My journey with ARTiGUESS

From 2022 to 2025, Patrick, Sean, and I lived together in Starkville, MS. It was during this time that ARTiGUESS was born as an idea, introduced by Sean. In our private conversations, Sean and I both felt strongly that Patrick’s talents needed to be shared with the world, and we made it our goal to encourage him to start writing music and performing again. Patrick was emerging from a darkness that, while palpable, was not entirely understood by Sean and me.

To give proper credit, it was Sean who reignited Patrick's love for music. He began purchasing recording equipment and software, dedicating countless hours to learning about music production, mixing, and recording. Eventually, Sean rented a separate room in our college house where he created a home studio. It was there he recorded and mixed Patrick's first single, Can't Make It Anywhere, followed by recording the second single, Somewhere.

Patrick was still one foot in and one foot out, I was not an active member, and Sean was attempting to be the lone driving force behind ARTiGUESS. Although Patrick was recording, writing, and having fun, he wasn't dreaming of or aspiring to be a career artist. All of us were in school, though it seemed I was the only one planning to graduate, get a job, and leave Starkville. Soon after I graduated, moved, and got married, Patrick began playing live music in Starkville.

In the spring of 2025, while I was working in Jackson as a social worker and settling into a quieter married life, Patrick and Sean headed to NYC to record Patrick's first-ever album. This was when I started to feel separated from ARTiGUESS. I hadn’t done much to call myself part of the team, yet I knew I was meant to be there with my brothers. During this time, I would tell Patrick to start posting on social media, build a bigger audience, and put himself out there. I now know advice from the unwilling is hardly worth taking.

In August 2025, Sean officially dropped out of school and moved in with me in Jackson. It was then that conversations about ARTiGUESS began again. Sean had lost much of his fire for it; it was too much for him to motivate both himself and Patrick. Now living in a different city, he started pouring himself into the study of philosophy, literature, and religion.

Just two months later, in October, I had the sobering realization that I had not done my part. After a long, emotionally draining day at work, Patrick called on my way home and told me he was meeting with a talent advisor. He felt overwhelmed with the many tasks needed to get the album ready for release. He was playing tons of live music, working, again being told to make social media content, and not doing well mentally

That night, I seized my opportunity to become a working member of ARTiGUESS. Patrick and I tackled a few items on his to-do list, I got all the social media login info from him, and began scripting, editing, and posting videos across all platforms. The following week, Sean gave me access to the website, and I began cleaning it up. The week after that, I started emailing venues on Patrick's behalf, creating an EPK. The day after Thanksgiving, the entire ARTiGUESS crew (plus my wife Charlye, an honorary member) shot photos for the single cover of Don’t Wake Me Up—the first single to drop preceding the album release.

I have since claimed my place in ARTiGUESS as the social media and booking manager—a position I value greatly.