Patrick Deneau has a lot going on. He fights fires, raises a family and fronts a rock band - and somehow finds time to write songs about all of it.
Deneau is the lead singer of The City Lines Band, a Metro Detroit act drawing comparisons to the Goo Goo Dolls, Gin Blossoms and Green Day. “I would say we have a little bit of ’90s alternative rock going on with a major focus on storytelling,” he said during an appearance on Live in the D’s Music Monday segment.
That storytelling impulse runs deep. Deneau, a firefighter who calls it “the greatest job in the world,” said the band grew out of his need to process the demands of a full life. “A lot of it that finds its way onto our records is processing what I do for a living, being a firefighter, being a dad, being a husband, being busy all the time,” he said. “It all kind of finds its way into a reflective concept, and we cut them out into songs and record them and play them live.”
The band’s sound is also shaped by Deneau’s Indigenous heritage. “I’m drawing a lot from my indigenous heritage. My mom is from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula, and I’m a tribal member with the Sioux Tribe of Chippewa Indians,” he said, noting that storytelling is a central part of Native American culture.
The City Lines Band - which Deneau described as “a very community-oriented band” built by recruiting players from the Metro Detroit and Ann Arbor music scenes - performs next on Aug. 21 at the Fun House in downtown Ann Arbor. “There’s simply not enough time to do all the things that I like to do,” Deneau admitted with a laugh.
The band can be found at thecitylinemusic.com and on Spotify and other streaming platforms.
Click on the video above to watch their performance of “Do It All.”