It was a tough year for independent musicians like the Erzgebirge guitarist. But at the festive conclusion with a few home concerts, the man looks ahead!
Christmas concerts at home have been a tradition for Vicente Patiz for many years. The guitarist, who grew up in Johanngeorgenstadt and now lives in Bad Schlema, explores musical influences from all over the world throughout the year with his virtuoso free playing, which was founded in flamenco, and lives from his numerous concerts. But at the Festival of Lights, the roots that the Erzgebirge native cannot and does not want to deny are reported: Then they give themselves over to Christmas and want to give something back to their homeland with appropriate concerts. However, Corona has made this impossible in recent years, so that Patiz can now restart this tradition for the first time.
“I got along quite well with the restrictions,” says the guitarist: “In 2022 I was able to give around 50 concerts again, that secures my livelihood.” However, like everywhere in the industry, the audience is still hesitant: On average, a third fewer people came to the performances. And that despite the fact that the Erzgebirge native has built up an excellent reputation as a guitar soloist through his busy touring activities since the noughties: his extensively improvised music, accessible and demanding at the same time, hits a nerve. “That’s okay with me, after all there is a certain demand again after the pandemic,” he says. “I can absorb a lot because I do everything myself, from the posters to the installation of the technology.”
But what he had to put aside are many artistic ambitions. “I actually wanted to implement a very nice project. Under the motto ‘Building Bridges’, I had planned to travel around the world in a mobile home with a built-in studio to spontaneously play and record with local musicians. That brings no fees, but that’s how it should be
a new world music album will be created!” But such plans can only be financed for an artist if he has the appropriate reserves. And for Patiz, they were eaten up by the pandemic. That’s why it’s important to play as much as possible against admission. “At least I could set up a small home studio in order to write new pieces as usual. Six are ready, so a new album can be released in April or May 2023.”
The record is supposed to be called “Adventures” and at least hint at future big plans. Because the “bridge” project is only postponed for the Erzgebirger, not canceled. But now the year should end on a contemplative end: with its Christmas shows. “That’s what my heart is really attached to,” says the musician.
In concert Vicente Patiz can be seen at the Villa Krötenhof in Dessau on December 26th. On December 27th he will play in Reinsdorf near Zwickau in the Jakobikirche and on
December 29th in the Nikolaikirche Freiberg.
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