A Song and A Friend Podcast

My sister Sarah is three years younger than me. We saw and experienced many of the same things growing up. In making this episode, it occurred to me this fact is an underused resource when reflecting on the past. Consider this, you have your memories, but your sibling, who was also there, is like another camera angle, if you will. In talking to them, you can learn so much more than you remember.  Sarah and I began our conversation around a 2002 demo of mine called “How Come?” and go on to reminisce a little about 1980s charity singles.

“More than a songwriter, I’m an artist, “declares Troy Yeager, lead singer of Bottle Rocket Blue, “I have a need to create in whatever I’m doing.” Troy and I unpack the influences and the crafting of “Baby One More Shot” a staple of the Bottle Rocket Blue shows. Troy and I wrote the song together in September of 2003, on the day Johnny Cash died. Towards the end of the interview you’ll hear rare, live clips from BRB shows in the ‘00s. Stream [Bottle Rocket Blue](https://open.spotify.com/artist/23RYqtavqg1rK2XAVivzRf?si=8jFmpBaNQy-Om4jGKo9--Ab). Check out Troy’s podcast https://theflipsidepodcast.weebly.com/ more on Tom https://www.tomadamsonmusic.com

When inspired by real life events, an artist has to place their work somewhere between two extremes: journalism on one end or poetic license on the other. When something difficult happened in my life, it reminded me of other real people deeper in my past. Writing about their difficulties felt cathartic. But the first draft of “God Only Knows” was too close to the truth, almost tabloid; “tell all” in a way. But with the help of friends, I decided to revise in the direction of poetic license - changing details and introducing fiction - for the final version. But when performing it, I can still feel the identification and catharsis. Our conversation with Mike continues as we unpack the song “God Only Knows,” by Tom Adamson and the Automatic Rhythm Section. https://www.tomadamsonmusic.com

Taking criticism, whether constructive or demeaning, and using it to motivate improvement is the mark of a real musician; one who retains self-worth every step of their career. You’ll hear drummer Michael Bruneau describe how he was confronted with a less than flattering review when our band was just beginning in 1998. Mike used that feedback to fuel a journey of honing his skills - and he has been reaping the dividend of his hard work ever since. Part 1 of 2; next Episode covers "God Only Knows." https://www.tomadamsonmusic.com

“I want to share things with people that bring them joy,” explains Sarah Ginolfi. In this episode, we feature Sarah’s hymn/pop song mash-up of a Christmas carol with Justin Beiber hit. Sarah’s access TV show “I Can Rutland (And You Can Too)” uses humor to open doors for discovering more about the Vermont city that Sarah is proud of and serves as a priest in the Episcopal parish. https://www.facebook.com/icanrutland/ Explore Tom's website https://www.tomadamsonmusic.com

Have you ever looked at something that used to belong to a friend and time stood still? Did the object evoke memories or even cause you to talk aloud to an absent friend? That kind of thing happened to Manny McGuffin, the stage name for Dan Hawthorne, and three different guitars that used to belong to friends of his. This episode features many of his works gathered both from mannymcguffin.bandcamp.com and newolddistillery.bandcamp.com Support Tom at linktr.ee/tomadamsonmusic

Our second short-form episode. I was fresh out of college, year 2000, 23 years old, I met Greg in the hall on my first day of teaching at Kankakee Valley Schools. I was holding a viola case, which caused him to strike up a conversation. Greg was, I remember him telling me, a huge music fan and music maker. While showing me to my classroom, he said “We should jam sometime,” as musicians do. Later that year, we did, and I was blown away! He played in circles around me and his writing was both informed by our rural, farm country region, while transcending it with great imaginative license. I learned so much from Greg about how to be a Dad/Teacher/Citizen/Hoosier/Songwriter/Rock Star- all rolled into one. Before anyone was impressed with how I pulled that off back in the day, Greg modeled it for me. For over 20 years now we have had a fruitful musical friendship and I can’t recommend his catalog enough. Check it out! The song in the bed of the 2nd half is Greg’s song “Say It Again.” https://gregjamesandthepeaches.bandcamp.com/album/greg-james-and-the-peaches Support Tom at linktr.ee/tomadamsonmusic

Great songs often emerge when a song writer has a set of confines to work within and push against. Erik Styles describes a time when he was in a small cabin in rural, southern Indiana, surrounded by friends, a few guitars, no cell phone service, and steady rain. This retreat produced “Indiana Skies,” a song which has followed him to the otherside of the world. Listeners can find the song at erikstyles.bandcamp.com/track/indiana-skies Erik’s song “Sand Creek” is played under the introduction. Other projects mentioned in the episode: The Odyssey Favor, Rick Dodd and the Dick Rodds, and The Cornersmiths can be found on Spotify. “Glor” is found on The New Old Distillery songwriters collective page newolddistillery.bandcamp.com Support Tom at linktr.ee/tomadamsonmusic

Our first short-form, special episode. Before Walmarts and Meijers and Best Buys, discount retail outlets were humbler in nature. In the 2nd half of the previous century, G.L. Perry was a “Michiana” chain of variety stores with a catchy radio jingle that played on South Bend and Mishawaka, Indiana, stations. The song “G.L. Perry” is the new single from Sanchez Agency. It is a “both/and.” It is both a recollection of a bygone era that delights fans of a certain age and it is also a catchy groove that ignites the imaginations of younger listeners who did not grow up in Northern Indiana in the 1980s. (This episode also features an early mix of “Looking For A Guy Named Jeff” by Sanchez Agency in the 2nd half.) Find the whole EP online now. [sanchezagency.bandcamp.com ] Support Tom at linktr.ee/tomadamsonmusic

Our bodies’ DNA has a double-helix shape. The weaving of two strands, plus the elements they share in common create life. Barton Price helped me write and arrange the song “For Christ Sake.” We talk about the way our life’s trajectories over the last 20 years have moved in a helix-like complimentary way - making it a joy to have Barton as a member of my musical “faculty.” Barton, along with John Drury, who played drums on the session, and Brannon Hancock, who played bass on the session and produced it - all three of these guys- teach at the university level. The perfect team for a heady song that weaves sacred and secular themes in a helix as well. Barton Price teaches popular/rock music history at Purdue Fort Wayne as well as having a PhD in American Religious history, making him the perfect conversation partner for the episode on this song. Stream or Download Today’s song: tomadamson.bandcamp.com/track/for-christs-sake Support Tom at linktr.ee/tomadamsonmusic

Is there a perfect time in one’s life to start a band? A perfect age? 17? 25? 30? 40? The Sanchez Agency’s motto “Never Too Late!” has many applications to life in general, but it also touches on the biography of frontman/ songwriter B. Jacob Sandock, who wrote songs for 20 years before connecting with veterans of the Indiana indie rock scene forming a formidable band unlike any other. sanchezagency.bandcamp.com Support Tom at linktr.ee/tomadamsonmusic

Let’s say you hadn’t had a real conversation with an old friend for 15 years. Then you and your friend agree on a time to talk, pick a topic: a song you crafted together; and press record. What you’ll hear today matches that very scenario. Shawn Stonesifer is an entrepreneur living with his wife and children in North Carolina. He has a YouTube channel dedicated to his Accordion covers called “Great Honk.” Support Tom at linktr.ee/tomadamsonmusic

The process of crafting lyrics will often help the songwriter discover details that might otherwise go unnoticed. Those details often become the most poignant to the listener - such as a child’s blanket forgotten in the backseat of a car finding its way into a song of resolve after a break up. Chris Crigger has long been a guitarist for live bands in Virginia and Tennessee. Recently, he began writing his own material. Click here for an exclusive video of him and Tom playing songs in his Tennessee home. Support Tom at linktr.ee/tomadamsonmusic

Being in a band with 12 guys involves a lot of listening - not only to the musical parts, but to the ideas and relationships with bandmates. Jake “Cazz” Miller and his friends in Kansas Bible Company passionately pursued a vision of organic collaboration and shared leadership. The results were often ecstatic such as in tracks like “Jesus & the Horse Thief.” Hear more great tracks from KBC at kbco.bandcamp.com. Support Tom at linktr.ee/tomadamsonmusic

The Song: This performance of “Streets” is from an unreleased set of demos for a re-recording of the “Lost in the Cosmos” album. The demo here was recorded in February of 2020. The onset of the covid-19 pandemic and social distancing of Spring 2020 put a halt to the album process. Life took a different tack for all of us. The jury is still out whether or not the re-imagined “Cosmos” album will be finished and released. The Friend: Hoosier poet, Dan Hawthorne, returns to the show, this time to offer his reflections with Tom on the song “Streets of Chicago.” (To learn more about Dan, see notes for Episode 1.)

The Song: “What Are You Afraid to Say To Me?” by Tom Adamson from the 2006 LP Haystack Needles. The Friend: Shannon and I became friends in the “MySpace Era” of indie-pop: the mid-00s. After seeing me perform with Bottle Rocket Blue a few times in Southern Ohio, we began a long time correspondence on the creative life. She is a lifetime resident of the Ohio River Valley/Cincinnati/Covington KY area and has no problem with you supporting Deeper Roots Coffee.

The Song: “Whistling Past the Graveyard”“ written by Tom Adamson from the 2012 Whistle Stop 7” by Tom Adamson and the Texarkana Two. The tune of this song came about when I was counseling summer camp for the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana. The students wanted me to write a theme song for the volley-ball like game of “Nuke ‘Em.” So it was born under a tree next to the sand volleyball pit at Camp Mack. I took the tune home, gave it more “sophisticated” words, the band loved it, and the rest is history. (The Texarkana Two: Steve Trathen bass guitar, Jason Monroe drums) The Friend: Dennis is a staff pastor at Bayside Family Church in Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada. But for a dozen plus years, he and his brother Jeremy co-founded the band Red Umbrella. For some of those years they were based in the U.S.; more specifically in Valparaiso, Indiana, where I lived at the same time. We became part of the same friend group and over time began to help each other in the recording studio. He and “J” engineered several sessions for me and Dennis really expanded my knowledge of guitar tech.

The Song: “Charlie’s Step-Father Was A Vicar” written by Tom Adamson 2011. In this episode you’ll hear two versions: the full length is from the 2011 Whistle Stop 7” by Tom Adamson and the Texarkana Two. The alternate version can be found on the Kyle’s House EP. (The Texarkana Two: Steve Trathen bass guitar, Jason Monroe drums) The Friend: I met Erik as a college freshman, but our friendship really blossomed in the summer of 1998. It is an honor to have Erik on the show as he is one of the pioneers of the podcast medium itself. He is a sought after speaker at media curation, leadership, and productivity events. But I remember his humble beginnings on terrestrial radio for the IWU campus station. In my senior year, I was a frequent guest on his night time show “A Case of the Mondays,” but that, as they say, is another story. You can find more about Erik at Beyond The To Do List.

The Song: “Scarecrow” written by Tom Adamson 2004. In this episode you’ll hear two versions: the full length is from the 2011 LP “Vanity Project” by Tom Adamson and the Texarkana Two. Clips also appear from the 2010 DIY Scarecrow Single with John Drury on drums. The ‘10 version is also the theme music for John’s Fresh Text podcast and a staple of my live sets. (The Texarkana Two: Steve Trathen bass guitar, Jason Monroe drums) written by Tom Adamson 2004. In this episode you’ll hear two versions: the full length is from the 2011 LP “Vanity Project” by Tom Adamson and the Texarkana Two. Clips also appear from the 2010 DIY Scarecrow Single with John Drury on drums. The ‘10 version is also the theme music for John’s Fresh Text podcast and a staple of my live sets. (The Texarkana Two: Steve Trathen bass guitar, Jason Monroe drums) The Friend: John became a friend in the summer of 1998 when the student apartment I roomed in held John and friends of this show Erik Fisher and Todd Bushong. The four of us spent that summer landscaping by day and bonding over faith, culture, music, and coming of age by night. None of us are landscapers anymore, but we continue our friendships along the same lines to this day. John joined the roster of my musical collaborators in 2010 behind a drum kit - and a decade later, he is still helping me record new tracks, including the 2021 Kem Road 7”. John is the host of his own podcast Fresh Text, a weekly in depth conversation on seasonal Bible passages.

The Song: “Molten Wax” written by Tom Adamon 1999, performed by M.COTU from the LP Anthems for Wednesday 2000. (Currently out of print) Also heard in this episode are strains of the song “The Wind” off the same album. (M.COTU was Daniel Lambert on bass, Mike Bruneau on drums, and Shawn Stonesifer on Keys) The Friend: Heather began an interest in my music when we became friends as college freshmen. She was an integral member of the entourage of my first band, M.COTU, which I co-founded with Daniel Lambert in the fall of 1996. Her husband of 15+ years, Jason, was a mutual friend of mine and the band’s. I am proud to say I was the best man in their wedding (Mike Bruneau’s Dad “Pastor Bill” was the officiant.) She currently works as a Grant Officer for IWU in Marion, IN, where she lives with Jason and their children.