Formation

Ben Murphy was a freshman when he met Eric Siegel and Pete Tsoukas, who were a year older, while in a Catholic school in Wilmette, IL.^[1]  Ben was from Glenview, IL while Pete was from Lincolnwood and Eric was from Skokie, IL. Eric and Pete were in a band called Straight A Idiot at the time, with a drummer named Skippy. Ben played in FGYOQ in his freshman year with Adam Travis, Lucas Sikorski, and his older brother, Tim Murphy. Ben, Eric, and Pete met after an FGYOQ show and, with the addition of Ben Reyes, Patterson was formed.^[1] 

At its inception, the band was called The Stiffs. This was quickly changed to The Pattersons- which lasted for a few shows before the name was adjusted to simply Patterson.^[1] Patterson played at the Knights of Columbus in Arlington Heights, IL early on in their existence, opening for The Lawrence Arms.^[1]

Ben M. does not remember meeting Patrick, but they both grew up in Glenview.^[1] Eventually, Ben R. quit the band, which Patrick comments about on the Patterson website, “it’s been awhile since anyone saw him around. Fell out of the scene and was last seen with a hippie jam band.”^[4] 

Active Years

This iteration of Patterson played the Fireside Bowl twice^[7][8] as well as other suburban shows in the Chicago area like the Knights of Columbus in Arlington Heights.^[1]

L.A. Rocks Compilation

This record is listed by Patrick on Patterson’s website, with a note saying that the record was “out of print and sucked horribly”.^[5] At the time of recording, Patrick would have not been a part of Patterson yet; Ben Reyes would have still been drumming for them.^[1] Other than this, there is no information publicly available about this record. It does not seem to be documented online anywhere.^[5] 

Red + Orange + Everything in Between LP

Patterson’s first LP was released under Synapse Records, a label run by Alex Polotsky.^[9] It was recorded in Daniel Agosto’s basement;^[1][3] Daniel notably played in La Mantra De Fhiqria, a band Patrick admired and wanted to be a member of, and also helped Patrick and Drew Furse record “Munchausen’s”, Patrick’s song that was released under the Bergen Even name.^[10][11] It was during this time that the band began playing shows with bands like The Impostors, Tomsawyer*, and Last Ditch Effort.^[5][12] 

Red + Orange + and Everything in Between was considered lost media until Dave Hofer of the DuPage County Hardcore Archive released the LP digitally on Bandcamp in 2017.^[3] The last track, “The Credits” is notable due to the stark difference between it and the other tracks on the LP. “The Credits” plays as a subtle tune akin to elevator music as a robotic synthesized (possibly text-to-speech) voice speaks in the background. The voice says, 

“Hello, I am ‘Re-sir-coid’ the robot. I would very much like to introduce the band to you at this point. Patterson is: Ben Reyes on drums and vocals, Eric Siegal on vocals and guitar, Peter Tsoukas on guitar and vocals, and Ben “Hoagie” Murphy on bass, vocals, and guitar. All songs were engineered by Daniel Agosto- produced by Patterson and Daniel Agosto in his basement. We hope you enjoyed the music. We thank you for your patronage. And if I never receive the pleasure of speaking with you again, may your life be filled with all that is beautiful and meaningful. May the forces of good abide in your presence always. Goodbye and goodnight.”^[3] 

Well Kept Lawns (Four-song demo + LP demo)

In the spring of 2000, Ben Reyes left Patterson, which put the band on hiatus for about a week.^[12] Patrick was brought in as a replacement shortly after. They played their first show with this new lineup at the Fireside Bowl.^[1] Most of the existing photos of Patterson playing live are from this period in time. Patterson worked on their next record titled Well Kept Lawns during this time.^[1] This culminated in a four-song demo that was scrapped in favor of starting over. Next, the band recorded a proper sophomore LP that also went unreleased. This unnamed LP, from here on referred to as the “Anchor LP”, was likely never released as the band broke up shortly after its recording.^[3]

Tracks 1, 3, and 4 on the four-song demo were carried over and rerecorded for the Anchor LP. This leaves the second track, “British Guys”, as the only track exclusive to the four-song demo.^[3] The Anchor LP was recorded with producer John Emerson in Elmhurst, IL, who recorded several other local bands. Ben does not recall the band having to pay John for these recordings, even with John owning a semi-professional studio.^[1] The re-recordings have a stronger emphasis on the guitar. Notably, the Anchor LP is Patterson’s only recording in which Patrick plays anything other than the drums. On “Dance of the Dead”, he’s credited for playing the organ.^[2] On “Nightfall”, he is credited for background vocals. He harmonizes with the band and also yells.^[2]

Planned recordings

Before their eventual disbanding, Patterson planned multiple other records that were very likely never recorded.^[5] It is unknown if any material for these records was ever written, or if said material was used for any other musical projects.

The only remaining evidence of these planned records is their listings on a Wayback Machine capture of Patterson’s website from before the band broke up.^[5]

John Brown Battery split

• Although this split was never released, it may be possible that John Brown Battery released their half of it later on. John Brown Battery’s EP Bury The Burden Of Thought contains only three songs and was released in 2000, so it lines up fairly well with the timeframe of when the split was planned to be released. This is not confirmed and is merely a theory.

ADITA 2 Compilation 

• Bradley Harris, also known as Bradley ADITA,^[13] ran A Day In The Air, a Chicago punk zine, among many other projects. Bradley went to Glenbrook South with Patrick,^[13] so they likely knew each other and talked. This compilation was eventually released without Patterson, but evidence suggests they were originally planned to be on the record.^[15]

Ignition Compilation 

• There is no information known about this compilation.

Breakup/Hiatus

Eric, who was a year older, graduated a semester early at the end of 2000/beginning of 2001 and departed from the band, while Patrick and Ben were still juniors in high school.^[1] What followed was uncertainty in the direction of the band. Patrick quit the band at this crossroads moment.^[1][2] Shortly after, Patterson petered out, and the band dissolved. Even before then, the band was slowly fizzling out around Ben and Patrick’s sophomore year in 1999. There was not a definitive end to the band; rather, they never figured out their lineup issues, and the band ended.^[1]

Controversies

When discussing the songwriting process of the band, the ex-members of Patterson seem to tell slightly different stories of how the band functioned. In 2011, Patrick was featured on MTV’s When I Was 17 to discuss his time as a musician at that age. When recalling Patterson, he claimed that he wasn’t given the opportunity to write songs within the band due to being the drummer. Pete, who also features in the episode, claimed that he didn’t approve of Patrick’s songwriting ability at the time due to his lack of translating the idea in his head to the guitar.^[6]

“When he picked up the guitar and first started trying to write songs… The songs in his head, maybe they were great, but they didn’t translate to the actual instrument.”^[6]

When Eric graduated early and left Chicago in 2001, there was a dispute between the three remaining members about who would be writing the songs.^[1] As of 2024, both Ben and Patrick seem to have moved on from this, as they have texted about their time in Patterson.^[1][2]

Musical Style

Patterson describes themselves as “Punk rockers playing Emo-influenced rock”.^[5] They have a unique sound that changes in subtle ways once Patrick joins the lineup. They also have pop, math-rock, and indie elements within their music. The music generally becomes more melodic after Patrick’s inclusion as well. The unreleased Anchor LP particularly has both an echoey sound and a stronger, heavier guitar.

Discography

L.A. Rocks Compilation

The tracklist is currently lost.

Red + Orange + Everything In Between

1. Baggage Claim
2. Faraway
3. Princess
4. Bluebeard
5. Fireflies & Electric Lights
6. Leave Out the I Love You’s
7. Part 1
8. The Credits

Well Kept Lawns (Four-song demo)

1. Freud is a Jerk
2. British Guys
3. Nightfall
4. Well Kept Lawns

Untitled (Anchor LP)

1. Don’t Be Late
2. Freud is a Jerk
3. Nightfall
4. Coked Up Sheep
5. Enough is Enough
6. Call Back at 9
7. December
8. At The Party
9. Well Kept Lawns
10. Dance Of The Dead
11. Maybe Tonight

Touring

??/??/98-99
??? – Deerfield, IL
W/ 23000 Little Girls Crying, Medication Generation, Last Ditch Effort
[SOURCE]

??/??/99
The Spot – Skokie, IL
W/ Six Ways From Sunday, The Jeffersons
[SOURCE][1]

??/??/99
Lake Forest Gorton Center – Lake Forest, IL
W/ School’s For Scoundrels
[SOURCE][1]

02/12/99
Knights of Columbus Hall – Arlington Heights, IL
W/ The Lawrence Arms
[1]

07/22/99
Scrap Skatepark – Hoffman Estates, IL
W/ Chauncey, Last Ditch Effort
[SOURCE]

??/??/00
Johann’s Face House – Chicago, IL
W/ ???
[1]

05/11/00
Fireside Bowl – Chicago, IL
W/ Capture the Flag, The Story So Far, Dead Season
[SOURCE][SOURCE]

07/28/00
263 Park Avenue (Matt’s house) – Highland Park, IL
W/ La Mantra de Fhiqria, Last Ditch Effort, John Brown Battery, Linus, Evolution
[SOURCE]

07/21/00
The Spot – Skokie, IL
W/ Rise Against, Knockout, 504 Plan, School’s For Scoundrels
[SOURCE]

11/11/00
The Spot – Skokie, IL
W/ Weatherfield
[SOURCE]

11/25/00
Lucas’ house – Glenview, IL
W/ Chauncey, FGYOQ, Comsomol Diaries 
[SOURCE]

01/11/01
Fireside Bowl – Chicago, IL
W/ Tomsawyer*, Sparechange00, Grover Dill
[SOURCE][SOURCE]

02/10/01
Theta Beta Potata House – Iowa City, IA
W/ Code Yellow, La Mantra De Fhiqiria, Meth and Goats, Autocrash
[SOURCE][SOURCE]

??/??/??
Buzz Cafe – Oak Park, IL
W/ Stillwell, Last Ditch Effort
[SOURCE]

Trivia

• The name of the band comes from the 1996 movie That Thing You Do! which features Tom Hanks. One of the characters in the movie is named Guy Patterson.^[1]
• On the Anchor LP Patrick has backing vocals on “Nightfall” and played the organ on “Dance of the Dead”.^[2]
• Patrick told Ben that he once asked him and Pete Tsoukas to join an early version of what became Fall Out Boy, but Ben doesn’t remember this happening.^[1]
• Patrick submitted Patterson to a Chicago music website, listing Ben’s name with the nickname “Hoagie”. This was bestowed upon him by the other band members.^[1]
• The cover of Patterson’s Anchor LP is not actually the cover. A cover was never created for the LP; rather, the cover used on the DuPage County Hardcore Archive is a graphic that was used on a Patterson t-shirt. Patrick owns this shirt to this day, and has been seen wearing it as recently as 2023.^[1][3][14]

References

1. Murphy, B., personal communication, 2024.
2. Stump, P., personal communication, 2024.
3. Patterson. (2000). Well Kept Lawns. Dupage County Hardcore, 06 Dec 2024. dupagecountyhardcore.bandcamp.com/album/well-kept-lawns
4. Patterson, Wayback Machine. web.archive.org/web/20010519151739/http://www.patterson.cjb.net.
5. Patterson, Wayback Machine. web.archive.org/web/20010715055750/http://listen.to/patterson. 
6. Wonderlanddaphne. (2018, Mar 19). Patrick stump, When I Was 17. YouTube. youtube.com/watch?v=i_dGd6SLBWY.
7. Patterson – Pictures – FOB ARCHIVE TEAM. fobarchive.com/patterson-pictures.
8. “Past Shows.” Johnbrownbattery.com, October 30, 2001. web.archive.org/web/20010303001811/http://johnbrownbattery.com/pastshows.html.
9. “Red + Orange + Everything in Between, by Patterson.” DuPage County Hardcore. dupagecountyhardcore.bandcamp.com/album/red-orange-everything-in-between.
10. Agosto, D., personal communication, 2024.
11. Stump, Patrick. “Patrick Stump MP3.Com Page.” MP3.com: Patrick Stump. mp3-2003.computer-legacy.com/artists/209/patrick_stump.html.
12. “Patterson.” Chicago local bands – Patterson. web.archive.org/web/20001204031800/http://chicagolocalbands.com/bandpages/patterson.shtml.
13. Sikorski, L., personal communication, 2025.
14. “x.com.” X (Formerly Twitter), x.com/fobarchiveteam/status/1867325240189284507.
15. “Adita Compilation.” A Day In The Air. web.archive.org/web/20040609134415/http://www.angelfire.com:80/co/adita/mix.html.