Pat Finn

Patrick Jonathan Finn (born February 1, 1969) is a Buffalo, New York-born musician and artist who founded two pre-Weezer bands, Bush and 60 Wrong Sausages, before pursuing a variety of other musical projects. He is the songwriter and lead vocalist behind Organic Mechanic, and has been active in numerous bands in Buffalo; San Francisco; New York City; Los Angeles; and Portland, Oregon, where he has lived since 1998. He introduced Rivers Cuomo, Pat Wilson, Matt Sharp, Jason Cropper and Karl Koch to each other.
==History with Weezer==
====Early Life====
Finn grew up in Buffalo, New York, and in 1982 was introduced to Karl Koch by mutual friend John Drenning. The three thereafter became lifelong friends. After his parents divorced, Finn moved to the San Francisco area with his mother and siblings in 1983, but returned to Buffalo in 1984. In 1985–1987 He was a member of The Smegmatics and later New Balance (the Buffalo hardcore band that later morphed into Zero Tolerance, counting Darrin Pfieffer as its drummer for a period in the early '90s). He returned to the Bay area in 1987.
====Meeting Matt Sharp and Patrick Wilson====
In 1988, Finn moved to Los Angeles from San Francisco, and attended the Musicians Institute. There he met fellow students Matt Sharp as well as (among others) Dave "Burdie Cutlass" Georgeff and Tom "Soda Pop" Gardocki, future members of Wax. Afterwards, Finn returned to Buffalo and remained there from the summer 1989 through the spring of 1990, writing, recording, and practicing songs and working various jobs. While living in Buffalo he met Patrick Wilson, who was working at a music store called Music Mart in the suburb of Amherst, giving drum lessons to children. The two instantly hit it off, musically and personally. 
In May 1990, Finn moved to Los Angeles to return to the music scene there, and implored Wilson to come with him. Wilson has stated that he knew he had no prospects in the Buffalo area, and was eager to get his music career started, so he instantly accepted Finn's offer, without hesitation, despite having no plan, few possessions, and little money.
In Los Angeles, the two lived in a low income apartment on Gordon Ave. near Hollywood Boulevard (considered a crime-rampant neighborhood at the time). Finn introduced Wilson to the future members of Wax, as well as to Matt Sharp. Finn and Wilson were determined to start a band. The two recorded 4-track demos and formed a band called Bush with Finn's Musicians Institute acquaintance Tom Gardocki. Sharp was, at this point hanging around and living with some of the future Wax members, but didn't get along with them. Sharp would get his own apartment in Westwood, and became involved with a social activist group known as the Black Rock Coalition.
====Meeting Rivers Cuomo====
Finn met Rivers Cuomo while working at Tower Records on Sunset Blvd, later introducing him to Wilson. 
At this time, Cuomo was trying to shed his failed heavy metal past and start a new band more suitable to the Los Angeles scene. Cuomo implored Finn to join this fledgling band as a DJ (as Finn was well-versed in the emerging hip hop music scene). However, Cuomo's plan involved using Kevin Ridel (who had sung in Zoom) on vocals, and the plan (to Finn's ears) did not appear to focus on songwriting. During a massive walk up to the tallest peak in Griffith Park, Finn told Cuomo that he would never be in a band with Ridel, who he disliked both musically and personally (though he would later briefly be in the band The Truth with Ridel in the fall of 1991). Finn implored Cuomo to rethink his new band's plan, drop plans to have another vocalist, and focus on what Finn saw as one of Cuomo's strengths: songwriting. Cuomo was "crushed", according to Finn, despite Finn's good intentions.
Several months later, Cuomo would recruit Wilson into his first post-Zoom band, Fuzz.
====Formation of 60 Wrong Sausages====
Bush dissolved in 1990 and, over the coming months into early 1991, slowly morphed into 60 Wrong Sausages. Finn initially attempted to go it alone, re-recording all of the band's demos by himself and naming the potential band "Q'rosh", but this did not last. Initially, 60 Wrong Sausages was comprised only of Finn and Wilson, jamming together in a rehearsal space in downtown Los Angeles. On a few occasions, Matt Sharp joined in for some impromptu rehearsals. Around this time, while Sharp was living and working in Westwood, he and Wilson worked on demos together, making humorous songs in the style of They Might Be Giants. 
In early 1991, as Cuomo, Wilson, and Sharp decided to move in together in an apartment on Genesee in Hollywood, Finn moved to the Bay Area to live near his mother and rethink his approach.
In Northern California, Finn met Jason Cropper, eventually convincing him to move back to Los Angeles with him (ostensibly to be in his yet-to-be-named band, 60 Wrong Sausages). The two moved down in early spring of 1991. By summer, 60 Wrong Sausages was beginning to coalesce, finally solidifying with the addition of Cuomo. Cuomo and Wilson's band Fuzz had failed to gel by spring 1991, primarily due to difficulty in retaining bass players.
====After 60 Wrong Sausages====
60 Wrong Sausages would dissolve after its only show on Thanksgiving Day 1991, and Finn would retreat from music again due to personal issues. At this point, the foundation of Weezer had formed. Cuomo and Wilson committed to a new sound and songwriting style, Sharp was recruited into the band in early 1992, and the focus changed musically. 
In 1998, Finn was invited to play with Weezer by Patrick Wilson, ostensibly as a potential replacement for Matt Sharp. This resulted in at least one rehearsal session during Finn's several weeks of time in Los Angeles. The rest of the time was consumed with a lot of hanging out with Wilson, and some with Cuomo. In what was described by Finn later as an awkward turn of events, he was ultimately not chosen, but not clearly informed of such, and returned home to Portand, OR. Later, Mikey Welsh joined Weezer. In hindsight it was theorized that Cuomo may have had an eye on Welsh all along, or at least didn't think Finn was going to be a good fit at that point— but wasn't able to come out and say it.
In 2005, Finn appeared onstage with Weezer during a performance of "Undone - The Sweater Song" at a concert in Portland, Oregon on the Foozer Tour on October 25, 2005. Rivers Cuomo wrote a blog post about Finn shortly thereafter.
==Organic Mechanic==
Organic Mechanic was a band created by Pat Finn in the early 2000's in Oregon which included Joe Cunningham on sax, Talbott Guthrie on drums, and Norm Buccola on bass. The group released a single self-titled album through Pat and Karl Koch's record label, Amorphous Records, in May 2001. Demos for a second album were recorded, but no album materialized (though one demo was shared by Koch on the Amorphous Records website). The band played a number of shows, including opening for Weezer at the Showbox in Seattle and in Portland, OR, in 2000. the band was unofficially (but definitely) broken up by 2004.
==Relevant discography==
===with Melvin Jones Total Soul Attack Orchestra===
*1998 — "Can't Justify" (officially released demo)
====with the Special Goodness====
*1998 — The Special Goodness (aka The Bunny Record) (bass on "A Fortunate Mistake")
====with Organic Mechanic====
*2001 — Organic Mechanic
*2003 — "The Hippie Dance" (officially released demo)
===with Southern Fried Swing===
*2001 — Free Flight Thru the Universe of Sound)
*2003 — "Angel Wings" (officially released demo) [Finn's presence on this recording is not confirmed]
*2006 — Appears on Beetbox 2: Electric Boogaloo ("The Lesson") [Finn's presence on this recording is not confirmed]
====with Sonnyboy====
*2003 — Dad Eye (guitar and bass on "The Less I Care")
====with 60 Wrong Sausages====
*2004 — Video Capture Device (on "The Answer Man")
====with Karlophone====
*2007 — I Must Find This Karlophone... (bass on "He Drinks Beer" and "Penitentiam Agite")
===with Skuraiipeare===
*Snow Lust (unreleased)
==See Also==
*60 Wrong Sausages
*Bush
*Organic Mechanic
*Karl Koch
Category:The Special Goodness members
Category:60 Wrong Sausages Members
Category:Bush members
Category:Organic Mechanic Members
Category:Karlophone members
Category:People who have sat in with Weezer
Category:Musicians
Category:Karlification
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