Better late than never, right? If you can call the age of 25 "late," that is.

Singer, songwriter and guitarist David Fitzpatrick, despite being a long-standing music fan, says he didn’t get into performing until he joined a cover band in his mid-20s back in the 1980s.

But that set him off running, and since then he’s worked in a variety of musical settings. Now, Fitzpatrick – already long a veteran – has released what he calls his first major solo work.

"Parachutes in Hurricanes," recorded with local producer Gary Tanin at Tanner-Monagle Studios Downtown, showcases Fitzpatrick’s rootsy rock and roll, with a sharp edge, that has drawn comparisons to John Cougar Mellencamp, Bob Seger and The Smithereens.

^{(PHOTO: Ross Monagle)}

Among the musicians who helped make it are Dave Schoepke, Ethan Bender, Michael Koch, Dick Eliot and others.

A week or so after the record’s April 27 release, we caught up with Fitzpatrick to talk about his career, the new record and what’s next.

While you read, you can start downloading "Parachutes in Hurricanes" at iTunes.

OnMilwaukee: Tell us about your background; how did you get to here?

David Fitzpatrick: All my life I was an avid listener of music but I was not in a a band until I was around 25. My first experience was playing keyboards in a Prince cover band. It didn’t last very long and it really wasn’t my cup of tea but the experience was good. Then a small stint playing guitar for the John Frye Blues Band.

Finally I started a band with a few of my real good friends (Quiltz). It was great to have that experience with high school friends. Most of us knew each other from seventh grade on so it was a real family atmosphere and I will always cherish those memories. That lasted a few years and eventually became Dave Fitzpatrick Band, with quite a few musicians coming and going. I wrote all the original material done with the band with a few cover songs thrown in. There are four albums are under Dave Fitzpatrick Band (name).

From where do you draw your musical inspiration?

I am the youngest of nine children and have been influenced by so much through generations of different music that my brothers and sisters were listening to. My parents’ musical influences were from the swing period and all of us were avid listeners to music. It was always around me in some form. As a small kid I would play out all the different performers. I’d use the vacuum cleaner as a mic stand – it was the perfect height at the time – and a string attached to a tennis racket for a guitar strap and I became whoever was on the stereo.

Some of my personal favorites are The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, The Replacements, The Clash, Lou Reed, The Beautiful South, John Hiatt and Buddy Holly and many, many more.

I heard you spent three years on the new record ...

If you put all the time together that we were actually able to spend time in the studio making the album it would not seem that long. But during those few years there was so much going on. I was taking care of my parents, and the band was in a state of apathy due to people leaving and getting on with their lives.

It looked like the end of the road for ever getting anywhere on any hopes of a music career. I was in a losing the battle with having faith in myself and the thought that I could still be the writer and performer I so much wanted to be. When my father died it really came to light how precious time is and I decided to put all my doubts aside and make the record I always wanted to make.

Not having to worry about the band or where it was going and just make an epic album. I wanted it to be more album oriented and less live band material. I wanted to really take these song ideas apart and form them into well thought out arrangements. More of a sound track vision. I wanted someone else to produce it. To put real money into its production and release.

Tell us about making the record.

(With) Gary Tanin, we began working on this record with just a few first songs – "Your Ghost," "Lost On The Same Street" – and moved on from there, recording a bulk of the material with Ric Probst, Gary Tanin’s engineer/partner at Planet Green Productions. The studio we used was Tanner-Monagle, Inc. This albums material was nearly all written in real time.

This record on its own became very personal and very therapeutic in its processes of writing and rewriting. So much was going on in my life at the time and it all came through the music. Quite remarkable.

You've got a lot of collaborators – from Gary to all the musicians. Can you talk about how they helped shape the final product?

I wanted to utilize horn and string arrangements. We were always a guitar band so for this album I wanted to explore using keyboardists and other musicians. Other than expressing some basic lines I wanted to hear or parts I heard in my head the studio musicians were really free to do what they felt was fitting for the song so it was just a fantastic way of approaching the recording.

Gary collaborated as producer, arranger, musician and co-writer. He was extremely instrumental in getting the right people and the right mood for the songs. Absolutely loved working and collaborating in this way.

We’ll always leave musicians with the freedom to express themselves within the song. Dictating where the music goes is not always the best for the song. Everyone involved did wonders to shape the final result.

Now that the record is out, are you taking it on the road?

Unfortunately I have no dates on the books at this time. The band has gone through another transition. I am hoping and praying the next step is the right group of musicians to perform the album’s material and hit the road.

Having "Parachutes In Hurricanes" just released and this being the first year in a long time not having a Summerfest slot is frustrating. The performing is the most important part of all this music and I can’t wait to see the road become reality.

Stay tuned for upcoming gigs at facebook.com/davefitzpatrickband.