By: Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 12/4/22 – Patrick Davis is a singer/songwriter from South Carolina. He grew up in a family of musical talent and began playing the guitar in high school. Davis would occasionally join his father’s band, learning a slew of rock classics and homing in on his musical skills. After graduating from the University of South Carolina, Davis moved to Nashville and started performing at various bars and cafés. He also played in a few different bands, eventually getting the opportunity to open for Pat Green. That led to Green asking him to write several songs, giving Davis headway to write for other artists in Texas.
For several years Davis enjoyed his success, but the music industry was steadily changing, which made him realize that his royalty payment would also suffer the consequences of a changing market. So, he transitioned back into performing and began playing dates in the Bahamas. However, he wanted to offer something more distinctive, so he invited several songwriting friends for an intimate event that included rhetoric about their songs and songwriting processes to accompany the performances.
Davis fell in love with his newfound idea and started Songwriters in Paradise (SIP). Over a decade later, he continues to spearhead SIP events in the Bahamas expanding to Cabo, Napa, and Sonoma.
THT was honored to receive a four-day press pass to join Davis and his songwriter friends in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. And thank you to Big Hassle media who made our job a little easier.
Check out our interview below:
THT: What is your title with Songwriters in Paradise?
PD: About 10 years ago I started toying around with the idea, it was sort of a happy accident. The concept came together as a business about 4-5 years ago.
THT: You have a long track record of song writing; can you briefly walk us through your process?
PD: Usually, songwriters think about the next song; everything sounds like a song. So many of the most popular songs that we all know, and love were overheard conversations at a bar, or you hear someone say something. Last night Chris Stills played “Love the One You’re With,” which his dad Stephen Stills wrote, and he played it for us last night, and; the story behind that song is that he overheard someone at a party say can’t be with the one you love, love the one you are with. And those are the types of things that we are always looking for.
In Nashville, we’ll usually write with another writer or two writers, and we’ll ask each other, hey do you have any ideas today? We kick around ideas and sit there with the guitar or around the piano. One thing leads to another, then hopefully, by lunchtime, you have like a verse or maybe a chorus. Then you go to lunch, come back, sit down, and try to knock out the rest of the song. It’s not one way to do it. There are a million ways to skin a cat.
THT: How do you find artists for SIP Cabo?
PD: They are all my friends. I’ve been making music for about 25 years, so my contact list is extensive. I essentially invite my friends. I get requests from people asking to come and perform, but I’d instead stick to people I know. For me, it’s essential to stick with people I know because what happens on stage usually occurs off the location and the SIP Cabo is a very tight-knit group. At a sold-out SIP event, we only allow a group of about 75. Then, of course, we do the big shows, but those are not as fun as all of us getting to hang out amongst ourselves and have this week together. We want that experience to roll over to the audience, so I need the people that come to be vouched for by me. I want people to treat everyone there with respect and kindness, so that’s why it works better with just my friends.
THT: Do you try to get different people to perform?
PD: Yes, in the past seven to eight years of doing this, there’s been about 40-50 people that have been at the different events. I try to have about 10-15 writers at each different one. So, I try to keep about 4-5 familiar faces and add 4-5 new people to keep the vibe going.
THT: Do you have a favorite event?
PD: Well, they are all so different. I do love Cabo; the weather and the food are incredible and its very convenient. Napa and Healdsburg are both extraordinary because I’m a bit of a wine snob and you don’t get any better wine than that. It’s really hard to pick a favorite each one has it’s own thing to offer.
THT: With your events being so tight knit, do you really want press?
PD: To a certain degree, it’s always lovely to have the press to get a blurb here and there. It’s suitable for the hotel and getting them some promotion because they’re incredibly good to us. But, for us, it’s not necessarily about the press but more about the camaraderie of being able to hang out together. So, yeah, it’s nice to have some, but my press will come when I release a new album. Also, it’s a nice little secret that has grown over the years. But, again, SIP events are not for the masses and are intimate. This is an anti-meet-and-greet, instead of just standing in line, meeting the artist, and snapping a photo to post on Instagram. At my event, you will hang out with everyone here because it’s so small and intimate; that’s the selling point. At the end of the day, this doesn’t feel like work; we get to do what we want.
To learn more about SIP events visit their website at the link below:
https://www.songwritersinparadise.com/home
Bahia Hotel