Draft:Pat Kirch

Patrick John Kirch (born February 1, 1990), is an American drummer for the American pop punk band The Maine. He cites his influences as Tom Petty and The Rolling Stones.

Early life
Kirch was born and raised in Tempe, Arizona. He used to wrestle and was the Arizona state-wrestling champion when he was nine years old. After watching the 1996 film, That Thing You Do!, Kirch was inspired to play the drums. He played in a band called The Kerosene Kids along with bassist Garrett Nickelsen before joining The Maine. Due to his commitment to the band, Kirch took online classes so he could graduate from high school. Kirch expressed that he had no interest in school and was always involved in music. He stated that had he not joined the band, he would've tried to do something music related recalling, "I didn't really have much of an interest in school and stuff, but I think maybe if I found something I had an interest in I could do it. This is all I wanted to do and all I had for a while so I would probably be trying to figure something out."

Career
Kirch played in a hardcore band called the Kerosene Kids and released one album with group titled, The Dialogue Between My Head and Heart. When the band had broken up in 2006, him along with Nickelsen regrouped as "The Maine" while they were still in high school. The group has released nine studio albums including You Are OK which reached number one on the US Billboard Independent Albums chart. They were featured in various Punk Goes Pop compilation albums. Since 2010, the band has sold 156,000 albums and 768,000 digital singles.

In 2014, Kirch produced and recorded Nick Santino's debut studio album, Big Skies. He also provided additional drums on the album. In January 2018, Kirch started up a podcast with bandmate Garrett Nickelsen, called the 8123 Podcast.

Playing style and technique
When recording their 2011 album Pioneer, Kirch expressed how "freely" he changed things up as far as "drum sounds went." He recorded the drum parts for their 2015 album American Candy in an indoor pool. Kirch stated he wanted to get the "famous Dave Grohl bell brass snare" sound. On Lovely Little Lonely (2017), he wanted a tighter drum sound and layered multiple drum parts and used a lot of percussion to fill in a "different sonic space." On the group's ninth studio album, The Maine, he recorded his drums and cymbals seperately to make a different recording approach for the album.

Equipment
Kirch uses Gretsch drums, Zildjian cymbals, Evans drumheads, and Promark sticks. He played a Gretsch US Custom drum set when the band performed on Warped Tour in 2016. He used a vintage Rodgers kit when recording their sixth studio album, Lovely Little Lonely.

Personal life
He has three brothers and niece named Sofia. His uncle holds a PhD in music and is a conductor, while his older brother Tim Kirch is the manager for The Maine since 2007, as well as managing other bands. In January 2020, Kirch got married to his longtime partner Shacara Nemetz. They had their first child in February 2020.

Discography
with The Maine


 * Can't Stop Won't Stop (2008)
 * Black & White (2010)
 * Pioneer (2011)
 * Forever Halloween (2013)
 * American Candy (2015)
 * Lovely Little Lonely (2017)
 * You Are OK (2019)
 * XOXO: From Love and Anxiety in Real Time (2021)
 * The Maine (2023)

with The Kerosene Kids
 * The Dialogue Between My Head and Heart (2005)