So I’ve been a resident of Cincinnati for 11 years or so now.
I’ve been a punk rocker or sorts (minus the mohawk and facial piercings) ever since I got a cd player and starting rocking out about Nofx, Green Day, Face to Face, The Descendents….. The list goes on.
Put these 2 aspects above together and over the past 11 years I’ve been a regular attendee at punk shows here in Cincy, no matter where they are. From the original Void (literally a closet behind a rock-and-roll laundromat in Clifton) to RadioDown, to Bogarts, to The Mad Hatter, to Ripley’s, I’ve been to shows all over the city and during that time, I’ve often seen Pat Rice.
I remember thinking when I first saw her, “why is this old lady at this show?” As you’ll see in the video, she is 65 now, so at 54, I was seeing her at shows surrounded by 15-23 year old kids. I was perplexed, but also thought it was awesome because as my wife, family and friends know, that will probably be me at that age too.
The more shows I went to, the more I would see Pat. Again, I’d always think this was odd, weird, crazy, cool, awesome.
This video is about her connection with the local music community, the way she has become connected with it, the mark she’s left on various bands/kids at shows and just overall, the love that the music scene here in the city has for her and vice-versa. She’s become quite a figure, being recognized by CityBeat and asked to give out a Cincinnati Entertainment Award award among other things.
It’s great to see this video though and be able to see the story behind this person I always wondered about. Truly a unique story and a testament to some of the great people and great things people do for others here in the city.
Watch the video here.