MusicsWeek: When did you first realize you wanted to be a musician?
Zach Adams: My 7th birthday. My dad and godfather were in a band together called Hammerfist and happened to have a gig at a biker rally that day, so my mom and I tagged along for a family camping trip and I joined the band onstage to yell 'Not by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin!' when they played their version of Green Jelly's 'Three Little Pigs'.
MusicsWeek: What was the first song you ever wrote, and what inspired it?
Zach Adams: The first song I remember finishing was a pretty mediocre punk tune called 'Fish' which summarized the plot of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' by Douglas Adams. I was about 15 or 16 at the time.
MusicsWeek: Who are your biggest musical influences?
Zach Adams: Way too many to list entirely. I adore the Beatles and Sparks and can only hope to write something a fraction as good as either of them someday. Particularly for this first album, 'Dead Man Walking' (meant to accompany my horror/fantasy novel of the same name) I probably have more in common with my other favorites among the loud, riff-based rock and metal artists I grew up hearing - Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Faith No More, Floater, System of a Down, Metallica, the Smashing Pumpkins, Muse, Silversun Pickups, etc.
MusicsWeek: What’s the most challenging aspect of being a song artist?
Zach Adams: Oh man, so many aspects. Lack of motivation/creative dry spells, recording anything with minimal space and resources/no help whatsoever, and not preemptively self-editing every new idea into the trash bin all come to mind.
MusicsWeek: What non-musical influences (books, movies, art, etc.) inspire your work?
Zach Adams: Almost anything. My music is based primarily on my own ongoing book series the Ivyverse, which itself has numerous influences. I grew up reading things like Harry Potter, Eragon, Cirque Du Freak and as I got older my early love of comic books expanded (I'm a diehard fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even post-Endgame) and I got into series like the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the Dresden Files. I'm also a big fan of story-driven games such as Final Fantasy/Kingdom Hearts, Elder Scrolls, and Fallout. Their soundtracks have definitely had an impact on my writing as much as their stories. If I recall correctly, the riffs in the song 'Dead Man Walking' actually began with an attempt to learn the 1989 Batman theme on guitar.
MusicsWeek: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not making music?
Zach Adams: Reading, gaming, invading space, collecting dust, making up nonsense, tormenting anyone nearby with bad puns, generally just trying to be the glitch I'd like to see in the matrix.
MusicsWeek: What comes first for you: the music or the lyrics?
Zach Adams: Music, almost always. I usually compose demos on my computer using drum and keyboard VST's while writing guitar and bass parts on physical instruments and try throughout the process to find words that both fit the melody and the story they come from.
MusicsWeek: How do you know when a song is truly finished?
Zach Adams: This is a tough one. Each instrumental track I've written has gone through numerous variants before finally hitting a point I'm satisfied with. Once the vocals are recorded and my test listeners can't find anything seriously wrong with it (I'm one of those vocalists who can't stand hearing my own voice) then I feel like I can call that song done.
MusicsWeek: What was the most rewarding part of working on your latest project?
Zach Adams: Finally seeing something of mine be finished after years of failed projects and mental health struggles was a great feeling. This whole album, just like the book it's based on, is really just a couple of decades' worth of repressed feelings being purged. Even better has been seeing people react positively to my first single, despite its imperfections.
MusicsWeek: What impact do you hope your music has on your listeners?
Zach Adams: If even one person finds my work enjoyable at all, I feel like Paul McCartney. I don't even really care if the listener takes away the same meaning from the lyrics that I intended, I'm interested in those different perspectives.
.png)
COMMENTS
Leave a comment