Music and me

Adam composed his first song when he was supposed to be practicing “The Rainbow Connection” for his upcoming piano recital. His mother, when she realized that Rainbow would not be ready in time, called his piano teacher to suggest a change in the program. As a result, Adam premiered his first composition, “A Hungarian Melody,” and was the only sixth grader to showcase an original work at the recital. Though the tune had a remarkable resemblance to “Happy Together,” no one seemed to mind, and he was quite pleased with himself for turning his far-from-diligent practicing habits into something that earned him praise.

Adam eventually gave up piano lessons, picked up the trombone in seventh grade and would continue to play through college, participating in several BYU ensembles. Adam also continued to write songs and forced his five younger siblings to perform them every year during the family Christmas Eve program. One of those years, he wrote and directed a Christmas-themed musical featuring three original songs.

Although he doesn’t think of himself as much of a performer, Adam achieved a measure of success participating in regional music festivals during high school. As a junior, he performed “Piece en Fa Mineur” for solo trombone and received a superior rating. That same year he also earned second chair placement in the regional orchestra. The orchestra played Shostakovich’s fifth symphony which, to this day, is his all-time favorite. The following year, Adam’s nerves got the better of him and he completely bombed his festival auditions. He blamed God for his misfortune and, in what he thought was a supreme act of rebellion, refused to wear his CTR ring for an entire week.

Adam’s first musical idol was the Mormon inspirational music icon, Michael McLean. When he found out that Michael McLean was coming to his hometown, he made his dad take him to get McLean’s autograph. Adam may have even told McLean that he was his biggest fan. This was before Adam realized that it was uncool to be a Michael McLean groupie.

Adam’s first introduction to popular music was in the nineties, when, during seventh grade, his classmate gave a presentation on the Gin Blossoms, a band native to Adam’s hometown in Arizona. It was during that presentation that he saw his first music video, “Allison Road,” and fell in love with alternative rock. Since that time, he has indulged a passionate romance with all things post-grunge. In fact, during his high school days, he probably spent more time with his stereo and the sounds of Matchbox Twenty, Collective Soul and Toad the Wet Sprocket, than he did with real people.

Also while in high school, Adam got a hold of a software program for midi sequencing, and spent hours and hours programming electronic instruments to play his songs. The composition for which he was most proud was written in 7/4 time, arranged for full orchestra and was inspired by Yanni’s transition into orchestral music as heard on the incredibly prodigious, “Live at the Acropolis.”

Though, as a teenager, Adam received an electric guitar as a Christmas gift one year, it mostly collected dust as he let his homework completely take over his life. He would, however, learn to play “Dreams” by the Cranberries and perform it with his brother on bass guitar before retiring the instrument. The next time Adam would pick up a guitar was in college when he decided to sign up for a guitar class as a break from the rigors of his other classes. Luckily, this time, he has been able to keep up his playing with some degree of regularity.

Adam was inspired to try his hand at making music again when he received an email response from the lead singer of one of his favorite indie rock bands, Faded Paper Figures. The lead singer of FPF is a BYU grad, and has a faculty position at Yale University. Adam was fascinated by the fact that this guy was a Yale professor by day and an indie rock star by night, and wondered if he shouldn’t try to resurrect his goal of one day having one of his songs on the radio.

Adam likes to write songs that feature many instruments, vocal harmonies, and syncopated rhythms. He also has an interest in exploring the use of electronic and pop elements in his music. Currently, Adam is a one-man-band, recording vocals and acoustic guitar, and beefing up his mixes with soft synth instruments. Adam’s songs reflect a realistic side of human experience as opposed to an idealistic one, and his lyrics mostly address themes of love-gone-terribly-wrong.