10.8.11 Adam News & Info

*fainting with hunger*

I'm gonna go dig up some old stuff from the fridge, now.

Bye, guys!!

Thanks for posting the link to this article, mys*&@^#r. I've been catching up all night on yesterday's and today's threads. Whew! I don't mean to derail the discussion (I'm trying very hard, and it is hard, to withhold judgment until Monte's official statement), so feel free to scroll, but a comment in that article struck me. The interviewer asked about RCA's "impressive rock roster" and Tom Corson, RCA's new president and COO, responded: "We're lucky we have a bunch of superstars--Dave Grohl and Foos, Kings, Strokes and Ray LaMontagne--and through the Jive side, we have Three Days Grace and Cage the Elephant. We're heavily invested in rock."

One of these things is not like the other. I love his music, but I'm just wondering, in what universe is Ray LaMontagne considered rock? I mean, his CD God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise won a Grammy this year for Best Contemporary FOLK Album. I actually think his sound is a wonderful mixture of many different styles and genres. But do these executives even know their artists, their roster? Also, when Ray turned in his completed album (he was also the producer) last year, the suits at RCA didn't like it. The A&R guys (and Corson was one of them) asked him to return to the studio and record something else. They told him they didn't hear a single worth promoting. They told him to go back and give them a single. Ray refused. He believed in the material and thought it was some of the best work he'd ever done. He stood his ground and pretty much dared them to drop him. He told them to just pick a single and get behind it as much as they could. They selected "Beg Steal or Borrow." It earned a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.

All that to say, label A&R executives often make me very nervous! They didn't hear any potential in Ray's album. They get paid millions and sometimes don't seem to know what the hell they're doing.

The fact that so many different voices have said that Adam's album is "phenomenal" and there's so much positive buzz all around from people in the trenches who are actually working on it makes me breathe easier because I don't really trust RCA to know when it's good or when it's ready or what Adam's fans want or even what radio wants, for that matter. I hope Adam listens to Eber and goes with his gut and stands his own ground to whatever extent that he can. And I'm glad that Adam seems to have his own unofficial A&R team of trusted creative people around him. I trust Adam (some of his music recommendations notwithstanding : ) to know what suits him best musically and I was really heartened when he said in that interview with Heidi that he's listened to his new songs a million times to see if he still loves them or to see if he finds something he doesn't like. He's really lived with this music and has had time to make changes, reinterpret, and to explore all the possibilites of where he can go with it live and recorded. I'm excited!

I'm also very excited about the photoshoot, shaved head and all! Now they have some artwork to choose from for the single cover. I just have this feeling that we'll finally hear the single the week of October 31.

I can't wait to hear Adam's version of Uh Huh Her's "Dreamer." It's a beautiful song. If anyone in the Atlanta area is interested in going to their concert here in a couple of weeks, please let me know.

By the way, I heard a "Someone Like You" remix on the radio last night. I love the original, but I never needed nor expected to hear a dance version! Totally changed the emotional vibe of the song. I guess they'll remix anything these days.

Please, Terrance, bring on the birthday party pics!!

Ha! You'll bite?! That's funny. Steak fingers are steak fingers. Do you not live in cow country? Okay, seriously, steak in a cylinder shape rolled in a batter of flour, egg and milk, deep fried. Gravy is...well, gravy. You know flour in a little bit of grease (lard) heated up then add milk/water mixture. Okay, I am not a top chef or the next food network star, but I do know how to make steakfingers and gravy but to keep it on topic, not something I'd serve to Adam because it's not a bit healthy!!!!

Oh wow! Sounds completely decadent. I've always wanted to try this kind of gravy!