Madam Adam
Scott Gould - Vocals / Guitar
Drew Reindollar - Guitar
Kenny Vamer - Bass
Matthew Reindollar - Drums
A gathering storm looms on the horizon. It's something legions of passionate music lovers have longed to see emerge. Since the close of the early to mid-'90s heyday of landmark underground-turned-mainstream bands who melded melodic emotion and raw power with classic rock inspired licks, the masses have awaited a return, a reclamation, a resurgence of honest rock music.
Madam Adam released their full-length, self-titled Roadrunner Records debut on April 5, 2011.
With a palindrome for a moniker, Madam Adam is a band for the people. If you're in love, in lust, broken-hearted, scraping by 9-to-5, this is your band.
"We spent a lot of time writing the songs on our album. There are a lot of emotions," explains frontman Scott Gould. "The songs have depth to them, in that aspect. The album is kind of a story of our progression through life so far. It's like a big journal. We just got to lay it down."
Equal parts driving and melodious with refreshing catchiness and body moving rhythms, Madam Adam conjures forth a debut album thick with stadium-worthy anthems recalling the brightest spots of the Seattle grunge movement, the sexual bombast of '70s AM radio rock and the exuberance that can only be born from four people who live, breathe and devour music.
Produced by Skidd Mills (Saving Abel, Sick Puppies, Skillet), Madam Adam's debut is rich with diverse dynamics, touching on significant moments in rock history without sounding dated or retro. It's an album you can play at a party, but it's also a record to nod your head along with on long nighttime drives.
Think Foo Fighters and Queens Of The Stone Age with an extra coating of polish and a dash of indie rock nuance. There's something to love no matter what you're into; if you like music that comes from a place that’s real, then No Light, No Lock, No Grendel is for you.
Gould's voice is distinct. Warm, inviting and smooth, he's possessed of a croon that will sit easily on rock radio while cutting through the speakers with noticeable depth and power. Both he and guitarist Drew Reindollar know when to shred and when to hold back, with bassist Kenny Vamer locking into the grooves laid down by drummer Matthew Reindollar, both adding some flash. These guys are great musicians, but their maintain a supreme focus on the song itself rather than showing off.
"Sex Ain't Love" is a fun song, tongue-in-cheek and rocking. Matthew's drums were recorded and put through tape in an effort to recapture tones that have been lost on modern records. "Our approach to making this record was inspired by our love of Smashing Pumpkins and old Nirvana albums," says Gould" says Gould. Tone plays a part in "Art of Lying" as well, particularly in the airy / spacey bridge. "Time Wounds All Heals" takes its name from something John Lennon said leaving a courthouse, which Gould picked up on watching the documentary "The U.S. vs. John Lennon." And what's a real rock record without a bombastic ballad? "San Francisco" makes skillful use of strings, soaring to incredible heights.
It's hard to believe the guys in Madam Adam have played together for over a decade considering their relative youth. But the fact is, they got a head start, assembling in middle school in South Carolina and managing to maintain the same lineup from the beginning.
"We were pretty angry punk kids," Gould says. "But we started taking music theory with this guy on Saturday mornings. We paid him like $20 a session, sometimes didn't pay him, but he kept teaching us, which was rad. Our music kind of progressed from three chord punk stuff to a little more elaborate. We studied jazz theory. We kind of found our own way into rock."
It certainly would have been easier for the band to catch a break had they formed in New York or Los Angeles, but their relative isolation helped them to woodshed and fine-tune their sound. "Charleston is really small and we didn’t have too many distractions,” points out Gould. “That kind of helped us in a way to hone whatever we were doing here and then release it when we showcased elsewhere. It's a big fish in a little pond scenario. We've developed a little thing around Charleston."
Flying the flag for melodic, inventive and emotion-stirring rock, Madam Adam benefit greatly from the musical shorthand they've developed as players, virtually telepathically communicating in the rehearsal space, in the studio and on the stage, where they are a formidable unit. "I've heard horror stories about people in bands getting upset when their idea isn't used, but when we write, we can say what we feel," says Gould. "We all got tattoos of our old teenaged band name on our right arms, when we were like 16, in a trailer. We're a tight knit brotherhood."
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…shrink me down again