This Modern Love: Active Child

In 2013, online dating has become the norm rather than the exception. Even if you haven’t used the internet to search for a soulmate, odds are you’ve met someone who has. To date, an estimated 40 million Americans have sought the aid of digital dating services such as Match.com, eHarmony, and OkCupid. At the heart of each social network lies the profile; a public canvas where users post pictures, noted interests, physical descriptors indicating height and weight, and revealing questions that offer a glimpse into one’s personality.

“This Modern Love” is a column that invites artists and other remarkable personalities to complete a dating profile of their own. Featured today is LA musician Pat Grossi, who performs as Active Child.

The son of a record label executive and painter, Grossi, who originally wanted to be a marine biologist, grew up surrounded by creativity. "I saw Free Willy and became so obsessed with orcas that I went to the library, took out all the books I could find, and was just drawing pictures of whales.” When he was in elementary school, he was handpicked to join a Philadelphia choir and went on to tour Switzerland and South Africa.

It should then come as no surprise that Grossi’s signature weapon is his falsetto, which inspires an images of the artist perpetually floating. “I sing constantly,” Grossi says over the phone, shortly before breaking into song. “‘Would you believe in me if I said I’m in love? Baby…’ Miguel sings in the same falsetto range with me,” he adds.

As a songwriter, Grossi crafts contemplative, rhythm-driven soundscapes that serve as Gregorian chants for the dancefloor. “Subtle,” the lead single from Rapor, Grossi’s third release as Active Child, is dazzling—citing the physical intensity of Off The Wall-era Michael Jackson in one breath and the wide-eyed cinematics of M83 (Grossi’s tourmate for much of 2011) in another. Anchoring the track is a show-stopping turn by rising R&B powerhouse Mikky Ekko, who may very well be channeling the King of Pop himself.

Taking a breather from harmonizing, Grossi, graciously answered our questions while standing on a Downtown LA rehearsal stage, staring out at the river.

Active Child
30 / M / Straight / Seeing someone
Los Angeles, California

My self-summary
Simple, yet complex. Someone who tries his best to create his own dreamworld, and connect with everyone else out there.

What I’m doing with my life
I'm waking up every day and working as hard as I can, doing what I know how to do—which is to create sounds that are pleasing to the ear.

I’m really good at
Blowing bubbles with my own saliva.

The first things people usually notice about me
Probably my hair. My hue of red is on the extreme side, so people are pretty keen to point out that my head is on fire. Active Child being active.

Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food
I'm addicted to TCM—Turner Classic Movies. I watch a ton of old films. I love documentaries. I have so many directors. Terrence Malick, obviously, comes to mind. He's a huge inspiration visually, for me. Sometimes I'll put his films on and write music with the TV on “mute.” Also I love Hitchcock.

I'm a huge fan of any survival show, I will watch the shit out of it. Survivorman is my favorite. I'm in the middle of Boardwalk Empire, that's a good show. I still haven't jumped on the Breaking Bad bandwagon, but I'm sure I'll get there eventually. I know it's officially over now, but it's all anyone ever talks about.

I listen to a lot of old Gospel music. A lot of random old records that my dad gave to me recently as a birthday present. Nordic folk ambient stuff. Grouper. Kind of in that realm. Just recently I bought that new Oneohtrix Point Never record, which has been melting my brain.

Foodwise, there's just an insane amount of incredible Mexican food out here in LA. Fish tacos. I love sushi. I recently became obsessed with the cronut, because I've been a huge donut maniac forever. I talk about them, but I actually haven't ever eaten one. I should probably go get one.

The six things I could never do without

1.A good shave. I really enjoy a nice, solid shave.

2.Coffee. I'm a morning person.

3.Wi-fi. I gotta have some sort of Wi-fi in the morning, so I can go to all my different sites. I gotta check out what's happening in the world, as far as news and music.

4.My upright piano. Pretty much the first thing I do when I get up is go there, sing a ditty or something.

5.I got this backpack that I bought in Paris when I was real little. It's this leather backpack, and it's still falling apart, but it's been everywhere with me. I’ve gotta have that wherever I travel.

6.Suede shoes. I'm obsessed with suede shoes. I have 10 pairs, so at any given time, I'm wearing some shade of suede on my feet.

Active Child wearing glasses. I spend a lot of time thinking about
Music. I swear if there were some way to record my brain waves, I would have already released a dozen records. Throughout the day, I must have five or six songs that just pop into my head. Different melodies. Rhythms.

On a typical Friday night I am
Out with my girlfriend getting a simple meal. Maybe go out and have a drink. Either that, or I'll probably be at home, watching some old movie on TV.

The most private thing I’m willing to admit
I did once faint on stage when I was in choir, and completely collapsed. Knocked a bunch of people over.

You should message me if
People should reach out to me if they're feeling lost. I've had a lot of people on the road come up to me and pour their heart out about a lot of different things: personal issues, people in their lives who have passed away. I'd like to think that people can come to me with an open heart, and I'll come to them the same way. Active Child being inactive.

Having filled out his “profile,” Grossi takes a moment to share his thoughts on finding love online, offline, the dating scene in LA, and how he met his girl.

I've never done online dating myself, but I have a lot of friends who have met through dating services. I know Tinder has become a complete mania around my group of friends. If you can find a companion, from any outlet, then more power to you. It's tough out here in LA to find the right person. For me, LA feels like one of the loneliest cities if you are single.

I met my girlfriend through a mutual friend. He was like, “Hey, is it cool if I have some people over?” He kind of set me up with my girlfriend, Kristen. We met that day. I was definitely interested immediately, but we were both aware that we were being set up. So it was a little bit awkward, and I tried to play it “cool.” But I definitely played it way too cool. Like, she no idea I was even interested in her at all! We ended up going on a date a couple of weeks later. We went to Happy Hour, had a few glasses of wine, and the rest is history.

What I've learned is that you have to trust your gut. Be as honest as you can with yourself, and the person that is with you. Otherwise, it's just not worth it, to waste either person's time. Know what you want getting into it, and just be honest. It sounds simple, but just be yourself, and try to not pretend to be happy when you're not.

'Rapor' EP, is out now.

John wears glasses and is a writer living in Chicago. Follow him on Twitter — @johntaylortweet