Hey – this is Pat – here’s the story behind our Pins & Wires EP. Enjoy!

Pins & Wires was our first EP (June 2018), and was really the test to see if Stellarator would actually “work” as a band. Even though I had been in bands with Pete & Neel for the last 20 years, this was my first time working with Theron, and also the first time I was truly co-writing with a band member. I had originally asked Theron to help me write some lyrics for some songs I was working on. One day he came over to the studio to show me how his words would fit my music. I heard his voice with these songs… and immediately asked if he wanted to be the lead singer of this project :). Luckily he said yes. So the band was formed. This was around February 2018. The chemistry felt great and we decided to record an EP.

Then… in early April 2018 I broke my collarbone in two places, bad enough to need surgery to put it back together. In the early days of Stellarator, I was playing most of the guitar and doing all the pre-production. So I started to freak out, because I wasn’t sure how we could finish pre-pro — and whether we could even finish the record at all. Luckily, it was my right arm and I figured out how to immobilize it enough to play guitar (sort of!) and I was able to finish the pre-production… painful, and probably against doctor’s orders :). In late April, I had surgery to repair it, and it currently is held together with “pins & wires” and a metal plate. Most of my guitar parts on this record were recorded soon after surgery, which inspired EP to called “Pins & Wires”…. If you have a copy of the actual CD, take a look at the back cover artwork — it is based on my x-rays.

This record was also special for me because both of my kids played on it. Henry (drummer) played drums on Soul of a Snowman, and John played trumpet on Outside the Frame and I Can’t Stop, as well as bass guitar on Soul of a Snowman. I’m sure I thought it was cooler than they did, but maybe some day they will appreciate it :)=

Luckily the EP came out great, and inspired us to record the follow up “Under Different Stars” (released March 2019). We’re actually working on our 3rd EP, but don’t know when it will be done, this pandemic has slowed us down…

Thanks for reading this!

–Pat