HITS exclusive: "This Is The Moment" by Chris Pate

Hey guys! 

Creating content for HITS has given me so many amazing opportunities.
And I definitely enjoy everything "new" that's happening; it's so excited to meet new people, create new segments and so on.

But sometimes it's just lovely to work with familiar faces - you know, the people you call friends. 
Whenever my Scouse mate Chris is on the road in Germany, I'm usually armed with a my camera and some food to join him on the road.

Just a hour before his previous Germany gig at Riffelhof in Burgrieden, we shot a little live performance.

Who is Chris Pate though?
His friends will introduce him as a “music making mad man”, his fans will tell you how incredible his music is and critics will point out what Chris Pate stands for: honest, storytelling and often critical lyrics, expressive and dominant vocals and controlling instrumentals.

Chris Pate is that kind of musician who will walk into a room, spot a guitar and immediately pick it up to jam away.

He’s passionate and has always been; the musician started playing the guitar at the age of 14, with Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’ being the first song the left handed guitarist learnt to play.

Besides Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and Oasis, Chris’ music is influenced by a wide range of acts. Growing up in the Liverpool area, Pate proves one stereo type: the love for the Beatles.

Knowing that Chris Pate has been into music for many years now, it won’t surprise you when you find out that eight years of his music life were spent as front man of Liverpool based rock band The Arkanes. Together with his band mates, Chris regularly toured Germany, Switzerland and Austria building a loyal fan base by putting on energetic live shows. 

The band broke up in Summer 2015, but Chris never lost his passion for music.
So now he's writing, recording and touring pretty much all the time.

Now go on and check out Chris' performance of his song "This Is The Moment".





Chris Pate online: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram



Thank you for your visit! 

Credits // Text, Image & Video: Vanessa Jertschewske

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Access All Areas: Chris Pate at Riffelhof, Burgrieden

Hey guys!

Every now and then I get a message of Chris Pate saying something along the lines of "Yo! I've got a gig. Let's travel."

Pretty much everytime I end up fixing the guest bedroom and arranging lifts and train rides.

I love travelling and it's pretty obvious that I love music, therefore I always enjoy being able to do things like that.

This time Chris got asked to support Purpendicular (a Deep Purple tribute band) ft. Ian Paice (Deep Purple's drummer) at Riffelhof, Burgrieden (GER).
Instead of just sharing the gig photos with you, I've decided to do another "Access All Areas" feature where you get the chance to sort of travel with us.


Who is Chris Pate?
His friends will introduce him as a “music making mad man”, his fans will tell you how incredible his music is and critics will point out what Chris Pate stands for: honest, storytelling and often critical lyrics, expressive and dominant vocals and controlling instrumentals.

Chris Pate is that kind of musician who will walk into a room, spot a guitar and immediately pick it up to jam away.

He’s passionate and has always been; the musician started playing the guitar at the age of 14, with Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’ being the first song the left handed guitarist learnt to play.

Besides Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and Oasis, Chris’ music is influenced by a wide range of acts. Growing up in the Liverpool area, Pate proves one stereo type: the love for the Beatles.

Knowing that Chris Pate has been into music for many years now, it won’t surprise you when you find out that eight years of his music life were spent as front man of Liverpool based rock band The Arkanes. Together with his band mates, Chris regularly toured Germany, Switzerland and Austria building a loyal fan base by putting on energetic live shows. 

The band broke up in Summer 2015, but Chris never lost his passion for music.
So now he's writing, recording and touring pretty much all the time.


Below are (probably far too many) impressions from the little travel and music weekend.
I hope you enjoy!

 19th March: After being stuck in traffic for what felt like a century, we got to my place and made vegan burgers with sweet potato fries. (#yum)



20th March: Off to Burgrieden in full "manager mode". (No, those beer bottles did not belong to us.)



20th March: The train journey took longer than expected which was alright since I got to listen to some new songs. Dear CP fans, you're in a for a treat!



20th March: Soundcheck at Riffelhof, our home away from home.



20th March: After soundcheck we filmed two performances which will be online soon, so subscribe to HITS on YouTube to get a notification once we post something.







20th March: Show time!















Whenever I see Chris on stage, I remember why about four years ago, The Arkanes won me over with their fantastic music.

His solo music has the same quality and therefore it's no surprise that he's still kicking ass on stage.
Chris knows how to control a crowd and how to present his music in a suitable way.





















20th March: Chris' view on stage.



20th/21st March: My good friend Katy came down and basically saved the merch desk from a crisis.
We owe you big time, dear!



21st March: When the lad takes a selfie whilst you're trying to have breakfast...



21st March: My mum came to pick us up, so this selfie is very necessary.



And that's it!
I hope you enjoyed this insightful post and felt like you were a part of the fun.


At this point we'd like to say a massive thank you to the Riffelhof team for taking care of us and for inviting us over. Can't wait to be back in May!

And of course, I want to say thanks to Chris for taking me along on those adventures, it's always fun to travel with you. I might make fun of you all the time, but I'm really proud of you for doing what you love the most.


Chris Pate online: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | YouTube | Instagram


Buy Chris' recent EP here.



Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Text: Vanessa Jertschewske | Photography: Vanessa Jertschewske, Chris Pate

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Day 25: Chris Pate | #HITSBC16

Hey guys!

One of the greatest things I saw happening during this countdown was seeing artists supporting other artists.
A lot of my friends are part of this countdown and seeing everyone checking each other's videos out, was absolutely lovely.

I think we all had a great time discovering new music (even I did!) and the support, that came from literally every corner of the industry, makes me proud to be a part of it.

Enough cheese, let's have a look at today's video!


What is #HITSBC16?
HITSBC16 stands for house in the sand's Birthday Countdown 2016.
Throughout the entire month of February, we will be celebrating this website's fourth birthday.
One artist/band a day is going to wish us a happy birthday and then perform a song exclusively for this sweet occasion.

Who is performing today?
Chris Pate.
He is an acoustic rock singer/songwriter from Liverpool, UK.
His friends will introduce him as a “music making mad man”, his fans will tell you how incredible his music is and critics will point out what Chris Pate stands for: honest, storytelling and often critical lyrics, expressive and dominant vocals and controlling instrumentals.

Chris Pate is that kind of musician who will walk into a room, spot a guitar and immediately pick it up to jam away.

He’s passionate and has always been; the musician started playing the guitar at the age of 14, with Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’ being the first song the left handed guitarist learnt to play.

Besides Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and Oasis, Chris’ music is influenced by a wide range of acts. Growing up in the Liverpool area, Pate proves one stereo type: the love for the Beatles.

With his first EP named "Melody In Colour" out, he's ready to present the world what he's made of.

What is special about this video?
We filmed it on tour last December and I remember that it took us about 20 minutes to find a good spot. We finally found this little bit which turned out to be pretty lovely.
Chris, of course, nailed it in one go so it didn't really feel like work. This performance highlights what Pate stands for - dominant vocals and energetic guitar work.


Enjoy Chris Pate's performance of his song "Eyes Open".




Where can we find Chris Pate online?
Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram

Who do we need to thank?
The lad himself for always being up for what I ask him to do for HITS. It's always a nice creative challenge to work together and I dig that.
Until next time!

What can we do now?
If you've enjoyed this article, please help us reach more people by sharing it along with the hashtag #HITSBC16.
Everybody who uses the hashtag on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram has the chance to win something lovely once the countdown is over.


I hope you enjoyed day 25!

Day 24:                       Day 26:



Thank you for your visit!

Credits // Text, Image & Video (camera): Vanessa Jertschewske | Video (performance): Chris Pate | Video intro (audio): Martin Kelly | Video intro (visual): Vanessa Jertschewske

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Access All Areas: Chris Pate at Spectrum Club, Augsburg

Hey guys!

Even though I've only published two "Access All Areas" posts so far, they're doing really well and it seems that you and the artists themselves really enjoy this feature.

I have to admit that I adore putting it together, so this feature is definitely going to stay on house in the sand.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept of the Access All Areas posts; I often get to hang out with the musicians I work with before the shows. Since this is a nice opportunity to take you, the readers, behind the scenes, I've decided to document those gigs.

Now, dear house in the sand readers, it's time to get your AAA passes out again, we're off to Augsburg to hang out with Chris Pate.

Who is Chris Pate?
His friends will introduce him as a “music making mad man”, his fans will tell you how incredible his music is and critics will point out what Chris Pate stands for: honest, storytelling and often critical lyrics, expressive and dominant vocals and controlling instrumentals.

Chris Pate is that kind of musician who will walk into a room, spot a guitar and immediately pick it up to jam away.

He’s passionate and has always been; the musician started playing the guitar at the age of 14, with Nirvana’s ‘Come As You Are’ being the first song the left handed guitarist learnt to play.

Besides Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and Oasis, Chris’ music is influenced by a wide range of acts. Growing up in the Liverpool area, Pate proves one stereo type: the love for the Beatles.

Knowing that Chris Pate has been into music for many years now, it won’t surprise you when you find out that eight years of his music life were spent as front man of Liverpool based rock band The Arkanes. Together with his band mates, Chris regularly toured Germany, Switzerland and Austria building a loyal fan base by putting on energetic live shows.
The band broke up in Summer 2015, but Chris never lost his passion for music.

After just a few weeks, Chris already got to go on a week long support tour for Alexander Knappe.
Below are some impressions of our road trip shenanigans.

Hope you enjoy!




Chris and Brophy (the most wonderful driver and tour manager!) came to my flat to pick me up.
Before heading off to Augsburg we had a nice little coffee break. 

If you look closely, you'll realise that Chris got a haircut before we started the road trip to Augsburg. Because why the hell not?

As usual I enjoyed being on the road with these two lads.
It's always super funny and entertaining to discuss things and take over the playlist.





The car journey was pretty smooth. Once we got to the venue, we found a very fancy dressing room.
The next few minutes were spent stuffing our faces, having chats with the Alexander Knappe band and watching them sound check.







May or may not recorded a little #HITSBC16 video. ;)





Do you know why Chris Pate is the coolest?
Because he's a lefty and I am too. Stealing his Taylor is probably one of my favourite things to do when we hang out.





Soundcheck.





















Setting up the merch was probably the biggest task of the evening.
(Yes, that's an inside joke. I'm sorry, I couldn't resist.)

You can order a copy (or a download) of "Melody In Colour" via bandcamp or contact Chris or me via Facebook.
I'd appreciate you supporting Chris. The EP design was done by house in the sand, by the way. ;)





Did a little photo shoot before the show. Click here for more.























Chris absolutely smashed it and showed that he was meant to keep on making music.
I've seen him millions of times but I always need to take the time to mention how impressive his live performances are.

To get an idea of what Chris sounds like, find a video from the gig below.





After the gig we drove back to my flat where the lads stayed for the night.
In the morning we then went outside to take a few promo shots of Chris.

Again, find more of those here.

After a very intimate living room gig, we also filmed a performance which is now online on Chris' YouTube channel.

Please check it out and subscribe.
Click here.

And then it was time for the lads to leave to make it to the next show.

As always, it was a massive delight to work and travel with Chris and Brophy.
I love this talented, little gang of people that I get to call my friends.

Until next time!

Check out this video of Chris performing in Augsburg!






Chris Pate online: Twitter | Facebook | Soundcloud | Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram




Thank you for reading!

Credits // Text, Photography & Video: Vanessa Jertschewske

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