Interview: Adam Warlock aka Nasa0
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That’s Paul, but you might know him as Adam Warlock or Nasa. You should be familiar with this fella by now. He’s a man of many trades, and he holds it down in New York. He has his hands in production, around mics, and he runs a label. He has also mixed some of your/my favorite, and well-liked, early Definitive Jux releases (such as Cannibal Ox‘s “The Cold Vein” and Aesop Rock‘s “Bazooka Tooth“). Dope, right?! And, as I’ve already mentioned, he’s the founder behind the independent, progressive hip hop label Uncommon Records. I hear you saying “ohhhhhhhh” right about now.
Whether you’re in tune with his work or not, I suggest that you read my interview with him. We discussed musical subjects ranging from his most recent albums (“Dark Weapons (From Mars)“, “Toxicology Music“, and his last pop-up album), upcoming projects, how he and Cirrus started Uncommon, the hard work that goes into running a label, and his time working with Def Jux as the recording engineer. He also dished out his thoughts on Occupy Wall Street. At one point, I asked him to bust out a haiku about Heavy D, and he took an uncommon approach (accidental, but shhh) of doubling the syllable pattern. Heavy haiku (11-14-11 pattern) for the overweight lover. Yeeeeeah, stuff like that. Read on!
Tiffology: Alright, so bare with me while I ask you some frequently asked questions. What was it about hip hop that made you gravitate towards it? When did you first decided that you wanted make music seriously?
Adam Warlock: I think growing up the way I did with constant struggle, I heard that in rap music. I identified with it so strong because even though some of the hardship I heard wasn’t my particular hard ship, it was still indeed hard ship. It wasn’t as emo as other musical movements going on at the time. Hip-Hop opened my eyes to injustice, economics, family, etc. Plus, hip-hop just caught my ear from a very early age. I can remember the first time I heard the Fat Boys and Run DMC at age 6 vividly. It was agressive, powerful and competitive. When you’re a young boy, what else do you really want? That’s what confuses me so much about where some hip-hop has gone these days.
Tiffology: Nasa and Adam Warlock, different names, same guy. From what I’ve gathered, they’re used separately — one is used for the beat work and the other is used when you’re rhyming on the mic. Is that right? If so, why that choice?
Adam Warlock: That is by choice. I performed as a Producer/Emcee in a group for many years called The Presence. Around the same time that I set out on my solo career I started to really get into the comic work of Jim Starlin. His run on Adam Warlock in the 1970′s for Marvel is probably the best comic arc in history. It’s great literature, not just comic writing. So it really inspired me right around the time I knew I’d be starting some solo work. As a Producer and Engineer the Nasa name was out there, but not as much as a solo artist because I rapped under that name in the group. So, I decided I needed a clean break and a new direction so I took on the name. I think there’s a bit of stigma on Producer/Emcees and I also wanted to escape that. Even though I don’t hide the fact that it’s the same person (me), I think it subconsicously causes the listener to judge me as an emcee when I rap and as a producer when I make beats instead of as a whole package and that’s what I’m going for. I’m probably going to shorten it to simply ADAM for my next project actually, it seems every time I choose a name there’s someone else that pops up with it. That’s another reason I didn’t just roll with Nasa since some hipster kids took my name at one point.
Tiffology: Ahhh yeah, I remember Googling that N.A.S.A. group, wondering if there was any relation to you, haha. So, shortening your name to ADAM for your next release… any information you can tell us about this “next release”, or is it still something you know you’re going to do, but don’t have the blueprint for yet?
Adam Warlock: I actually have two projects planned. The first will be a free collection called “The Early Life of ADAM” which will pull together a lot of my one off joints and some key cameos I’ve done to start off as a solo artist that are scattered all over the place. These will be the songs that solidified me as ADAM and that helped me progress as a solo artist. That will lead to “The Land of the Way It Is”, which is going to be my first full length solo album. It will have about 14 songs on it, it will feature production from myself, Willie Green, Agartha Audio, Black Tokyo, Goodman and Skribe1. I’ll be sharing the mic with a bunch of beasts as well, but I won’t reveal those yet, but expect some good things. It’s about 50% recorded, 100% laid out to what it will be. It’s going to focus on the struggle of being an artist in your soul but being stuck working for someone else’s dreams instead. I promise it won’t sound that corny in song form though, haha.
Tiffology: Beats and rhymes… which came first for you?
Adam Warlock: Rhymes came first, I was writing and recording in High School and just before that. It’s free to write raps so that naturally will come along first for most people. As I finished HS, I knew I wanted to make beats and even DJ, so, with a court settlement, I went out and bought my DJ gear. Turntables, a Mixer, an Amp, GIANT 12 Inch speakers, all that. I had no clue what the fuck I was doing. At 17 I thought you had to DJ before you made beats, it was just that old school mentality I had picked up, I guess. I Djed for a while, did some clubs back when you could actually spin underground hip-hop at clubs, I made mad mixtapes and sold them, all that. But the fact was, I was an average to shitty DJ. So to my good fortune, after fucking around with a Yamaha SU-10 and Alesis SR-16 and a 4 Track for a while, my then future wife bought me an MPC 2000xl and made me who I am today. I picked up using the MPC pretty quickly, some of my early beats suck, but you could tell I was meant to be working on beats more then spinning even then. That was 1999. During that period I just described, I had stopped writing and gave up being a rapper, but around 2000 I picked it back up again slowly, formed The Presence and did my thing with that too.
Tiffology: So music equipment, what are your weapons of choice (hardware and software)?
Adam Warlock: I produce all my beats off my MPC 2000xl. I can never imagine myself making beats on a computer program, no disrespect to those that do, but I’m glad I came along in the era when it was all about hardware for beats. I sample mostly from vinyl, I’ve got a decent collection that keeps on giving. I’ve jacked shit off CDs and even off Youtube occasionally lately too though. I just recently bought an Ipad so I can use all those apps as instruments. It’s really limitless the shit that’s on Ipad out there and what you can do with it, most of those apps are dirt cheap, if not free, too. I’ve already used some of them on tracks that are out, but I’ve always tried to use synths in a way where you can’t tell whether I sampled them or not. I use Pro Tools as my recording, mixing and arranging tool. I’m pretty dedicated to my combination of MPC and Pro Tools, I’ve doing it this way for a decade.
Tiffology: RANDOM – Write a brief description about an average day-in-the-life of Paul.
Adam Warlock: Wakes up. Sits in front of computer. Checks Twitter. Promotes label. Responds to email. Checks Twitter. Works on music (mixing, mastering, producing, writing). Leaves for work just in time to catch a bus (usually). Checks Twitter. Works 8 hours. Heads back home. Checks Twitter. Eats Dinner. Works on music again. Promotes label again. Checks Twitter again. Goes to sleep late.
Tiffology: Since you just told us about your choice for the alias Adam Warlock, what about Nasa?
Adam Warlock: I was always into space, it kind of goes back to what I was saying about when I chose Adam Warlock as an emcee name. The space comics were always the best to me. I used to read this comic in the 90s called Guardians of the Galaxy. It got me through some hard times in Junior High and even High School. It always sunk with me that space was some how cool after that. I went through MAD names in High School, finally I came up with Nasa when I was about 18 or 19 and it stuck ever since.
Tiffology: Who were and are your major influences?
Adam Warlock: Man, so many. First influence was probably Run DMC. Tougher then Leather was the first cassette I ever owned after hearing kids play Mary, Mary in the street. As I got older it was all about Public Enemy, Fear of a Black Planet was in HEAVY rotation. There were so many songs on there, that shit was on endless spin. As I got into High School it was groups like Gang Starr, Souls of Mischief, Del, Wu Tang….all of that underground stuff that got signed to majors and promoted heavily. Back then we didn’t realize we were listening to what would become underground hip-hop, it was just hip-hop then. After that, I graduated HS in 1996 and it was the EXACT time the whole thing kind of went south for hip-hop on the radio. I immersed myself as a fan in the underground hip-hop scene of NYC. All the Fondle Em stuff, Rawkus, etc. Listening to Stretch & Bob all night on Thursday’s. That was what life was about. Company Flow, Juggaknots, all that shit. Those are my core influences I guess, I got the opportunity to become a part of that indie scene that I loved so much as an engineer in 1999, first at Ozone and then at Def Jux until I started my own thing with Uncommon.
Tiffology: RANDOM – Is there any time that you met someone and it was a really big deal for you?
Adam Warlock: I met Chuck D at my old job. I saw him doing an interview in the large studio at the radio station. I figured out when the show would end, just so I could come back over and ambush him for a picture. I caught him coming back from the Men’s Room and asked for a pic. He was really gracious and cool about it. I had just gotten my Iphone that week and had no clue how to use it and was mad patient about it. Good times.
Tiffology: What’s your creative process like? Also, where do you write raps or ideas at – notebook? iPhone app? Something else?
Adam Warlock: I always write to the beat. I marvel at people that just write to silence, that’s just not me. I get all my flow patterns and even concepts from where the beat is going. So if I produce it, I need the beat first too obviously. I used to come up with song titles and spark off those, but I haven’t done that in years. Nowadays I usually hear a beat and a concept emerges as I write. I always write songs to express some overall thought though, unless it’s a cameo, I have a point to make. I don’t do songs just to show I’m dope, I show I’m dope by what I choose to get across, at least I hope. I always write with an actual pen in an actual pad, haha. I’ve tried fucking around with typing into a phone. It’s mad annoying first of all, secondly, it changes the way I write. Your brain works differently when you type then when you write. I end up writing way more abstract nonsensical shit when I type into a phone. Which is cool, but I’m already out there as it is. I also could never read off a damn phone into a mic, hell no. Haha.
Tiffology: You started Uncommon Records in 2004, what sparked you to create your own label? How does it stand out from other labels?
Adam Warlock: You can surround yourself with as many talented folks as you like, but some of us will always want to run things in the exact way we want them to be run. I wanted a label that represented Progressive Hip-Hop fully. Not just underground hip-hop, or anybody down with such and such’s crew. No, I wanted a label that was about the music. It would be a bit niche at first, but I was ok with that. Myself and Cirrus (from The Presence) set out on this journey together, over time I’ve obviously taken the reigns and kept it moving along. People know exactly what to expect from us, and that’s the goal. When they see the logo, they love it or hate it without even listening to it. I’m not sure where I’d be without this label, without having contributed this to hip-hop and I know I’d be missing something as a fan of hip-hop without it. I can look back on certain records and take a lot of pride in being associated with them, creating a home for them. That’s what this label is all about.
Tiffology: As the owner, what is it about other artists and their music, that makes you wanna bring them on?
Adam Warlock: Talent, honesty, aggresiveness, progression, understanding of the business. I like to put out things that I feel I couldn’t have created myself. Things I’ve never heard before. Things other people might be afraid to embrace.
Tiffology: You’re a busy dude. You write a behind-the-scenes blog called Uncommon Approach, where it seems to be the place for you to talk in depth about music, the industry, the artists and albums your label works with, and any other topic comes up and that matters to you. You also make your presence regularly on Twitter, and Facebook, and probably others that I’m not aware of. Have you found that this is the best way for you, as an indie label owner, to market and reach out to the fans and other musicians, to create stronger relationships? Do you see sites like these as necessities for independent musicians, labels, etc. in this day-and-age of internet usage?
Adam Warlock: I do see them as essential, but I’d also say that I personally have no other choice. When Twitter came out it was a God send. From 2004-2009 we put out a lot of great music and had already developed a fan base. But in those days it was like living on an island or a chain of islands. You’d have your website and would hope people would find it and then embrace what you were doing. There was Myspace, but all that really was was an audio player. And those were your tools. Then Twitter happened. I found immediately that even at work, even on a subway I could keep abreast on my label, people’s reactions to it, with other artists, etc. There is always activity these days. Twitter, Facebook, the site, Uncommon Approach, Soundcloud, Youtube. All of it. It’s not easy and can be very tedious. But these days you have to be the kind of person that sends out a mass email promoting your Twitter and Facebook and have the thought cross your mind, “Fuck, I didn’t do any promoting on Youtube for this”. I know it sucks for some people, but you have to actually work at this shit now. Or be rich.
So I make time. I work a full time job and I’m married. But every other moment of my life is pretty much spent working on the label. I don’t play video games, I don’t watch a lot of movies these days. Once in a while I’ll watch some sports, but even a lot of that is at my job since I work in that industry by day. The first thing I do when I get home is turn on my computer, the first thing I do when I leave my house is look at Twitter on my Iphone. Not exactly a flashy life, but the one I have to live. Ha.
Tiffology: RANDOM – What was the most memorable show you attended?
Adam Warlock: I’ll never forget the show I went to at Nuyorican Poets Cafe where an out an out brawl broke out. Some dudes wanted to rock and they were messing with the wrong people that had the mic. Literal chairs being tossed in the air, like a saloon and shit. They had to shut it down. I’ve probably been around worse fights at shows, but that was my first one, very special.
Tiffology: You also have a podcast called Uncommon Radio, where you play progressive hip hop from around the world. Being that you involve artists that aren’t even on your label, do you receive a lot of submissions for it? What makes a song worthy of Uncommon Radio?
Adam Warlock: I do get a lot of submissions. I do that show because I’m a huge fan of rap music. No matter how long I run the label, produce, rap, I love listening too. That format of a show suits me more then any other way of telling others about dope music. There’s a lot of music that I listen to that I wouldn’t put out myself, so I guess some of that ends up on the show. That, and stuff that I wish I could have put out or that inspires myself and others on the label. There’s really not much to exclude someone from play on the show, if I like it, I’ll play it. It’s a Progressive Hip-Hop show more because that’s mainly what I like more so then to carve out the exact perameters of the sub-genre, as opposed to the label itself.
Tiffology: What does progressive hip hop mean to you?
Adam Warlock: Obviously, it’s pushing the envelope. It’s just that being “progressive”. But I don’t want people to take the wrong idea from that, like we’re just a bunch weirdos. For me, progressive hip-hop is about creating great songs. Writing stuff that means something to someone. A lot of so called experimental and progressive stuff can be nerdy self indulgence. We don’t do that here. We want people to feel what we’re saying on several levels. I think if you listen to all of our catalog from 2004 to now, that will be what binds all the albums even though they are all very different from each other. There’s a clear message in all of them, and a genuine attempt to connect in all of them.
Tiffology: I listened to the interview that you did over on Culture Remixed, and upon listening I heard that you used to work at Def Jux. That stuck with me, so can you tell us about that? What was your position there?
Adam Warlock: I was the Recording Engineer and some time Producer over there. I got a job at a studio called Ozone where I recorded artists like Company Flow, Mr. Lif, Mike Ladd, Anti-Pop Consortium, Saul Williams, Juggaknots, etc. It was an amazing era. Like I said earlier, I had just gotten out of High School and finished recording school and landed myself in the midst of all my rap heroes from NYC. After Ozone closed shop, El-P and one of the owners at Ozone that was his manager asked me to come on board at Definitive Jux and be their Head Engineer. I accepted and ended up Mixing albums like The Cold Vein from Cannibal Ox, Bazooka Tooth from Aesop Rock, Fantastic Damage from El-P and many, many more. I worked there from late 2000 until mid 2005 and was a part of almost all of their early work.
Tiffology: Your street team “Orange Army” is unique, and a lot more creative than any other I’ve seen. It’s more interactive with the members. There are missions and rewards. How’s that working out?
Adam Warlock: It’s been really successful. We’ve sent out loads of packs of stickers all over the world. I’ve gone through pressing up 4,000 of those things. We get pictures that come in from far off places all over the planet and all across the United States as well. I think it’s something fun for people. I think it’s lame to constantly be trying to sell something to someone. It gets old. I wanted people to feel like they were a part of what we were doing. So, I came up with the idea to have people get a grip of 30 stickers, post them up in their unique city and for every 10 pics of a sticker in public they get a CD with a song that isn’t anywhere else. It’s about creating the tangiable from the intangiable. We’re a label that’s very much about digital sales and promotion, but you can’t live on that alone. We want people to be excited about being a part of what we’re doing and also about marketing unique products down the line too. We’ll eventually have a 2nd mission to follow this one too, it’s all in good time.
Tiffology: RANDOM – What television shows do you enjoy watching?
Adam Warlock: Right now I’m a sucker for cooking shows like Top Chef, Hell’s Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. I’m all about Gordon Ramsey right now, except for Master Chef, that show sucks for some reason. I watch Supernatural, Justified, South Park, Bob’s Burgers. I think those top off my DVR. All time though, I’m a huge fan of the Twilight Zone and the syndication champion is definitely King of the Hill. The new versions of Beavis and Butthead and The Thundercats are top choice too.
Tiffology: Let’s discuss your album “Dark Weapons (From Mars)” for a minute. It was created after you and your wife were the victims of a home robbery, so it holds a lot of anger and deep emotions. With it being so personal and heavy, how did the creation go? Was it hard to refer back to those dark moments? Or was it an easy outlet for you?
Adam Warlock: At times it was a fluid release, at other times it was like pushing a boulder up a mountain. There were a lot of dark times on that record. All in all, it’s been really therapeutic, not sure there was any other way to approach such a terrible event except through song. The thing is we really loved our neighborhood. We lived in Port Richmond on Staten Island, it was right in the heart of a complex area filled with diversity. We felt really safe there even though we knew there were elements of crime in pockets near by. I guess we learned we weren’t invincible. I was already going through a horrible time at the job I was working at the time, being demoted and moved to nights. I got the call from my wife one night “are you home?”, I said no and she said “Someone is in the house”. One of the scariest moments of my life. What can you do when you’re all the way in Manhattan? The chain was on the door from the inside, which is what the opening track gets into, “Chain Lockin”. I scurried home as fast as I could. Whoever hit the place was likely gone before my wife actually got to the door. The thing that hurt the most was that my landlords (in a two family home) were at home in their basement. They hid from the sound of my air conditioner being pushed through my window and slammed on the ground. They saw kids jumping the fence with bags of stuff and didn’t call the cops. They didn’t put two and two together or more likely didn’t want to. So, we went to the quick work of finding another place. My MPC, my TV, computers, turntables and other large items along with my 4 cats were sparred. My first thought was “Shit, now they know what’s in here, they’re gonna come back”. As it was, they made off with about 3 or 4 thousand dollars worth of small items. Some if was things we hadn’t thought about in years, most of it were things that we got as gifts. The worst thing of all was that they took my wife’s engagement ring. It was an ameythist I got her when we were engaged at 20 or 21. It likely wasn’t worth much, I can tell you by comparison it wasn’t what a lot of engagement rings cost. I mean, I bought it on a part time 21 year olds salary. So yeah, that’s what my album is about, yay! Party music.
Tiffology: Why did you choose to sample from the Mars Volta catalog?
Adam Warlock: I was working on something involving sampling TMV for The Presence when all this broke down. I ended up adopting the idea for myself instead. It was almost like comfort food when you are depressed. The Mars Volta is one of my favorite bands, they are amazing musicians and a great live act. They almost make me happy when they have something new out, so why not create something new from them at a time when I need a lift right? The energy in their music also really fit the mood, I was able to find parts of their tunes that worked for the thoughts I wanted to get across. More then anything, that album was about what I was saying and what I felt I needed to say, and sampling them helped me get there.
Tiffology: RANDOM – Write a haiku poem about Heavy D.
Adam Warlock: You were the man for that song with Super Cat
When I was a kid I didn’t even think you were fat
Don’t Curse is a message that I try to match
Tiffology: In 2010, you dropped “Lobotomy Music” in collaboration with Short Fuze. Earlier this year, there was a second album collaboration “Toxicology Music“. How was the process of that album? Being that both have “Music” in their titles, is there any relation?
Adam Warlock: Lobotomy Music was a title that Fuze came up with about half way through the process of creating it. We originally set out to create a follow up maxi single for the album around the track “Doomsday Device”, somehow that evolved into what became Toxicology Music. We stuck with that music theme for that one in order to associate it with Lobotomy since it was a full on follow up and had some remixes to the original tracks on it along with some new stuff. After that dropped I told Fuze that we should just call all the stuff we do together “something, something Music”. So Revolution Music was born and that contuance will live on.
Tiffology: You’re working on another somethin-somethin with Short Fuze, right? “Revolution Music”? Give us the scoop on that. Will there be any other artist features? When will it see the light of day?
Adam Warlock: He flew out here to New York about a month ago and we started work on it. We finished one really sick track and started another that we’re gonna get some people on. Most importantly we got to build in person and we discovered the true direction we wanted to take this record in, which we weren’t clear on before. Can’t reveal cameos yet, haha. But we’re hoping to have it out sometime in 2012.
Tiffology: RANDOM – Being that you’ve worked with Short Fuze many times, tell us something about him that people may not know unless they know him personally. Make us laugh at his expense. Or make it a ridiculous lie that readers might take seriously. Be aware that I will be asking this same question to him, about you.
Adam Warlock: Short Fuze is a fan of the Chicago Bears, which means his heart is made up of at least 50% evil. He was shot in the leg once while fighting it out over street turf in the 70′s. He also likes that gourmet pizza that real men think is disgusting, that shit that has mad plant life on it and tastes like a bagel. Despite all these flaws, that’s my brother right there and I’m glad to know him. Sniff, sniff.
Tiffology: You’ve been throwing an annual show called Yule Prog, that’s held in the winter of NYC. Since I’ve been following you on Twitter, and a few other individuals, I’ve been seeing a lot of talk leading up to it in the last couple of years. I’m curious to know a little more about the show. How did it get started? What’s it about?
Adam Warlock: It’s a celebration of Progressive Hip-Hop first and foremost. I’m a sucker for the holiday season and for winter in general. That’s my favorite time of year. Five years ago, I set about booking a show in NYC and ended up with a date in December. I wanted a catchy name, and coined it Yule Prog to match the season and what we did at the label. That somehow became an annual event that’s now in it’s 5th year. From the 2nd year on, it’s been a collaboration with fellow NYC indie label, Backwoodz Studioz. We showcase as many artists from our labels as we can and try to expose them to as many other New York hip-hop fans as we can by mixing and matching them with similar acts. I feel really honored when people say they are “looking forward to it”, “wish they could be there this time” or ask to rock it. It is NOT EASY to book an annual show or run a show that usually features upwards of 14 acts. Each year we try to simply plan out the best show we can and we think we were able to do that this year for our special 5th Anniversary at Southpaw.
Tiffology: With Yule Prog being in the winter, do you all get in the spirit with Christmas decorations? Santa hats? Lights? Eggnog and alcohol? A drunk uncle roaming the stage?
Adam Warlock: There are several “drunk uncles” roaming the stage every year, believe me. We actually do set up Christmas decorations on stage every year on the turntable stands and by the banner and stage rim. It’s kind of ill to get everybody into that kind of vibe for a hip-hop show. Kind of like a Progressive Hip-Hop version of “Christmas in Hollis”.
Tiffology: This year marks the 5th Yule Prog show. It’s going down on December 8th at Southpaw, in Brooklyn, New York. I saw that Mayhem Lauren, Open Mike Eagle, Willie Green & PremRock, Pruven, yourself, and others are on the lineup. For anyone that hasn’t attended one yet, what goes down? What can be expected?
Adam Warlock: What can be expected is getting your money’s worth. We pride ourselves on putting a high level of talent on one stage and trying to create history. There’s never any filler at Yule Prog, no one is there just because they can sell tickets or knows somebody. You have to earn your way onto that stage. Every act from the first to go on to the headliners are thought out and planned. If there is someone on that card that you aren’t familiar with you can bet you will be afterwards. Sometimes the acts that go on early are the acts that end up leaving the biggest mark. We keep the show moving always, no intermissions, we have all the gear pre-set up so that in most instances it’s one act, next act, next act and so on. It’s a fun night where talent is celebrated and fun is had.
Tiffology: What have been your favorite memories from the Yule Prog events?
Adam Warlock: I’ve had a lot. I think one of the best years was when we had Vast Aire and also Despot rock. Both those acts killed it. Zesto rocked just before Despot and blew the crowd away, still one of the best sets in any Yule Prog and that same night Homeboy Sandman, Super Chron Flight Brothers and who knows who else also killed it. We had Beans from Anti Pop the first year, we’ve had Elucid who comes with something totally different every year, we’ve had Brown Bag All Stars, Megalon from Monsta Island Czars, LoDeck…..I mean the list goes on and on after 5 years. We even did a Yule Prog battle one year and did Yule Prog two nights in a row at two different venues. As well as that battle went, we were wise enough to know we couldn’t replicate how ill it was year after year and went back to the original format. This year we’ve got emcees coming in from out of state to perform like Open Mike Eagle and Marq Spekt. Along with Meyhem Lauren from right here in the Big Apple, JunClassic, Creature from Rebelmatic. So many acts! Plus you know it’s all about Uncommon and Backwoodz heads too. You need to be there, if you are in NYC, you need to be there, that’s it. This is the show you want to see.
Tiffology: What about those of us who aren’t in NYC (*ahem, Arizona). Have you ever considered streaming one of the “Yule Prog” events live, on a site like Ustream? That seems to be what a lot of people do these days.
Adam Warlock: I have thought about that, a lot of times the club may or may not be set up to do that. I haven’t even asked about it where we do the show. Balancing so many acts, arranging for them to be there and then preparing your own set, sometimes things get lost. Probably something we will look into in the future. But, we do post tons of videos from almost every act on youtube after the show. There are probably over 100-200 individual videos of performers from the first 4 years of events there right now.
Tiffology: RANDOM – How do you like your burgers? And what’s the best beverage to go with it?
Adam Warlock: Always Medium and always with a Beer of my own choosing.
Tiffology: Uncommon Records recently dropped the second pop-up album, “Save The Horn”, where all of the proceeds went towards Charity: Water. What started the pop-up album idea? And are these albums forever gone after their one month?
Adam Warlock: They are forever gone. We will never offer or sell them again. Again, it’s bringing a scarcity back to the digital realm. We try to approach things creatively here and do things that will be copied. The idea for the Pop Up Album came along when we wanted to do our first of them for Japan’s Tsunami relief, that album was called “The Sun Never Sets’. If you donated then, not only did your money go to soup kitchens in Japan, but you also have a piece of music no one else has. The cover art is unique to that record, so are the songs selected. Everything on these Pop Up albums some how relates to what the album is for, whether directly or indirectly. With “Save the Horn” we focused less on back catalog and more on original tracks. We feel that assembling back catalog (since we have some a deep release history) into new formations and adding original content to it is a great hook. It’s good for bringing attention to some of the records we’ve put out that newer fans aren’t aware of along with presenting new music that is harder to find. We may even do some pop ups in the future that are just for fun, that are only available for a week, anything to keep people locked in. In this case however as you said, this album is for Charity:Water which raises money for water well projects in the 3rd world, particularly focusing these days on the Horn of Africa where it seems this is needed most. It’s a thrill for a kid who grew up poor to be able to give back this way through the pooling of fan support and artist collaborations. I could never afford to donate this amount of money out of my pocket, but I can raise this money with the resources of my label. That’s thrilling.
Tiffology: Being that this his a hot topic and heavy on the internet… where do you stand with the Occupy Wall Street movement?
Adam Warlock: I have lots of thoughts on OWS, just like everyone. But I think there is one that’s most important to make. When the protests first started they were focused on bank corruption, lobbyists in Washington and the un-even distribution of wealth created by both of those things. I found myself at work having conversations about Credit Unions, and seeing the media talk about tax benefits given to the wealthy for a few weeks. That major bank, I don’t remember if it was BoA or Chase, decided to pull back on it’s insane ATM fees they had put into place, that was big news. Protesters were getting arrested for closing their accounts at NYC branches, what a statement that was! The conversation had shifted from “cutting spending” to actually following where all this money was actually going. Then, as always happens, the goons were sent in. Cops get sent in so that the conversation changes. It’s been used time after time. So now you’ve got people in the streets looking to prove something to cops instead of making viable points.
Back in the 60′s in the Civil Rights era things were different. You had mostly African American protesters facing mostly white cops. It didn’t matter what the exact focus was from day to day, it was clear, this was a struggle for equality among men and women of different races in America. With Occupy, it’s a multi-cultural protest (at best) against a multi-cultural police force (at best), so the message is key. It’s not obvious in a visceral way what exactly is happening out there, and can easily be misconstrued as a bunch of angry misguided youth taking on authority, instead of what it was intended to be. In my opinion, any conversation that shifts away from Corporate Corruption is a waste. If this was about protesting police brutality then where were all these fucking people for Sean Bell or Oscar Grant? Come on now.
Tiffology: Alright, we’ve reached the end. What are your plans in 2012?
Adam Warlock: 2012 is more of the same musically. We’ve got a project that will combine Agartha Audio’s beats with Taiyamo Denku’s raps finishing up that’s amazing. We’re dropping an album from Atari Blitzkrieg, Pruven, the newly signed DCK VNNGT (which you’ll hear a lot more about soon), Short Fuze & Nasa, my solo full length is coming. We’re working on pressing up 45s next year, we’ve got 2 top secret projects being worked on right now. One that’s high tech and one that’s old school low tech. And honestly, there is so much more. Always something happening, that’s how I like it here.
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Don’t forget to order your tickets
for this year’s Yule Prog on December 8th.
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