Adam Ezra Group

wow.

i had no idea what i was getting into when i started this thing.

if you have read this far, i am amazed.

if you simply decided to skip to the end, i don't blame you.

but whether you are a first time visitor stumbling upon this blog, you are a casual fan checking in to see what's up, or you are a hardcore, full fledged member of our aeg family, i want to thank you.

thank you for making 2010 so special for us.

thanks in advance for the adventures we'll get into together in 2011.

this is your band too.

stay in touch.

shape us.

you can rally us to your town...inspire new bogs and videos from us...make requests...send in artwork!

music for us, is a two way street.

yes, the stuff we do is meant for you to enjoy, but the energy you give in return fuels and inspires what we do.

(the rock n' roll god of karma and reciprocity shakes his bearded, pierced head in approval)

finally, i thought i would end this ridiculously long blog by sharing my own new year's resolution.

it came out of a little show we did in ludlow, vt a few nights ago during "burn brightly"

i love the feeling of the beginning of the new year.

so many possibilities.

so much potential.

it's arbitrary, you know...

...the fact that we feel this way on new years day, and not on november 17th.

my goal for 2011 is to face each morning like it is new years day. to shake off the bad, file away the good, breath deep, and start again looking out at all the potential in the year to come.

it's going to be a good year.

everyday.

i know it says in no particular order, but i've been saving the best for last.

this one is all about the boys...

i had a vision when i started this project years back.

there were two types of music that most inspired me: singer songwriting, and live rock bands.

i wanted both.

was already doing the acoustic songwriter thing.

loved it.

but wanted something more.

i wanted a band that was more than just a nameless group backing me up.

it had to be a collaborative effort in the true sense of the word, both when it came to performing on stage and arranging and creating our sound.

not the easiest path to walk.

inviting people in to collaborate on the stuff that is most sacred to me was a hard thing to do. (still is)

luckily,

over the years,

i have found an incredible team to make music with.

turtle, josh, and rob are not only incredible musicians, but they are incredible partners as well...always sharing the burdens as well as the glory of the road.

as many of you know, turtle's been with me the longest. we started playing as an acoustic duo about 10 years ago.

he is my partner on the stage, giving off an energy and vibe that is simply put, outrageously contagious to anyone that happens to be within eye/ear shot.

he also happens to be a bad ass player too, by the way.

"you know you carry this band," a fan came up to him and said just the other night.

not the first time we've heard this.

i love that.

i'll be your wing man anytime, turtle.

josh came on board about 5 or so years ago. he's my second cousin! (i think...maybe first cousin once removed...whatever)

when he started playing with us years ago, the band was in a VERY different place.

he, more so than any other member of the group, has really shaped our sound, both on stage and in the studio.

he's easy to overlook sometimes from the crowd.

not his style to bounce around and sweat all over everyone...

but when he solos there are moments, more and more often these days, that inspire all of us.

even when he's not soloing, his thoughtful keyboard lines subtly make the songs what they are.

...and to all of our surprise this year, his video editing skills on the vlogs have been hilarious and amazing. often times i'll send him some footage i took and say something like, "this kinda sucks, but there are some good opportunities for heckling in there." he always hits the mark...

this was a big year for rob and aeg.

first and foremost he somehow acquired an infamous and formidable new nickname. (we have footage)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXMTPtIwG-o

aside from that i think our producers in LA said it best, after he laid down his bass tracks one day. "this guy is a totally new player since the last recording we did with you a year ago"

it's true.

more than any of us, rob is constantly working on his game.

we scooped him up right outa berklee.

he was not a rock bassist.

he was also not very cool.

kidding aside, rob holds me up in every sense of the word...always supporting what i'm doing with his bass playing...always ready to catch any curve ball i throw his way on stage...working his ass of on and off the stage...helping us all keep the train on the tracks.

and look what we did to him, btw:

i am so lucky to have the guys at my side...

as musicians...

as partners....

and as brothers.

yes we all drive each other crazy at times...but who wouldn't after essentially living in a n over-packed van together, right?

i can't wait to see what kind of trouble we can get into in 2011!

lastly, if you've been to a show in the last couple years, you have no doubt seen chappy playin drums with us.

he is bad ass.

we love him.

being a rock n' roller was never his dream, and sadly, there is a good chance that sometime within 2011 he and aeg may part ways.

he's got other things he wants to do in life, and being a part of aeg is a ridiculously fulltime commitment. one's heart has to be completely filled by what we do, because it's simply too hard a lifestyle to maintain otherwise...

he will be incredibly missed.

he will always be a friend.

hopefully, down the road we will have more chances to play together.

it's been a good run.

it's been an honor.

and for those of you out there with the stamina to read this far into the blog, make sure to enjoy the shit out of chappy over the next 6 months or so. soak up the moments with our afro-headed friend. we sure as hell will be...

10 worst moments of 2010, (also not in any particular order), continued...

10. turtle's broken digits -

as we near the end of our 2010 highlights and lowlights, and as i am thinking about all that the group has been through this year, i think it's important to touch upon some of the adversity we've overcome.

none best illustrates how die hard the boys are than turtle's fall the other night.

it was october.

we had just finished up a showcase in nyc and we were loading gear off the stage.

almost finished.

just a few odds and ends left.

turtle hopped up on stage to grab is beer and last bit of gear.

as he came off the stage he hit a wet patch.

the gear went flying.

turtle went flying.

and in a feat, the likes of which i have never seen, he not only went into a sweet commando roll, but also somehow managed not to spill one drop of his beer.

when the dust settled, turtle was on one side of the room, his gear was on the other, and neatly waiting for him in the middle of the dance floor was his full, undisturbed beer.

now i never pegged turtle for an athlete, but that was some espn highlights reel kinda shit.

it did however come at a cost. turtle broke is finger.

fractured it in 5 places.

not good for a hand percussionist.

guess what.

he was back on the road with us, bangin away, two days later.

the funny thing is, it didn't surprise any of us.

that's just what we do.

in 2010 all of us have played through sickness, extreme exhaustion, family tragedy, injuries...

no one complains.

no one feels sorry for themselves.

it's just what we do.

i can't think of a better bunch of guys to have my back...

who knew a bunch of sissy artists could be so tough?!!

tomorrow we'll send out the last of this epic blog series, so tune in for the nail-biting conclusion!!

there is magic in festivals.  i can't tell you how glad i am that more and more of them are popping up all the time.

i mean what's better than a live concert except perhaps a shit ton of live concerts all stacked together in one place!?

what's better than going to a concert outside, except perhaps going to a concert outside and then wandering back to your tent 200 yards away, ready to wake up the next morning and start it all over again!?

what's better than doing your favorite thing in the world, except perhaps doing it with one to ten thousand random, crazy strangers, who by the end of the festival have somehow all become connected to you through this thing that you've all experienced together!?

since the reckless, rowdy, meandering days of my youth, i have loved festivals, and it brings me incredible joy to have had the chance to play so many in 2010!

now some of these appearances were not as glamorous as you might expect.  at nateva, for instance, we played on one of the side stages to a small yet enthusiastic crowd.  but even though we didn't get a chance to play for 2,000 dancing festival goers that weekend, you can bet your sweet bippy we took a couple days off of tour to hang out and soak in the experience.

here are some of the bands that appeared with us at fests this summer:

further with phil lesh and bob weir, the flaming lips, parliment funkadelic, blues traveler,  moe., derek trucks,  max creek, ryan montbleau, bela fleck, the felice brothers (my personal favorite of the summer), jakob dylan and a gagillion others...

so cool.

can't wait for next summer!

10 worst moments of 2010, (also not in any particular order), continued...

9. my first attempt at crowd surfing -

they dropped me.

twice.

not sure what possessed me to try it in the first place.

maybe it was the sold out mercury lounge crowd in nyc.

maybe i had consumed one too many redbulls before the show.

regardless...it didn't go well.

i have vowed though, by the rock n' roll god of absurdity and excess that my dream of stage diving will one day be fulfilled!

but this 2010  "worst" is only partially dedicated to my unsuccessful bout with gravity.  it really goes out to all of the ridiculous antics we've attempted on stage over the past year.

some of them worked out incredibly.

some of them crashed and burned.

some of them crashed and burned in amazing ways that still make me laugh to think about.

from singing lady gaga at the ramble...to wearing matching mystical animal t-shirts at the stone church in nh...to taking shots between songs during my birthday in cincinatti where i clearly began to slur my words by the end of the show...to improvisational jams that came completely off the tracks...to sitting in with bands playing washboard and other ridiculous implements of noise creation...to writing my own version of "silent night" entitled "the sad lonely jew" at the new hampshire rockoustigrass winter solstice soiree and holiday festivus...to turtle using my guitar as a drum...to josh yoyo'ing on stage...to post show unplugged song circles that lasted all night.

great memories.

all of them.

yes, even when they dropped me.

twice.

“adam gets dropped” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvxERCb1XmI

“sad, lonely jew” : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YflC1l7CSH4

i have this fear that at some point the well is going to dry up and i'm going to cease to be able to write songs.  it seems to happen to a lot of artists.

it may happen to me.

my songwriting days may be numbered.

i hope not.

christ, i hope not.

i can tell you this though: 2010 has been one of my favorite years as far as songwriting goes.

we've been so busy that i've had to adjust the way that i write a little bit.  this has been a challenge to wrap my brain around...

when i was less busy, i would go through the day with songs in my head, always the guitar at the ready, constantly digging out ideas.

nowadays, it feels like every spare minute is consumed by playing shows, recording in the studio, and working on things for the non-profit (see chapter 5).  it is hard to find the quiet space that i need to reflect and process when writing a song.

i am starting to learn to take legitimate days off every once in a while, when i can physically remove myself from everything and everyone and dive fully into writing.

the iphone is also a total game changer.

(too bad it doesn't actually take calls very well)

i've got a hundred typed memos with song ideas, lyrics, and thoughts that i can later process.  i've got a hundred audio memos where i am either humming into the phone or playing a quick idea.

it has allowed me to value the creative ideas as they come, but not be a slave to them when i've got other things goin on.

i've also been co-writing a bunch, which i also love!

the label (see chapter 3) has flown me to LA and FLA to do songwriting sessions with great writers, chris seefried and john d'angelo.   i have also been going on some writing excursions of my own, writing with good friends ellis paul, adam elk, mike marotto, and john colvert.

co-writing is a crazy process because you really have no idea how things are going to come out.  the one thing you do know, is that no matter what happens, it's NOT going to unfold as you expect.  i love that!

as an artist everyone develops patterns.  i think co-writing is an amazing way to break out of various creative ruts you may not even be aware that you're in.

here's the problem.

it's a serious problem.

i gotta lotta new songs.

yes, some of them have been recorded in the studio (again, see chapter 3), but we are backlogged with albums that have been recorded and still need to be released.

how am i going to get these new songs out to you soon!??!

the thought of waiting years for these songs to see the light of day makes me sad.

yes, we can play them out, but the band is backlogged too as far as learning songs we want to start playing at shows.

we used to do something called "song of the month".  maybe it's time to bring that back.  we would post a song for free downloading each month and i would write a little blog about it...

i'd tell some of the back-story, or talk about the songwriting process.    we would mix in new songs with older, recorded songs, also giving people some insight into songs they may already know...

yup, i like it!

let's do it...

give us a month or so to set it up.

wahoo!

10 worst moments of 2010, (also not in any particular order), continued...

8.   the basement -

yes, perhaps contrary to popular believe, the basement definitely goes under the worst category.

it's pretty crappy down there.

luckily, these days i'm pretty much never home.

honestly, all of us in the group are struggling to make ends meet these days.

it's a trade off.

we get to do what we absolutely love, but it's a hard path we've chosen to walk.

fear not though!

for the rock n' roll god of impoverished disheveledry is smiling down upon us, inspiring us as we walk the path and lightening our footsteps as we go...

here's to 2011!

...to fighting the fight and continuing to enjoy the ride.

...we are glad that you are sharing it with us.

so here is some stuff that you may not have know about from 2010.

sherrilyn kenyon, best selling author, used our song "kill like this" to advertise one of her new books called "infinity"!

check out the vid on her site:

http://www.sherrilynkenyon.com/

i also have been doing some writing for tv stuff.

here's a clip from the "lil' wayne - behind the music" that aired on VH1. basically, whenever you hear somber music in the background that's not rap, it's lil' ole' me, along with the help of friend and producer, tim leitner:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mSehCGZrEI

notre dame did a bunch of commercials that they asked me to score for NBC. for these, i worked with another friend and producer, adam elk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PHxqyFcw0Y&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzzC2k_jZEw

it's such a cool thing to produce music for someone else!

it's like a musical jigsaw puzzle or something, the game being, "how do you create music that will help bring out the emotions of what they are trying to communicate to their audience."

totally fun!

so at this point, i should admit that i have done a bit of commercial stuff in the past as well. adam elk (mentioned above), does a ton of commercials and every once in a while he calls me in to sing on one. i don't mention it much because...well...see for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR6hOmZ5Je8

10 worst moments of 2010, (also not in any particular order), continued...

7. running out of gas (multiple times) -

i don't know why i lose my keys and my phone at least twice a day. i can't explain how i can remember my friends' phone numbers from 7th grade, yet not remember to take my guitar home from a gig.

it could be a scorching case of attention deficit disorder.

it could be that the massive amounts of ramen noodles i've consumed over the years have slowly eaten away at my brain cells.

maybe it's the rock n' roll god of inscrutable perplexation flipping me the occasional bird.

anything's possible, i guess.

regardless, the long and short of it all brings us to an inevitable and logical conclusion: i'm a mess.

in 2010 i ran out of gas.

a lot.

as i believe that there is no better way to deal with one's deficiencies than to serve them up for public consumption, i decided to do some vlogging while in the throws of petroleum deprivation...

enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4FwtpccqR0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6zL5wzuDQI

i've always loved live music...(shocker)

one of the coolest things about becoming more successful as a musician, for me, has been the opportunity to go out on the road with some of the best musicians out there.  i mean...what's better than that?!

i need to start this section by giving a shout out to our friends in rusted root who took us out on 11 shows in 2010!   thousands of fans...many ridiculous impromptu, live, inter-band jam sessions on-stage...parties...buses...fried chicken...music sharing...sword swallowing...fire juggling...and many other acts of tom foolery, ballyhoo, and reckless debauchery.

thanks Rusted Root, for many good memories from one of our first serious national tours. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH8MVrx1xRs

in case you missed it, here are some interviews we did with some of the members:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5qaIp_7xCE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No_srcSMjAM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNWhMnXo_Po

but that's only the tip of the 2010 iceberg!

we did runs with big head todd, assembly of dust, tea leaf green, enter the haggis, and i got to play a ton of solo/acoustic shows with ellis paul as well!

also we did some pretty amazing one-offs as well, (this is fancy music biz talk for "we just played one show..."), with robert randolph and the family band, john hiatt, little feat, perpetual groove, corey smith, and a bunch of others...

(this doesn't even include the fests, which i will get to in a later chapter!)

again, at this point i must sound like a broken record, (plus i started drinking whiskey about an hour ago while typing, which i'm sure isn't helping), but as i write these memories out for you, i can't help but be overwhelmed by how lucky i am to be living the life i am living right now.

hardships aside, i know the entire group feels the same way.

if there is one thing i hope you take away from this ridiculously long new years blog, it's that YOU...yes literally YOU...are the reason all of these good things are happening to us.

it's overwhelming to think about, and i wish that i could do more than write THANK YOU in bold type a million times.  

i guess we also made a pretty sweet vlog as well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsWurI0Z3uY

i mean, if that doesn't say "i love you" than what does?

10 worst moments of 2010, (also not in any particular order), continued...

6.  near death experience on a colorado mountainside -

it's true.  turtle and i almost bought the farm.  (and not in a good way)

it was probably a combination of  driving on a ridiculously treacherous road during a ridiculously treacherous storm, while also not being in complete control of our bodily functions after having played with robert randolph and the family band, who blew our minds, and are, without a doubt, one of the nastiest bands we've even seen live...

for those who missed it, we caught our near demise on film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6wxgqjnIDI

but really, this worst of 2010 is less about that, and more an ode to every nasty storm we were stuck in...every time we had to dig the van out of a snow bank...every time we had to lift hundreds of pounds of equipment up flights of stairs...every time we had to fight to stay awake during a long driving stretch while incredibly sleep deprived...

yes, ALL of those things happened to us many times over the last year and thankfully we are still here to tell the tale!

i finish off chapter 6 by raising my glass of whiskey to the sky and shouting "here's to you, oh rock n' roll god of early and unnecessary death!  may your chic leather cloak and sickle haunt us not in 2011, as i am sure we have many great and perilous adventures awaiting us on the near horizon!"

ok, so in this chapter i thought i'd start with the bad and work my way towards the good.

it starts real low, but ends real high. in fact, for me, this chapter illustrates, both the absolute worst and absolute best of 2010, and if you ever wanted to know why it is that i write and play music, you can find the answer in the following:

it's a scary time.

it's been a scary year.

we see it every night, out on the road.

...folks outa work., or working harder than they've ever had to just to keep their heads above water.

...the feeling that our government is gridlocked between parties who, in their quest for dominance, seem to have lost sight of some major big picture stuff.

...the feeling that the US is slowly losing it's grasp on global power, yet still exerting itself with unconvincing gusto.

...the feeling that a piece of each of us is missing as so many of our friends and family are serving our country far away from home.

these feelings exist within almost everyone we meet these days, whether we are in mobile, alabama, aspen, colorado, portland, maine, or los angeles, california.

it's these feelings, common to all of us, that i find so comforting and even inspiring at times. despite the things that make me frustrated and angry as an american, it's this shared thread amongst all of us that somehow always manages to make me feel lucky and proud.

because there is a positive side to this that we see everyday too.

in the midst of everything, there are still so many people able to muster up the courage to make a difference.

we have played a ton of events in 2010, organized by average folks wanting to affect positive change.

some events have been tiny.

some events have been big.

some of them have raised money.

some of them have raised awareness.

all of them have made us feel honored to be playing a role, and rekindled my faith that music is the most powerful tool there is for bringing together community in times of hardship.

of all the exciting things we've done in 2010, our activism continues to be the thing that i am the most proud of.

we are not bono.

we don't have millions of people we can affect by holding a press conference or throwing a concert that raises tons of money.

but we roll up our sleeves, none the less, for the things that we care about and the people who inspire us.

one small event at a time.

it's amazing how much those small things can fill you up.

and even though our steps are small these days, they are inspired steps.

i hope we never lose that.

this year we have supported many causes, from aids awareness, to cancer research, to the prevention of human trafficking, to disaster relief, to fighting for global human rights...the list goes on...

i've been trying to keep my profanity to a minimum during these blogs, but i feel like it needs saying: it's been fucking amazing.

my favorite (and smallest) shows have been my visits to "the pine street inn" homeless shelter here in boston. on sunday mornings, when not on the road, i head over there with my guitar and play for the folks during the midday meal. it's kinda like church for me...sitting in the corner of the dining area...taking requests...butchering ray charles and getting giggles from a handful of ladies who don't have much cause for giggling most of the time. some of our fans and friends have been coming down with me to serve food while i play...so good to have them on board. in 2011, i promise we'll do a better job of letting you know when i'm rolling down there. would love to have you on board!

and on a bigger note, 2011 will mark the launching of a non profit organization i have started. i promise you'll hear more about this as the year rumbles on, but in essence, it will consist of a team of people who will be devoted to helping YOU put together your own event.

what do you care about?

what do you want to change?

pick a cause that moves you.

rally your friends together.

our organization will help connect you with the non-profit you care about and help you bring in live music...for free!!

as our board organizes sponsors, the website, etc., aeg will be testing the model this spring by reaching out to our student fans.

effective immediately.

if you go to a high school or college, you want to put together a live concert event, and you've got a cause that you care about, write in to us from facebook or the website. our team will select one campus a month. we'll help you organize your event and play a free concert for you and your peeps!!

if you're ready to step it up and make a difference, so are we.

game on.

lastly, if you find yourself hurting financially these days...perhaps aeg is playing in your neighborhood and you really don't feel like swinging the ticket price...drop us a line...we'll be happy to pay for your ticket. 2011 is going to be a big year for us, and we want you to be a part of it.

it used to be that the only way a band ever got noticed was by getting on the radio.

while this is actually no longer the case thanks to our friend the inter-web, it is a BIG deal to be getting spins on the air, and we are incredibly psyched that in 2010 we began to get our first glimpse of national radio attention!

first and foremost we want to thanks WERS here in boston for first getting the ball rolling. they are truly one of the best indie stations on the planet and since the re-release of "view from the root" in january, have been playing us faithfully. we've also done a bunch of live sessions in studio there, which have been super fun as well...

if you go to http://www.wers.org and search for us, you can check out a bunch of performances, interviews, and articles.

two other new england stations who have been good to us are the river 92.5 in boston/nh and wheb 100.3 in nh. both great stations with great people. over the course of 2010 they have both had us play at a number of their events. 92.5 has been spinning us on their "homegrown" show and wheb has had me hang, live in the studio a few times.

but in addition, and this is where things begin to get really interesting, there are a ton of web stations who have begun to take an interest in us as well! you can listen to these stations from anywhere, and more importantly they all take requests!

this next part is very important so don't be alarmed by my caps:

EVERY STATION THAT HAS OUR MUSIC WILL MOST LIKELY PLAY US IF YOU CALL OR WRITE IN A REQUEST!!

IF YOU ARE READING THIS RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN PERSONALLY GET OUR MUSIC OUT TO THE WORLD!!!!

(stay tuned for a complete list of radio stations that have our music! there are hundreds!) and in the mentime, send your favorite stations an email and request our music!

here are a few to get you started:

WERS 88.9 : http://www.wers.org

92.5 The River : http://www.wxrv.com

100.3 WHEB : http://www.wheb.com

we'd also like to recommend checking out our station on pandora. just type in "adam ezra group" and press play! we love it, and by rating the songs you like or dislike as they come up, you can affect the nature of the "adam ezra group" channel!!

10 worst moments of 2010, (also not in any particular order), continued...

4. dead van/dead cars -

tour miles are hard miles.

we've had a rough time keeping vehicles on the road in 2010.

the worst was our van breaking down in september. we were about two weeks away from a stretch that was going to have us on the road for about a month and a half, and we suddenly had no transportation.

luckily, rob, turtle, and josh huddled up, brainstormed, schemed, and finally figured out how to get a new (used) van for the group's touring. they did everything but sell their actual bodies, (a strategy i suggested more than once), and although for a while it turned our fledgling little business into a debt ridden boondoggle of immeasurable sorrow, we muscled through, and i am happy to report that as of 2011, we are back on our feet and saving our pennies for a new trailer to go with our spiffy new (used) van!

i truth, the old van didn't have AC, and during the summer months, due to it's pleather interior, (and for graphic reasons i am hereby unwilling to go into), it was lovingly referred to as "the swamp".

oh, clunky and benevolent swamp - you will be missed.

(but not that much)

in addition, turtle, (commuting up from RI to link in with us), has gone through a couple vehicles this year. at one point, he would drive to rehearsals, but as soon as he hit traffic he'd have to turn around and go home because his coolant system had blown, and sitting in traffic would overheat the car.

josh's sweet minivan went on the outs and has now been replaced by another sweet minivan. (he's clearly the hipster of the group)

and yes, i too was not without my own auto-immune-deficiency woes. (sorry...terrible joke).

but it leads me to a story that is sure to warm your cockles and spoon your soul.

my car died. was dying really. as you may or may not know, a four cylinder engine huffing away on 3 cylinders is not long for this world. i showed up late to a show one night, and due to my babbling modus operandi on stage, ended up talking about it, or singing about it during the set. after the show, some of our amazing, incredible fans came up to me and said that they had an old pontiac they were gonna get rid of and offered it to me, right then and there!

so keep a look out on the road in 2011. if you happen to be passing a sporty, sky-blue, '97 grand am doing about 40 on the highway, chances are that's me!

aeg 2011 - we roll in style...

the music industry is changing dramatically these days. as radio and cd sales continue to plummet, labels are taking on fewer and fewer artists, and the artists they do pick up are often already making millions. one hears stories about the good ole' days when labels would invest in artists, early in their careers, by connecting them with amazing producers and investing in big albums.

well, to our surprise and excitement, this seems to be happening to us right now...wahoo!

the story starts off strange, but like most success stories in the music industry, a little strangeness is often just the thing to tip the scales in your favor.

we were contacted a while back by a guy named roie avin, who runs a website called http://www.picktheband.com, and a start up indie label called "royal avenue music". they were doing an on-line contest with boston bands. he had heard of us and said they'd love to have us on board. we were skeptical, but said to ourselves, "what the hell," and signed up.

fans wrote into the site from all over the country voting for our band and we ended up winning! so what, you ask? exactly our thoughts. we really had no idea.

turns out the prize for winning the contest was a free recording session with the goal of putting together 1 song. cool concept, but this could have meant anything... we were still very skeptical to say the least... i mean, we could have found ourselves in some shady basement, recording through crappy equipment, and truly wasting a whole lot of our time.

man, were we wrong!

roie calls us up a few weeks later and tells us two things, both of which were ridiculously cool:

1. he had hired aaron johnson, multi-platinum producer of all "the fray" albums, to do our project.

2. he now wanted to record 3 songs with an option to put together a full album.

ridic.

it was the kind of news that makes one furrow the brow look at the person standing nearby and say stuff like..."um....really?" or perhaps "would you mind quickly hitting me in the head with this mallet?"

long story short...(i know...too late)

we did the three songs.

loved them!

roie decided he wanted to do a full length album.

yes!

released the first three tracks while recording the rest of the album out in LA.

entitled the three song EP, "part one".

crazier still - on this next batch of recordings that we also LOVED, roie hired a guy named tim palmer to mix the tracks. tim, for those of you unfamiliar with the mixing engineer scene, is, simply put, the shit. he's mixed albums for pearl jam, U2, ozzy, goo goo dolls, mraz, and many, many more.

wow.

hopefully this album will be released sometime in 2011. we can't wait! we love it! keep your eyes peeled for announcements of the impending release!

on a different, and completely unrelated, yet still very exciting note, we have also been recording an acoustic album which we also LOVE! we hired producer, tim leitner, to work with us and we are thrilled with how it's coming out.

when will we release it?

we don't know!!

hopefully soon!!

i'm dying to have you hear all this stuff!!!

write in! demand results!! let the label know!

bug our management!

write in to the websites!!

accept no dillydally or tom foolery from us!!

the squeaky wheel DOES get the grease!

10 worst moments of 2010, (also not in any particular order), continued...

3. no video -

we have no music video. it is a thorn in our side. we want one. bad.

why?

not really sure.

it's what bands do, right?

they have music videos...

we want one.

we've wanted one for a while.

guess what?

no video.

the god of visual rock and roll representation hath raised his tattooed, lecherous fist and forsaken us.

wft, man?

where's our scantily clad, big haired, well endowed, glitter painted, sudsy girls washing our pretend mustang and making out with us during the choruses between panoramic shots of massive crowds in front of a giant stage with us sweating and rocking and me in front, doing a high kick in spandexy leather pants, landing gracefully and then sticking my giant tongue out of my open mouth and wiggling it just so, as if to imply, "yeah, i'm good at licking things".

well, we're not gonna sit around and take it anymore!

yup that's right.

in 2011 you can expect a full fledged, hardcore, bad-ass music video!

OK, it probably won't have sudsy girls.

or the mustang.

or the stage and spandex.

and honestly...my tongue really isn't that impressive, so probably no tongue scene either...

but it will have spunk, flare, and perhaps even a touch of gumption as well.

it will be for the song "miss hallelujah"

hazah!

on another note...there are many other things that have been lacking in 2010...

we're sick of our posters. need a change.

the "i love you box" needs a complete overhaul.

banners....we have no banners. what kind of self respecting band has no banners?

in short, chapter 3's 2010 low point is going to end with a call to arms.

yes people.

this means you.

got artistic ability?

send us some ideas!

we're an indie project! simple working class folk who need your help!

make a vid yourself and post it!

hell, it can't be worse than the crappy vlogs we put together!

(click here for an example of a crappy vlog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhMmPDefUNI)

who will answer the call and create a new "i love you box", because i'll tell you right now, i've seen turtle do arts and crafts, and it ain't pretty.

perhaps something in wood...

(stay tuned for chapter 4)

i'll admit it was a crazy idea. it's just that we'd been playing so many charity events for so long...so inspired by the things our fans were doing all over the place, that we had to create a charity event of our own; one that not only did some good for the world, but also paid tribute to what i believe is the most amazing group of fans and followers to ever exist on the planet.

the ramble, year one, was a fundraiser for our neighbors down in haiti, through one of our favorite non-profit orgs, "partners in health" (http://www.pih.org). the concept was simple enough...for every fan that gathered 20 friends or more to come out to the show with them, we would personally hire a bus to pick them all up and drive them to the concert and back, where ever they decided to gather.

over 300 people came in on buses from around new england! over 500 folks in attendence! ...all hangin together...all there to help support our friends in haiti and dance our faces off! beyond the amazing party, it made us truly proud to have played a part in creating such an incredible community of fans and friends. if you're reading this, you are very much a part of who we are. i know i speak for all of us when i say that we feel incredibly honored that you have made us part of your life. thank you. thank you.

check out a vid from last years Ramble: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrhU0IKLCM4

time to announce the 2011 ramble!!

sunday, april 17, at showcase live in foxboro, ma! buses will be in full affect!! this year we will be raising money to buy meals for folks in new england who need a little help getting by. the org we're working with is called http://feedingamerica.org/. head to http://www.GetRambled.com to get the latest info as it unfolds!!

http://www.GetRambled.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaUrO6Jo2Ns

10 worst moments of 2010, (also not in any particular order), continued...

2. another incident with the police in maine -

i'm not exactly sure what it is, but that state definitely has me on a short leash. maine happens to be the only state in which i have been carted away to jail.

no...not murder. not even vagrancy (as you might have been expecting). no, the reason for my getting thrown into the clink was driving with an expired license.

not kidding.

hand cuffed.

hauled down to cumberlin country jail.

...yes, one day there will be a song about it...

but this is not a story about that.

it is however related in that there is a sub-clause somewhere on page 347 of the by-laws in the official main state divers rules and regulations manual that i'm sure clearly states that if you are arrested in maine for driving without a license, and you then reinstate you license back in massachusetts, you still have to pay an extra service charge to official reinstate your license in maine. (as if paying for bail and getting my car un-impounded weren't already enough pain a suffering to atone for my wrong-doings)

fast forward to this summer. i am running late for a festival. i hit a speed trap. get pulled over. and...well...just watch the video.

i apologize in advance for my brief bout with insanity...(i was a little on edge)

watch the insanity here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH5pkqQ979Q

stay tuned for chapter 3!

1. selling out the paradise and stepping up the tour-

ok, so to really appreciate some of our headlining tour accomplishments i think it's important to give a you a little background, especially for those of you who are new to the family.

i played in my first open mic about ten years ago. never had money or connections, (the two things that, for the most part, break bands). over the last 10 years it has been a game of inches...usually me on the phone or on-line, bugging the crap out of clubs until they finally agreed to book me. most of these, over the last 10 years have been bars. it is only very recently that aeg has had management and booking behind us, which has allowed us to hit some pretty frickin cool milestones in 2010.

the ultimate has got to be when we sold out the paradise. this is a feat that every boston band dreams about. the dise has been looming there for years, beckoning to us...(sometimes taunting).

for some of our boston family you may remember a couple smaller shows there over the years, but nothing compared to the "view from the root" cd release. we had no idea how many people would come out!

not only was it packed, but the energy coming from the crowd was truly inspiring.

it was everything we dreamed it would be, complete with special appearance from tom hamilton of aerosmith and josh lighting himself on fire during the encore.

(ok, the fire thing didn't happen, but i still contend that it's the only thing that may have made the night more exciting than it already was...maybe next time)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_WIv7eQ8OI

some other major headlining accomplishments for our little indie project have been selling out the mercury lounge in nyc, and tupelo music hall and stone church, both in NH. we also had amazing first time headlining experiences in great clubs like the iron horse in northampton ma, the empire in portland, me, schubas in chicago. also, as this was really the first year of aeg doing some serious national touring and we were able to headline for the first time in a bunch of new states for us - ohio, indiana, missourri, wyoming, colorado, maryland, and pennsylvania!

it's very exciting to be spreading our wings around the country, but more importantly, we're still adjusting ourselves to the notion that we are no longer a local bar band. don't get me wrong, we have not outgrown the bar gig, nor will we for a little while yet i'm assuming, but now, for me, the bar shows are played with a feeling almost akin to nostalgia...like i should enjoy these nights because this is where the true heart of a band is formed and our bar playin days may be numbered...

i am trying to savor every moment....even those moments when the train comes entirely off the track...which brings us to our first worst moment of 2010...

10 worst moments of 2010 (also not in any particular order):

1. the empty club in st louis -

yes we are now playing around the country with an ever increasingly intense tour schedule. this is incredibly exciting to watch unfold, but it also means that there have been some nights, when we are scheduled to play a show at a club and NO ONE knows who the fuck we are. (...yet)

there is no better example of this, and the magic that can come out of these nights than our show at "the gramophone" in st. louis. we knew something was off when we showed up for load in and the club was locked up tight, the sign on the door reading, "live music - tuesday through saturday".

it was monday.

but, never the less, someone finally came around to let us in and as we set up for the show we couldn't help but notice that not only was nobody coming into the club, but really no one was even passing the club on the street...ever see the movie "vanilla sky", when tom cruise is walking long broadway in nyc and suddenly notices the entire city is deserted? yup...kinda like that.

8pm. time to hit the stage. our first 3 fans came in and were waiting politely.

now, this wasn't our first rodeo, and as an indie band, over time, you get used to dealing with the unexpected. we were actually in pretty good spirits, making jokes and recognizing that this night, however it unfolded, would certainly be a memorable first st. louis experience.

josh, who later received the mvp award for the evening, noticed that the club had a camera set up facing the stage and asked the sound guy if we could live stream the show. he said absolutely, and we decided to send a message out to our facebook family that we would be doing a live streaming concert that night and were taking requests.

what happened next still makes me grin when i think about it. hundreds of fans tuned in and sent in requests to josh's laptop which he positioned on his keyboard.

we'd check the computer for a request, thank the requester on camera, play the song, then check again. wash. rinse. repeat. all night. over 100 people tuning in at any given moment.

...turned into one of our favorite nights of the year!

so perhaps st. louis was both a low and a high point all at once.

we had a few interesting nights like this, never as empty as st. louis, but another one that sticks out was our first headline in pittsburg at the "thunderbird cafe". there were about 20 people there, one of whom was michael glabicki, (lead singer for rusted root), who ended up getting up on stage and sitting in with us...another 2010 highlight!!

if you are out there reading this, you probably have friends in other states and towns that we will be touring through. let your peeps know!! have'm come out for a visit! lets gett'em on board!

they say it takes a village to raise a child.

well it's clear that it also takes a pretty bad-ass, global village to raise a band.

can't wait to see what adventure we come across in 2011!!

(stay tuned for episode 2!)

it's january 3rd, and i am sitting on a couch in the woods, on a mountainside in vermont. it is in the quiet of the aftermath of the tumultuous, holiday/new years, cyclone, cacophony that i am finally finding the space to take a breath and think all the amazing stuff that went down in 2010, and all of the good things to come in 2011!

over the next 2 weeks, we will be posting our best and worst of 2010, one episode a day. link in with us thorough our website (blog section), facebook (http://www.facebook.com/adamezragroup) or twitter (http://www.twitter.com/adamezra) over the next stretch of days for new episode postings. we had some pretty high high's and some pretty funny lows...lot's of stories and vids from the road, as well as some insight into some of the antics that went on behind the scenes.

meanwhile, here are a few fun shows we have comin up just around the corner:

Jan 15: NYC! Mercury Lounge! http://bit.ly/hdDM4K

Jan 21: Rochester! http://bit.ly/hMXtWl

Feb 5: Rusted Root! http://bit.ly/hMXtWl

Feb 17: Higher Ground, VT with Rustic Overtones http://bit.ly/f0HXmC

Feb 18: Me and Thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead, MA (an intimate night with the guys) http://bit.ly/eotvHA

and a save the date for this year's Ramble! it'll be April 17! stay tuned for the official Ramble announcement in an upcoming blog.....

as always, we continue to be humbled and inspired by your presence. welcome to the next chapter, and thanks for being part of the family!

love,

ad and the boys

(watch our thank you vid! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsWurI0Z3uY)