The music in your EP sounds like it’s coming from a very personal place. Is this a different style than you had with Musical Outfits? If so, how are the two styles different or similar?
My music has always come from a personal place. I guess now though I am more open. Maybe it’s because of age and experience. Maybe I just don't care anymore what people might say. But it’s definitely harder for me to write something from another point of view other than my own. Some people can do that; you know write a story about a fictional character. Me I'm like...I hurt, I'm sad, this sucks, I want to go home.
After you retreated from Musical Outfits and from Chicago, did you want to come back to making music in some form, prior to your decision to actually do so? Or were you trying to get away from that part of your life entirely, at least for a while?
Well I never really left music completely. I still wrote. And I even played a show or two in NYC. But the desire to be in a band and promote and put myself out there seemed so unrealistic and daunting. And really I just didn't want to. I had no desire at all to pursue it. I did it for so long in my other band and had just had it. The last thing I wanted to do was print up flyers and scour the city promoting a show. But deep down inside I always wanted to be making music.
What were some of the things in your life that made you come back to making music? How did those experiences (good and bad) shape your album?
When I moved back to Chicago I decided I wanted to record a song for no good reason. Just heard something in my head...the song "Everything" and I wanted to document it for myself really. And as I started this I requested the presence of some other musicians and that got me back into the whole mode of collaborating. It just snowballed from there. One song turned into a few then a show then another one. It was natural. Everyone was in a good mood! That was key.
On your EP, some of your former band mates help out on the tracks. Did that element bring you back to the Musical Outfits’ style at all, or were you going for a new sound?
I never really know what sound I'm looking for. I am shaped by so much music. Sometimes I come in and will say can we get that vocal to sound like a reverb from a 60's song or something like that. Or ask a beat to be like a favorite band. But I like things to happen organically. I wish I had a sound I was going for! Really for me its always song and melody first.
The promo materials I got, and a few websites I’ve seen, say that your “ready to give the rock'n’roll rollercoaster another shot.” Are there some lessons you’ve learned about the business, or about your personal/musical limits? Are there issues that you can spot now that will make you think twice before doing something or heading in a certain direction?
Well in my old band we played a lot of shows. I mean a lot. We had two different residencies for numerous years and we played the Midwest a bunch. And we lived like young guys. I would much rather take this time around much more relaxed. Also I am not so serious. I think that's how I'm most different. I'm still serious about music but just not as stressed or uptight. We were so determined to make it that we took a lot out on each other. Life is too short to argue with people about missing a drum fill or hitting a bad note. That's going to happen. We're humans. I've learned to let things roll.
Do you have another EP or an LP on your mind that you’d like to come out with in the near future? If so, will you continue on this singer/songwriter sonic path, or will you try for a different sound?
We are actually going in to the studio the weekend after Christmas to record two tracks. I think the songs are already very different from Puzzle Pieces. For starters they were written with my band in a room together at the same time. Also Jason Angelilli wrote the chorus on one of them and it is something totally different then what I would do. In addition we have been jamming with Jayson Kramer from California Wives. He plays keys and organ and has added a completely different element. It’s going to have a different sound without even trying.
Check out Adam Ashbach at
www.myspace.com/hisnameisadam
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