RELAPSE RECORDS ARTISTS & MORE RALLY FOR PAT EGAN’S LEGACY

Posted by Johnny Price

The Relapse Record family suffered a devastating loss when their dear friend and longtime Director of Retail Sales & Marketing, Pat Egan, passed away on February 18, 2013 due to complications of pneumonia. Pat’s sudden passing came as a complete shock to all that knew him, as he was finally showing signs of getting better after months of being hospitalized.

Known as the “ultimate metal head” Egan was instrumental in the successes of such bands as Mastodon, High on Fire, Baroness and Red Fang - to name just a few. He was a constant fixture in the East Coast metal scene for the past 30 years, often attending shows of unknown bands, offering support and listening with his famous ear for talent. Egan was a friend, champion and mentor to many musicians whom over the past month since his passing, have all come together to help raise money to be put in a fund for the college education of Pat’s young teenage daughter, Katie.

Less than two weeks ago Relapse Records released “Patlapse” in honor of the man who was instrumental in the success of so many Relapse bands and records, putting together a 20 track compilation featuring a collection of his favorite songs and artists, including Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Brian Posehn, Red Fang, Death, and many more, including a never-before-released track from Exhumed. Each contributing band waived their royalty fee to maximize the benefit for the Katie Egan College Fund with 100% of the proceeds going to the cause. The compilation is available via Bandcamp at this location for only $5 .

Additionally, Pig Destroyer released a never before heard EP entitled Mass & Volume dedicated to the memory of Pat Egan, with all proceeds going to Katie Egan’s college fund as well. The EP is available for purchase here.

The band spoke about Pat and the EP release:

“Pat Egan was a friend and a keystone member of the Relapse family for many of the years we have been involved with it. He devoted his life to supporting underground music and he immeasurably helped develop the bands he worked with. His untimely passing on February 18, 2013 shocked the many people that his life and work had touched.”

A Relapse press release elaborated, “The EP was written and recorded during the final day of the Phantom Limb sessions with unexpected extra studio time and resources. In the following years, with Natasha being released on its own and Brian no longer being in the band, our intentions of releasing Mass & Volume basically evaporated. However, looking back now, Mass & Volume serves as a great epilogue to that particular era of the band.”

As if all of the above were not enough of a testament to the type of man that Pat Egan was, an ongoing online auction on Ebay has been started with some unbelievably awesome items up for bid! Just a sampling of the 46 current offerings include such diverse items as:

KISS bundle: T-Shirts, CD, USB & Autographed Tour Book
RUSH “Time Machine” Autographed Drumhead
Epiphone ZAKK WYLDE Buzzsaw LP custom Guitar & Case
An Epiphone Wilshire Guitar featuring artwork from the band SUICIDE SILENCE
Santana PRS SE Guitar signed by CARLOS SANTANA
Autographed items by METALLICA, MASTODON, BLACK CROWES, DEF LEPPARD, KORN, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, JASON ALDEAN, ROGER WATERS, DEREK TRUCKS, THEORY OF A DEADMAN and so many more! Hell, there’s even an autographed Mandy Moore picture, so go figure!

Some seriously cool items that should appeal to every type of music fan are available now and other items will be listed as they come in, so bookmark the auction and check back often. Share with your friends as well because not only are these the ultimate goodies for the right fan, it’s all for a great cause in the memory of a great man… Pat Egan.