We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Adam Price a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Adam thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am certainly grateful for my career and where music has taken me. I am blessed to have been able to travel the world with my music. It has afforded me some incredible opportunities that few people get. That being said, the life of a freelancer has its own set of anxieties and struggles. Some days I do with I had a job with benefits, or health insurance, or PTO. And the anxiety of not having steady work can get to you after a while. Some months are great, and some are slow. The slow months can be scary sometimes. But luckily I have always been able to make it work. I feel very grateful to continue to make a living at this, and I’m always so thankful to my fans and supporters.

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.

My name is Adam Price and I am a professional musician and educator. I’ve been a professional performing and teaching artist for upwards of fifteen years now. I have spent much of my time playing in the jazz idiom, and released a critically acclaimed album in 2018 called “House Ghosts.” I perform at clubs/restaurants and private events, and have performed on cruise ships and on multiple tours as well. In addition to my performance schedule, I teach quite a lot. I have taught music at multiple music camps over the summers, and given workshops to students at various colleges and universities. I also have a small private studio of students.

In 2021, I co-founded a production and educational company with Emily Jane Acree, called Relative Rhythms, that produces educational events for tap dancers. We talk about the shared history of tap dance and jazz music, teach musicality, rhythm and music theory, improvisation, and dive deeply into subjects that are rarely taught at dance studios. Our goal with this project is to change the perspective of tap dancers and have them start thinking of themselves more as percussionists. We hope that people who take our workshops will be excited about these different perspectives, and seek out new ways to collaborate with musicians and create a larger, more inclusive artistic community.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I believe the arts are a healing therapy. I know that is certainly true for me. As a performer, the music is my therapy. But I believe that is true for the audience as well, no matter what the medium is. When people allow themselves to deeply experience art, not as passive background music or as a generic hallway painting, but truly immerse themselves in it, it can be a deeply moving and healing experience. When the artist puts that intention into their work, it becomes a salve for the world. When people come up to me and say that they were moved by my music, I know I have done my job. This is the most rewarding part of being an artist, and also one of the biggest responsibilities: to be able to touch others, and hopefully offer a bit of healing.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

This is such a heavy question, and there are plenty of ways to answer it. American society values ease and instant gratification over quality. You can look at any part of our society and see the effects of this. It is why so many towns have so many fast food restaurants. It is why big box stores and online marketplaces have monopolized the retail sector. We have let them, for the sake of ease and instant gratification. In the end, if we want to support creatives, we need to reprioritize what is important to us. We need to prioritize humans over companies, and quality over ease. Buying one painting, or seeing one show won’t make a big difference in the grand scheme of things, but if we change our mindset and use our pocketbooks to support local and independent businesses, the effect on our communities will be massive, to include the artistic community. If, rather than going to a big fast food chain for dinner, we decide to support a local restaurant, that raises the local economy and perhaps affords the restaurant a little extra money to potentially hire a band on the weekends. If we decide to go to our local, independent farmers market instead of the big international box store, it might give the market enough money over time to fund a mural by a local artist. If we use our money to support businesses and people that keep our money in our communities, rather than taking it out, all our expenses will become an investment instead of a cost. So, support local, support independent, and support businesses that in turn support the arts. There was a time when everyone in the US smoked, and now, within a fairly short amount of time, very few people do. Large cultural shifts are possible. It is cool to support local, and it is cool to support the arts, and the more we live that and make it cool for others to do so as well, the sooner all our communities will be healthier, and artsier.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.adampricemusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adampricemusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adampricemusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/adampricemusic
• Other: https://www.relativerhythms.com/

Image Credits
Images 2 & 3 credit Doug Boemker of Hollow Rock Media Image 4 credit Denise Cerniglia Image 5 credit Karl McWherter