“He’s not heavy-he’s my brother!”
Names: Matthew and Andrew Pattie
Hometown: Complicated (currently Bath)
Degrees: English and Theoretical Physics
On a cold and hung-over morning, Other Guys brothers Matthew and Andrew Pattie welcomed HerCampus Editor-in-Chief, Hannah, and I into their home, for what would turn out to be, the most ridiculous interview yet.
Having moved all over Scotland growing up, the boys found it difficult to answer the ‘hometown’ question, though Andrew put it quite nicely, “Where my family lives is where I’d call home, so I guess Bath. But I’m definitely Scottish.”
Andrew is the younger and more extroverted of the two, comfortable making jokes and chatting from almost the moment we sat down. He admits there are limits to his gregarious nature, “I don’t really like talking on the phone… I mean, I can do, but phoning random people creeps me out. It’s just so awkward!” Matthew, by process of elimination the older of the two, was slightly more reserved in this sense. While it took him a few minutes to open up, either due to a crippling hangover or slight shyness, once he felt comfortable he was funny, engaging, and like his brother, absolutely charming. “I am a bit shy, and I’ve been told I mumble sometimes, so then I overcompensate—and get ribbed for that as well!” The guys are incredibly close, and there were times when Hannah and I struggled to keep up with their quick banter and inside jokes, more akin to best friends than to brothers. Which is great, because if they didn’t like each other, being two of a twelve-man group would be awkward to say the least.
Both boys chose St Andrews for the same reason: their grandmother (aww). They used to come up frequently as children to visit, and as a result had a strong connection to the town. Matthew was attracted to the intimate size, having gone through a small school previously, and they both appreciate the mingling between different years. “At a bigger school, you would go out to a club with your five friends, and then come home, and that’s all you do. Here, you go out, go to the union, and see everyone you’ve ever met.” Being joint-first for physics in the UK was certainly an attraction for Andrew, but he admits, “I picked the university before the degree… it was quite good coming here with [Matthew] too, because the family had just moved down south, and that’s quite a long way away.”
Family connection brought them to Fife, and it might have kept them here too, at least for Matthew who graduated in 2012 (English and Modern History), and came back to do his Masters in English Literature. “I couldn’t think of anything better to do really [laugh]. The grass isn’t necessarily greener, you know? It was between here or Durham, but I already know people here.” He paused for a second, and then joked, “I guess I’m just really shy. And I hate people… But seriously, I can think of worse places to be.” After some ribbing from Andrew about becoming a 35–year-old professor with a huge beard who has never left St Andrews, Matthew assured us he would not be doing his PhD here, “four more years would kill anyone.” He didn’t say it, but we like to think it’s really to be closer to his Gran…
The boys joined “The Other Guys” in 2010 (Matthew’s third year and Andrew’s first), just in time to experience Royal Romance mania. They both heard about it through the Chapel Choir, but it was Andrew who made it happen. “I figured, if I’m going along, Matthew will come along, because we always do the same stuff.” They both laughed, before breaking out into a mini-guys rendition of High School Musical’s “We’re All in this Together” (which, I might add, sounded awesome. It also wasn’t the only spontaneous singing). According to Matthew, “I never would have joined before, but I saw them at the Edinburgh festival, and I thought it looked like a bit of fun.” Both Pattie’s were new to A Cappella, having been classically trained singers through school. Once again, it was Andrew who got the boys involved in singing when they were younger. “The School found out that I [Andrew] could sing, and the singing teacher just though, ‘well, if one of them can sing, maybe the other one can too’ and pulled him [head nod towards Matthew] in.” Matthew has no regrets about being semi-dragged into singing, and notes that the switch from choral to A Cappella was good for him, “It makes you more extraverted doing things, much more confident”.
It’s important for the guys that people remember the group’s humble beginnings, “When we joined initially, it was just another A Cappella group. I really don’t think people were aware of it. We did this one gig, in the Byre main bar (#RIP) to just our mates. It was really fun though.” Matthew explained earnestly and almost nostalgically. “The guys that join now, they think the band started with Royal Romance. The kids that joined this year got to sing for Will and Kate within a few months, but the guys from before, they always bring up this story about singing to one man and a dog in Costa in, what, 2006? They’re not sorry though, they’re really pleased…”
So what’s the best part of being in an internationally recognized band? “The bop” says Matthew definitively, as he plays with the all too recognizable plastic wristband from the night before, where the Other Guys initiation finished. Bar the Bop (get it? Bar…) the experience as a whole has been rewarding for Matthew, “You get what you give, if you come out to the socials, you get a lot more. And we get to do a lot of cool gigs!” Andrew agrees here, “Everyone has this thing where they want to be a musician, and sell a lot of records. Obviously the chances of doing that as you get older are slim. We actually have the chance to record, and put a record out. We get to do things we dreamed of doing as kids—“ Matthew adds, “—but instead of a tape-recorder we actually have a real microphone! And go to events we wouldn’t get into normally… As Kanye West said, ‘I’m at a party, and nobody invited me.’ ” As any self-respecting musicians would then do, the brothers continued on debating the pros and cons of Mr. West, including his surprising inclusion into ‘rap culture’, love of auto-tuning and his inferiority to Justin Bieber. This is not a joke.
“We’re big Bieber fans actually,” Andrew admits without the usual shame that accompanies this statement, especially from a 20 year old man, “he influences me a lot, just not in fashion… though I was rocking the quiff before Biebz was.” Equally unashamed, Matthew, tweeter extraordinaire, recounts his elation at once being retweeted by the Biebster, and his dismay when it turned out to just be a fan account, “But imagine if he did retweet me?” he says wistfully.
On the subject of strange fans, the brothers have had their fair share. Andrew was repeatedly followed by a girl in his first year, but added thankfully, “she stopped when she found out I had a girlfriend.” He has also been asked to sign a woman’s chest, “I tried, but I didn’t have a pen on me, neither did she. Who asks without a pen!?” Matthew’s oddest request was to be someone’s academic father, which is only unsettling when he recalls the determination of the request, and the fact that he wasn’t a third year at the time. For the most part, however, the boys enjoy their pseudo-celebrity, describing it as ‘fun and funny’. “It’s quite a change from other schools. At school playing sport was popular, not necessarily music. So you come here, and you do what you’ve always done and suddenly it’s cool.” Possibly the most bizarre fanship comes through via facebook, where the boys have received a high amount of adds from people based in eastern Asia and Indonesia, “I mean, you can get away with a random add within St Andrews, but Indonesia?” For the most part, pictures at the union and casual stalking are all fun and games, a welcome part of life as an Other Guy.
When asked about their incredibly successful single, “Christmas Gets Worse Every Year” written and arranged by the very talented Oscar Foxley (who, incidentally, is not an Other Guy, as I awkwardly found out…), the boys seemed proud. “We’ve been quite lucky, because every time we’ve done a new project, or went in a new direction, it’s been really good. I don’t think we’ll ever top Royal Romance, but getting on a chart was amazing”, said Matthew. Andrew added, “We weren’t sure how well it was going to go down, because honestly, with A Cappella, you really only listen because you already know the songs, and think it’s cool people can make it just with their voices—“ “—and we weren’t sure people were going to share something that wasn’t funny,” Matthew admitted. But share they did, and the song took off. “We’ve heard from the most random people, like this surgeon in Australia who plays it for his patients because it calms them…another guy requested a brass band arrangement of the piece to play at a town hall Christmas service!” While the ultimate amount of money raised isn’t known, the group is hoping to have raised over £2000 when the final figures come in from Amazon and I-tunes.
With all of their success, it is unsurprising the group has a close relationship with the University. The boys are grateful for the support, not only because of the exposure (performing at special events and even in London for the 600th), but for what they’ve been able to do with it. “As individuals, we don’t make any money. It all goes back into the group, for recordings and CDs, or to charity. We’ve raised quite a bit for breast cancer and the Elizabeth Montgomery Foundation, and for epilepsy with the Muir Maxwell Trust…five years ago, we couldn’t have done this. At one point, we just had a wallet with £20 in it.”
Startling as it may be, the boys have managed to create a life for themselves outside of A Cappella. Their STAR show, “The Kebab Shop” (Monday nights at 6pm) has won ‘Funny Show of the Year’ two times running. “It’s actually kind of funny, we turn up to these awards ceremonies and nobody knows who we are. I think they must have socials we just don’t know about.” Like all true success stories (Kanye, Armstrong, ‘A Million Little Pieces’), the Kebab Shop has it’s own controversy. “We’ve gotten stripped of an award,” Matthew admits, feigning remorse, “it was the ‘People’s Choice’ award; we voted for ourselves.’ He then starts to laugh, ‘Though the guys that won it after even said, ‘we don’t know why they got disqualified, we’ve done the same thing…’ obviously we did it excessively. 500 votes from the same IP address might look dodgy.” The boys are currently doing a promotion, and if they get 50 likes on the page, they’ll do a 12-hour show for the 600th charity campaign, so get liking! “Just our luck, the one time we say something really inappropriate, Louise Richardson will be listening in at 4am…’
If you happen to see the boys on a night out, don’t forget to ask them to sign your chest! Otherwise, keep a look out for their new album, and give their “Kebab Shop” page a like! Thank you so much to Matthew and Andrew for their time!
RAPID FIRE
Relationship status:
Andrew: I’ve had a girlfriend for, oh, 20 months? What, I’m a mathematician, I like to be precise!
Matthew: Single, I’m a small guy, so I look for girls in my height range…
Would you ever date a girl obsessed with TOGs?
Andrew: Like Mel, from flight of the Conchords?
Big night out or quiet night in?
Matthew: Depends, doesn’t it? Quiet nights turn into big nights…that was good, I liked that!
Relationship with Will and Kate:
Matthew: I mean, Kate announced her pregnancy after we performed for her. That’s not a coincidence…Please put that in there, I got like thirty likes when it was my status!
Do you think the baby was conceived to Royal Romance?
Matthew: I wonder how that would’ve gone…
Andrew: Yea, there are some intense tempo changes…
New ideas for songs?
Matthew: We’ve decided to target Harry next time. More likely to get a night out with him.
Andrew: Top boy.
Guilty pleasure?
Andrew: We like chick flicks. Teen crappy films, like Twilight (Matthew: “that’s not crappy!”), High School Musical, Hairspray… I saw the Notebook once, but I didn’t get it, it’s not sad—they died together! Personally though, my favorite film is Cool Runnings.
Matthew: I don’t like serious films, Pirates of the Caribbean is probably my favorite.
Favorite Restaurant:
Jigger or Maisha, though both boys want to try every place before they graduate (or graduate again, in Matthews case…)
Matthew: Imagine eating a curry at Maisha with Jusin Bieber!
Favorite place to get drinks
40s
Nights out:
Union
Favorite Coffee Shop:
Andrew: The Coffee Shop, on Greyfriars. “It took a while for them to accept us, because initially we were laughing so much at everything in the shop, they thought we were taking the piss…which we were a little bit…but now I think they respect us. Mostly because we can handle the dark Milano coffee…”
Matthew: Definitely not Taste, I’m a bit scared of it to be honest…I’m just not hipster enough
Andrew: I feel like I’m being judged, I’m totally mainstream! I’m an Other Guy, we’re not hipster!
Favorite dance move:
Andrew: The crotch thrust. But only where appropriate, obviously not if I’m an old woman’s dinner party… though they might like it.
Matthew: I like the sprinkler, that’s a solid one.
Style:
Matthew: I’m left of indie…the red trousers just got put on today because I’m hungover and I wanted to feel good about myself. They cheer me up. I like colorful socks, though I’ve let myself down today. I also like a nice jacket and tie.
Andrew: I’ve always wanted to try something different but I don’t have the confidence. Maybe try high-tops, but I don’t know if I could pull it off, really. Chelsea boots? Brought them in last year. That was another experiment, but you know what? Whatever. It doesn’t matter- be your own man, live your own life! [Life’s a catwalk, walk it- Matthew] this is my pea coat, my new thing. I still stand by my Barbour though, that’s a good standard. Keeps me dry. With guys you have to find that fine balance between well dressed, but not so well dressed you come across as camp.
Last remarks:
“I’m a catch, I see my grandmother and wear knitwear!” – Matthew