Biography

Patricia Conroy is no stranger to the world of music. Born in Montreal, Quebec; Patricia was raised in a strong musical environment, influenced by the French culture, her mother’s Maritime country background and her father’s Irish roots. Patricia speaks fondly of the Celtic and country music that flowed through her home as a little girl, which ultimately led to piano and vocal lessons. She credits her early years of performing with her family band (the “Shamrock Ceili Band”), singing in church, and the always visiting musical guests in her home, as being her real musical training. “There was always a fiddle, accordion or guitar being played, and I absolutely treasure those years”.

Later, Patricia discovered the “California Country” sounds of Emmylou Harris, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne and was blown away. “That’s the time I really knew what direction I wanted to go in musically”. Patricia hooked up with like-minded musicians in Vancouver in the late 80’s and eventually entered and won a “Battle of the Bands” contest. The prize of $10,000 gave her the opportunity to demo some of her original material. “That’s when I got my first record deal with Warner Music Canada. I was thrilled! To top it off, my record producer; Randal Prescott, brought Vince Gill into the studio to sing background vocals on ‘Blue Angel’ and ‘Take Me With You’, two songs that I had written... what an honour!” She began touring extensively, making fans all over Canada.

Two years later, she followed with her second release, Bad Day for Trains, which featured the Canadian top 10 hit “My Baby Loves Me” and two number ones, “What Do You Care” and the title track. With this string of hits, Patricia quickly consolidated an intense following throughout Canada. The fruits of this hard labour would eventually result in Patricia being named the Canadian Country Music Association’s “Female Vocalist of the Year” for 1994 and garner “Album of the Year” status for her sophomore release. (CCMA – 1993).

Her final cd with Warner Canada You Can’t Resist It - produced by John Mellencamp guitarist, Mike Wanchic and Justin Niebank - featured the hit song “Mary on the Dashboard”. This success resulted in the well deserved and popular win at the 1999 Canadian Country Music Association Awards where Patricia was voted “Independent Female Artist of the Year.”

Since then, Patricia Conroy has been honing her writing and getting her songs recorded by Canadian stars Michelle Wright, Lisa Brokop and Brad Johner, as well as new U.S act “Britton Jack”; scheduled for release in 2007.

Her own new project is now ready and Talking to Myself promises to be a milestone in her career. Produced by Conroy’s husband Bob Funk and co-produced by Kevin Churko of Shania Twain and The Corrs fame, it’s an innovative album with a fresh sound and an emotional depth fans will find hard to resist. “I went out on a limb with some of these songs. I began to write from a fresh perspective with no musical boundaries… I know that fans can appreciate the need to keep challenging one self artistically.” admits Conroy.

Strong song writing is evident throughout the CD which explores many emotional themes – from infatuation in “Everything You Do” to maturation in “Wild Card” to a gutsy determination such as the resilience displayed in “Save Your Breath”. Conroy says the songs were birthed from a lot of introspection, especially the title track. “Talking to Myself” speaks about the struggles to reach elusive goals and the futility of those efforts at times. As the first single and video from this album Talking to Myself hit the airwaves in Canada in October, 2006. “I love the challenge that song writing continues to give me. A new melody or a cool lyric is all the inspiration I need.”

The rest of the tracks reveal the steely resolve of women as they face heartache and trials. Despite moments of despair and questioning, the women Conroy sings about find their inner strength eventually. “I didn’t write these songs as anthems,” commented Conroy. “I was simply expressing what I was going through. Judging from the strong response to the songs, I must have touched an emotional nerve.”

The official release date for the album is January 30, 2007 on Angeline/Fontana North (Universal Music Canada.) “This is a very exciting time for me... I feel very proud of the work we’ve done and I’m ready to get out there and share it!”

Through out her well-decorated career, Patricia has proven herself as one of Canada’s top female artists yet still with all of these elements of success in place, Patricia Conroy is philosophical about her career in the music business. “The thing is you can’t always be waiting for something to happen to really enjoy things. And I really enjoy making music. Every year I’m grateful to be able to make a living writing and playing the music I love.”

At a Glance:
• 8 Number One singles and 5 Number One videos on CMT!
• CCMA Independent Female Vocalist in 1999, 2000, and 2006!