Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: We both started out as those band kids who took brass way too seriously, in the best way. Patrick grew up buried in jazz improv and marching band while secretly obsessing over edm music. Sawyer picked up trombone in middle school and fell in love with the swagger of New Orleans brass and funk bands, always wishing he was in a rock group instead of playing it safe. Eventually we stopped trying to fit into boxes and built Zhonk around that exact energy: powerful horns, raw emotion, and the kind of live presence we wished we’d seen as kids.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Zhonk”?
A: We’re doing it on stage, on screen, and straight from the heart. Every show, every video, we bring brass-infused chaos and genuine emotional connection. Zhonk is about dancing like you actually feel something. It’s about positive masculinity, mental health, and letting your emotions move through you instead of past you. If you’re just discovering us, expect energy, vulnerability, and bass that gives you goosebumps.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: GRiZ. No hesitation. Seeing someone take live horns and make them hit in the electronic world showed us there was a path for what we’re building. Inspiration hits when we stop overthinking, sometimes it’s from a chaotic nightlife moment, other times it’s just waking up and something hits deep. Whether it’s Patrick layering horn sections at 3 a.m. or Sawyer recording lines alone to find the right emotional tone, it always starts with feeling something real.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the EP, “SOULSMACK”?
A: SOULSMACK is the moment the music literally hits you in the chest and wakes your spirit up. It’s that emotional smack in the face that forces you to feel fully. Each track channels what we’ve carried: joy, pressure, burnout, triumph, and turns it loose. It’s not clean or polite. It’s human, messy, and unapologetically alive.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word?
A:
Patrick: Unrestrained.
Sawyer: Fun.
So let’s split the difference: “Unrestrained fun.”
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “SOULSMACK”?
A: Absolutely. Patrick was juggling teaching, fatherhood, and production, burning through nights to get every horn layer feeling fierce. Sawyer struggled recording with pressure in the room, so he went home, tracked by himself for a week, and finally landed the trombone takes that felt like him. Finding the sweet spot between technical precision and emotional release was the biggest battle. But honestly? That’s what made the EP hit.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as artists?
A: Music should shake you out of autopilot and make you actually feel. We want to spread positive masculinity and prove that you can bring swagger, vulnerability, and heavy bass into the same room. We want people leaving a show or finishing a track feeling more alive than when they came in. Long-term? Build this movement from Austin to the world. Pack festivals with brass-fueled bass, fight stigma around emotions in men, and model for Patrick’s son, and anyone watching, that passion can become a lifestyle.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: Dead: Prince. For the fearless energy.
Or if we get one living pick—GRiZ. Full-circle moment. Brass madness included.
Q: What is your advice for people trying to pursue music or enter the industry?
A: Don’t wait to be “ready.” Start building. Seek mentorship, it changed everything for us. Production schools, coaches, or just people a few steps ahead can give you the confidence you didn’t even know was missing. And you’ll need discipline. Passion lights the match, but work ethic keeps it burning.
Q: If you could go back in time and give your younger selves some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Patrick would say: stop shrinking yourself just because you feel like too much. That’s your gift.
Sawyer would say: be patient, nothing real comes quick. Follow your heart and don’t let up.
Together? “Stay loud. Stay weird. The world needs the version of you you’re scared to be.”
