Adam Townsend (Musician)

1. What drew you to the music industry?

Growing up in a musical family, I’ve been singing since I was a child, so music is in my blood. I began taking it seriously once I started playing guitar as a teenager. Especially when I began writing songs too. For me the idea of making music that would become apart of someone else's life and affecting them in a meaningful way sounded so amazing to me.

2. Who are you inspired by?

Inspiration truly hits me from all sorts of places, and I think I speak for a lot of songwriters when I say we draw inspiration from everywhere. I tend to write from my own experiences or strong feelings I’ve had. I’d love to get better at doing more story telling in my songs.

3. Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music?

Not really? Not sure to be honest. 

4. You've mentioned that life is better if music is somehow involved, how does the cadence of your words and melody contribute to this idea?

I think the mere fact that I create music contributes to this idea. I’m adding to someones own personal soundtrack and attaching meaning and emotion to specific experiences. The right song at the right moment can bring out feelings and emotions that would maybe otherwise go unnoticed. I think music helps us connect with ourselves and others in more powerful ways than words.

5. How do you find inspiration to create during the hardest of days?

Honestly I wish I could say I find inspiration on hard days but that’s not always the case. I think what I mentioned before, music can help bring out emotions and help you work through them. Sometimes for myself it can be almost a type of healing when I play music or write lyrics.

6. How has your music evolved since you first began playing music?

When I first began it was a lot of guitar centric playing and learning. Lots of classic rock and roll and distorted guitars. That evolved into learning how to write songs, create melodies, and craft lyrics. From that point I’ve learned a lot about production and arranging songs, coming up with parts for other instruments, and even playing other instruments myself.

7. Tell us about your upcoming album? What is the motivation/inspiration about it?

The album is called, “All My Fires” and it’s being released on June 7th. To bring the songs to life I went to Nashville and teamed up with the Grammy nominated producer Andrija Tokic, who is best known for his work with the Alabama Shakes, Langhorne Slim, and Benjamin Booker. He brought my sound to a whole new level and I’m really proud of the music. The songs are the culmination of ten years of writing and never letting go of a dream to pursue a music career after I could have easily given up considering the tragedies and struggles I've faced personally. It's in the singer-songwriter realm, but leans heavily on indie-rock, and a heavy dose of soul undertones. The music has drawn comparisons to more current artists like Lake Street Dive, Michael Kiwanuka, Eric Hutchinson and Leon Bridges. I like to think my sound has one foot in the past, and one in the present.

8. What is the biggest challenge you've encountered while working on this album and ultimately, what's the greatest beauty that came out of it?

The biggest challenge has been never letting go of this dream. There’s been a lot of roadblocks along the way. After college I moved to San Diego and I started a career in behavioural therapy working with autistic children. Soon after that I got married. That alone would be enough to prevent me from pursuing my musical career full time but a few weeks after our wedding my wife and I learned that her mother had come out of remission with stage IV breast cancer. As aggressive as it was, we decided to move in and spend as much time with her as she had left. We were lucky enough to have 5 beautiful more years with her.

In those 5 years our family blossomed as we welcomed a son, Jude. Life was a rollercoaster, and the timing just wasn’t right to pursue music more than just a hobby. I kept my dream alive by continuing to write new songs, and playing gigs around San Diego when I had the time. After loosing my mother-in-law, the next few years seemed like a blur. We moved our family back to my hometown in Tucson, and I slowly began to cultivate a space for myself in the Tucson music scene. I’ve spent the last 3 years working full time, writing, and gigging whenever and wherever I could.

The fact that I got through all of that and never let go of this dream is one of the most beautiful things about this album.

http://www.adamtownsendmusic.com/