Peter Bradley Adams
Encyclopedia
Peter Bradley Adams is a folk-pop
Americana
singer-songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama
.
. Within a year of forming eastmountainsouth
in 2001 (with Kat Maslich Bode), they were signed by Robbie Robertson
to DreamWorks Records
(founded in 1996 by David Geffen
, Steven Spielberg
and Jeffrey Katzenberg
). Adams co-produced their debut album (Release Date: June 17, 2003) with Mitchell Froom
and toured extensively for the next year and a half with the likes of Lucinda Williams
, Tracy Chapman
, Joan Baez
and Nelly Furtado
. Their single, “You Dance” was a #1 AAA radio hit (top 5 for 2 months) in 2003 and eastmountainsouth
performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on September 24, 2003. DreamWorks Records
was subsequently sold to Universal Music Group
in October 2003 which shifted their rights to a couple of different labels until Adams and eastmountainsouth
eventually negotiated their official release. eastmountainsouth
performed their last show in September 2004 at the Hollywood Bowl
with Shelby Lynne
and Lyle Lovett
. It was not long after that when Adams decided to venture on his own and become a solo artist. Peter's arrangement and interpretation of Stephen Foster
's "Hard Times", the opening track on the eastmountainsouth
CD, appeared in Cameron Crowe
's film, "Elizabethtown
" and also was included on the soundtrack album. Peter's songs and music from eastmountainsouth (as well as solo) has appeared in over 30 films and television shows in the US (including One Tree Hill
, Smallville
, The Mentalist
and Alias
). Years later sales of eastmountainsouth
’s self-titled and only release rank in the top 20 in Amazon.com sales under the Alternative Folk category.
. He continued his studies at the University of Alabama
’s School of Music in Tuscaloosa
where he earned a Master’s degree in Music Composition. Adams was drawn to Los Angeles
in the mid ‘90s to study film scoring at USC Thornton School of Music
’s famed Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television (SMPTV) program which is the world’s most acclaimed programs of its kind. Adams worked as a freelance score composer for film and television until forming eastmountainsouth in 2001.
After releasing a limited edition solo ep in 2005, Adams was praised by some critics, including The Boston Globe
, who called it “a beautiful set of Americana music...It confirms the dreamy-voiced Adams as an artist to follow.” This effort was followed up by his first full-length solo release ‘Gather Up’ in 2006. Virtually all of this album was recorded in his apartment in 2005 between touring dates. Southern California’s super sessionman Greg Leisz
on his famous Weisenborn guitar is featured on ‘Queen of Hearts.’ Based on the response from this release, Peter was named “Notable New Artist of the Year” in 2006 by The Loft (Sirius XM) Satellite Radio
.”
Before recording his next collection of music, Adams headed east to Nashville to be closer to musicians and producers with whom he wanted to work. While working on ‘Gather Up’ Adams formed a collaborative bond with well-known session player and producer Lex Price. Now based out of Brooklyn, NY (via Nashville, Alabama, and Los Angeles) Adams is anything but a “Nashville artist.” Adams is currently signed to Sarathan Records (based in Seattle, Washington) which released his sophomore solo release, “Leavetaking.” This title was inspired by Mark Strand’s poem "The View." Peter Bradley Adams' most recent hit songs are "Los Angeles" and "The Longer I Run."
In November 2008, Adams was named by The Wall Street Journal
as one of the "21st-century writers whose songs are worth exploring.” and as “ [having] a way with melody and lyrics....and ready to be seen and heard.”.
In May 2009, "Leavetaking" earned Peter Bradley Adams IAP's "Best CD's of 2008" Award for Best Singer-Songwriter-Male.
Other Contributions
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
Americana
Americana (music)
Americana is an amalgam of roots musics formed by the confluence of the shared and varied traditions that make up the American musical ethos; specifically those sounds that are merged from folk, country, blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll and other external influential styles...
singer-songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
.
History
Before embarking on his solo career in 2005, Adams was a founding member of the critically acclaimed folk/pop duo eastmountainsouthEastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth is an American pop/rock band formed in 1999 composed of vocalists Kat Maslich-Bode and Peter Bradley Adams.The group released their self-titled debut album in 2003 after signing a deal with Dreamworks Records. This is the duo's one and only album as they have since parted ways...
. Within a year of forming eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth is an American pop/rock band formed in 1999 composed of vocalists Kat Maslich-Bode and Peter Bradley Adams.The group released their self-titled debut album in 2003 after signing a deal with Dreamworks Records. This is the duo's one and only album as they have since parted ways...
in 2001 (with Kat Maslich Bode), they were signed by Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
to DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down...
(founded in 1996 by David Geffen
David Geffen
David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
, Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
and Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg is an American film producer and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. He is perhaps most famous for his period as chairman of The Walt Disney Company's film division, and for producing DreamWorks animated films such as Shrek, Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken...
). Adams co-produced their debut album (Release Date: June 17, 2003) with Mitchell Froom
Mitchell Froom
-Career:Froom began his career as a keyboard player in Sonoma County, California. The band Crossfire featured two keyboards players; Mitchell on one side of the stage and brother David on the other with Gary Pihl on guitar...
and toured extensively for the next year and a half with the likes of Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams
Lucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
, Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
and Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...
. Their single, “You Dance” was a #1 AAA radio hit (top 5 for 2 months) in 2003 and eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth is an American pop/rock band formed in 1999 composed of vocalists Kat Maslich-Bode and Peter Bradley Adams.The group released their self-titled debut album in 2003 after signing a deal with Dreamworks Records. This is the duo's one and only album as they have since parted ways...
performed on Late Night with Conan O’Brien on September 24, 2003. DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records was an American record label. Founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg as a subsidiary of DreamWorks SKG, the label operated until 2005 when it was shut down...
was subsequently sold to Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
in October 2003 which shifted their rights to a couple of different labels until Adams and eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth is an American pop/rock band formed in 1999 composed of vocalists Kat Maslich-Bode and Peter Bradley Adams.The group released their self-titled debut album in 2003 after signing a deal with Dreamworks Records. This is the duo's one and only album as they have since parted ways...
eventually negotiated their official release. eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth is an American pop/rock band formed in 1999 composed of vocalists Kat Maslich-Bode and Peter Bradley Adams.The group released their self-titled debut album in 2003 after signing a deal with Dreamworks Records. This is the duo's one and only album as they have since parted ways...
performed their last show in September 2004 at the Hollywood Bowl
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is a modern amphitheater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, California, United States that is used primarily for music performances...
with Shelby Lynne
Shelby Lynne
Shelby Lynne is an American singer, songwriter and actress. The success of the 1999 album I Am Shelby Lynne led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, even though she had been active in the music industry for some time...
and Lyle Lovett
Lyle Lovett
Lyle Pearce Lovett is an American singer-songwriter and actor. Active since 1980, he has recorded thirteen albums and released 21 singles to date, including his highest entry, the number 10 chart hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, "Cowboy Man"...
. It was not long after that when Adams decided to venture on his own and become a solo artist. Peter's arrangement and interpretation of Stephen Foster
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
's "Hard Times", the opening track on the eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth is an American pop/rock band formed in 1999 composed of vocalists Kat Maslich-Bode and Peter Bradley Adams.The group released their self-titled debut album in 2003 after signing a deal with Dreamworks Records. This is the duo's one and only album as they have since parted ways...
CD, appeared in Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
's film, "Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown (film)
Elizabethtown is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. Alec Baldwin has a small role as a CEO of an athletic shoe company and Susan Sarandon appears as a grieving widow...
" and also was included on the soundtrack album. Peter's songs and music from eastmountainsouth (as well as solo) has appeared in over 30 films and television shows in the US (including One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill (TV series)
One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...
, Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, The Mentalist
The Mentalist
The Mentalist is an American police procedural television series which debuted on September 23, 2008, on CBS. The show was created by Bruno Heller, who is also the show's executive producer...
and Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
). Years later sales of eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth
Eastmountainsouth is an American pop/rock band formed in 1999 composed of vocalists Kat Maslich-Bode and Peter Bradley Adams.The group released their self-titled debut album in 2003 after signing a deal with Dreamworks Records. This is the duo's one and only album as they have since parted ways...
’s self-titled and only release rank in the top 20 in Amazon.com sales under the Alternative Folk category.
Biography
Peter Bradley Adams’ journey to singer/songwriter is a typical one as he combines his ideas with those of his musical influences. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Adams credits his grandfather, a former professional jazz clarinetist and accomplished pianist, as being his earliest musical inspiration. Adams began playing piano at the age of 6 and continued studying piano throughout high school and college. He worked with composer Michael Kapsner while studying abroad in Freiburg, Germany. While focusing on piano, organ, and music composition, his experience in Germany inspired Adams to continue his musical studies stateside. Adams graduated with a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Music from the University of the South in Sewanee, TennesseeSewanee, Tennessee
Sewanee is an unincorporated locality in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States, treated by the U.S. Census as a census-designated place . The population was 2,361 at the 2000 census...
. He continued his studies at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
’s School of Music in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
where he earned a Master’s degree in Music Composition. Adams was drawn to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in the mid ‘90s to study film scoring at USC Thornton School of Music
USC Thornton School of Music
The University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, founded in 1884 and dedicated in 1999, is one of the premier music schools in the United States...
’s famed Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television (SMPTV) program which is the world’s most acclaimed programs of its kind. Adams worked as a freelance score composer for film and television until forming eastmountainsouth in 2001.
After releasing a limited edition solo ep in 2005, Adams was praised by some critics, including The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, who called it “a beautiful set of Americana music...It confirms the dreamy-voiced Adams as an artist to follow.” This effort was followed up by his first full-length solo release ‘Gather Up’ in 2006. Virtually all of this album was recorded in his apartment in 2005 between touring dates. Southern California’s super sessionman Greg Leisz
Greg Leisz
Greg Leisz is an American multi-instrumentalist, playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass.- Biography :Leisz was influenced early on by the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, especially pedal steel player "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow...
on his famous Weisenborn guitar is featured on ‘Queen of Hearts.’ Based on the response from this release, Peter was named “Notable New Artist of the Year” in 2006 by The Loft (Sirius XM) Satellite Radio
Satellite radio
Satellite radio is an analogue or digital radio signal that is relayed through one or more satellites and thus can be received in a much wider geographical area than terrestrial FM radio stations...
.”
Before recording his next collection of music, Adams headed east to Nashville to be closer to musicians and producers with whom he wanted to work. While working on ‘Gather Up’ Adams formed a collaborative bond with well-known session player and producer Lex Price. Now based out of Brooklyn, NY (via Nashville, Alabama, and Los Angeles) Adams is anything but a “Nashville artist.” Adams is currently signed to Sarathan Records (based in Seattle, Washington) which released his sophomore solo release, “Leavetaking.” This title was inspired by Mark Strand’s poem "The View." Peter Bradley Adams' most recent hit songs are "Los Angeles" and "The Longer I Run."
In November 2008, Adams was named by The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
as one of the "21st-century writers whose songs are worth exploring.” and as “ [having] a way with melody and lyrics....and ready to be seen and heard.”.
In May 2009, "Leavetaking" earned Peter Bradley Adams IAP's "Best CD's of 2008" Award for Best Singer-Songwriter-Male.
Discography
Studio Albums- self-titled ep (2005)
- Gather Up (2006)
- Leavetaking (2008)
- Traces (2009)
- Between Us (2011)
Other Contributions
- eastmountainsouth "self-titled" (2003)