Adam Sullivan » Blog

so everybody put your best suit or dress on

Adam — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 17:59:44 +0000

Happy New Year everyone!! On this first day of the year, I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank each and every one of you for your support last year. 2009 was a long year, but a good one. In April, I put out a new record entitled I’ve Never Been Fond of Falling from Heights (Swan Dive into the Atlantic). The record featured performances from good friends Ira Richards, Ryan Helm, Ben Mars, Amanda Hilson and Keira Keeley, and was mixed by another good friend Kieran Kelly. It was my most successful record to date, so thanks to everyone who downloaded a copy from iTunes (especially those of you in the UK and Germany!) and to everyone who bought a CD at a show. I hope you enjoyed listening to the record as much as I enjoyed making it and performing it live.

Speaking of shows, I played a few this past year (75 shows in 4 countries!!). Thanks to all of you who came out to a show, even if you didn’t know you were coming to see me. I made a lot of new friends this year, and I am excited to see all of you again on the road this Spring. New tour dates will be posted soon, so be sure to check my web site(s) frequently (see links below).

I’ve got a lot of exciting things planned for 2010. For the past several months, I’ve been in Nashville making a couple of new records (because I can’t make just one) with my friend John Mark Painter. The plan is to release a new full-length album in April, preceded by a special “Nashville-esque” EP in March. More details will follow soon, but I am very excited to share both projects with everyone.

In the meantime, have a safe New Year’s wherever you are!

Adam

P.S. In the spirit of the New Year, I have uploaded an appropriately themed laptop demo recording that I made a couple of weeks ago in my bedroom. You can download it here: http://www.adamsullivan.com/Resolution.mp3. Enjoy!

For up-to-date record release info, tour details, and other such nonsense, keep tabs on me via the following:

Web – http://www.adamsullivan.com
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/adam_sullivan
MySpace – http://www.myspace.com/adamsullivan

so if you care to find me, look to the western sky.

Adam — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:24:57 +0000

i’m in Milwaukee. sitting at a coffee shop. the venue’s about 10 minutes away. i need to be there in 48 minutes. that gives me 38 minutes (minus the amount of time it takes me to write this) to finish my coffee and maybe sleep for a few. i’m a bit tired. funny thing is, i slept for most of the afternoon. i guess driving around the country by yourself can take it out of you.

or maybe it’s that i just had a butter burger and some of the frozen custard that Milwaukee’s famous for. i’ve been trying to do the “local” thing from town to town, and it’s been really fun trying new things. they should make an olympic event out of trying to finish the frozen custard before it melts (the term “frozen” should be used lightly). it was a bit of a mess.

the one thing i haven’t tried here is the fish fry. that’s also supposed to be a big thing here in Milwaukee, but i have not yet ascertained the difference between “fish fry” and “fish and chips” (with the exception that fish fry is served with italian bread and coleslaw). isn’t fried fish, well…. fried fish? please correct me if i’m wrong. this is something that will most likely keep me up for nights to come.

that said, i’m parked like a mile from here. so i should probably head out. if you’re in town, see you in a bit. and i hope you like Toto (that cover doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon)…

i taught myself how to grow ’til i was crooked on the outside, inside’s caved.

Adam — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:45:44 +0000

I’m sitting at a cafe in Oakville, Ontario. One more Canadian show, and then it’s back to the US. I’m actually staying at Niagara Falls tonight. I’ve never seen the Falls, so I’m really looking forward to it!

Unfortunately, I’m feeling a bit under the weather. I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep, and the constant activity is starting to catch up to me. I need a Jamba Juice Cold Buster stat!! I don’t think they have those in Canada…

Can someone please bring me one?

I would like to tell you, this is not about you. I’ve seen it before, I’ve seen it before.

Adam — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:14:17 +0000

So, I almost fell off of a mountain in Montreal this afternoon. Mont-Royal to be specific. I went hiking with a friend up to the top to see the city below, which was very cool and very beautiful. We decided to take a different way down than the one we took up. That was the first of several successively poor decisions. The next was deciding to leave the walking trail for a bike trail, thinking it might take us down to the bottom faster. We got about 1/4 of the way down, and then got stuck. It was too steep to continue going down. Yet, it was almost too steep to get back up. For a while there, I thought our hiking adventure was going to turn into a camping adventure. We ended up scaling back up to the top (SO thankful the roots didn’t come out of the ground), and then finding our way back to the bottom eventually.

Needless to say, I’m a bit exhausted. Glad I have the night off!

I would like to tell you where I’m going to. I’ve seen it before, I’ve seen it before.

Adam — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:31:32 +0000

Hmm, so someone broke into my car last night. I got up this morning, and went down to the hotel parking lot to get a cable out of my car, and there was just a bunch of glass on the ground. Apparently, someone took a bat to my rear passenger window. Now, I know my Portland show was not my best, but really? Was it the Toto cover?

So $182.50 later, I’ve now got my window back and am headed soon to Boston. I’m hoping my experience in Boston is better than my experience in Portland. Although, short of someone setting my car on fire – it should be.

Although, Ivan at Slainte (in Portland) was awesome as usual. This time he gave me a souvenir beer tap handle to add to my collection of Portland regional pint glasses. Amazing!!

i bless the rain down in Africa

Adam — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:51:51 +0000

So, I almost drowned in my sleep last night. I’m camping with some friends in Cape Cod this week while I play my various New England dates. Last night there was a 70% chance of scattered showers. That, I’m okay with. But no one said anything about hurricane winds, amplified thunder, and gallons of water pouring down on the thin line of plastic between me and the outdoors. Oh yeah, and apparently there’s a small ventilation flap near the floor of the tent – I did not know that last night. I was made aware of this fact when I woke up this morning to a suit case full of soaked clothing.

I have tonight off, so I’m going to try to dry some of my clothes. See you tomorrow night Providence! If you’re coming to the show, please note that I will be accepting new and used clothing for my favorite charity – but please bring only medium-sized adult shirts and 30W jeans. Thanks!

did you hear the news? saw it on tv – now ray guns are not only just the future

Adam — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 07:03:19 +0000

they say you can’t go home. maybe that’s true. but apparently, you can play a really fun show 45 minutes from home! everyone in Charlottesville, VA was so supportive and hospitable and I can’t wait to come back. i haven’t played Blacksburg yet, but I have to say that at this point, by my vote is in the UVA column…

so, my new record has been available for purchase at two shows now (even though it doesn’t come out until May 5), and on average, 30% of people at each show have purchased one! this means that if I had played for 833,334 people at each show, my new record would be certified gold in the US. so close, yet so far away. my Dad said it’s his favorite record of the year. to be fair, though, it’s the only record he’s listened to all year. so for what that’s worth…

headed south tomorrow (Chapel Hill), then back north on Tuesday (Delaware). i can’t wait to play more shows and inch closer to legitimate gold certification.

you know I dreamed about you – I missed you for for twenty-nine years

Adam — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:07:51 +0000

good morning! i’m sitting here in my hotel room, half-way between last night’s show and tonight’s show – completely unsatisfied by the continental breakfast (no big surprise). according to Webster, the word continental means:

1 forming or belonging to a continent.
2 coming from or characteristic of mainland Europe.
3 pertaining to the 13 original colonies of the US.

i can personally vouch for the fact that my continental breakfast meets none of these three requirements for being continental. furthermore, it barely meets the requirements for a basic breakfast. i chose the mini-bowl of raisin bran over the stale mini-muffins. lovely.

a boom box is not a toy

Adam — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:25:51 +0000

I’m pretty sure it’s been almost a year since I’ve blogged here. So, I apologize for being so out of touch. There just wasn’t a whole lot going on last year. I finished recording a new record last June, and then sat on it for a long time. Then in September, I decided to re-record the pianos (with real pianos for once), add a few vocals, and add some guest vocals with Kieran Kelly (The Buddy Project) engineering. Then, Kieran mixed the project this past Winter, we had it mastered a few weeks ago, and it is now being pressed/printed. So, without further ado (well, 4 weeks and 2 days more ado), I Have Never Been Fond Of Falling From Heights (Swan Dive Into The Atlantic) will be released on May 5. FINALLY.

In the meantime, I’m headed out to play shows throughout April to promote the new record. While the official release date for the new record is May 5, it will be available for purchase at all of the shows on the April tour. Some of the shows will be with the band (Ben and Mason), while others will be solo. So, it should be good fun.

The first line of my song Montauk is, “You’re so beautiful, you’re like an angel driving in your silver automobile.” The silver automobile being referenced was a 2004 VW Golf. So I thought it was only appropriate that the car I drive on this tour is a silver 2004 VW Golf. I found the exact same model in Fairfax, VA a few weeks ago, and took 2 subways, 2 trains, and 2 cabs to get there. It was quite a long day, but I did manage to take possession of my very own silver automobile and drove it home to NYC. That said, here is where the silver automobile will be in April (additional details are available at myspace.com/adamsullivan):

4.05.09 Philadelphia, PA M Room
4.08.09 Trenton, NJ Katmandu
4.10.09 Williamsport, PA Coffee and Tea Room
4.11.09 Charlottesville, VA Para Coffee
4.13.09 Chapel Hill, NC The Cave
4.14.09 Wilmington, DE Mojo 13
4.15.09 Newtown Square, PA Burlap and Bean
4.16.09 New York, NY Sidewalk Cafe (NYC CD Release)
4.17.09 Danbury, CT City Ale House
4.21.09 Portland, ME Slainte Wine Bar and Lounge
4.22.09 Cambridge, MA Club Passim
4.23.09 Pawtucket, RI The Blackstone Club
4.25.09 Springfield, MA Land of Plenty – 90.7 FM WTCC
4.26.09 Burlington, VT Radio Bean
4.27.09 Providence, RI Everyman Bistro
4.28.09 Asbury Park, NJ The Saint
4.29.09 Hoboken, NJ Whiskey Bar

And this is just the beginning of a very busy year. I’m headed back to Boston in May to play a festival, and then the band is recording a 3-track tour 7″. In July, we’ll be back on the road selling that along with the new record. For those who don’t have a record player, the 7″ will be available on iTunes after the tour.

I’m recording a new set of EPs in September to be released at the end of the year. And if that’s not enough, this Summer I’m re-releasing my 5 out-of-print EPs with new original painted artwork from Paul Fraser in Hong Kong. So, I’m definitely trying to make up for last year being filled with nothing!

Crystal Jones has done my artwork and web sites for over 5 years now, and she is back with some great artwork for the new record, as well as a new web site and MySpace site design. These will be launching on May 5 along with the record, so watch for that!

That’s all of the news I have for now (was it enough?). I need to go take a shower, pack up my stuff, and figure out where I parked my silver automobile. Then it’s off to Philly. See everyone soon!

Cheers,

Adam