Adrian Alan

see link - Block Island Times

see link - Block Island Times

Adrian Hibbs stepped his game up this past Tuesday, throwing down two sets of soulful originals backed ably by a 7 piece band, whose pieces fit together like a sonic jigsaw puzzle. Keeping the dance floor stocked and the club on fire, Hibbs brought his uptight pocket grooves to the right place; keepin' it real (real funky)!!

The "gang" was stacked with players well known around Harvelle's; specifically sax man Paulie Cerra, drummer Vincent Fosset Jr and Sam Meek on guitar. Additionally, Kasi Jones rocked the house with her dynamic vocals in tandem with Mr. Hibbs, who at times channelled Donny Hathaway, singing and playing his keyboard with grace, ease and much melody. (The rest of the band included Ed Cartwright Jr, Robin Rountree and Paul Literal.) - Nick Faigin

Gosh I love this guy's music. I "discovered" him on Block Island where this summer he played at the Spring House bar on Friday nights. . But he used to live in Brooklyn and was a regular at the now defunct Black Betty in Williamsburg. In the winter he lives in New Orleans where he performs regularly. The Adrian Hibbs project only has a four song EP (available at CD Baby) But I love it. Especially the song: "Compromise." - Lissaine D - Only the blog knows

Piano, B-3, Rhodes, Clav: Organ-grinder Adrian Hibbs grinds them all. Catch him tonight and every Thursday at Greenpoint's Mark Bar, One of the neighborhood's better-kept secrets. Hibbs' long sets swing from Latin Jazz to blues to a funk pocket so deep it'll make your face scrunch up in a "who farted?" expression. - NYPRESS

Adrian Hibbs is a Singer/Songwriter and Keyboardist that has recently moved to New Orleans, and is already making a mark here. His vocal delivery and keyboard playing are heavily influenced by Stevie Wonder, Bobby Timmons and the whole jazz and funk sound. Already finding himself on sessions with the likes of Anders Osborne and Stanton Moore, the young man with an old soul is finding that New Orleans is the place for him to develop his music and record his first full length CD.

KOD: Thanks for coming down to talk today. Can you tell me some of your story...where are you from and how did you get into playing music?

AH: I am originally from Block Island which is right off the coast of Rhode Island. We moved to Connecticut when I was about 5. Then I started getting into the school band playing alto saxophone. I was listening to Glen Miller and the big band sound in the fourth grade. I could play sax too, I wasn't just a squeaker. I didn't start playing keys until i was 16 or so. I heard the Doors and it was all over...That is when I started playing organ and left hand bass. Then eventually I got into Stevie Wonder. I moved to New York in the summer of '02 after I left Berklee music school. I started listening to a lot of jazz and funk and began playing in bands. I put together my own band, and then recorded an EP with Scotty Hard, who produced the Wu Tang and Medeski, Martin, and Wood.

KOD: It is a great sounding EP too. Click here to check out Adrian's site and EP

hibbs1.jpgAH: Well, thank you.

KOD: How did you begin to write you own music and songs?

AH: I don't really know, nothing happened overnight. I began to recycle lyrically certain ideas over chord changes, and eventually songs began to surface. I was really into the whole instrumental jazz funk thing, and never thought of myself as a songwriter or a singer until maybe about two years ago. I just got sick of my friends coming to shows and getting bored. Watching us play over A minor for twenty minutes...you know. I just got a better response when I started singing. That's just how it evolved. I love it now, in fact I love to sing when I play.

KOD: Did you ever do any kind of vocal training?

AH: Not really, I studied with this guy Scott Sharrard just to learn how to do a master warm up. You know, just to help my enunciation etc.., and I did it a couple of times, but never really took to it.

KOD: So what brought you to New Orleans?

AH: Well, in July, I hooked up with a band called Panic at the Disco, and they took me on an international tour for about three months. We went all over Asia and Australia, and then came back to the States to finish up the tour. We came here to play Voodoo Fest, and we had three days off here and I met up with friends, and it just sealed the deal. I knew I was going to be back in New York with nothing to do, and the vibe was really going on down here...I met Ivan Neville within a few hours of being here, it was just inspiring. Someone mentioned that I should come down here and spend a few months, and so after I got back to New York, I got a plane ticket and flew back down here.

KOD: Since you have been here, what are some of the things that have inspired you?

hibbs4.jpgAH: It is just overwhelming. New York is a strange town for live music. A lot of the gigs just don't pay anything. I would do a two hour gig and walk with only forty dollars. But, I have been exposed to a lot of great players down here...Stanton Moore, you, George Porter Jr., Johnny V. It seems like it is a drummer and brass city. It is cool, already I have been invited to play with a lot of people and to do recording sessions, so there is room for me.

KOD: What are some of the things that you are working on now?

AH: I am working on assembling a band, and there is a gig at the Maple Leaf on the 26th of March. I have a bunch of material that is basically ready to go. I am trying to be patient, and choose a studio. I want to make a record rather than just record tracks. It takes time. I was never a big session guy in New York. I would like to put out a full length record within the next couple of months.

KOD: Is your EP available on the internet?

AH: It's on iTunes, and CD baby. I have a single called "Sherry Lee" that is being mixed now in New York by Scotty Hard.

KOD: You went back to New York to do a video...can you tell us a little about that experience?

AH: Sure, I worked with a guy named James Jones, who does television editing for Court TV. He also just did a documentary on Bruce Lee. The concept for the video was me busking in the subway, as if I was going out to make my daily wage playing for people down there. It was a simple, low budget concept. We went down there, and I just started singing the song, and then synced it up to the actual track. I was in about a dozen different subway stations just getting shots of me singing and riding the trains around. It will be posted to my website soon.

KOD: - New Orelans.com