calling Americana, which
you know, I I remember when that all happened.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
I was just like, I wonder if he likes whalon Jennings.

Speaker 4 (07:12):
Because Whalen Jennings was doing this prob of you before
he was born, you know. Yeah, yeah, so it just
became it's a it's a southern rock background, you know,
it's a you know, very Americana kind of vibe.

Speaker 2 (07:27):
It's pretty cool though. There's some very cool songs on
it that are, uh, pretty cinematic if you will.

Speaker 4 (07:34):
Yeah, I think the big song on it that's gonna
if we are ever gonna do anything with it is
eight Seconds from a Better Life. And that is a
song that's a rodeo song, you know, and it's a
it's a you know, it's.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
It's a very cool rodeo song.

Speaker 4 (07:51):
It's high, high energy, and you know, a couple of
other things I put in there that I thought was.

Speaker 2 (07:56):
Kind of fun, you know, like when I was going
through my.

Speaker 4 (08:00):
Rehabilitation place, I created this song called Hell's just a
Town with.

Speaker 2 (08:04):
A two drink minimum.

Speaker 4 (08:05):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, So I think I don't know how
people are gonna, you know, respond, but it's Yellowstone type stuff. Yeah,
you know, I guess what they would call Why Marshalls
and the Dutton Ranch today. And right now I'm looking
at trying to place some of these songs in these
TV shows because I think some.

Speaker 3 (08:25):
Of them did oh yeah, sync placement. I mean, that's
definitely where it is. And I think it would these songs,
like you said, and you said it so well that
they are cinematic. I mean you could sit back and
really imagine and picture what you're telling, and that goes
back to your great storytelling, you know what I mean.
So yeah, I definitely can see it on any kind
of those kind of shows, you know what I mean,

(08:46):
like Yellowstone or whatnot, you know what I mean.

Speaker 4 (08:48):
Made sure Land Band would be a really good one
for this album because there's some stuff in there.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
It is you know, it's really kind of weird, you know.

Speaker 4 (09:00):
I wrote all this stuff, and I wrote the music
based on the bands that I were around that I
was around at the time, and then I just never
did anything with it. But what I did do was
I recorded it, you know, because I was you know,
during my term at MCA Records, I had availability to
studios and studio musicians and whatever, and but you know,

(09:22):
and I so.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
We would just go in and record what we would
call demos.

Speaker 4 (09:26):
But today, you know, the demos are you know, from
back then, are what people want to hear.

Speaker 2 (09:32):
They want to hear the raw stuff. So this is
what this is, exactly what it is at this point.

Speaker 4 (09:38):
It's a pretty I've been have a probably the time
of my life doing it.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
It's a fascinating to me though.

Speaker 4 (09:45):
You know, we were talking last night with my publicists
that we were talking about the journey from Tom Petty
and Pink Floyd to the Imperials. Yeah, which is where
we are now because I'm I managed Michael and I
managed the Imperials.

Speaker 2 (10:02):
How funny it is that God just breaks you around.

Speaker 3 (10:05):
Full circle, you know, full circle. I'm telling you, this
is life, and it's you've had over the years, just
so many different facets in the entertainment businesses, in the
entertainment business that you've been a part of. Like you said,
you know, former MCA Records VP of Finance actually you've
worked in you know, concert production and now manager of course.
So you know all of those years do you feel

(10:27):
have helped kind of culminate and and you know, get
you to the place that you are now.

Speaker 2 (10:32):
I agree, I totally agree. And I've watched them.

Speaker 4 (10:35):
I've watched them come and go, and I've watched them
rise and fall, you know, as as a promoter, and
you know, in my tenure with MCA Records, which started
with Tom Petty, uh, you know, those those years were
all kind of fascinating to watch and and you know.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
A lot of those people were just icons, you know.
I mean like people didn't really believe that they were
going to have careers for fifty years, right right, you know.

Speaker 4 (11:04):
But the the other guys that I was fortunate enough
to work with, you know, and they just kept going.

Speaker 3 (11:09):
They just never stopped, yeah, exactly, and nobody wanted them
to stop either.

Speaker 4 (11:14):
You know. You know, and actually Tom Petty's catalog is
selling more now than it ever has, and all the
new stuff that's there that you know, the unreleased studio
sessions and things of that sort, which you.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
Know, that's what my daughter doesn't want to have happened.

Speaker 4 (11:30):
She wants me to get all this stuff out, you know,
go have fun with it now, Well I can, you know,
I'm seventy four. You know, you never know, you know,
I've learned over the years of God's master of cole calls.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
He doesn't pick up the phone and say I'll pick
up and now, and he just shows up exactly.

Speaker 4 (11:46):
I used to tell my kids that all the time,
and I'd say, so, whatever you're doing, when he shows up,
you better be proud of it.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yes, I love that.

Speaker 3 (11:53):
I agree with your daughter. I'm glad that you, you know,
took the step and you put this out there because
it's just incredible. It's incredible work. And have you ever
thought of, just from your career, I ever think about
like a memoir or something, because I'm sure you've had
stories over the years, you know.

Speaker 4 (12:07):
You know, I've had people approach me on that topic before.
You know, I just I don't know, you know, honestly, Josie,
I've spent most of my life being really shy. I
know that's hard for some people to believe, because you know,
how is that possible? But you know, all the way
back to you know, my childhood, I just I knew

(12:32):
that there was something there, but I didn't want it
to interfere with other.

Speaker 2 (12:38):
Artists that I was involved with directing in their careers,
that makes sense, so I sort of set it aside.

Speaker 4 (12:45):
And you know what's really strange is that in my
early days I took a piano lesson and one piano lesson.

Speaker 2 (12:53):
And the lady said, yes, she said that.

Speaker 4 (12:55):
Well, I guess here's what you got to do for
next week, and I'll see you back here next week
at this time. And I said, with all due respect,
I don't think you'll see me back here.

Speaker 2 (13:05):
Susan excuse me.

Speaker 4 (13:08):
I don't want to learn how to play music. I
want to learn how to write it, I said. And
you know, my journey over the years has been also
includes views art as you may and may not know,
which you know, which is the study of music and
arts and the battle of music and arts and the
lives of children. I feel that there's a shortcoming in

(13:30):
the educational system with music, because while it teaches you
discipline and technique and all of that other good stuff,
it really doesn't teach you to write it. Just here's
a you know, rock moaninoff, pray, leave the c minor,
go home and study it and learn it and play it,
but it doesn't do anything to tear it apart and
see what is it that crafted it so well so

(13:54):
that I could get.

Speaker 2 (13:54):
Into the idea of writing.

Speaker 4 (13:56):
So it's fascinating to me because I have like when
I hear a melody in my head, I hear everything
goes with it, Like I can hear strings, I can
hear drums, I could hear bass play, I could hear
all the instruments in my head.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
So as a kid, I would.

Speaker 4 (14:11):
You know when I say a kid, when I when
I was in my twenties, I would just sit down
and ping around with the piano and I would write.

Speaker 2 (14:20):
I would write all these melodies and I'd record them
so that I wouldn't forget them.

Speaker 4 (14:24):
And then at a later date, whenever i'd have the
kind of musicians that i'd want in the studio that
were doing that, which were mostly people doing film scoring,
I would get them to record this stuff. And we
have a we have an album on YouTube. It's called
Lazy Sunday Afternoon Music. Yeah, and it's a killer album

(14:44):
for it's really targeted towards the woman that has a
full calendar. You know, she's busy she's got kids, she's
got a full time job, and she just wants an
hour to herself, wants to sit about, read a book,
have glass of wine or whatever it is that keeps
her relaxed.

Speaker 2 (15:03):
Uh. And I was quite surprised it got two hundred
and sixty thousand views in really short order.

Speaker 1 (15:10):
Wow.

Speaker 2 (15:11):
I was like, what the heck?

Speaker 4 (15:12):
And it's it's a ninety minute compilation of all the
film score music that I would write that never went anywhere.

Speaker 2 (15:21):
It just it went into my archives.

Speaker 4 (15:24):
So yeah, so you know it goes from orchestral to
outlaw Americana to country and now we're into contemporary Christian music.

Speaker 2 (15:39):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (15:39):
Yes, tell you know it's crazy journey.

Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (15:44):
I'm meeting tomorrow with the with the guys from the Imperials,
who you know, have heard a song that I wrote
called dott Is Everywhere and another song I wrote called
Divine Design.

Speaker 2 (15:56):
You know, we are the Divine Design of Christ and
I love it.

Speaker 4 (16:01):
They they heard that and they were like, we got
to talk to Pat. We want to know what he's
dood with these songs because we want to sing. And
I'm like, holy coow. Really, So I would not have
met them the Imperials. If I didn't meet Michael, you know,
there would not be a band that I would run
down the road and see.

Speaker 3 (16:20):
Now.

Speaker 4 (16:20):
My wife, on the other hand, actually knew who they
were and grew.

Speaker 2 (16:25):
Up on their music. Oh nice.

Speaker 4 (16:28):
I was quite surprised when I told her I was
going to manage them. She said, what do you meet
the imperial like the Christian band? I said, no, money,
I was talking about Little Anthony in the Imperials, and
she was, no, Well, that would be more your style.
And I said, yeah, but most of those guys have
already left us, you know. Yeah, I said so, and

(16:48):
even some of the best of the Imperials have left us,
you know. I said, But but she knew all their songs.

Speaker 2 (16:54):
And I was shocked.

Speaker 4 (16:56):
I mean, I started, well, she'd be dancing around the house.
I'd be learning this had some dance moves I didn't
know she had. You know, she's dancing around the house too.
I'm forgiven and one more song for you and Praise
the Lord, and I'm like, what the heck? So, yeah,
well she's a daughter of a Baptist minister. So you
know that's why I got it. I got it. I

(17:18):
figured it out quick so I'm pretty excited about that too,
because you know, I want to pair them with the.

Speaker 2 (17:28):
Younger generation of contemporary Christian music, you.

Speaker 4 (17:32):
Know, the Brandon Lakes and the Megan Woods and Lauren Diagels,
and I want to do duets of all their Grammy
Award songs with these younger artists and package that up
into a new and maybe a grand finale album.

Speaker 2 (17:45):
For the Imperials. You know, yes, yeah, so that's my goal.

Speaker 4 (17:51):
And my neighbor was asking me, you know how this
came about, and I said, you know, I was just
sitting in my living room and I just decided I
was going to just say, you know, lord, what do
you want me to do here? You know, I'm thinking
about Dark Side of the Moon and you know, running
down a dream.

Speaker 2 (18:09):
And a refugee.

Speaker 4 (18:11):
Yeah, and now you got me in front of the Imperials.

Speaker 2 (18:14):
Okay, so what would you like me to do here?
And all that kind of just came to mind.

Speaker 4 (18:20):
Bottom lines, I feel like I'm just the soldier in
his army and he's, you know, handing out assignments and
you know, for all of us to choose whether or
not we want to accept those assignments.

Speaker 2 (18:35):
And at my stage in life.

Speaker 4 (18:37):
At seventy four years old, I'm thinking I'm accepting every
assignment he hands down because I might be meeting him
pretty soon.

Speaker 3 (18:43):
Right, I mean, all of us need to, you know,
really kind of do that because you know, you you
want to experience as much in this life, but also
do things for him. You know what he has for you.
You're his you know, calling for you. And that's how
I feel. I feel the same way that you do.

Speaker 4 (18:57):
Yeah, well, I believe that what we're doing, you and I,
both of us are doing.

Speaker 2 (19:02):
We're doing what I call a calling. This is what
we do.

Speaker 4 (19:06):
God, you know, gave us this assignment. We accepted it,
and now we just have to hang out on the
sidelines wait for him to give us guidance, you know.
So that's what I did with That's what I did
with Michael and the Imperials. Michael and I were in
Nashville this last week and he said, do you.

Speaker 2 (19:23):
Have a Do you have a do you have a plan?
And I said, no, not really, We're.

Speaker 3 (19:28):
Going with it. We're gonna let it come.

Speaker 2 (19:31):
Yes he was.

Speaker 4 (19:33):
Then later he texted me when because we went two
different ways on flights, and he said, you know, he goes.

Speaker 2 (19:39):
I love that about you. And I said, what he goes?
No plan?

Speaker 4 (19:43):
Huh, I said, Michael, I didn't have a plan when
we first started. And now look you have two records
coming out. You got to I said, we're doing's work exactly.
And when we set up our company, he and I.
I said, I have one condition to doing this and
he and what's that? I said, God is the CEO?

Speaker 3 (20:04):
Yes, absolutely, always.

Speaker 4 (20:07):
That's timing you.

Speaker 3 (20:08):
It really is.

Speaker 4 (20:10):
It's exciting, you know, too exciting. Yeah, it's fun to watch,
you know, him work in our.

Speaker 3 (20:15):
Lives, you know, Yeah, it really is, it really is.
And I'm just so excited to see what is next
for you, what he puts in your place, your in
your heart, and and and your your career and then
of course Michael Peterson and the Imperials. I wish that
to every single one of you, and for our listeners
who want to connect with you after the show. Can

(20:35):
you share where you are on social media? Because I
know you're on social media?

Speaker 2 (20:39):
Oh yeah, I've got them all. Yeah, PATRICKA.

Speaker 4 (20:41):
Patricia manages all that, but it's uh, you know Facebook
and you know Instagram. I'm not any good at that stuff,
you know. I mean, uh, at my at my age,
I can you know I'm doing good?

Speaker 2 (20:53):
Just to text You's funny.

Speaker 4 (20:59):
Well, my daughter said she wanted some of my music.
So so I put two CDs together for her, and
I was going down to l A. I dropped in
on her and said, here's here's some music for you.
And she looked at me and she said, and what
would you like me to play that on? I said
what she couldn't. We don't have a CD player. I

(21:19):
don't have them in my car, I don't have him anywhere.

Speaker 2 (21:22):
I was like, oh, I know, I.

Speaker 4 (21:24):
Said, dang, you're making me feel old. She said, she goes,
can you put that on the thumb drive? And I can,
but it'll be so compressed and it won't sound near
as good. So I put I printed all up on
vinyl for her.

Speaker 1 (21:40):
They go.

Speaker 2 (21:42):
I gave it to her on vinyl and she said,
now I got to go buy a turntable exactly.

Speaker 3 (21:47):
It's so funny how music has changed, and so I
don't remember I remember CD players. So that was, you know,
because I was born, you know, in the nineties, and
so you know, they still had some CD players and
CD players in cars. Now they don't have that anymore.
So it's it's funny how it all valves, doesn't it.

Speaker 4 (22:02):
I'm sad about it too, because I just got a
new I've just got a new car, and in my
old car there was a CD player that I could
stick a CD into it and it would record. It
would record what was on that CD into what they
called a jukebox, so it would store it on the
computer in the car, and I would never need that
CD again, exactly. Now I got I got a new

(22:25):
model and they didn't have the CD player.

Speaker 2 (22:27):
I said, well, well that's like a downgrade. What's wrong
with you? People? Come on now?

Speaker 3 (22:35):
Perfective?

Speaker 2 (22:36):
Ye? What are you gonna do? You know? Times right?

Speaker 3 (22:41):
Yes, right, you know you? You definitely are doing it,
and I hope everybody you know checks out. Of course,
the album Whiskey Kicks and Broken Spurs available now the
Leftover Guys also on uh you know, digital platforms. You
could stream it wherever you are. But also you have
a YouTube channel with you have lyric videos and so
much more as well, So I urge people to also
check out your content everywhere.

Speaker 2 (23:02):
We've got content. We've got more content, and.

Speaker 4 (23:04):
We know what to do with Michael and I are
starting a new publishing company.

Speaker 2 (23:08):
We have fifteen hundred songs between he and I.

Speaker 3 (23:11):
WHOA, that is incredible.

Speaker 2 (23:15):
Yeah, we're excited about it.

Speaker 4 (23:17):
So I'm really excited for him and what's happening in
this world.

Speaker 2 (23:21):
I feel that he is such a gifted.

Speaker 4 (23:24):
Person at not only as a musician, but as just
as a human being, you know, right. I mean there
are people that I've had people have asked me, is
that guy for real? And they go like, what do
you mean?

Speaker 2 (23:36):
He's so nice? That's who he is.

Speaker 4 (23:41):
Exactly, And almost it's almost like they act like there's
no room in.

Speaker 2 (23:47):
The world for something like that.

Speaker 4 (23:49):
Interesting. You know, we're we're living in such a different
place that who would have ever guessed?

Speaker 2 (23:55):
And I was like, yeah, there are good people in
the world.

Speaker 3 (23:58):
They are You're out there.

Speaker 2 (24:02):
Yeah, there's tons of them out there. Just keep looking,
they're there.

Speaker 3 (24:05):
I had so much fun getting the opportunity to talk
with you, and please come back on anytime you have
anything you'd like to talk about promote, Please just remember
me and I would love to have you back on.

Speaker 2 (24:15):
Thanks Josie a day.

Speaker 3 (24:16):
Thank you all so much for tuning into The Josie
Show today. Make sure to stay tuned to josieshow dot
com on our Upcoming Guest tab to see who is
coming up next on The Josie Show. But until then,
I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your
week and we'll see you all next time. Bye bye,