"I collected all of the Star Wars toys when I was young and I still have all the same toys, plus a lot of new ones," Patrick says. "I'm really into the full-scale prop replicas from Master Replicas. I have Anakin's lightsaber from Episode III, and two Obi-Wan Kenobi lightsabers from Episodes III and IV. I also have a stormtrooper blaster and a Han Solo blaster. But the item that I'm most looking forward to getting is the Empire Strikes Back stormtrooper armor which my friend Scotty K. from the 501st is going to help me out with."
Amongst all his collectibles, one signed by the scruffy-looking nerf herder himself stands out the most. "My prized possession is an original Star Wars poster signed by Harrison Ford," Patrick says. "My brother, Robert Patrick, starred in a movie with him called Firewall and Robert was cool enough to ask Harrison for an autograph for me." Fans might also recognize Patrick's brother as the terrifying shape-shifting cyborg T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day and as stoic FBI agent John Doggett in "The X-Files."
Patrick's love for the Star Wars saga began like many fans, with a fateful day in the theater as a young kid watching the opening crawl of A New Hope on the big screen. "A New Hope was the film that got the ball rolling," Patrick explains. "My first and fondest Star Wars memory is of my dad reading the opening crawl to me," Patrick says. "What he was reading was so interesting that I couldn't wait to see what was coming next. Later on I dressed up as Ben Kenobi for Halloween. I used cotton for my beard, an army blanket for the cloak, and I took a golf club tube and taped it to a flashlight for the lightsaber."
Not long after Patrick was waving around a DIY lightsaber, he picked up a guitar at age nine and never looked back. He honed his skills not only on guitar, but also on bass, programming, drums and vocals. After playing for two and a half years as the touring guitarist in Nine Inch Nails, Patrick left in 1992 with fellow Nails member Brian Liesegang to form the band Filter. In 1995, Filter released their debut album, Short Bus, which quickly went platinum thanks to their hit single "Hey Man, Nice Shot." As their fandom skyrocketed, Filter toured relentlessly with the likes of White Zombie and Smashing Pumpkins, and contributed songs to various movie soundtracks including The Crow 2 and Spawn. In 1999, Filter released their second album Title of Record which included the hit single "Take a Picture," and later in 2002 released The Amalgamut.
In 2005, Patrick announced his new band Army of Anyone featuring former members of Stone Temple Pilots (guitarist Dean DeLeo and his bassist brother Robert DeLeo). Even though Patrick and his new band mates spent much of the year working in the studio on their upcoming album, he still managed to sneak away to see Revenge of the Sith on opening day -- a few times.
"My all-time favorite is The Empire Strikes Back, but Revenge of the Sith also blew me away," Patrick says. "I saw Sith four times the first day it opened at the ArcLight Theater in Hollywood!"
"For me, the best part of Revenge of the Sith was when Mace told Anakin to go wait in the Jedi Council Chamber while he went to arrest Chancellor Palpatine," Patrick continues. "Anakin stared at Padmé's apartment and she stared back at the Jedi Temple. There's a great ambient score playing while Anakin hears Palpatine say something like, 'you know she'll die.' A single tear rolls down Anakin's face as he makes his final mistake of not listening to Mace and instead goes to help Palpatine, which causes him to turn to the dark side. The pacing and the subtly of that scene makes the entire movie."
The scenes resonated strongly with Patrick who felt Anakin's obsession with controlling life blinded him from seeing the bigger picture. "He really broke every rule in the book as far as the Jedi are concerned," Patrick says. "I probably identify mostly with Anakin/Darth Vader and his struggles. His fall reminds me of my own life. Most people succumb to the dark side once in a while, but hopefully they redeem themselves as Anakin did in Return of the Jedi. Of course, if I had to pick anyone from the saga to be in our band, it would have to be Han Solo."
Now that the saga has come full circle, Patrick is excited to see what's next for the franchise. "The Clone Wars cartoon series is awesome but I can't wait for the live-action TV show," Patrick smiles. "I would love to be a stormtrooper in one episode for the bragging rights! Hint. Hint."
To find out more about Patrick's new band Army of Anyone, visit the official site here. Also check the Army of Anyone official MySpace profile here.
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