We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ann Adams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ann below.

Ann, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

For many years, I wrote music by ear, by pure spirit channel but I didn’t seem to really believe in my songs or their potential. I was just writing them to better understand myself. Writing for love and singing to the sound hole and my knee.

I had performed in a rock cover band called “The Blenders” for 11 years and did around 20 gigs a year with them. There was not much room in that band to practice or collaborate on original music. They were not into it They wanted to stick to the script. Something inside of me kept saying….Ann, you need to peruse doing your own music. You have something important to tell the world and you will never accomplish that goal if you are busy learning other people’s music and trying to sound like something you are not.

In 2015 I retired from my teaching job of 30 years in the public schools of NC. I taught high school visual arts . I said goodbye to that and in 2017 I said goodbye to The Blenders. I really had to reinvent who I thought I was as a visual and performing artist. I wanted a sound that was authentically me, not canned , not overproduced, but rather more organic. Joni Mitchell was one of my musical heroes for that very reason. She told all of the critics, the producers and the ones who tried to get her to change herself for a more pleasing public and commercial appeal to stuff it. I kinda feel the same. I won’t be put into a box and labeled. Creatives like me? We don’t have a box We threw that sucker away a long time and decided we could explore creativity and be whatever we wished Beyond labels. I like to think of my art as just that…beyond labels and pigeon holing.

As an artist , I knew that I needed to get my body of work out there so that it could be heard. I was frustrated with the musicians I had previously worked with and went a whole
New route. I was looking for someone to produce my original music with, a studio that would take my raw recordings of me and the guitar and help me to record and arrange the works so that they could be introduced on streaming platforms . A friend of mine suggested Ryan Masecar of Car Shop Recording as a good fit for my vision.

Ryan is a great drummer and musician with awesome musical creative instinct and a good ear. I walked into his life, a complete stranger with a fistful of cash and said, “ Hey, would you be interested in helping this old lady get her original music produced in your studio? He said, yes and they he knew some musicians that could help me do it right. Those young creative musicians are Cameron Fitzpatrick on keys and synthesizers, , Matt Kirk on bass , Daniel Anderson on electric guitar and Ryan masecar on drums and percussion. Ryan is the master mixer and producer as well and runs the car shop recording studio out of his home in Garner NC.

With their help, I released my first full length album of original music on 11/11/2022. The album is called “All the You’s and Me’s and it is distributed by Distrokid on all streaming platforms. One of the reasons this album is so important to me
Is the message of the title track. I don’t see the world through the same filters of division they most people do. I see the world as a collective unified consciousness with 7.5 billion individuals expressing themselves through their own creative frequency, kind of like dialing in radio stations with different ideas, sounds and content. Even though there are many differing ideas , they all come from the stream of consciousness that is unified and universal ….all are one. There is no separation. That is the biggest lie that has ever been perpetrated against humanity.

People are coming around now and seeing the bigger picture and this universal truth ….recognize that the other person IS you. That other guy over there? That guy IS you. So is that girl!

The main message of the title track to All the You’s and Me’s is that there is room enough in the world for all the you’s and me’s. There’s room at the table of lofe for everyone and all of their unique ideas and expression. I truly believe that from the core of my being. I want the world to believe it , too. Letting go of the lies of separation we have been told and recognizing our unity as human beings despite our different origins ….that is where it’s at

My latest full length album “Happy Hour” will be out January 1, 2024. 3 singles from the album have already been released , one per month since August 2023. The album is even better than the first and has much to offer in variety of styles and content. There are songs that should be listened to with a laid back Sunday brunch feel to them such as “Happy Place” which takes the listener on a beautiful journey walking solo on an early morning sunrise at the beach. Then there are songs with a rock country flare such as “Get Over It” which cut to the chase and tell everybody out there…hey, you, yeah you….if you can’t get over it , then you’d better crawl under it! Hahaha! We all have something we are trying to get over!

Another highlight from the album is the song”Do you wanna be happy or right?” It feels HUGE, with a bold and classy jazz feeling like we are in a smoky club in Chicago and a girl with a feather boa is up there singing and putting the question to the audience…do you wanna be happy or right ? It has amazing trumpet leads and a musical bridge that was created live on the spur of the moment in the studio. The guys really hit it out of the park with this song.

Being a visual and performing artist has been a good path for me. I have been a tie dye artist for over 25 years, incorporating my dyes into my visual art illustrations and paintings. I am currently using them and my original drawings to create lyric videos for some of my songs on the current album Happy Hour. They are available for streaming on YouTube I also post on Instagram and annadamsmusic on fb. My tie dyes and creating pattern and color have been so freeing for me to use in my visual arts as backgrounds or as visual details.
Look for more of my artistic interpretations to come through on my lyric videos.

I am currently working on creating a website to promote my music and art, along with my tie dyes, blogs they discuss the creative process and following your authentic path and also to promote the children’s book I illustrated with author Denise Fehrer Burnette . The book called “The Day The Sun Went Out In Grownupsville”. Which is available on Amazon in hard or soft copy. It is also available as an ebook.

The importance of creating authentically from spirit , from the muse, whatever you want to call it , is truly important to me. I have many things that I love to create.

My path and exploration of Kundalini yoga helped me to believe in myself and to know that I should honor what the spirit voice inside of me is trying to share. That it doesn’t matter as much what other people think of it as long as I BELIEVE in it I want others to believe in their creative connections to the divine spark within them and know that they are good enough to be whatever they want to be. It has taken me a lifetime to know my worth. Now that I do, I will never sell myself short again and I will trust in the process of life and its flow to attract creative opportunities for self expression. If people can relate to my art , if it speaks to them, then I know I am on the right path. If I can accomplish that through my art and music then I feel that I fulfilled my purpose as an authentic voice of creativity within the collective and didn’t sell out I could never be the kind of
Cookie cutter industry artist that sells its soul to the company! That would never do for me.

Ann, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My musical and artistic journey started out very young I always loved to draw and paint and create. I was quite musical as a young child and learned to oaky the piano by ear and later guitar. I became a visual arts teacher upon graduation from Meredith College in Raleigh , NC. For 30 years , I taught Vidal arts in the NC public schools and it was there that I realized Art saved lives and gave people a way to express themselves and know themselves.

As a song writer, I often took inspiration from the lives of my students, the things they were going through. I wrote prolifically about their struggles and my own, mainly to learn to believe in myself and to follow through without giving up on my dreams. When one takes the time to write about their feelings and observations in life, it is like a confession of sorts. It helps one to process where they are and understand themselves better. Writing became a sort of therapeutic act. Creative Journaling Also helped me to understand myself and my purpose.

It’s hard to describe myself as an artist. I don’t write formulaic songs. Sometimes the timing and the phrasing doesn’t follow the usual standards. The grooves I wrote are not all 4 on the floor rock grooves. I find it hard to select a particular genre to describe my musical style. It’s all over the place. It’s rock, jazz, folk, country, and contemporary. I listen to it and enjoy its complexity. My litmus test for my early songs was my kids. When I would play a new song I wrote, I would play it for them. If they liked it , they would dance around and smile a lot. I knew I was doing something right when that happened.

When someone listens to my songs or sees my art, I want them to think…well, that is pretty cool, I’ve never seen or heard anything like that before. I don’t want to sound like this person or that, I don’t want my art to follow the formulas of past artists I want them to be true to my own unique vision and voice.

I have two albums out there streaming now , one in its entirety , “Ann Adams , All The You’s and Me’s and the other , Ann Adams “Happy Hour” be fully released on streaming platforms by January 1 , 2024. I wrote songs about love, despair, attraction, rejection, nature….basically about the human condition. Some songs are toe tapping, some are mellow, thought provoking and some are high energy but all of them vibe on what it means to be human. They all have a quality that speaks about love, about positively moving forward and believing in oneself and one’s dreams.

When I get my official website open for my artistic offerings , I hope that my blog, my commentary on the creative process , my mini concerts and virtual galleries will help to inspire other creatives to get out there and do their thing , too….to love what they are doing with all the passion they can muster and share it widely and confidently.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Yes, When I was fresh out of college I thought I might not like being a teacher after all and decided to go the route of graphic design. It was not easy getting a job in the field back in the days before digital portfolios and such. After being rejected , I decided to go the route of teaching visual arts and facing the challenge of being in the classroom. I’m glad I did give it a chance because it was a great career that allowed me to connect with young people and continue creating my own art images and music.

I started playing disc golf in the late 80s , way before it was cool. In those early days of the sport, we were a tight little group of folks who loved the sport and we also had our own land We decided to create our own disc golf courses on our property, making our own baskets and hosting tournaments. We called the tour the NC homegrown tour

Since there was a need for merchandise and art, I began designing disc stamps , posters and tee shirt art images for the NC HGT. The tour grew and now the tribe has grown also into some of the most beautifully caring people I know. The tour continues to grow as does the sport.

When I started filling in the need for a designer to create images for the tour, I truly stepped into the role as a self made graphic designer and have been doing image for the tour for almost 30 years. When the door got slammed in my face, I kept on believing in myself and wanting the dream. Opportunity found me and I was ready to step into the role. It has been a very fulfilling role and I stay busy with designing for the tour. Posters, disc stamps, tee shirt graphics and also my tie dyes for Merch. After all, when you win the tournament, there has to be some groovy prizes for the winners to choose. I love my tribe ! Disc golfers on the whole are a great group of people who love being in the woods! They have trusted me with designing for them and love goes into every work.

My point here is this…others may not have accepted me as qualified to become a professional designer in the commercial design field …..i didn’t give up and was persistent I created a niche for myself to do exactly what I wanted because I was patient and didn’t give up on myself. I was able to do this work as a side gig along with my career as an art teacher and then the world of tie dye hit me square in the jaw and knocked me into another creative scene I have had a love affair with tie dye, my chemical
Romance for over 30 years. I was a dead head back I the day and could never find tie dye that I liked bc I am not a day glow kind of girl. I wanted my subtle colors that were neutral and I wanted clothes that for a girls body. I began dying up tees for the homegrown tour with my designs on them and then went on to dye women’s clothes that could be worn as professional outfits for work or play. Most of my designs were for me to wear at my music gigs. I played acoustic guitar and sang in a rock cover band and I needed to look the part so my outfits in tie dye served that purpose and created a buzz. Everyone wanted me to tie dye stuff for them. I still do about 400 pieces a year. And that’s a lot of work.

I want to convey to rising artists out there that if the door keeps shutting in your face, if others don’t accept your creativity , you have to do one thing….Be patient, keep trying and believe in yourself and your creative process. You will magnetize and attract opportunity in direct proportion to how bad you want it , how hard you are willing to work and put yourself out there and get noticed. The right situation, the right people will come along soon and help you find your place in the creative world. Don’t be scared to take a chance Chart new territory and keep evolving as an artist. Believe in your creative voice. Sometimes , you just have to do it your way and the niche will
Present itself.

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

As a teacher, most of my life was centered around getting others to believe in themselves and their unique gifts. I had to meet them where they were and do my best to instruct them with artistic technique Once they learned the rules of making art , they were then free to explore the creative process and even break the rules and flow with their own authentic cycles of expression. I always taught that the process is more important than the end product. I still believe that to this day. Our evolution as creative beings depends on our ability not only to believe in our talents but to continue to learn , grow and expand our frontiers through collaboration . I learn something new everyday. I appreciate what others bring to the table. It’s not all about me as an instructor . I give the technique, the parameters for the projects and then I let them flow in the juiciness of their own creative ideas.

Teaching at any age level be it adult or youth is about what joy there is in working with others to help them express themselves with confidence and authenticity. When I create or help others create, I know they I am fulfilling a divine purpose that is based in JOY. It helped me become the highest expression of being human….assisting others in the creative process. The more I gave , the more I got. It feels great to see the twinkle in someone’s eyes when they know they did something amazing, ! Being able to measure their growth and improvement before and after instruction….now that is the aha moment that builds confidence. I love being creative and assisting others with the creative process ! It has been a blessing in my life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: annadamsmusic
• Facebook: annadamsmusic

Image Credits
Ann adams