Courtesy of Adam Clark

Adam Clark is a Rochester, New York-based pop/rock artist who really kicked his solo career into gear with the release of “Feels So Good” back in 2012. With the opportunity to sit down and discuss the latest goings-on in his music career with Adam, I jumped at the chance to once again interview my good friend and deliver the goods on what’s going on with him in this current time.

Fans of modern pop/rock stylings best keep around to hear more about his dealings with David Schuler (P!nk, John Legend, Daughtry), as well as his upcoming single, “King of the Sky”! “King of the Sky” is set to be released on Friday (Oct.10), and is currently available for iTunes pre-order.

Jonathan Frahm:

 Since we last spoke, you’d started working with producer David Schuler. In what ways has working with Dave been different from your dealings with other producers in the industry?

Adam Clark:

It’s actually funny. When I got to LA, he picked me up and we went to see this band at Loaded in Hollywood. I was completely awestruck with it being my first time ever in LA. I was completely, just, shocked.

The next day, we went to go work on the EP and I walk into his apartment, and he says “Okay, we’re going to start recording.” There was barely anything in the room, and I was just like “Hold on,” whereas he was like, “Hey man, look, I’m portable. I’m in Australia one day and then I’m in Rochester.” So, I was used to these big studios full of all sorts of recording stuff and we ended up going to LA to end up in his apartment.

I was completely thrown, though, because it ended up sounding 10 times better than anything else I’ve ever been able to do! That was the coolest part – he didn’t really need all of this fancy equipment to make it sound like a major label record.

JF: 

What was the development process like with “King of the Sky”? Going into writing and producing it, what were the key set of goals between yourself and Dave to tackle?

AC:

This is my first time writing while recording, and also my first time writing with another person. I usually write all my own music, sorta doing co-writing here or there with other people but never in a “big” sort of way.

With that said, we pretty much were working on one song for a release down the road and that song had the lyric, “I’ll be the king, I’ll be the king, the king of the sky” in it. But it sounded so good to Dave that he had said, “We should make this into its own song!” Next thing you know, one song became three different songs at that point!

What was really crazy though … I walked into his apartment a few days later and he basically had the entire production done. He asked me, “What do you think of this?”, and that’s when the tribal sounds started coming. I was floored just hearing all of the work that we did with the vocals of the chorus – there were over a hundred vocals at this time – and I heard this massive-sounding chorus with these tribal instruments and I was just sitting on the floor in disbelief. I was like, “This is going to be my record? Wow.”

JF: 

Now that “King of the Sky” is nearly released, what’s next on your agenda?

AC:

The idea right now is to basically ride out “King of the Sky” for as long as it’s going to go. Then, we’ll put out the EP – I don’t know when, to be honest, but it is done. We need to do about a day’s worth of small edits. We have a lot of other big key players who are interested that are coming into the fold now. Dave’s worked with Billy Mann, so that’s a possible person who might help work on this stuff.

The next single that I’m really excited to put out sometime is the first song that Dave and I put together called “With You”. That song just came out of nowhere. It’s piano-driven, up-tempo and maybe you’d like to dance to it.

JF: 

Compared to where you were just a couple of years ago, what has changed? What do you recognize as your greatest accomplishment so far, and where do you hope to be in just a few more years?

AC:

That’s been the kind of ongoing question in my mind. [laughs] The coolest part, to me, about my career so far was visiting LA. It was my first time ever going to the west coast and ever seeing it, and I think at that point in time, it really hit me. When I went down to Santa Monica for the night and just stuck my feet in my sand and looked out to the big ocean, it really hit me. I was like “Wow!”

And to think Japan is really just a little further down that body of water. I never thought I’d see LA. When you start out, you tell people you will make it there, but when you realize it’s a reality, that your music is starting to become its own thing … I think that’s the cool nature of this business. The places it takes you and the things you get to see is what it gives back to you after all of those endless hours writing and recording your songs. You get to see new places and new people and that’s the coolest thing. Seeing the west coast for the first time … That’s been the coolest thing so far.

As for where I want to be in a couple of years? Maybe I’ll be seeing you in Japan, selling out a worldwide tour. I mean, it’s really a “who knows” kind of thing.

JF: 

Okay, so, one question left… and it’s not as serious as my other questions. You know how I like to end my interviews!

AC:

Oh, I definitely do.

JF:

 You’d said in our last interview together that, basically, you wanted to be a pizza. If you were a pizza, what features would set you apart from the other pizzas of the world?

AC:

I’d be really cheesy. I’d be a heck of a strong crust but I’d be really cheesy … and that’s really probably it.

JF:

 I would probably eat you if you were a pizza. I know that must sound weird, but it’s the truth.

AC:

 [laughs] Oh my God!

Our thanks goes out to Adam for taking part in this interview. As soon as “King of the Sky” is out, everyone, you really should give it a listen. It’s pop/rock at its finest!