About Me
ADAM TANNER
Roots-based Blues
Featuring
Mandolin, Fiddle, and Guitar
with blues harp and washboard accompaniament
Announcing:
The Release of Adam's Most Recent Recording:
SURE AS YOU'RE BORN
Adam Tanner's "Sure as You're Born" is a fresh sonic exploration and
celebration of early recorded American music. Bringing together Ragtime,
Hokum, Hillbilly and Gospel, Tanner combines Blues and Pre-Blues song forms with string band instrumentation to paint an aural picture of forgotten
sounds and styles that were some of the earliest roots of Jazz and Rock and
Roll.
Researchers of the early blues such as Paul Oliver, have written about
styles and instrumentation heard from plantations and farms in the rural
countryside to speakeasys and juke joints in cities like Memphis, Atlanta
and Nashville. Artists such as Muddy Waters, Rev. Gary Davis, and Yank
Rachell recalled the days of their youth, when they played in string bands
where fiddles, mandolins and banjos were as common as guitars and
harmonicas. At the same time, traveling Medicine Shows featured the sounds
of early Jazz which can be heard on recordings by artists such as Tommy
Bradley and James Cole, Clifford Hayes, and the legendary Memphis Jug Band.
In the early part of 20th century, music was not separated into catagories
by race. This changed as the recording industry began to separate music
created by African American artists into the "Race" record category and
recordings by white musicians into the "Hillbilly" record category. The
music of early white artists such as Frank Hutchison, The Allen Brothers,
and Sam and Kirk McGee have a strong connection to this earlier time, when
such distinctions were not made.
Perhaps the best example of early African American styles mixed with early
anglo string band sounds is the music of the Mississippi Shieks. The Shieks'
repetoire had heavy doses of Blues, Ragtime and string band sounds. The
Mississippi Shieks, along with Bo Chatmon (Carter), who recorded mainly as a soloist, played for both white and black audiences, rising above the
marketing distinctions created by record companies.
Adam Tanner has fused his knowledge of this musical history with his vocal
and instrumental skills to create a recording that is both joyful and
soulful; true to the orginal spirit without being bound by it. "Sure as
You're Born" stands out from a host of "modern" interpretations which are far
removed from the source or just clinical "guitar
tablature inspired" imitations. Tanner unearths infrequently heard sounds
and material and adds his own early blues inspired originals.
In the world of acoustic blues, this recording moves onto a less travelled
back road where emotion runs deep and music is meant to be felt in addition
being heard.
Adam's Bio:
Born in NY state and raised in Northern California, Adam was introduced to
music via Suzuki Violin training at the age of nine. Adam's older brother
Evan, also had a keen interest in music and played the guitar, eventually
teaching Adam enough rudiments on that instrument to keep his interest
growing.
Adam's high school years were a pivotal time in his musical development,
when he was exposed to Bluegrass Music and took up the mandolin. As a young adult he spent most of his spare time seeking out recordings and attending concerts and jam sessions; expanding his knowledge and vocabulary of southern Appalachian vocal harmonies, and continuing to improve his guitar, fiddle and mandolin skills.
By the time Adam reached the age of 21, he had begun to branch out beyond
traditional music and found a new way of expressing himself: by playing
electric guitar and composing original Rock and Roll based music. In 1983,
Adam relocated to Southern California and helped to form what was to become a seminal electronic/rock fusion band, Grotus. The band played up and down the west coast, building a fan base and eventually putting out two records on the "Alternative Tentacles" label owned by famed Dead Kennedys front man and political activist Jello Biafra. In the early 1990s, Grotus landed a recording contract with London/Polygram records (USA). Adam and the band continued to tour, sharing the stage with the likes of Nine inch Nails,
Swiss industrial rockers The Young Gods, New Jersey rockers Monster Magnet, and influencing and touring with Korn. The mainstream music buisness was a hard road and after eight years of touring the US and Europe, Grotus disbanded.
In the years to follow the break up of the band, Adam refocused his energy
on acoustic American roots music and dove head first into studying and
playing pre-Bluegrass southern Appalachian string music.
In 2000, Adam relocated to Western North Carolina, to be closer to the
geographical origin of his revitalized musical passions. During his early
years in Western NC, Adam sought out older masters of the appalachian
traditons. Visits with older musicians such as Joe Thompson, Clyde
Davenport, and Charlie Acuff provided a chance to learn the music from it's
source, a much more rewarding experience than just learning from recordings.
In 2003, Adam joined the Crooked Jades, a California based progressive
acoustic band with roots in pre-war southern styles. During the next three
years, the band, with Adam on fiddle, mandolin and acoustic lap guitar,
released a cd entitled "Worlds on Fire," and toured folk festivals and clubs
throughout the US, UK and Germany. Throughout this time Adam discovered and began to explore connections between pre-war African-American music and early anglo string band music. This research resulted in the development of a unique repetoire that crosses racial barriers. Adam cultivated his
instrumental and vocal skills to present a personal and fresh interpretation
of this music to a modern audience.
As of December 2006, Adam parted ways with the Crooked Jades to embark on a solo career focusing on early country blues vocal and instrumental styles. He recently completed work on a new cd entitled "Sure as You're Born" which is scheduled for a May 2007 release.
To learn more about Adam Tanner and to stay in touch with new developments in his touring and recording career, visit his website at:
www.adamtannermusic.com (coming soon)
www.adamtannermusic.com
Adam Tanner
Roots Blues .....as sure as you're born !!!
.. CDBABY LINK for ADAM TANNER: Sure As You're Born --
