WPKN 89.5-FM Bridgeport

Independent Community Radio

Listener-supported, community radio serving Fairfield, New Haven and Litchfield counties in CT and Suffolk county in New York and communities around the world at wpkn.org

WPKN 89.5-FM Bridgeport

Kevin Patrick

Kevin Patrick: artist manager, label owner, A&R executive, radio promotion veteran, broadcaster and as well, an obsessed record collector.

The obsession with music began as a young child, watching his older cousins, who supplied jukeboxes in a small town outside of Syracuse, New York. Particularly passionate about the British Invasion, he convinced a local radio station to give him a weekly supply of records, and as a kid forged press passes to meet bands like The Rolling Stones and The Kinks in their early years.

Later, while attending Rochester Institute of Technology, he programmed WITR and chaired the school’s concert committee. A summer internship in London led to a year off in the UK, working at the legendary Marquee Club. Upon returning to resume courses, a part time job at Transcontinental One Stop parlayed into radio promotion jobs, first with Island Records’ college team and eventually to a full time staff slot with MCA.

In 1984 Patrick joined the A&R department of Elektra Records as a junior executive, under the guidance of Howard Thompson, where his first project was X. After four years he moved to Island Records as VP/A&R.

In 1992 Patrick founded The Medicine Label, distributed by Warner Brothers Records. Among the label’s releases, the film soundtrack to Dazed & Confused quickly went gold and eventually double platinum. The label also signed punk legends The Cramps, and was an early supporter of electronic dance with releases by Leftfield, The Prodigy and Moby.

From 1995-2006 Patrick moved to VP/A&R at SONY’s Columbia Records, where he worked both the label’s domestic acts and international artists based out of the UK, and simultaneously maintained The Medicine Label independently.

In 2006, Medicine Label, Inc. expanded into management, initially representing The Ramones estate and in 2007, going full time with Matt and Kim.

His vast record collection, assembled via years of acquiring promotional copies from radio stations and label mates, encompasses an historical archive of original pressings from the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s, through to present day.

Kevin Patrick

Kevin Patrick's previous playlists