We were lucky to catch up with Adam Chester recently and have shared our conversation below.

Adam, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Back in 1984, I was a junior at the USC Thornton School of Music studying  Theory and Composition. There was no pop music department back then at the school, which was mainly focused on writing avant-garde, highly dissonant music. While I complied and did my best to write atonally, back in my dorm I was still writing pop songs and dreaming of becoming the next Elton John or Billy Joel. I had written a very autobiographical song at the time called, Think I’m Goin” Crazy, which still applies to my life today. Two of my closest friends and fellow Trojans in the Cinematic Arts school there, Scott Alexander and Howard Besserman (now lovingly known as Fudo) and I decided to make a music video for that song over the course of our summer vacation. We got a bunch of our friends to be involved in the video, and made the whole thing for $3,000 which at the time, was a lot of cash for all 3 of us to pool together. We ended up filming all around Los Angeles, probably at more locations than The Godfather used, and today, we have an hysterical time capsule of the year’s music, fashion and innocence. The video was featured on MTV’s show The Basement Tapes which was a competition call-in program that pitted 6 videos by different up and coming artists against each other. The video that received the most calls, secured a record deal with a major label. Think I’m Goin’ Crazy lost by literally 1% of the call-in vote! And even though we end up showing it to friends now and then, the master tape remained locked in a closet somewhere deep in Scott’s attic. Until now. Cut to 40 years later, Scott and I decided to bring the video back to life. We had it digitally re-mastered and I had the audio remixed! The video now looks better than it ever did before. So now, at a time when nostalgia and feeling good is so necessary for our well-being, we still stand behind this insane music video that once we share it on youtube, we all hope people will enjoy. (Again.)

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Since I was 8 years old, I’ve played the piano, sang and written music. Nothing makes me happier than to be at a piano or a keyboard, and getting people to leave their troubles behind for a few moments and engage in lighter times with some songs they know? And some they don’t. Aside from my occasional obsession with wearing a little patchouli oil, music is my only essence. As I like to say, for me? Work, is play.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

So much of what I do now is based on the truth that I’m the same human being I’ve always been. In fact, I’m not sure if my brain ever matured. And I feel that music has been responsible for guiding me through everything. I feel that when I’m behind a piano playing, nothing else matters, and that’s a feeling I hope to experience indefinitely.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My biggest goal at this point in time is to continue making my wife and kids proud through laughter and music.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.adamchester.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_adamchester/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adamchesterpiano/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamjchester?lang=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/adamchester

Image Credits
solo 8 x 10s taken by photographer Rory Lewis.