Catching up with "Up and Adam"

The alternative-rock trio, Up and Adam, recently performed a two-song set for the Noisy Cavern Music Sessions at Orange Wood Studios in Orange. We caught up with the guys to get a little insight into their background and future aspirations. Up and Adam have recently released “Lost for Words”, and you can definitely discern the group’s influences from their big drum sound and grungy guitar leads. Make no mistake that Up and Adam is looking to take the local scene by surprise.

NC: What are your names and what do you play?

Adam- Vocals, Guitar

Justin- Drums

Gordon- Bass

NC: How did the band meet?

Adam: I met Justin during the summer of 2019 over Facebook marketplace. He was looking to buy some drum gear that I was selling and I just remember this young shy kid showing up to my house. We started talking and realized we shared similar music interests and I showed him some demos that I made to see if it sparked Justin’s interests. Thankfully it did, and we got to jamming pretty soon after that. We realized that we had good chemistry together and throughout the course of the last few years and sticking together through a whole ongoing pandemic, we managed to make an album that we are insanely proud of.

NC: When did Gordon come in?

Adam: We met Gordon after we released the album through a musicians meeting app called “Vampr”. I knew his bass playing was incredible, he knew the ins-and-outs of music theory, and he seemed like an overall solid dude. Once the three of us met for the first time, we quickly learned that we easily locked in with each other and we’ve been practicing and picking each other’s musical brains ever since.

NC: Do you recall the moment you knew creating music was something you wanted to do and where does the influence came from?

Justin: I initially got my music taste from my dad and my oldest brother. Growing up my dad was a huge music guy and loved The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and The Doors. My brother on the other hand introduced me to bands like Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, Foo Fighters, and he was the first person to teach me how to play the drums

NC: How would you describe the music you create?

Up and Adam: Alternative Rock

NC: Is there an overall theme in your debut album “Lost for Words”?

Adam: I would describe the album as overcoming darkness to never feel alone, and that love and joy will always set you free.

NC: What is a fond memory of a show you have performed and what made it great?

Adam: We’ve only performed a couple times. The first time was at a little hole in the wall called Bridgetown DIY in La Puente CA where we played for a bunch of friends. It was super fun. We then got asked to play at Los Globos in the Hollywood area on the weekend everything shut down due to the pandemic. It is safe to say that the club wasn’t packed, but it was definitely extremely memorable.

NC: How did you get through the main days of the pandemic? Do you feel you grew artistically and creatively "if you were in isolation"?

Adam: The funny thing is that we had a version of our album written and ready to record before the pandemic started, and once everything shut down we ended up starting from scratch. The isolation helped us grow immensely. Most of the songs on the album came from writing during the pandemic and our most favorite songs were written during that time in isolation.

NC: What online platforms seem to be the best for marketing your group?

Justin: Instagram, Spotify, Vampr, and Youtube.

NC: Is there a musician you would or would have loved to collaborate with?

Adam: Rick James! He is a funk god. I would totally love to be his drummer and it would probably be a long night of partying and wild shenanigans.

Justin: Zac Farro of Paramore/ HalfNoise. The drumming he does for Paramore inspired me so much as a kid. He was actually the first drummer that I tried to study every song he played on. I also love his side project Half Noise and it was super inspiring to see one of my favorite drummers constantly reinvent himself and venture off into different genres while still absolutely killing it in his main band.

NC: Where do you see the band in the future?

Adam: We really just want to play our hearts out to as many people as possible, gain