M. Patrick Riggin
Product of Pittsburgh
Best Before 08/21/2017
No returns
Patent Pending
Consumer Assumes All Risks
Bio
Writing
I studied journalism in college, right about the time journalism, especially print journalism, was breathing its last breath. The enjoyment of reading and storytelling however, stuck with me. I started writing for the same reason most writers do, I have something to say and no way to say it, except through a character. I just want to write something that I would enjoy reading myself.
Influences: Vonnegut, Hemingway, King, Saunders, Twain, Dylan
Art
I wish I could remember the exact time when I started to paint. I think I was about 16, but cannot pinpoint it. I would go on painting benders at random times in my late teens and early twenties. I would go years without picking up a paintbrush and create five works in a week. The sporadic nature of painting has settled down now, and I am starting to get a sense of style in my work that I am enjoying. I primarily use oil as my medium, but dabble in inks, watercolor and sculpture when the mood strikes. I have no idea what style one would call my work, but I have figured expression impressionism post modern deconstructive cubism covers all the bases.
Influences: Edvard Munch, Jakub Schikaneder, Van Gogh, Caspar David Friedrich, Monet, Agitprop, Winslow Homer, Andy Warhol
Music
Fender Telecaster is the finest piece of engineering in the 20th century with regards to music. I have been playing on and off for fifteen years. I have owned and sold a number of guitars, and regret selling every single one. I play multiple guitars, harmonica and have limited competence with piano and drums. I have way too much equipment for music to be just a hobby, but lack the ability to be a professional, so I guess I will split the difference and say I am an enthusiast. I have recorded a full album of my own work and it will stay on the Tascam hard drive until the end of time. Also, I find it to be good luck to name every instrument.
Influences: Dylan, Springsteen, RHCP, Green Day, Sex Pistols, Ramones, Petty, U2, DBT, Bottle Rockets, Mellencamp, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Jack White, Robert Johnson, Son House, Taj Mahal
Restoration
The most rewarding hobby I have stumbled across, is easily restoration. I have repaired and resurrected many antiques and junk that was at the end of its life. Clocks, typewriters, axes, picks, guitars… anything that has been neglected and left to rust. Being able to strip something down to its most basic cog, or wheel or screw; clean it, study it, and revive it. The demand for a typewriter repair man has long since perished with the advance of technology, not being a complete luddite, I understand and go with new technology. However, analog technology still remains the pinnacle in many areas, and being one of the last people to understand and operate these once great machines, it creates a connection to the past.