MY MUSIC BIOGRAPHY(the Pato odyssey / 15 years)
PATRIK DROLE (PATO VENGEANCE / VINTAGE) BIO
(the Pato odyssey / 15 years)
old-school hard rock cat – self-taught composer, producer, songwriter, performer, multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, arranger, mentor, art historian, genre connoisseur, spiritual shaman, afterparty animal, former glam/sleaze influencer(but only for style and music....i never got any money)
Hailing from the Tolmin area of Slovenia(northwestern hills), Patrik Pato(december 1993) has dedicated his entire life to a raw, untrained, rock’n’roll pioneer subcultural lifestyle — a blend of a wild black soul, factory paycheck, farmhand roots, Catholic trauma, and self-grown rebellion — the perfect recipe for authentic rock culture. A true rarity!
This naturally comes with a uniquely rebellious, philosophical, and deeply free mindset — one that doesn’t fit today’s polished standards.
His mind has never belonged to capitalist ideology, rules, or standards; rather, it draws from the hippie culture of mental resistance against colonialism.
(Subculture, in his view, is the culture of the genre itself — a way of life, livin, see the world(spectrum) and mindset tied to it. Hard rock is NOT metal! People tend to mix the two, but they are worlds apart.)
He is also known for his legendary acoustic afterparties at summer festivals(GoraRocka, Pivo in Cvetje, Metalcamp, Metaldays....) — jamming between tents and campfires for over a decade. And driving gangs to weekend parties all over Slovenia in all conditions and states
From birth, Patrik showed a natural gift for music (a family legacy), yet music school couldn’t tame his soul.
He picked up the guitar as a self-taught player in 2008, and ever since, it’s been his spiritual extension — a transmitter of everything words can’t express.
(He’s also played accordion since childhood and can handle bass, piano, drums, and flute.)
He first stepped on stage in 2009 with the high-school dormitory band Stare Pizde, performing covers of Niet(fameous Sloveniq punk band) and experimenting with original songs.
After rebelling against the “school occupiers,” he left both school and the band.
Between 2010 and 2011, he joined the Tolmin-based hard rock/sleaze band Wild Crew as guitarist, backing vocalist, and co-author.
They performed across Slovenia, reached the finals of a national young band contest, and released an original EP (Wild Side).
Wild Crew embodied that pure pre-smartphone club underground energy — the last of the old guard, yet the first generation to use Facebook for band promotion.
They connected deeply with sleaze, hard & heavy subcultures, and bands all across the Primorska and central Slovenia regions.
By 2014, they released several successful singles (Midnight Fight, Riot in My Head, She’s All Mine).
Unfortunately, the band split in 2015. That same year, Patrik joined the Goriška-based original 80s hard rock band HairX.
Soon, he became the group’s main creative leader, and in 2017 they released the full-length album Animals.
Concerts followed across Slovenia — from clubs to biker festivals, and even in Italy and Croatia.
In Italy, they won first prize at a youth rock competition.
However, back home in Slovenia, interest in the genre was fading year by year — the old rivalries between subculture metalheads and punks still echoing from Yugoslav times.
For them is....hard rock culture for pussies......metalheads and punks envy a mainstream sucsess of hard rock genre in 80s
In 2018, HairX released the single and video Sweetheart, which sparked strong enthusiasm and earned radio interviews.
Yet, despite the positive response, there was no real support — no labels, no managers(no one wants to tell about it/even ours girlfriends mannegers), and everything had to be financed from factory wages.
The “pop, electronic & folk mafia,” as Patrik calls it, had no idea how to handle such genres. They dont even understand music, only money of same 3min songs
Even though the band had enough material by 2020 for a second full album (18 songs!), no one in the industry was willing to guide or support them.
Without mainstream connections, without manager or genre record label, the band doesnt have a power to brainwash enough listerners heads for genre influense.
The listeners wont research unknown music by theireselves(if they dont belong to one of genre subcultures)
THAT'S HOW MAFIA & DICTATOR SHIT OF MUSIC GENRE CULTURES WORKS!!
Just as things began to look up with confirmed festival shows and growing recognition as the last standard-bearers of Slovenia’s glam-infused hard rock, the COVID lockdowns crushed it all.
No rehearsals, no clubs, no shows for two years straight — and with fading interest from other members, Patrik left the band.
(He used to drive 55 km one way from Upper Tolmin to Vrtojba just to rehearse!)
HairX live @ Zeleni Gaj, Dornberk.
During the COVID lockdown, I became a truly mature, angry, and rebellious rock cat.
I wrote, arranged, recorded, and produced over 60 original songs (still unreleased), each entirely my own creation — every part, every note.
That’s when I shaped my musical persona, “Pato Vintage,” a name carrying the story of walking the same path as the old-school rockers — playing on vintage, used instruments and amps from the 70s and 80s (original Made in USA Kramer guitars, Boss ME-5 effects, Solton 140 Chorus amp, Jolana Tajfun bass, etc.).
I hold 100% authorship of my work and have no intention of stopping until the candle flickers on my grave.
I’ve already released a few self-produced singles, fully mixed and mastered by myself — one of them recorded with the legendary Postojna hard rock veterans Mary Rose (single “The Trail”).
Through my songs, I want to bring people the authentic spirit of old-school hard rock — spanning all eras, subgenres, and waves, from the 1960s roots to the last sleaze revival of the 2010s.
My tracks vary widely — some glam, some deep, some progressive, others party-driven or psychedelic.
My lyrics often carry philosophical depth, exploring the symbolic and cult foundations behind the genre, while my production style intentionally revives vintage recording techniques from different decades.
The purpose of my music is educational and preservationist — to keep alive the genre’s culture, legacy, sound, and spirit.
It’s music with meaning — full of symbolism.
My stage persona also serves as a living example that true hippie or hard rock mentality still has a place today — it’s all in your head. We have a choice.
This is of scientific importance — a fight for equality and recognition between music genres.
My holy trinity of old-timer Kramer guitars from the 1980s continues to rise in value.
The centerpiece is a C-series Kramer from 1983/84, made just before the brand merged with the Korean company.
Kramer guitars are legendary thanks to the 80s hard rock guitar heroes who made them iconic.
I also deeply study the ethnology and ideology of old rock, hard rock, and heavy metal subcultures, their cult origins and philosophies.
I’ve developed my own fashion trend inspired by the 70s and 80s — I even sew my own costumes.
As a mentor, I support and promote new young bands within the genre who truly deserve it.
I live with spiritual depth, like a Native shaman — an idol and mental support figure for many teenagers — emphasizing respect for music, free of charge.
For over 15 years I’ve researched and collected discographies of rock and heavy metal history across all subgenres.
I listen daily to over 200 artists and songs — from the earliest generations to today.
You won’t learn this in schools or from cultural institutions!
One of my stage costumes reflects the glam/sleaze subcultural image.
Another features festival wristbands from the last decade — a patchwork of memories and mileage.
I’m preparing a national tour across Slovenia, though it’s getting harder to find serious rock musicians to collaborate with.
Being part of a nearly extinct minority subculture, there are few who share the same taste.
So for now, I perform solo — private gigs, afterparties, night jam sessions at festivals, and acoustic or electric shows with backing tracks.
Rebirth: From Pato Vintage to Pato Vengeance
My latest move is changing my stage name from Pato Vintage to Pato Vengeance — the Avenger of Slovenian discrimination against this genre.
It’s a declaration of war:
> “The last time you messed with hard rockers.” you discriminated the whole generation! You dont even alow to play live, you doesnt want even to cooporate or comunicate with hard rockers! You nation!
I won’t fake it, I won’t conform, and I won’t bend.
You’re not worthy of submission.
You’ve cut the ties, you publicly shame and slander us, you block us from performing — while paying thousands to DJs, folk bands, Balkan acts, and cover bands.
You are the ones giving power to the wrong people in music. YOU, THE NATION.
I will keep pushing the cult legacy of hard rock to the forefront of my artistic identity — for the rest of my life.
Note: The hard & heavy subcultural background is not the same as the Slovenian punk subculture, which is said to be rooted in band rebellion and hooliganism against commercialism.
Soon, I’ll release my first full-length solo album on vinyl, alongside a book on the psychology of music subcultures — exploring the cult origins, creative approaches, and stories of underground bands from
