Meet Casper’s singing fireman who burned…

Patrick W. Stafford has no problem standing dozens of feet above the ground on the top rungs of a Casper Fire Department ladder or on a stage behind a six-string guitar playing a country song in front of a huge audience.

The stage is exactly where Stafford and his band stood in Kaycee, Wyoming, when they opened for Kyle Park and Ned, the son of the late country artist Chris LeDoux, at Chris LeDoux Days, held June 14-15, 2024.

“As far as gigs in Wyoming go, it’s a pretty big deal,” Stafford said. “They called me in January and asked if I wanted to open for them. I grew up listening to Chris LeDoux’s music and songs on vinyl, like ‘The Yellow Stud.'”

Stafford and his band played 11 of his original songs during a 45-minute set.

“We were very excited to get there, and Peggy LeDoux and her whole family were kind enough to let us play,” he said. “It was a great time.”

Stafford recently released a new album called “County 16” and a single called “Johnson County.”

Living the dream

The 50-year-old says he is living his dream as a firefighter and musician at the same time. In his youth he was a drummer, but then he focused more on the guitar and started playing cover songs wherever people would listen. He wrote his own songs.

Along the way, he became a firefighter, something he had dreamed of as a boy. He joined the Casper Fire Department 23 years ago. He also married Shireen and had two sons, Conner and Colin.

But even as his life got longer, music never left him. In 2015, he made a New Year’s resolution to focus more on the artistic side of his life.

“I basically started making a song a month and uploading it to YouTube. I started doing that and as I made one song after another, I started writing again,” he said. “By the end of the year, I had 12 songs.”

Stafford began learning how to better share, record, mix, and find available outlets for his music online and released his first song titled “Wyoming Way.”

In August 2017, he released his first album titled “Full Tilt,” which is also the name of his band. One of the songs from this album, “Ride of Vengeance,” was named the number one song of 2022 by the online radio station KB Country Radio from Ontario, Canada.

Kix 96.5 Wyoming Country in Buffalo, Wyoming, and Jeff Rickett, host of CBJ Radio in Sheridan, have played his music and have been very nice, Stafford said. Shawn “DJ-Nyke” Jackson of Casper has also written some nice reviews of his music — even though the station doesn’t play country, he added.

Musical influences

Stafford sees himself as a product of several genres. He characterizes his sound as “traditional country.”

Country influences include Travis Tritt, Randy Travis, Chris LeDoux, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson. He was also influenced by Van Halen, Sammy Hagar and heavy metal music he listened to during his youth.

“I’m not a music snob. There’s not just one genre I love. There are many genres I love,” he said. “I can listen to Bing Crosby on vinyl one second and Van Halen or Sammy Hagar the next.”

Because of his work schedules as a firefighter and those of his band, he said his recording efforts include online collaboration (two of his band members live in Denver) as well as some recording in studios in the Casper area.

His album “Country 16” is the result of six years of work and his goal was to put the songs on vinyl. Just in time for his appearance at Chris Ledoux Days, he received a shipment of 300 classic orange records with five songs on each side.

“I’ve always loved vinyl, I love retro stuff, I love old stereos and I love listening to vinyl records,” he said. “So these songs are my singles and then three new songs on this great idea of ​​releasing music on a record, like a real record.”

The band

He said he will limit his performances this summer to spend time with his sons, but he has some dates planned with the band. The band includes drummer Ty Moore, bassist Tyler Patick and guitarist Michael Trott.

A new song titled “Old King Ranch” represents the band’s fusion of funk and country.

“The guys I play music with are incredible musicians. They’re all better than me,” Stafford said. “We don’t have to hold ourselves to any standards. I’m an independent artist, so I can play whatever I want, and I love that. The music I play is my brand of Wyoming country. And it’s everything I’ve brought with me over the years.”

Although he appreciates the opportunity to perform at Chris Ledoux Days, he said he also had the opportunity to open for long-running country-rock band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at the Wyoming Ford Center when they were there a few years ago. He remembers that performance because he almost lost his life afterward.

“I had torn my distal biceps fighting a building fire,” he said. Stafford said he convinced his surgeon to wait until after the concert so he could play guitar.

“I played that gig and had surgery about a week later, and they lost me,” he said. “It was crazy; it was supposed to be ‘in and out,’ but they lost me on the table. They did CPR, and of course the fire department had to come. I ended up waking up in the intensive care unit at Wyoming Medical Center. The surgery had been done elsewhere.”

He said that many people whose hearts stop on the operating table never recover. He felt blessed – but he had to learn to play the guitar again.

“It was a slow transition to come back for another year or two,” he said. “But I wanted to keep making music, and that was the point, not giving up.”

‘A bunch of brothers’

He also had to retake the fitness test to keep his job with the fire department. Stafford praises his colleagues and agrees that “they remain authentic to me.”

“They tease me and that’s cool,” he said. “I’m a firefighter who makes music, that’s who I am. I have people at work who listen to my music and share it with their family and friends.”

As a firefighter, he describes the department as “a band of brothers.” He is the current lead firefighter at Station Two in Casper and particularly enjoys the challenges of “vehicle extrication.” He teaches first aid and CPR and is a certified technician in hazardous materials and child safety seat installation.

Stafford said he has enough years left in the fire service to retire, but he still loves his job. He would love to pursue music full-time, but his day job as a firefighter supports the family and allows him to serve the community.

“My dream was to be a firefighter… and I accomplished that,” he said. “I love when people hear my music, I’m super proud of it. I’m super proud of the guys I make music with, my band. It’s been a great experience and I’m so glad I get the chance to do it and have the chance to share it.”

Contact Dale Killingbeck at [email protected]