Garth Adam

Australia’s finest: Garth Adams


September 17 2011

Answers by Singer-songwriter Garth Adams

Questions by D

Summarise your music for potential new listeners?

Garth: It has been over a year since I last spoke to you, how has your fantastic music dream developed?

You have an album out at the moment called Glue and a previous one called Storm in A Tea Cup – How does it feel to know that the songs on these EPs are being played all over the world?

Garth: The new one is actually called “Travelling”. I am always really thrilled to get an email fr0m a radio station saying they would like to play a song. I recently had an email from a radio station in Stockholm Sweden which was a first.
At what point in your life did you feel that you wanted to venture out into the music industry as a solo-artist?

Garth: After the last band I was in broke up in 2004 I thought I would try something on my own. I had never been brave enough previously but somebody else I knew had gone out and done it and it inspired me to give it a try.

Have there been able challenges which you have had to overcome while pursuing your career?

Garth: Radio play is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and very hard to get as there is so much music released every single day. Keeping the connection with radio is the challenge of this business. If radio is on your side then everything else positive follows.

You have so many amazing songs – is there any in particular which gets your adrenaline going?

Garth: My favourite at the moment is the chorus out on the song off Travelling call “Hands Across the Border” It s one of those big multiple voices chorus that gets more intense as it goes on. I have attached to this email
How did you find the reaction to your music from the audiences in your home nation Australia?

Garth: The reaction in Australia has been modest. For starters there is not the range of independent and college radio that the northern hemisphere has. Because of that diversity I have had much more success in Europe , the UK and US College radio.

Is there anything that you may have wanted to do differently?

Garth: I have been to a couple of music trade shows like CMJ in New York and SWSW in Texas. They were good but I don’t believe I really knew how to promote myself and got a bit lost in the size of the things. If I go back again I would approach it much differently.
You are currently working with AMRAP in Australia and with Caravan Music Promotions in the UK and Europe. How has working with them helped you as a solo-artist?

Garth: AMRAP is good for Australia but it is a fairly passive promotion vehicle. JJ from Caravan has been great because she champions you to her contacts and being from Australia that is invaluable.

Take us through the stages you go through for writing a song?

Garth: I generally wait for a spark of an idea. Something may come quickly and sometimes not at all. It is hard to just sit down and write a good song when you have fee time, The ideas always come when you least expect them. I always record these flashes on a little digital recorder smaller than a mobile phone. When I have time I go back to them and if they are any good start to build them up to a finished song. Sometimes this can take half an hour sometimes that can take weeks with various versions been developed and discarded till I get one I thinks works.
What can we expect from you in coming months?

Garth: At the moment I am happy to promote this CD and have plans to be in the US and Europe next April to follow up any good leads. In the meantime I have started writing again for a new CD and have a few songs already working pretty well.

What would you say has been the most memorable part of your journey so far?

Garth: My favourite part of this process is recoding songs and seeing them start from an idea to a fully recorded song in a studio with other musicians putting in their ideas. If I could live in a studio full time I probably would. My love of recoding keeps me going and if anybody likes the results I am very grateful.

For more information about Garth Adams visit http://www.garthadam.com/Garth_Adam/HOME.html
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- Darkus D - UK

Garth Adam, Traveling
October 19, 2011 | by Skope

This UK born singer/songwriter spent his childhood in Africa and Fiji then eventually settled in Australia. This is where he honed his musical talents playing bass for numerous bands. He eventually stayed focused on his solo career and now with his seventh release a 3 track EP called, Traveling, it certainly is a pleasant display of a musical vacation.
These songs take you on a road less traveled. To a place of curiosity and amazement. There is a good mixture of tempos with driving beats and melodic lyrics that sing you to different places. Each destination broadens your horizons and allows you to put your own story in his scenarios.
His story telling is picturesque in detail. He definitely has a good understanding about what makes a song soar. They are structured with a good balance of knowing when to break the rules to make the story fly. Melodically there is a perfect camaraderie with the music and the lyrics. He obviously has a good sense of prosody. Vocally his voice is as calming as the music itself.
I think Garth Adam is a force of nature. The secret to his sound is he owns it. The CD is only 3 songs which is the only disappointing thing about this project. I would love for him to extend this traveling experience. I want to go further distances with Garth. This is a good start to a music career with longevity. They say a journey is not the beginning or the end but the ride in between. The CD, Traveling is an excellent pass time.
Rebecca Hosking – hoskingrebecca@gmail.com
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Posted by Skope · Filed Under REVIEWS
- SKOPE Magazine NYC

Indie/Pop/Rock


Storm in a Teacup

Artist: Garth Adam

Distributed by: Garth Adam


Reviewed by Melissa Minners




When I received the EP Storm in a Teacup by Garth Adam, I was a bit excited. This was a CD that had come to me all the way from Australia. Yes, I know, people receive packages from Australia all the time, but it is truly nice to see that our website is touching people all over the world – enough so that they want to take part in the site by sending along items for review.

For those of you who have no idea who Garth Adams is, have you ever heard of 30 Odd Foot of Grunts? That’s the Australian band that actor Russell Crowe performs with when not in the process of creating another epic film. Well, Garth Adams is the former bass player and manager of the band. He has been in quite a few bands over the years, but embarked on a solo career in 2002. Storm in a Teacup represents Garth Adam’s fourth release since he decided to go it on his own. According to Adam, he completely enjoyed the experience of working on this EP: “The recording was a blast. It was with a bunch of friends and we used old guitars, old amps, a creaky 40-year-old Hammond B3 organ, a slightly out of tune 100-year-old iron frame piano and my coffee-and-red-wine-strained vocal chords.”

Storm in a Teacup contains three tracks: Scream on the Inside, Storm in a Teacup and Wake Me Up. All lyrics are written by Garth Adam and the music is a compilation of work by Garth Adam and friends. I’m glad that Garth Adam revealed that he used older instruments in the making of this album – it explains the sound, which is reminiscent of Elvis Costello and Pink Floyd. In Scream on the Inside, I find Garth Adam’s vocals to be very on par with those of Pink Floyd in Comfortably Numb, but no way near as spooky. The song itself discusses the moments in our lives when everything seems to be going wrong and we feel helpless to do anything about it. Thus we “scream on the inside” as we watch the outside world fall apart. The title track, Storm in a Teacup, is a song with upbeat sound that talks about a stormy relationship that seems to be up one minute and down the next. The final track, Wake Me Up, is an upbeat love song that I could imagine playing in the background or during the end credits of a romantic comedy.

The more you listen to the Storm in a Teacup EP, the more enjoyable it is. The upbeat melodies, the retro music, and well-written lyrics combine to create a fun experience for the listener. Apparently I am not the only person to find Storm in a Teacup to be an enjoyable musical experience as songs from the EP have found their way to more than 50 radio stations in Australia alone. If you are a fan of pop/rock songs with a retro style, you should check out Storm in a Teacup by Garth Adam.


For more Garth Adam music, visit Garth Adam's Shop.


For feedback, visit our message board or e-mail the author at talonkarrde@g-pop.net.




- G- Pop

Garth Adam is no stranger to the DIY music scene with his seventh solo release the 3 track EP 'Travelling' Garth’s music is a mixture of his influences and life. Born in the UK, he spent his early childhood in Africa and Fiji before his family settled in Australia where he eventually worked his way as a songwriting bass player through a variety of Australian bands. Once Garth began to write and independently record his signature brand of melodic and rhythmically-driven songs, several found their way to a respectable amount of airplay on indie radio. Garth was a Finalist in the 2009 International Songwriting Competition for his song 'The Boat' and also a finalist in the E Song Competition in 2010 for the song 'The Distance'. Garth's songs are not too lo-fi that you wonder if your stereo or ipod battery is trashed, yet not too teeth- achingly over-polished either. Place the Foo Fighters, Crowded House and Damien Rice in a blender and you will get an idea of the range of styles on Garth Adam releases. Travelling was recorded at Linear Recording in Sydney and produced by Melvin Tree. Mastering was by Kathy Naunton at Db Mastering Camperdown Sydney.
- Music Arts Monthly

Dear Garth,

The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) has announced its finalists today. Congratulations, the song "The Boat" in the AAA (Adult Album Alternative) category has been selected as a finalist. ISC finalists were chosen out of approximately 15,000 entrants, making this an extraordinary achievement, and we are very pleased to offer our congratulations.

If you entered multiple songs, you will receive a separate email for any song that has achieved finalist or semi-finalist status.

You can view all the finalists and semi-finalists by going to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners.htm

All finalists' songs have now been sent to the ISC judges who will select the winners. We will announce the winners in April as soon as the results are in. We will send you an email at that time to notify you of your status. - Finalist AAA category

Alpo & Friends
CD of the month
Ether Great Ocean Road (EtherAus). Just when I’m ready to toss every (other) new CD in the wastebasket, something like this lands in the mail bin. This Australian trio has composed nine tunes that were inspired by the Great Ocean Road, a highway that snakes around the southeastern coast of Australia overlooking the Pacific. I have trouble describing exactly what it is about the Aussie sensibility that appeals to me, but this is wonderful stuff. A warm, beguiling blend of acoustic and electric, a gentle but firm rhythm section, a touch of the ethereal. Think the Church - minus 90 percent of the effects with the gentle touch of Paul Kelly. Highly recommended… Alpo. Graffiti Online, October 2002 http://artemis.jtlnet.com/~grafwv/showstory.php3?id=936&date=2002-10-01
- Graffiti Online

Ether was a surprise for me when I got their debut, Great Ocean Road. Their sophomore album, Dance On Friday Night, has an unfortunate cover with a couple of illustrated fish dancing (resembling a children's album) but the music within is very mature and interesting. Garth Adams voice hasn't really changed a lot but the songs seem a little more solid this time around. It's like he is getting used to being the front-man and primary songwriter. The album starts out with the mellow "Closer" that gives a good impression of what to expect on Dance On Friday Night. I am reminded a little of a more mainstream Billy Bragg on tracks like the title track. More a mix of Bragg and something like the Stars. It's rare that Garth and crew really rock out but most of Dance On Friday Night is completely listenable and enjoyable. A track like the final instrumental simply entitled "Ether" is gentle and soothing showing that Ether is more focused towards the more mature crowd. I still think that they have potential and if discovered, they could possibly have a couple hits.
(indie 2003)
Review date: 2004-03-04 01:08:18 by Dennis Scanland
- Dennis Scanland

Ether is the musical child of Garth Adam, a veteran musician from Australia who has played in several genres including some that would fall into the "pretty loud and chaotic" category. With Ether, he seems to be exploring the beautiful side of music, basing the sound around exquisite acoustic guitar tones, simple, unobtrusive drums and bass that serve the song without taking over, pretty electric guitar embellishments and his distinctive baritone voice, all wrapped in a light cloud of reverb. The tempo is deceptive. The trappings create the illusion of skating along slowly, but often the actual tempo is closer to middle of the road, and a few of the tunes are decidedly up tempo, such as "Cried All Night," a cute little song that has all the elements I described above with the added touches of a well-played mandolin and lyrics that feel like they're right out of the bubblegum era. How's that for a strange juxtaxposition? Great Ocean Road is a fine album that doesn't sound like anything else, and I don't know about you, but that's something I'm always on the lookout for.

© 2003 - DJ Johnson

CMJ New Music Monthly, September 2002 – Issue 105
- CMJ Issue 105

“Ether has a flowing rock sound, a sound that invokes thoughts of the ocean, which was the intended effect. At times, the music busts into a kind of salsa or island guitar, further invoking dreams of faraway places, as the rhythm softly medicates your mind against stress and anxiety. It is sometimes wistful and melancholy, but strikes the right chord.”
(Don Pflaster, Impact Press, January 2003)
http://www.impactpress.com/articles/decjan03/musicr12103.html
- Impact Press

ETHER - Dance on Friday Night (Independently released CD, Soft pop)
Singer/songwriter Garth Adam picks up where he left off on the second Ether full length. This band is a good example of just how good independent artists can be. Rather than spazzing out with grating noise and jarring effects (like many underground artists)...Adam instead opts to present super smooth and smoothing pop compositions that float by like the fluffiest of clouds. Songs are the strongest part of the equation here...with words and melodies absorbing the spotlight. There's a lot to love here...superb tracks like "Closer," "Dance on Friday Night," "All At Sea," and "I Wish I Could Remember" all feature outstanding melodies supported by perfectly suited arrangements. Adam has a great voice...simultaneously masculine, focused, and sensitive. Another great album from Ether. Recommended. (Rating: 5)

- Babysue.com