There Are Secrets In The Music of Otherwise

Posted on July 14, 2022 at 9:19 AM by The Biker Lawyers

Otherwise, I had a great time.

There are secrets in the music of Otherwise. There has to be.

Let me break it down like this. Some bands you feel like you have listened to their music so much, that you start to develop a relationship with them in a way. Not like a personal one, but you know the music and the lyrics so well, it feels like you know that person personally.

There’s a reason that they say that music is the international language. When you find music you really love, it connects with you on a deeper level. When you enjoy that music and share it with others, you connect with them on another level.

A night at The Ballroom

This past weekend a band that I have been following for years made a stop at one of, if not my favorite music venue in Eastern Iowa, the Electric Park Ballroom in Waterloo. If you have followed my other sweet blogs, you’ll know that I love this place and the vibe it gives off (and if you don’t, you should!). So when what promises to be a badass a rock show is coming to the venue, it’s a good bet you’ll see me there!

Straight out of Las Vegas, the band Otherwise was in town with the Lonely Ones and local acts Switchblade Saturdays and Fretnaught.

 

 

Ambassador of Rock Fun Fact

The Lonely Ones is actually made up of several former members from Bobaflex.

Otherwise always leaves an impression

Otherwise was here and it was clear they showed up ready to bring their brand of live show to Eastern Iowa. A little background, I have known of Otherwise for many years now, and were actually one of the final bands that I interviewed at my hometown in Michigan. Now, I didn’t expect them to remember me from over 7 years ago (spoiler alert, they didn’t… and that’s fine), but it was kind of surreal to see them perform live again after that neat interaction years ago.

Otherwise took the stage and performed like they were performing for a stadium of 9,000 fans, unfortunately there were only about 50 people at the show, but that’s not what matters, what mattered is that Otherwise was in town and bringing their brand of rock for the crowd that took the time to have a good time.

Guitarist Ryan Patrick (who also happens to be brothers with lead singer Adrian Patrick) told a funny story on stage. While the band were standing outside of the venue, a biker riding his Harley was jamming out his radio at the stop light outside of the venue. Ryan noticed as his radio was blaring that he was listening to their brand new song ‘Full Disclosure!’ Ryan waved at him and was like ‘Dude, that’s us! We’re right here!’

The biker didn’t notice and rode his merry way away, and come to find out, he didn’t even end up attending the show! Maybe he had plans or something.

Otherwise brings Las Vegas Energy to The Electric Park Ballroom

Otherwise churned out heavy driving rock and got the crowd moving, to where even singer Adrian and Ryan got into the crowd and even started bumping into audience members and singing into microphones, heck I even got on the mic for Soldiers which was awesome, I felt like a rockstar for 3 words.

 

As I have mentioned many times, the big rock shows in an arena are fantastic and wonderful, but it’s shows like this where there are a couple of handfuls of people rocking out and having a good time that rock music really shines and becomes more personal.

Of course, these bands are touring to play their music and make money, so not every night can be a small show, but I sure as hell appreciate those the most!

These guys also by the way, are no longer on a major record label… so yea, they are indie, paying and playing their own way in a rock world.

Once the show was done, I was able to reconnect with Ryan and Adrian and chatted about being on the road again after a pandemic shut them down for a bit. We exchanged phone numbers for texting reasons (and no, I won’t give you their number. Stop asking, Russ) so that when they come into town again we can hang out and enjoy the show. I’ll be at the next Otherwise show, and you should be too. 

I guess it turns out that sometimes, just sometimes, you get a rare chance to connect with the people who make the music you connect with.

About The Biker’s Ambassador of Rock

If you live in the Cedar Valley in Iowa, you probably know Ned. If not, you surely know his voice! Ned, the Music Director at Rock 108, is known for his energetic personality, wild spirit, and love for all things Live rock. In an epic collaboration with Rock 108, Ned will be presenting excellent inside experiences to our motorcycle riding community exclusively here so subscribe to the blog and check back every week to see what Ned’s up to next!

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