Coliseum

This is an interview done with Ryan Patterson of Coliseum sometime in 2005. Original introduction included.

Ryan Patterson is a big man, with a big plan and a big voice. Through Coliseum, he’s already brought his message and his mission across the U.S. New EP Goddamage on Manic Ride Records takes everything the band did on last year’s debut full-length, and magnifies it. The beats are faster, the playing more precise and Patterson’s vocals leaner and meaner. Feast your ears on healthy helpings of such weighty cuts as “Year of the Pig” and the soon-to-be classic “Dehumanize” (not the Void song ‘Dehumanized’). I spoke with Ryan at length, because, well, Ryan can only speak at length. He’s a modern day sage, spinning cagey tales and declarations that reverberate for days. Despite the grisly bear live beast Ryan becomes, he’s among the more personable guys you’ll meet. And he’s perennially amped on music and constantly inspired to be punk. Indeed, quite rare in this late stage in the decadence of DIY punk hardcore or what have you.

When you started Coliseum, did you intend it to be your outlet, as opposed to your role in the other bands you were in at the time?

Ryan: Yeah, certainly having a podium of some sort from which to stand and vent my thoughts or feelings, either through lyrics or via speaking on stage, was a large part of my desire to put this band together. It's not the only reason by any means - I also wanted to start a fast heavy punk metal kind of band and tour a lot more than I ever had before. I'm not sure if every non-singing member of any band feels this way too, but for a number of years I was having a great time playing guitar in bands, but felt that my voice wasn't being heard. So, when Black Cross started back in 2001 we made a conscious decision to have not only Rob, the singer, talk on stage, but hopefully have it be more of an open forum for all the members to at least say something from the stage, as well as have to agree on the topics of the lyrics on at least a base level.

But if Rob’s the singer, he has the focus, the main voice.

Admittedly, it ended up being mostly Rob talking, with me adding in by talking on stage a little and all of us discussing the lyrics with him. I felt fairly content with Black Cross, honestly. I was able to say what I wanted to say to a certain extent and felt that the ideas the band conveyed were great. But, more and more I had a burning desire to be the frontman / lyricist of a band again, which I hadn't done since the mid 90s, in bands that weren't very good and never really accomplished anything. That need or desire was somewhat coupled with one of the most intense and confusing times of disillusionment in my life since my late teens. When it finally became apparent that Black Cross would not ever be a full time touring band, I decided to try and start this new band that been an idea brewing in my head for many years. Writing lyrics for the first time in so many years was really scary... But I tried my best to filter through my thoughts and get right to the point. So yeah, it's certainly a pretty thorough outlet for me with music and ideas.

At shows you've spoken candidly about personal issues, as well as politics. Do you ever regret opening up and just speaking your mind?

Ryan: It has yet to backfire in any major way, so far so good I guess! There can be times when truly opening up on stage can leave me feeling pretty fucking exposed and vulnerable, but I haven't regretted any of it. I think that understanding where I'm coming from personally or on the topics of our lyrics is an essential part of understanding our band. It has helped me so much to be able to express myself and get these things off my chest, and I take solace in the fact that I know I'm not alone. I'm not saying that every person in an audience can relate to what I say, but I do know that there isn't any human condition or feeling that is unique to just one person.

So you think kids usually get it, they empathize with what you’re saying.

There are people out there who feel the same way I do, and I think that many people in the punk/hardcore scene have been drawn there for the same reasons that I have. I might be incorrect, but I think that people respect honesty and that if what I'm saying is coming from my heart, so to speak, then the audience or listener can pick up on that.

Have you gotten flak?

There have been a couple of occasions when I've seen some internet bashing of what I have said onstage or someone making some vague claim about the sincerity of what I say. But it's been rare and no one has ever spoken to me personally, so – while it certainly hurt my feelings - I didn't worry about it too much. The wonderful moments when people talk to me about how they connect with the songs and relate to what I've said have far outweighed any negative reactions. I've had some of the most amazing interactions with people regarding Coliseum and I really cherish those moments. By the way, I'm also far more open on stage than I am off stage. The anonymity of not speaking directly to one person and having a forum where you're talking and people generally aren't interacting with you, makes it much easier to spill my guts, so to speak. It's usually very, very hard for me to open up to people on a personal one on one level. That's why Coliseum has become so essential for me.

In the past during sets you've stated that you were sick of people preaching, on the right and the left. But are you contradicting yourself by saying some of what you say during shows? How should someone get their message out there and their point across?

Ryan: I am tired of the constant back and forth of mainstream politics and the battle or the right vs. left media. It wears me down. But am I preaching for the left? Man, I hope not. I am certainly aligned with leftist ideals and politics, but I hope that I can remain objective enough to see through the façade of even the most famous liberals. I guess I feel like everyone in the media and those in positions of authority spend their time telling the 'common people' how to think; the newspapers, the TV, the church, the legislators, even the left leaning documentarians and talk radio hosts. I want to be presented with facts and ideas and form my own opinions, but at this time, you're given nothing but half-truths and biased information, media manipulation is at its all time high the era of "W" and 9/11. Man, I really, really hope that onstage I'm not telling people how to think... I'm just giving my side of things, my reaction to the world around me. I have no answers, I have no particularly correct or overly informed insight, I'm just doing what I can to make it through this life and hopefully have some affect that I feel is positive. I'm not above contradictions in any way, I'm sure I've contradicted myself thousands of times on stage and off, that's just how it goes. I do my best to stick by what I say and what I believe, but I'm evolving and learning with every day, so things may change and I welcome those changes. That's part of what makes life exciting and inspiring.

So contrary to Michael Moore or whomever, is there a right way to express political viewpoints, to maybe change peoples’ minds politically?

I don't know the perfect or even ideal way to get a point across, I do it my way and do my best with it... I couldn't begin to have an idea of the perfect way to spread a message, and I'm not even saying that the mainstream media outlets shouldn't infect their every move and statement with their own special brand of bullshit, I'm just saying that I'm fucking sick of it.

Talk to me about the "hostage of privilege"?

The hostage of privilege is me. Actually, not just me, but also my friends, my peers, a lot of the people around me... My desire though all the lyrics with Coliseum was to do my best to never point my finger at someone else or place blame anywhere but myself. "Hostage of Privilege" was written at a time when some of my closest friends and I all seemed to be constantly bemoaning our lives, or at least certain aspects of our lives. Feeling depressed and lonely, but then realizing that we had everything we could possibly hope for within our grasp. That our lives were so unbelievably easy and we had things in our lives that people all over this earth would kill for; safe homes, reasonable amounts of money, wonderful families, food, shelter, etc. So, I realized at some point during my darkest moments, that I was feeling absolutely terrible because of one thing, while I had everything else I could ever want or dream. I'm a person that grew up in a middle class family, with parents who provided everything I needed. As an adult I've been lucky enough to have jobs that pay me enough to get by and are part of either independent businesses or entirely DIY. I'm able to be in bands and tour and put out records. I have so much in my life to appreciate yet I was taking it all for granted. I was, and still am at times, held hostage by my own privilege. The line "asshole, I know your deal, I've watched you writhe my whole life" is about me, a finger pointed at myself in the mirror. It's about appreciating what you have.

I might be inventing this out of thin air, but I believe that you've said in the past that you didn't want Coliseum to immediately jump into or be associated with the D-beat scene. Why not? And why affiliate yourself with the decidedly non-D-beat Level Plane Records?

Ryan: It's not that we don't want to be associated with the D-beat scene if there is such a thing, it's just that we're not claiming to be anything we're not. If we popped up and said, "Hey, we're a new band along the lines of Inepsy and Wolfbrigade and we are like those bands and we want to be aligned with those bands" that would be false, because we don't know those bands and that's not the scene that we come from. To be honest, as individuals, Coliseum comes from no scene at all... Some of us grew up as punk kids or hardcore kids or metal kids or whatever. I have been a part of the hardcore/punk scene for over half my life, and certainly as a band we consider ourselves part of that scene. But jumping into some subsect or particular other label is not of any interest to us.

Like calling yourselves "crust" or "screamo" or "metal."

I don't really care about labels like "screamo" or "crust" or whatever, I never really have. I honestly didn't know that Level Plane was seen as being associated with some kind of "screamo" scene or that there even was a scene of "d-beat" bands. I wanted to start a fast, heavy punk metal band. Our influences come from all over the place. It would be dishonest of me to pretend to be something I'm not - like some kind of OG d-beat crust punk dude. We are who we are, so we're not trying to jump on to anyone else's coattails or scene. I love a lot of d-beat bands, but that's not all I'm about or all Coliseum is about.

As is quite evident with your new EP, you really take religion, particularly Christianity to task. Do you worry about offending or alienating fans or potential fans?

Ryan: Actually, despite the title "Goddamage" and the song "Theme," which was originally titled "Theme For Goddamage," none of the other songs are about Christianity specifically. "Year Of The Pig" mentions it a bit but the song as a whole is about looking back on a specific year and taking it all in. "Born To Hang" is about religion in an abstract way, but those aren't my lyrics, they were written by Chris from Lords. Goddamage wasn't intended to be a eight song deconstruction of Christianity, it's just a title that we thought was cool - it's offensive to some, funny to others, and could have multiple meanings. If the title "Goddamage" offends anyone, then they're taking themselves way too seriously. But, when it all comes down to it, am I afraid of scaring off people who may disagree with our stances and statements? No fucking way. No one has to listen who doesn't want to and I'm not telling anyone what to do with their life... I'm just expressing my ideas and thoughts and feelings, so if by saying in a song that I'm sick and fucking tired of having a certain religious right shove their agenda down my throat certain people are turned off to our band, then so be it. Good riddance.