KC Cafe Radio’s first day of broadcast coverage from the 2017 Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City Missouri was truly an International experience, with talent from around the globe. Our thanks to Freebo, John Byrne, Wyatt Brewer, Lauren Adams, Megan Slankard, Brian Ashley Jones, and Elaine Mahon for sharing their time and talent before our microphones. Here are their interviews:
How many ways are there for a performing songwriter to “make it?”
You could hit the Top 40, as Ed Sheeran did.
A big-name recording artist could cover one of your songs, like when country superstar Dierks Bentley made Travis Meadows‘ song “Riser” the title track of his last album.
For Americana singer-songwriter Lauren Adams, it was when she met a fan who had tattoo’ed a line from one of her songs onto her foot. “I’ve shared the stage with some pretty big names and even had my song in a major motion picture but this girl’s foot is easily the most satisfying milestone of my career,” she said with a chuckle.
That kind of audience appreciation is what keeps an artist going in the absence of big-time success. From her first guitar lesson as a Florida teenager to her arrival in Los Angeles to her new album, Somewhere Else, Adam’s has always kept going.
Adams’ musical journey began on the stage of the world-famous Troubadour in West Los Angeles with a performance that was so tentative, she was completely caught off guard by the waves of applause. “The response was so positive,” she said, “that I realized, ‘Hey, I could actually do this.’” That was summer of 1978, when the club still hosted its open-mic “Hoot Night,” where songwriters could get up and play a few.
Since that time, Adams has opened shows for Leon Russell in Fort Lauderdale and for Rita Coolidge in Southern California; Gigged regularly (some would say “relentlessly”) at clubs and festivals across California, Texas, Colorado, and in Nashville, Tennessee; Released three albums of her own songs; Had her song “Thirsty” featured in the Lion’s Gate film Peaceful Warrior (starring Nick Nolte); And she has hosted LA’s longest-running Americana music event, the Americana Song Circle for 10 years.
On her newest album, Somewhere Else, Adams delivers quality songwriting in the Carol King/Eagles/Lucinda Williams vein: deep Americana roots and vivid storytelling delivered by a group of tasteful, compassionate players including her producer and friend Nick Kirgo (Nels Kilne of Wilco, JD Souther, Vonda Shepard, Pocket Goldberg and Dave Fraser).
Recently, KC Cafe Radio Music Director Kathy Forste talked with Adams via Skype. They talked about growing up with music in her life, brushing with greatness at the Trroubadour, and the uniquely rewarding connection she has been afforded between her life and her songs.
KC Cafe Radio’s first day of broadcast coverage from the 2017 Folk Alliance International Conference in Kansas City Missouri was truly an International experience, with talent from around the globe. Our thanks to Freebo, John Byrne, Wyatt Brewer, Lauren Adams, Megan Slankard, Brian Ashley Jones, and Elaine Mahon for sharing their time and talent before our microphones. Here are their interviews:
