Adam Goren
Encyclopedia
Adam Goren is a musician, best known as the sole member of the synthpunk
band Atom and His Package.
, New York City on January 14, 1975, but grew up in Oreland, Pennsylvania
. He played in several local bands as a youth. In 1991, Goren joined the punk band Fracture. He played with them until 1995, when the band broke up. At the time, he was in the last year of earning his B.A. in neuroscience
at Wesleyan University
. While Goren was still in school, a friend introduced him to music sequencer
s, and he began writing music with one in his spare time. Goren would go on to earn a Master's degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania
and become certified to teach high school chemistry
and biology
.
When Goren left Wesleyan, his friends in the band Franklin asked him to open for a few of their shows and he agreed. This marked the rise of Goren's identity as Atom and His Package, consisting of himself, a B.C. Rich
guitar, and his QY700 music sequencer, also known as "the Package."
In 1997 he released his first album, the aptly named The First CD, on Bloodlink Records. He released several more albums and EPs and has performed on several compilations. At one point, Goren gathered a small band to do actual punk covers of his songs and he released an EP of a live performance with this band, calling it "Atom and His Rockage." He completed tours in several countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Belgium, England and Australia.
In April 2003, Goren learned his wife was expecting a child. At about the same time, he also was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. This led to his decision to stop touring as Atom and His Package. Goren performed his final show under that name on August 29, 2003 in Philadelphia. After that show, he released his last album, Hair: Debatable, which included a bonus DVD of that final show. On Saturday, November 1, 2008, Goren performed as Atom and His Package at The Fest 7 in Gainesville, Florida.
Goren currently plays with the band Armalite. He taught at William Penn Charter School
, located in Philadelphia (East Falls), Pennsylvania until 2009. He now teaches chemistry and physics at the Shipley School
located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Many songs of Atom and His Package sample or borrow lyrics from various pop singles of the '80s and early '90s, including artists such as Eddie Money
and Joni Mitchell
. Goren has released numerous covers
as well.
Comedian Andy Daly marketed a product called Mustache TV, just like the Atom and his Package song. Daly contacted Atom in question of his song, to which Atom replied with a picture of a mustache taped to his middle finger.
Making Love was re-issued in 2005.
Adam Goren continues to work with Armalite, although he maintains a website under the name of Atom.
Synthpunk
Synthpunk is a music genre combining elements of electronic music and punk rock. The term was coined by Damian Ramsey in 1999 as an attempt to retroactively identify a small sub-genre of punk music from 1977 to 1984 that involved musicians playing synthesizers in place of electric...
band Atom and His Package.
Background and career
Goren was born in The BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York City on January 14, 1975, but grew up in Oreland, Pennsylvania
Oreland, Pennsylvania
Oreland is a United States census-designated place in Springfield and Upper Dublin townships, just outside of the Chestnut Hill and Mount Airy areas of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
. He played in several local bands as a youth. In 1991, Goren joined the punk band Fracture. He played with them until 1995, when the band broke up. At the time, he was in the last year of earning his B.A. in neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
at Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
. While Goren was still in school, a friend introduced him to music sequencer
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
s, and he began writing music with one in his spare time. Goren would go on to earn a Master's degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
and become certified to teach high school chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
.
When Goren left Wesleyan, his friends in the band Franklin asked him to open for a few of their shows and he agreed. This marked the rise of Goren's identity as Atom and His Package, consisting of himself, a B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich
B.C. Rich is a manufacturer of guitars and bass guitars founded by the late Bernardo Chavez Rico in 1969. Currently, most B.C. Rich guitars are manufactured in Asia, but luthiers of the company's custom shop continue to hand-make instruments. The Hanser Music Group, based in Kentucky, operates B.C....
guitar, and his QY700 music sequencer, also known as "the Package."
In 1997 he released his first album, the aptly named The First CD, on Bloodlink Records. He released several more albums and EPs and has performed on several compilations. At one point, Goren gathered a small band to do actual punk covers of his songs and he released an EP of a live performance with this band, calling it "Atom and His Rockage." He completed tours in several countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Belgium, England and Australia.
In April 2003, Goren learned his wife was expecting a child. At about the same time, he also was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. This led to his decision to stop touring as Atom and His Package. Goren performed his final show under that name on August 29, 2003 in Philadelphia. After that show, he released his last album, Hair: Debatable, which included a bonus DVD of that final show. On Saturday, November 1, 2008, Goren performed as Atom and His Package at The Fest 7 in Gainesville, Florida.
Goren currently plays with the band Armalite. He taught at William Penn Charter School
William Penn Charter School
William Penn Charter School is an independent school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, founded in 1689 by William Penn...
, located in Philadelphia (East Falls), Pennsylvania until 2009. He now teaches chemistry and physics at the Shipley School
The Shipley School
The Shipley School is a coeducational, independent, college-preparatory day school with approximately 835 students in pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade...
located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.
Music
The songs of Atom and His Package generally consist of electronic punk music put together with a sequencer. A few songs are purely instrumental. The lyrics of Goren's songs are usually humorous and most often centered around observations on mundane annoyances of daily life (some of which are purposely only relevant to Goren himself). Goren sings in a distinctive off-key manner. In his later years both his music and his singing became harder and more distinctly "punk" sounding, while his earlier music is generally more light-hearted and silly. In the event of his "package" (synthesizer) being broken, Adam would play his compact disc as a backing band.Many songs of Atom and His Package sample or borrow lyrics from various pop singles of the '80s and early '90s, including artists such as Eddie Money
Eddie Money
Eddie Money is an American rock guitarist, saxophonist and singer-songwriter who found success in the 1970s and 1980s with a string of Top 40 hits and platinum albums...
and Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell
Joni Mitchell, CC is a Canadian musician, singer songwriter, and painter. Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in her native Saskatchewan and Western Canada and then busking in the streets and dives of Toronto...
. Goren has released numerous covers
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
as well.
Comedian Andy Daly marketed a product called Mustache TV, just like the Atom and his Package song. Daly contacted Atom in question of his song, to which Atom replied with a picture of a mustache taped to his middle finger.
Atom and His Package discography
- The First CD (1997) (Bloodlink Records)
- A Society of People Named Elihu (1997) (The Mountain Cooperative)
- Behold, I Shall Do A New Thing EP (1998) (Vital Music Mailorder)
- Gun Court EP (1998)
- Atom And His Rockage EP (1998)
- Making LoveMaking Love (album)Making Love is an album by Atom and His Package, composed of B-sides, EP exclusives, and rarities originating from various artist compilations.-Track listing:# " Using the Metric System" - 2:50...
(1999) (No Idea RecordsNo Idea RecordsFor other uses, see No Idea .No Idea Records is an independent record label based in Gainesville, Florida which produces both vinyl records and compact discs...
) - Shopping Spree EP (2000) (with Har Mar SuperstarHar Mar SuperstarSean Matthew Tillmann , better known by his stage names of Har Mar Superstar and Sean Na Na, is an American singer.-Life and career:...
) (Sub City) - Redefining MusicRedefining MusicRedefining Music is an album by Atom and His Package.-Track listing:# "Undercover Funny" - 2:09# "Trump" - 2:22# "Shopping Spree" - 3:12# "Seed Song" - 1:48# "Anarchy Means I Litter" - 2:40# "Mission 1: Avoid Job Working With Assholes" - 3:18...
(2001) (Hopeless RecordsHopeless RecordsHopeless Records is an independent record label located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. The label was started in 1993 by Louis Posen and financed by a group of private investors. Hopeless's artists are generally considered punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, or alternative rock, but some...
) - Hamburgers EP (2002) (File 13File 13File 13 is a euphemism for the trash can. The phrase is especially used in the U.S. military, and is less common outside of the United States. In the United Kingdom, for instance, the expression "round file" or "circular file" is more common...
) - Attention! Blah Blah Blah (2003) (Hopeless RecordsHopeless RecordsHopeless Records is an independent record label located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. The label was started in 1993 by Louis Posen and financed by a group of private investors. Hopeless's artists are generally considered punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, or alternative rock, but some...
) - Hair: DebatableHair: DebatableHair: Debatable is a live album by Atom and His Package. All the songs are written by Adam Goren unless otherwise indicated.-Track listing:# "Intro" - 1:58# " Using the Metric System" - 3:20...
(2004) (Hopeless RecordsHopeless RecordsHopeless Records is an independent record label located in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. The label was started in 1993 by Louis Posen and financed by a group of private investors. Hopeless's artists are generally considered punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, or alternative rock, but some...
) - Going to Ames: A Tribute to The Mountain GoatsThe Mountain GoatsThe Mountain Goats is an American indie rock band formed in Claremont, CA by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle himself, despite the plural moniker....
EP (2001) limited to 500
Making Love was re-issued in 2005.
Adam Goren continues to work with Armalite, although he maintains a website under the name of Atom.
Compilations
- Operation: Punk Rock Freedom (2003 Hopeless/Subcity Records)
- "Mustache TV" (from "Attention! Blah Blah Blah")
- "Hopelessly Devoted to You Vol. 4" (2002 Hopeless/Subcity Records)
- "Upside Down From Here" (from "Redifining Music")
- "Possession (Not the One By Danzig)" (previously unreleased)
- "Flogging a Dead Cow: A Tribute to the Dead Milkmen" (2001 Superpickle)
- "Nutrition"
- Punk Uprisings Vol. 2
- "Punk Rock Academy"
- "Short Attention Span" freebie spazzcore compilation (2009, Methodist Leisure Inc.)
- "Bloody Lip" (I Hate You cover)
Appearance in popular culture
- Punk Rock Academy was covered by mc chrisMc chrismc chris is an American rapper, voice actor, writer and improvisational comedian....
for his 2009 album Apple TummyApple tummyapple tummy is a 'best of' compilation remix album by the American rapper mc chris released in 2009. This album was by mc chris himself. The 14-track album features two covers & Snobots remixes of his older songs.- Track listing :# peer gynt... - Throughout the four seasons of the television show The OC the character Seth CohenSeth CohenSeth Ezekiel Cohen is a fictional character on the FOX television series The O.C., portrayed by Adam Brody. Seth was one of the "core four" characters on The O.C. alongside Ryan Atwood, Marissa Cooper, and Summer Roberts.-Background:...
has an Atom and His Package poster displayed on the wall behind his bed. - In the bar on the television show It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaIt's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an American television sitcom that premiered on FX on August 4, 2005. New episodes continue to air on FX, with reruns playing on Comedy Central, general broadcast syndication, and WGN America—the first-ever cable-to-cable syndication deal for a sitcom...
many Atom and his Package stickers can be seen on the walls of the bar Paddy's. - "Upside Down from Here" was covered by Math the BandMath the BandMath the Band is an American electronic band formed in 2003 in Westford, Massachusetts by Kevin Steinhauser. Justine Mainville was added to the lineup in 2007. They've released many full-length albums and various EPs...
on the 2008 album, Math the Band Banned the Math. - "(Lord It's Hard to Be Happy When You're Not Using) The Metric System" was covered by MC LarsMC LarsAndrew Robert MacFarlane Nielsen is an American rapper, known by his stage name MC Lars. He is the self-proclaimed originator of "post-punk laptop rap". He was one of the first underground rappers to sample and reference post-punk and emo bands...
for his 2009 album, This Gigantic Robot KillsThis Gigantic Robot KillsThis Gigantic Robot Kills is the sixth album by nerdcore musician MC Lars.Lars has stated that he worked with "Weird Al" Yankovic, the Rondo Brothers, Nick Rowe and Mike Kennedy of Bloodsimple, James Bourne of Busted, Daniel Dart of Time Again, Donal Finn of Flash Bastard, Pierre Bouvier of Simple...
. - Adam makes a cameo in the film "Good Clean Fun"
- "I Am Downright Amazed At What I Can Destroy With Just A Hammer" was included in the snowboarding game Amped 2 on Xbox.