Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adam Silvestri. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Adam, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
Learning the craft of songwriting is a lifelong endeavor. You never fully figure it out, you just uncover different layers as you go. Songs are written in so many different ways. You never know how or when one will come to be. I only know this through experience. I don’t think it’s possible to have done it any differently. There are no shortcuts along the journey. You must do the work, you must acquire the experience – there’s no way around it.
In dealing with songwriting, there is research that you can do. Growing up I was always curious about songs and why certain ones effected me in the way that they did and how that was accomplished. You pick them apart, dissect them to try and find some truths about how they are able to evoke the emotion they do. You can discover a good deal from doing this and equip yourself with some valuable tools of the trade but ultimately songs exist in the world of magic so you never come to any concrete conclusions.
I remember a time when I was working on a song and it just wouldn’t come together. Over and over again, hour after hour I searched for the words and arrangement to make the song complete but it just wasn’t happening. For probably eight hours I worked on this song and feeling tired and defeated I left the table on which I had been working and took my guitar to the front steps where I strummed some chords. In a matter of minutes a new song came to me which had no relation to the one I had been working on. The music and lyrics came together at once in a stream of conscious sort of way and just like that I had written what is probably my favorite of all my songs. Although I never finished the initial song, I can’t deny that in some strange way it was necessary in the process to write the song that I arrived at. Song writing is a mystical and fragile thing that requires sensitivity and patience.
Adam, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Sure. My name is Adam Silvestri and I have a band called Radiator King. We are currently based in L.A but I grew up in Massachusetts. I got into playing music when I was 8 years old. That was when I started playing guitar. Like most kids who are beginners, I learned all my favorite songs. However, at some point I became really interested in songwriting. Once I began writing songs I needed to find a band to play with so I formed a band with my best friends school. We would play shows and I loved it very much. Before long we wanted to take our music on the road so I learned how to book a tour and began traveling the country.
I think a lot of people have misconceptions about how things work in the music industry. Many think that people approach you with opportunities and that’s how you progress forward. However, this is not true. You create your own opportunities in this game and sure, once you put yourself out there opportunities will come your way, but it’s only once you’ve put in the hard work on your own that people start to recognize you and opportunities begin to come your way.
I pride myself on the fact that when I want to do something I do it and that’s not dependent on a booking agent, label or manager. When I was young and wanted to go on tour I learned how to book a tour. I learned this from the punk rock ethos. From the pioneers of DIY music – Black Flag, Minor Threat etc. If you’re waiting on the world to present you with opportunities you’re going to be waiting an awfully long time. It’s important for me always that I have a certain amount of independence in my career. That my happiness and fulfillment in making music is in my hands and is not dictated by others.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me the most rewarding part of being an artists is the journey it leads you on. Time and time again I find myself in wonderful places with great people that I normally would never had been in contact with if it were not for music. You write these songs and they take you on this great journey and the most beautiful part is that you never know what’s going to happen next. That aspect can be daunting at times, but I’ve found the more you can allow yourself to let go and let the journey take you where it must, the better off you’ll be. The universe has a strange way of taking care of you if you put your faith in it’s workings.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
Yes, there is certainly a mission driving my journey. I’d say first and foremost is to make worthy art. After a show recently I got into a conversation with someone at the merch table and upon saying goodbye they said “I wish you luck and that you become very famous!” I laughed to myself because it seemed a strange thing to say. While fame can be a byproduct of making something that many people connect with, it’s a pointless goal on it’s own. For me the motivation is to reach my fullest true potential as an artist, as a human. To have the necessary time to devote to my craft in order to make the best songs I am capable of. Take the Beatles for example, the band most consider the greatest ever. They didn’t just wake up one day and were great. So much time went into writing and playing together which made them the band they were. For a large part of their career all they did was go to the studio from 9 to 5 to write and record. Without that type of devotion, without that type investment in the music, we would have never of gotten the great music we did. So yea, I hope for my life, in whatever situation I find myself that I am able to reach the highest potential of what I am capable of. That would be fulfilling.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://radiatorkingmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/radiatorkingmusic/
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1sLtH5J5z3XioiGkTr6LEP?si=lA4SqrejROaBtiHfS9Xvmw
Image Credits
Michelle Shiers, Ken Pollin