Pete Yorn 4/16 at 12pm

‘Patti Cake$’ director talks alter egos and getting out of New Jersey


Director, screenwriter, lyricist and composer of Patti Cake$ Geremy Jasper sits down with Dayna to talk about creating an alter ego and the root of the many artistic creations inspired by the desire to get out of New Jersey.

I just had an interview with Danielle, who plays Patti, and she said that the character is a mixture of both of you.

Patti is my alter ego in this strange way. I’m from where Patti is from. A lot of the film is yanked from my journals as a 23-year-old living in my parent’s basement in suburban New Jersey with this desire to get the hell out of there and be a musician.

So you wrote all the raps?

I wrote all the raps, I wrote all the songs. I had to create an alter ego to get this stuff out of my system. No one wanted to hear it from me. (Patti Cake$) has been inside of me for years.

What is it about Jersey that people want to get out of?

I think there’s this medieval quality to it…you’re in the shadow of New York City, which is the center of the cultural universe. Culturally, New Jersey is as far away from New York as you can get. Usually artists from New Jersey, their work tends to be about getting out of New Jersey, like Patti Smith with Piss Factory and (Bruce Springsteen’s) “Born to Run”…for me, I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there.

For the full interview, check out Dayna’s podcast above. For more from Patti Cake$, catch Dayna’s interview with actress Danielle MacDonald below.

Advertise with KFOG

Advertise with KFOG

There is no custom code to display.