INTERVIEW
ORLANDO, FL— The “A.D.A.M” in A.D.A.M Music Project doesn’t just stand for founder Adam Degraide’s name.
The project, whose acronym means “Artists Developing Astonishing Music” melds together Degraide’s love for video games and his lifelong love of music.
The Orlando-based musician comes from a long line of New England disc jockeys, growing up around radio and touring with their parent’s family band. Their mother taught them piano—then forcibly—but in high school, he realized its purpose while performing with other students.
“Music became a big part of my life because I realized not only did I enjoy it, it's a great way of self-expression. And for a guy like myself, it really helped me get attention when I was younger. And when you're young, you need a lot of attention,” says Degraide.
Degraide started his independent record label in Astonish Entertainment 2006, signing 5 artists, but felt he needed to branch out to write and promote his own music. But it’s not just Degraide that makes her A.D.A.M Music Project’s music. The band is joined by over 25 other artists in the collaborative project, each performing video game-related songs in what he describes as the “ultimate fan project.”
“I’ve been promoting other people's music for so long, I wanted to do a project on my own. But I didn't really have any message I needed to send, I didn't have a brand I needed to care about, and I didn't have any fan base. We're just starting out,” says Adam. And I said, But you know what? I love video games. What if I did hard rock music or rock and roll music of all the different genres—the eighties, 90s, 2000s, current sound—blend it all together, bring in a bunch of different independent artists, have a variety of singers and musicians, perform other songs.”
Their EP Apex Rising - Part I features Degraide’s brother Neil, Dameon and Gabe Aranda from Aranda. Chris Jackson and Tyler Anderson from A Lion Named Roar, Tulsa singer Lacy Saunders, and more. Degrade is currently in Oklahoma recording an EP for the Fall but will be releasing the follow-up EP Apex Risen this May, planning to do 2 albums a year and a variety of video game characters including Bowser, Princess Peach, God of War's Kratos, Joel from The Last of Us, and Resident Evil character Jill Valentine. Their current single “I Bring Death” is about Revenant from the game Apex Legends, staying true to the character with dark lyrics and a nu-metal sound.
“It’s a way for us to have a subject matter that was cool, that we thought was relevant, and it allows us to not be locked into a box, so to speak, lyrically,” explains Degraide. “We don't have anything to say other than what the characters represent. But the most important thing to me was the music had to be awesome. It had to be astonishing. You had killer performances, kick-ass guitar, kick-ass melodies, high-end production and the songs had to stand on their own, regardless of even if you knew the video game.”
Degraide is planning several performances for this year, but his main focus is creating content while trying to get the word out about the A.D.A.M. Music Project. The band’s TikTok currently has over 18k followers, connecting with the video game community on the platform and always looking for new inspiration to write a song.
“If the readers or the listeners have an idea for a character they'd love to have a rock and roll song written about, don't be afraid to tell us because we'd love to consider it.
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