At the ripe age of 23, Adam Richman is an already an old man of rock. Growing up in suburban Allentown, Pennsylvania 12 year old Richman was a music prodigy, playing the guitar and the piano then recording himself with computers. All of the music on The Patience EP and the upcoming Patience and Science album was recorded in his parents basement. I got a chance to talk with Richman on the phone from his new apartment in Manhattan.
Check out the official website of Adam Richman
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hey Adam, what are you up to today?
Adam Richman: Im in my apartment in the East Village. Im still a transplant. I dont even belong in this city and I feel lucky to be here.
DRE: How do you like it so far?
AR: I feel like a parasite but I like it.
DRE: When did you move here?
AR: Basically when I got on the label. I always wanted to live here so I moved last July.
DRE: Did you know many people here?
AR: Yeah I knew people from music scene and I have a good number of transplanted friends. I kind of feel like I have the same life I always did surrounded by the same people but with more food to eat.
DRE: Have you found some good restaurants for yourself?
AR: Yeah my favorite restaurant has been Lil' Frankie's on First Avenue. Its such damn tasty Italian food.
DRE: I know of Frank's on Second Ave.
AR: Yeah thats good too but the menu at Lil' Frankie's is different, theyve got some pizza. Every time I go there its been phenomenal.
DRE: How has it been with the album coming out soon?
AR: I havent really thought about it much. The EP was sort of this underhanded thing we threw out into the world because my whole purpose has been the full length record. Its been sitting sort of on my shelf for a long time. I put out the full length myself last year but now its been a long build up to the commercial release.
DRE: How much have you been touring lately?
AR: I toured really heavily for about three years then I stopped when I came to New York. I set aside all my time to put together the best band that I could. We rehearsed like crazy to make a rock show. I spent all my time before playing at colleges and coffeehouses. It was me and an acoustic guitar but I really wanted to get out of that coffeehouse affiliation. Generally Ive been going into those places and they expected the quiet singer/songwriter thing and they got disappointed night after night.
I got a great response though. I perform angsty and loud because I cant sing quietly. So I decided to take the time before the record comes out to come to New York, find the right guys and build something that was going to be awesome.
DRE: Do you hate the people who frequent coffeehouses?
AR: I dont hate people.
DRE: After a few more months in the East Village you will grow to hate people in coffeehouses. You begin to wonder if those people have jobs.
AR: I dont spend much time in coffeehouses around here. But I think there is a lot of weirdness in the East Village which I definitely contribute to.
DRE: How did you find your band members?
AR: My drummer and I were in a band together in high school. I had moved back to Allentown Pennsylvania to do the record and I knew the next step was going to be finding a band. He was the first guy that came to mind. I always knew he would be the perfect rock drummer and he was a totally onboard. When I told him I was moving to New York I asked him to leave school and come with me. He was all for it and now hes my roommate.
Our guitar player is a friend of another band on the label and he does awesome music on his own. I sent him the music and we got to him at just the right time. He was living in Connecticut so he came down to audition. Then our bass player has been in New York for a while. Initially I gave him the music and he told me he liked it but he wasnt interested. But he said that if I was ever in a crunch I could give him a call. What happened was that we were rehearsing with our previous bass player for a long time when his favorite band called him to play with them. We were completely fucked so I called the other guy and he learned all of our songs in two days. It turned out that the chemistry was immediate. We had never played so tight before.
DRE: How did you hook up with Or Music?
AR: Initially they heard a demo I did on a project that I had ended up scrapping. Michael Kaplan at the label called me and said he wanted to hear more. At that time I had moved back home and I was making the record on my own. So I said I would send it to him when I was done with it. I wasnt too eager to get a record deal because at the top of my list was finishing the record. But I sent it and when they got it they flipped out immediately and offered me a deal but it still took about ten months to iron out the details. We spoke to a lot of other labels but I felt most comfortable with Or Music.
DRE: I read you wrote a lot of songs when you were really young. Have any of those songs stuck around?
AR: They didnt. I hope I can still find the tapes though. I was writing songs when I was 10. I would write songs then for my birthday every year I would rent a four track and add guitars and vocals. At that point it was a very Trent Reznor type of thing that was going on. I was in seventh grade but I was drawing from a lot of angst. When I listen to it, it gets me excited to hear how psyched I was about creating.
DRE: I went poking around your blog. Tell me about Bens basement you told us all about how you touched Lisas butt.
AR: [laughs] I have no idea what that kid is talking about. I think he was talking about someone else.
DRE: What do you know about SuicideGirls?
AR: I think the girls are really hot. I heard about it a while ago and its totally filling a void. I just love naked women so the piercings and tattoos are a bonus.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
Check out the official website of Adam Richman
Daniel Robert Epstein: Hey Adam, what are you up to today?
Adam Richman: Im in my apartment in the East Village. Im still a transplant. I dont even belong in this city and I feel lucky to be here.
DRE: How do you like it so far?
AR: I feel like a parasite but I like it.
DRE: When did you move here?
AR: Basically when I got on the label. I always wanted to live here so I moved last July.
DRE: Did you know many people here?
AR: Yeah I knew people from music scene and I have a good number of transplanted friends. I kind of feel like I have the same life I always did surrounded by the same people but with more food to eat.
DRE: Have you found some good restaurants for yourself?
AR: Yeah my favorite restaurant has been Lil' Frankie's on First Avenue. Its such damn tasty Italian food.
DRE: I know of Frank's on Second Ave.
AR: Yeah thats good too but the menu at Lil' Frankie's is different, theyve got some pizza. Every time I go there its been phenomenal.
DRE: How has it been with the album coming out soon?
AR: I havent really thought about it much. The EP was sort of this underhanded thing we threw out into the world because my whole purpose has been the full length record. Its been sitting sort of on my shelf for a long time. I put out the full length myself last year but now its been a long build up to the commercial release.
DRE: How much have you been touring lately?
AR: I toured really heavily for about three years then I stopped when I came to New York. I set aside all my time to put together the best band that I could. We rehearsed like crazy to make a rock show. I spent all my time before playing at colleges and coffeehouses. It was me and an acoustic guitar but I really wanted to get out of that coffeehouse affiliation. Generally Ive been going into those places and they expected the quiet singer/songwriter thing and they got disappointed night after night.
I got a great response though. I perform angsty and loud because I cant sing quietly. So I decided to take the time before the record comes out to come to New York, find the right guys and build something that was going to be awesome.
DRE: Do you hate the people who frequent coffeehouses?
AR: I dont hate people.
DRE: After a few more months in the East Village you will grow to hate people in coffeehouses. You begin to wonder if those people have jobs.
AR: I dont spend much time in coffeehouses around here. But I think there is a lot of weirdness in the East Village which I definitely contribute to.
DRE: How did you find your band members?
AR: My drummer and I were in a band together in high school. I had moved back to Allentown Pennsylvania to do the record and I knew the next step was going to be finding a band. He was the first guy that came to mind. I always knew he would be the perfect rock drummer and he was a totally onboard. When I told him I was moving to New York I asked him to leave school and come with me. He was all for it and now hes my roommate.
Our guitar player is a friend of another band on the label and he does awesome music on his own. I sent him the music and we got to him at just the right time. He was living in Connecticut so he came down to audition. Then our bass player has been in New York for a while. Initially I gave him the music and he told me he liked it but he wasnt interested. But he said that if I was ever in a crunch I could give him a call. What happened was that we were rehearsing with our previous bass player for a long time when his favorite band called him to play with them. We were completely fucked so I called the other guy and he learned all of our songs in two days. It turned out that the chemistry was immediate. We had never played so tight before.
DRE: How did you hook up with Or Music?
AR: Initially they heard a demo I did on a project that I had ended up scrapping. Michael Kaplan at the label called me and said he wanted to hear more. At that time I had moved back home and I was making the record on my own. So I said I would send it to him when I was done with it. I wasnt too eager to get a record deal because at the top of my list was finishing the record. But I sent it and when they got it they flipped out immediately and offered me a deal but it still took about ten months to iron out the details. We spoke to a lot of other labels but I felt most comfortable with Or Music.
DRE: I read you wrote a lot of songs when you were really young. Have any of those songs stuck around?
AR: They didnt. I hope I can still find the tapes though. I was writing songs when I was 10. I would write songs then for my birthday every year I would rent a four track and add guitars and vocals. At that point it was a very Trent Reznor type of thing that was going on. I was in seventh grade but I was drawing from a lot of angst. When I listen to it, it gets me excited to hear how psyched I was about creating.
DRE: I went poking around your blog. Tell me about Bens basement you told us all about how you touched Lisas butt.
AR: [laughs] I have no idea what that kid is talking about. I think he was talking about someone else.
DRE: What do you know about SuicideGirls?
AR: I think the girls are really hot. I heard about it a while ago and its totally filling a void. I just love naked women so the piercings and tattoos are a bonus.
by Daniel Robert Epstein
SG Username: AndersWolleck
missy:
At the ripe age of 23, Adam Richman is an already an old man of rock. Growing up in suburban Allentown, Pennsylvania 12 year old Richman was a music prodigy, playing the guitar and the piano then recording himself with computers. All of the music on The Patience EP and the upcoming Patience and Science...