Adam Caroll - Interview

Gregg: How has your new CD, “Far Away Blues” been received by your fans and the press?  Adam: I think my new cd  has been slow to get the kind of reception that the other ones have it’s somewhat different, on the other hand i’d  like to expand my audience, more nationally if possible so it’s a process for me. Gregg: From Margaret Moser of the Austin Chronicle: Adam Carroll’s facility with words peppered with dry humor suits him well. He composes neatly stitched tunes in the guitar-and-harmonica vein such that his craftsmanship is never called into question. She then goes on to say while Carroll’s songs are well-written, there’s a sameness here that leaves them less distinguished than they should be. Margaret goes on to say that this album lacks a radio friendly song.  What’s your take on your music not being “Radio Friendly” Adam:  I don’t know that I’ve ever had any aspirations to succeed in radio/ never paid too much attention to  radio growing up, I always just listened to my favorite  records/ Gregg:  I’d love to hear your thoughts on the music industry in general. What are some of positive/negative changes you’ve seen since releasing your first CD? Adam: It’s been great for me to have the chance to get to play with some great people and make friends/  I have seen quite a few people who start out being unknown  and then become very successful, very fast/ in the very short time that I’ve been playing my music, I’ve also gotten to know some people who  had  a loyal regional fan base, but have now gone on to become well known national touring artists/  I think the downside is that there are a lot of people  now who have really great records who are not getting any  attention because there is so much competition/ seems to me there needs to be more people in the music business who are willing to be mentors to up and coming artists  who they believe in and help them get attention it’s really hard to do it by yourself if you don’t have any help/ I think maybe now more than ever. Gregg:    What are some of the most memorable moments while touring the country with other talented musicians like Scrappy Jud Newcom, Beaver Nelson & Steve Poltz? Adam:  Singing Opera in the Van Gregg: You have worked many times with the legendary producer, Lloyd Maines, over the years. What is the CD recording process like when you two start working on an album? Adam: Lloyd just is able to make people feel very comfortable in the studio, just like you were in your own living room with your family and friends. He brings his enthusiasm into every new studio experience/ it’s a real honor to have gotten to work w/Lloyd Gregg: You were able to include your Grandfather on your latest album. How has your Grandfather affected your outlook on life and music? Adam:  He has been able to communicate his style of music/Jazz swing/bebop/bossanova,ect..       to me since I was young and he would share that music with me and my brother and sister and cousins/ that’s a legacy of his for sure Gregg: You co-wrote the song “Last Day of Grace’ with Ray Wylie Hubbard on your new CD. Can you give us a little background on how that came about? I’ve always imagined the co-writing process as a difficult task for both people to get on the same page? Do you just throw out an idea and split apart to work on the song? Is it as simple as sitting around a couch with the guitar and hashing a song out? Adam: I have a friend  Mark Jungers who wrote the song “Teardrops” with me- that’s on my last album/    we have been getting together a lot lately trying to write songs together as much as we can/ usually one of us has half of a song finished then we try to finish it together/ for me it’s really something I’m passionate about/ I think if you have that connection with somebody and you do it on a regular basis then you just get better at it/ even if you don’t always come up with a song/ It’s a great feeling  for me and I think writing with somebody else can really help you get a new perspective on songwriting/  Writing w/Ray Wylie felt the same way Gregg: What kinds of things can we expect from you in 2006? Any European tours planned? Adam: Working on it Thanks for taking the time out your schedule for our interview. Our community over at http://www.AmericanaRoots.com are true music fans who enjoy getting a perspective on the music.

Tags: Adam Caroll, Features