As a member of the Million Dollar Marxists and Sedatives, Ottawa-based rocker Steve Adamyk is no stranger to fans of pop-laced garage punk. Most recently, Adamyk has found success with his solo project turned group the Steve Adamyk Band, who, after a string of beloved singles, are celebrating the release of their self-titled debut full-length.
In an Exclaim! interview, Adamyk explains that the project was born out of circumstance. "This thing has been something I've had on the back burner for my whole musical life," he says, adding, "Things aren't going to be slowing down any time soon."
Late last month, European punk imprint P. Trash followed up the group's singles with their debut album. At the same time, Portland punk label Dirtnap Records approached the band of power-pop punks for another full-length, with the Steve Adamyk Band now plotting to drop their sophomore album on the label in the fall of 2011.
After the Million Dollar Marxists and Sedatives fizzled out, Adamyk was looking for a creative outlet for some songs he had written. "I had all this music that I really wanted to record, so I pretty much grabbed a bunch of my friends that I've played music with over the years and used them as a backing band. We recorded a bunch of tracks. I hadn't really intended on doing much with them but one thing led to another and it turned into a full band. There were people who really wanted to release the records, and at that point I thought if we have records coming out we should play some shows. It morphed into a real project, essentially from not having anything else going on."
But one definite oddity with the group is their moniker. "Initially I was a little hesitant to embrace a project that was just my name," Adamyk explains. "It's not something that's standard for punk rock or even any of the sub-genres at all. It could easily be confused with a singer-songwriter or folk project, which was my concern at first. Or some people could take it as something egotistical, which couldn't be further from the truth. It's my name and they're my songs but everybody in my band has a full say and it's not just me calling all the shots."
Still, a benefit from their name means Adamyk could realistically switch out members if he ever had to. "With all of my previous bands breaking up I was kind of frustrated with the fact that I didn't have control over whether these bands were going to continue making music or not," he says. "I'm never going to have to encounter that problem again. If someone in my band doesn't want to play anymore I can replace them. It's not something I want to do, because I love the guys that are currently with me now, but if it ever were to happen I would just deal with it accordingly and move on."
The Steve Adamyk Band will be available on a ten-song LP, while the CD version will be expanded with an additional ten tracks. Two of them are unreleased songs from the LP sessions, while the other eight come from the band's seven-inches.
In addition to the recorded output, the Steve Adamyk Band have a busy touring schedule ahead. This spring, they'll perform at SXSW. From there, they'll fly to Europe for a full European tour. Then, if all goes as planned, they'll treat Canada to some touring in the summer of 2011. All of their currently scheduled dates are available below.
The Steve Adamyk Band:
1. "I Fought for the USA"
2. "I'll Take You Anywhere"
3. "Domino"
4. "Unglued"
5. "Not For Long"
6. "Speed It Up"
7. "What They Won't Give"
8. "Hollowed"
9. "Better Off"
10. "Your Only One"
11. "Five One Zero" *
12. "Lies, Lies" *
13. "Speed It Up" *
14. "20-20" *
15. "Better Off" *
16. "Satellite" *
17. "Hit the Ground" *
18. "Desecrate" *
19. "Ivy Can't Wait" *
20. "Unglued" *
* CD only
Tour dates:
11/5 Montreal, QC - Barfly
12/3 Sudbury, ON - Townehouse
12/4 Ottawa, ON - Babylon
12/11 London, ON - Richmond Tavern
In an Exclaim! interview, Adamyk explains that the project was born out of circumstance. "This thing has been something I've had on the back burner for my whole musical life," he says, adding, "Things aren't going to be slowing down any time soon."
Late last month, European punk imprint P. Trash followed up the group's singles with their debut album. At the same time, Portland punk label Dirtnap Records approached the band of power-pop punks for another full-length, with the Steve Adamyk Band now plotting to drop their sophomore album on the label in the fall of 2011.
After the Million Dollar Marxists and Sedatives fizzled out, Adamyk was looking for a creative outlet for some songs he had written. "I had all this music that I really wanted to record, so I pretty much grabbed a bunch of my friends that I've played music with over the years and used them as a backing band. We recorded a bunch of tracks. I hadn't really intended on doing much with them but one thing led to another and it turned into a full band. There were people who really wanted to release the records, and at that point I thought if we have records coming out we should play some shows. It morphed into a real project, essentially from not having anything else going on."
But one definite oddity with the group is their moniker. "Initially I was a little hesitant to embrace a project that was just my name," Adamyk explains. "It's not something that's standard for punk rock or even any of the sub-genres at all. It could easily be confused with a singer-songwriter or folk project, which was my concern at first. Or some people could take it as something egotistical, which couldn't be further from the truth. It's my name and they're my songs but everybody in my band has a full say and it's not just me calling all the shots."
Still, a benefit from their name means Adamyk could realistically switch out members if he ever had to. "With all of my previous bands breaking up I was kind of frustrated with the fact that I didn't have control over whether these bands were going to continue making music or not," he says. "I'm never going to have to encounter that problem again. If someone in my band doesn't want to play anymore I can replace them. It's not something I want to do, because I love the guys that are currently with me now, but if it ever were to happen I would just deal with it accordingly and move on."
The Steve Adamyk Band will be available on a ten-song LP, while the CD version will be expanded with an additional ten tracks. Two of them are unreleased songs from the LP sessions, while the other eight come from the band's seven-inches.
In addition to the recorded output, the Steve Adamyk Band have a busy touring schedule ahead. This spring, they'll perform at SXSW. From there, they'll fly to Europe for a full European tour. Then, if all goes as planned, they'll treat Canada to some touring in the summer of 2011. All of their currently scheduled dates are available below.
The Steve Adamyk Band:
1. "I Fought for the USA"
2. "I'll Take You Anywhere"
3. "Domino"
4. "Unglued"
5. "Not For Long"
6. "Speed It Up"
7. "What They Won't Give"
8. "Hollowed"
9. "Better Off"
10. "Your Only One"
11. "Five One Zero" *
12. "Lies, Lies" *
13. "Speed It Up" *
14. "20-20" *
15. "Better Off" *
16. "Satellite" *
17. "Hit the Ground" *
18. "Desecrate" *
19. "Ivy Can't Wait" *
20. "Unglued" *
* CD only
Tour dates:
11/5 Montreal, QC - Barfly
12/3 Sudbury, ON - Townehouse
12/4 Ottawa, ON - Babylon
12/11 London, ON - Richmond Tavern