Sure we’ve heard about you before, but we think it’s time for Tone Deaf to get to know you a little better. Slip in to something comfortable while we put on some music, pour us a couple of drinks and turn the lights down low.
Who are you and what do you do in your act?
My name is Adam and I do everything in CROPS. Singing, playing, production.
‘Fess up. What records have you stolen from your parents’ record collection and why?
My parents had a lot of Beatles and Bowie, Pink Floyd I think too, and Jimi Hendrix. Lots of good stuff. I seem to remember I spent a lot more time staring at the LP covers than playing them though.
What’s on heavy rotation on your iPod right now?
I’ve been listening to Depeche Mode again a lot, A Flock of Seagulls, The Cure, Telefon Tel Aviv and a bunch of old hiphop. Some of the newer stuff I’ve been listening too: The Weekend, Twin Shadow, Laurel Halo, White Car and Games.
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‘Home taping is killing the music business’ was the catch-cry of the record industry in the 1970s and 1980s, but it managed to survive until now. What do you think is the difference between mates taping copies of friend’s records back in the 80s and 90s and file sharing now?
I think it’s more a case of accessibility. Back then when friends made you a tape, firstly you had to know someone who had the original (or a copy but the quality would be a bit worse each time), and secondly they had to care enough to bother to make one. At the time it was also more a labour of love to create a physical thing and treasure it, or if you bought the record you would have all the cover art etc. and treasure that. These days an mp3 is an mp3 with very little emotional investment in the format no matter where it came from.
You must answer this question honestly or we steal your rider. What was the first gig you went to.?Where was it and what was the venue?
I’m pretty sure it was Terrorvision somewhere in Bedforshire…. Whales and dolphins, man.
What’s your favourite site to download music from and do you ever pay for it? Can we find any of your releases there?
I’ve been rocking Grooveshark a lot recently to check things out, and I go on blogs and sites like Pitchfork a fair bit. I try to buy physical releases when I buy stuff, but sites like Bandcamp are cool.
What artist made you want to pick up an instrument and/or sing?
First it was Nirvana and then later Radiohead.
Have you ever been arrested?
I’ve been threatened with it a few times, scariest time was in Brazil by a bunch of cops with submachine guns. I usually do well at talking my way out of those kinds of situations though.
Do you have any particular ritual before you go on stage, or even a lucky charm you take with you?
Not really any ritual, I find it very hard to talk to anyone outside of who I’m playing with before I go on a stage. Which is why it sucks when venues don’t have a backstage area.
What’s been your most outrageous rider request?
I’ve found a lot of places are pretty stingy so I’m generally just glad if they give us something to drink other than Carlton Draught.
Because it’s more fun to do things together, which living Australian artist would you most like to collaborate with? Tell us why?
Probably Franc Tétaz, the producer. His own stuff as Shinjuku Thief was cool and so are his film scores. All the more pop stuff I’ve heard that he’s worked on has amazing production and the time I met him he seemed like an all-round nice dude. Other than that maybe Nick Cave…because he’s Nick Cave.
Right, let’s get really intimate. Tell us what releases you have that we can listen to with the lights down low, or even better, where we can see you play in person next.
The single ‘Ana’ came out recently, I also have a few other tracks on my soundcloud and bandcamp pages, all of which are suitable for low-visibility listening. I don’t have any gigs booked just yet but once I’ve finished the material I’m working on I’ll be out there.
