"Black Lives - People of Earth / European Tour '24
Play RTS: Radio Television Suisse
“At the Cully Jazz Festival, the ‘Black Lives’ collective set the big top on fire Friday evening.”
Jazz News Magazine
“ The Galaxy Black Lives Pacific Warriors.”
NJ Arts. net
Nicole Atkins reestablished that her voice is a marvel at the Outpost in the Burbs’ first OutpostFest, held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Montclair on Sept. 23. (It moved there from its intended site, the grounds of the Van Vleck House & Gardens, because of the heavy rain that was forecast for that day, and that indeed came.) She sounded great on her opening song, “Neptune City.” But she coughed a little at the end of it, and then told the audience that she was suffering from bronchitis, and that “we’re going to see how this goes … I’m going to see how many songs I can get through without totally dying.”
She started another song, but abandoned it quickly, saying she need to play something that would allow her to sing in a lower register. “This is my worst nightmare,” she told the crowd.
She then sang “A Night of Serious Drinking” and, once again, sounded great, but also started coughing again. She made it through most of the song but then stopped abruptly. “I am really sorry,” she said. “I can’t do it.”
In a show of support, the crowd clapped loudly. She promised to come back, and thanked the crowd “for being so cool,” but then left the stage.
The end to the show seemed particularly disappointing since Atkins sounded so good when her illness wasn’t getting in the way. But it also was alleviated, to some degree, by the fact that the OutpostFest had already offered a lot of stellar music, by five other acts, on this rainy afternoon.
Joe Pug, performing solo, added covers of the late John Prine’s “Sam Stone” and the late Justin Townes Earle’s “Mama’s Eyes” to his own thoughtful, warmly sung, originals. Though his tone was usually serious, he got a little lighter for the jaunty standard “Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)” and his own “I Don’t Work in a Bank,” a short song that many artists (and journalists, these days) will be able to relate to. He described it as a “tough love song” written after a fight with his wife, to express what he sees as “the nature of our domestic reality.”
“I don’t work in a bank, they’re not my beans to count/If you want proof, when I go broke, no one will bail me out,” he sang. “Don’t ask me where I’m going, don’t ask how much I drank/If you want answers, that’s just fine, but I don’t work in a bank.”
Freedy Johnston, who has been recording unassuming pop-rock gems for more than 30 years, was expertly backed by guitarist James Mastro (The Bongos, Ian Hunter’s Rant Band) and drummer Steve Goulding (Graham Parker & the Rumour). “I only play with legends,” Johnston said, as if awed, himself, by the musicians he was onstage with.
His set included older songs (“Bad Reputation,” “The Lucky One,” “This Perfect World,” “Responsible”) as well as some relatively new ones (“There Goes a Brooklyn Girl,” “Darlin’ “), mostly in his distinctive, reflective-but-still-catchy style, though there also was one stylistic outlier, “Remember Me,” which has a bit of folk-gospel flavor. (Watch videos of “The Lucky One” and “Darlin’ ” below).
Debra Devi and her band added some blues flavor to the show. Montclair native Matthew Smith, who performs under the name Hodera, generated some feel-good sentimentality by inviting his father, J.O. Smith, to join him on vocals and harmonica throughout his set, in the same room where he was baptized. (“When they said this was getting moved to the church, it was upsetting, but also, it was like, it’s a very full circle,” he said.)
And Adam Falcon, who opened, capped his solo set with a powerful one-two punch that seemed tailor-made for the day’s depressing weather, with the mournful ballad “Woke Up Crying,” featuring lyrics about tears falling like rain, being followed by the buoyantly hopeful “Sunshine (Woke Me Up This Morning).”
Living Blues Magazine
Breaking Out: Adam Falcon
Frank Matheis
Adam Falcon is not your typical bluesman. In fact, there is nothing typical about the New York singer-songwriter. For starters, not many blues musicians can read and write music at his level of expertise. Falcon is a formally trained songwriter, who transcribes his songs, as well as a session guitarist. He does not copy typical blues riffs and licks, especially not the standard 12-bar blues. There is virtually no emulation of others, although he can play in the style of George Benson or Jimmy Johnson, depending on what is needed. His guitar technique is closer to a jazz/soul musician than typical blues players, but the blues element is omnipresent and profound. He prefers understated chords and phrasing to overt solos and snazzy showmanship. Yet, one listening to his song Woke Up Cryin’, and many of the very typical blues players would wish that they could write a deeply emotive, soulful blues song like that. It’s the blues if ever there was one. Lyrically, poetically, and emotionally, he sings the blues his own way. Even when covering others, like Robert Johnson’s Come on in My Kitchen, his arrangement leans more on jazzy chord changes than copying the song note for note. Falcon is independent, idiosyncratic, and self-assured in his direction and in his essentially organic style. He is deeply passionate and grounded in emotive feeling—essential for the blues. If that all seems unusual today, there was a time when the musical prowess to shift from jazz to blues was standard and even expected. Lonnie Johnson, Jay McShann, Amos Milburn, T-Bone Walker, and Robert Lockwood Jr. come to mind.
The dreadlocked Falcon is from the Bronx, New York, and now makes his home in Suffern, New York, not far from New Jersey. His mother was from Harlem and his father from New Orleans and the blues style of both places is integral in Falcon’s style. He heard Louis Jordan, Fats Domino, T-Bone Walker, Snooks Eaglin, and Louis Armstrong records around the house as a kid, as well as a broad selection of African American music. As a teenager of the baby-boomer generation he had his ears open to it all: the Beatles, R&B, Motown, B.B. King, Dylan, and all that music that formed sounds of the generation of the late ’60s and ’70s. He graduated from high school in the Bronx and studied music at Bronx Community College and right afterwards went on tour with the singing group Revelation. In 1975 they even opened for the Bee Gees. For years he worked as a session guitarist and road dog, backing the likes of Stephanie Mills and Phyllis Hyman. He even opened for Whitney Houston once. If you are from New York and want to make a living as a musician you need to have your skills honed, to be versatile and ready for every opportunity, no matter what style, the same way the original blues players had to adjust diverse repertoires for playing to different audiences.
No wonder his blues reflects all that. Soul, with jazz chords, call it a “blues infused” amalgam. In any given set he’ll play Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, and Taj Mahal songs, along with his own strong blues compositions, on his mahogany Martin and National resonator guitars. He says of his music: “The mood . . . will take you on a ride from New Orleans to the Caribbean and drop you off somewhere in the Delta, with stops along the way.”
As he told LB, “I play blues with a different beat and I like everything from reggae to Brazilian music. During my Brazilian phase I played a nylon string guitar. I switched to steel string guitar and went to a period of loving Richie Havens, Bill Withers, and Ben Harper. I also love the deep blues of Robert Johnson and Taj Mahal. Blues to me is folk music from a particular group of people; whereas, old country music is folk music for another group of people. It’s all music for people having a good time. I don’t label myself as a blues musician but I am rooted in the blues with different influences. That’s why they call it “roots music” after all. I just want to spread a good message. When people hear me play, I want them to feel good at that moment, to feel like someone else understands what they are going through. You can feel alienated in this world. Music should be uplifting.”
His own compositions pack a punch and he has written some fierce blues songs that will grab anyone’s heart. His powerful song Woke Up Cryin’ made Falcon a semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition and landed him a nomination in the blues category of the Independent Music Awards. The song True Blue that he wrote for the multi-Grammy winner George Benson, whose style is distinctly similar to Falcon’s when he is in a jazz mood, was noticed by the Songwriters Hall of Fame. They bestowed him the Abe Olman Scholarship in 2007. Another composition, Like a Soldier, was used in the national television series The Injustice Files.
Falcon plays mostly around the New York region, with occasional trips to New Orleans. He’s a regular at top local Hudson Valley venues: the Falcon, Daryl’s House in Pawling, the Turning Point, and the Towne Crier Café in Beacon, New York. He frequently opens at big venues and he has opened shows for the James Cotton Blues Band, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, the Wailers, Jim Lauderdale, Tower of Power, Ruthie Foster, and many more.
Recently, his song Colored Man Singin’ the Blues, with a distinct socio-critical view about injustice and inequality, was included in Black Lives—From Generation to Generation, an album on the European label Jammin’colorS. The record features a collective of artists who are continuing to fight for equality and social justice through music, for the cause of fighting racism worldwide. The collective is engaging in a 2022 European tour, and Falcon will join the troupe of 12 musicians as guitarist.
While he has made a living with more popular genres, his current direction has transcended toward a more roots blues style. His distinctly blues-oriented 2015 EP The Light Shines includes a phenomenal version of Corinna, as ethereal and deep as any. The title cut features the artist playing funky slide on this original blues, which features Keith Fluitt (Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson) and Martha Redbone on backing vocals. Falcon is currently recording a new album in Philadelphia. “It’s a blues-oriented album based on my personal life experiences, my kids, New Orleans, etc.” His past albums have been a stylistic mixed bag. Bohemian 959, a record with a distinct, slick, uptown vibe, issued in 2009, is rooted in soul/ funk. The album features Nona Hendryx on vocals. I, too, Am Colored in Black and White, from 2000, is a mix of urban and roots blues. The album includes a compelling cover of Jimi Hendrix’s Up from the Skies, slow, jazzy, and sophisticated. His song Love Moves On straddles the pop folk realm with a blues bent.
He reminisces about a quarter of a century as a professional musician with an existentialist, pandemic-era recognition: “I was in Europe, working with the artist Jonathan Butler and we opened for Eric Clapton. The occasion was an anniversary celebration, at the Royal Albert Hall, commemorating Clapton’s 25 years in the music business. I remember thinking about how that must feel, doing something you love, for a lengthy amount of time. It’s been over 25 years since that Clapton anniversary and now the feeling of doing what I love has become a reality. I’m not sure how long I’ve been making music, but it’s well past 25 years with no sign of slowing down. I know I’ve been blessed to do what I’ve always wanted to do, but there comes a time when I take it for granted. Recently, there have been memorable people and friends in my life who’ve passed on. Each one becomes a wakeup call. While attending a memorial for a musician friend and seeing familiar faces, I realized the importance of every moment . . . Lately, it’s been something I’ve tried to pay more attention to. If there’s something you love doing, do it, until it can no longer be done. Try reconnecting with friends.”
It’s definitely time to tip the hat to the New York bluesman after 25 years of playing professionally. If you are unfamiliar with this stellar artist, take some time to get to know Adam Falcon as his career continues to ascend.
Radio Woodstock 100.1 WDST
This in studio performance was captured live, during an on-air interview with DJ host Aja, for her program “Homegrown.”
Write Away The Lyric Writers Magazine
Better Days
As a song writer, one question that I’m asked most often is, “how do I go about writing songs?” “Is it the words or the music that come first?” Without the risk of sounding trite, my answer each time is pretty much the same - It depends on the circumstance. I believe there’s a song in almost everything that surrounds us. I read that on a visit to New York City Elvis Costello saw a song in everything imaginable. “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields” by The Beatles were both drawn out of fond memories when Marvin Gaye’s classic “What’s Going On” addressed social and political commentary. The vast majority of my songs present themselves when least expected and where I least expect to find them - exemplified in my song titled “Better Days.”
Sometime after 9/11, I was invited to play on a recording session, not far from ground zero. Living forty-five minutes outside of Manhattan, this became one of my first visits since the devastation. Covering the city I felt sadness grabbing hold of my emotions. I grew up in this city but it resembled nothing like I remembered. Removed was the appearance of the thriving and vibrant mecca called “The Big Apple.” Landmark sights mournfully replaced by posters of missing loved ones. A somber and ominous bleak-filled shell was how I described it. My heart and spirit had become absent from everything except the current affairs in my home town.
I arrived at the studio oddly located in a hotel, for most studios were closed.
This hotel accommodated firefighters com- ing to New York helping with the rescue effort at ground zero.
In the lobby stood firefighters from around the country. Without knowing each other, these men bonded together heroically referring to themselves and other firemen as ‘brothers.’ Their terminology ‘brothers’ provided hope and encouragement which became the impetus for writing “Better Days.” During that time my un-enthusiasm for playing music directly transformed into an obligation to encourage my listeners with the same encouragement that these firefighters proudly demonstrated. The opening verse to the song is: “Take a message to my brother, let him know I’ll help carry on, keep him standing strong.” Each verse justifiably speaks of reassurance, before moving into a reaffirming chorus of inspiration and faith. The song is summa- rized by the final lyric which states “... tomorrow is gonna be a better day.”
https://soundcloud.com/adamfalconfan- base/better-days
http://www.adamfalcon.com/
Rivertown Magazine
Acoustic, Folk and Country Blues
Adam Falcon
Robert Jr. Lockwood often told writers, including this one, that he was sure that if Robert Johnson had not died so soon in life, he would have grown out of the blues and morphed into a jazz player. Robert Lockwood certainly did that, keeping one foot in the blues, the other in jazz. So did Snooks Eaglin, whose blues was based on a jazz chord structure, yet unmistakably blues.
Meet Adam Falcon, a brilliant soul from the Bronx, New York, who now makes his home in Suffern, New York, not far from New Jersey. He’s a swift acoustic player whose blues are distinctly reminiscent of players like Snooks Eaglin and Taj Mahal, players who expanded the blues horizon while keeping true to the spirit and feeling of the old blues. As bluesman Phil Wiggins said, “The blues keeps evolving. It’s not locked into a museum vault and frozen in time.” The individualist Adam Falcon is not locked down by other people’s conventions. He plays what he feels.
photo: Frank Matheis 2019
photo: Frank Matheis 2019
His mother was from Harlem and his father was from New Orleans. Adam Falcon heard Louis Jordan, Fats Domino, Snooks Eaglin, and Louis Armstrong records around the house as a kid, as well as a broad selection of African American music. As a teenager of the baby-boomer generation he had his ears open to it all: the Beatles, R&B, Motown, B.B. King, Dylan and all that music that formed sounds of the generation of the late ‘60s and ‘70s. He graduated from high school in the Bronx and studied music at Bronx Community College and right afterwards went on tour with the singing group Revelation, and in 1975 they even opened for the Bee Gees.
For years he worked as session guitarist and road-dog backing the likes of Stephanie Mills, Phyllis Hyman, and Whitney Houston. He opened for Eric Clapton at London’s Royal Albert Hall.
No wonder that his acoustic blues reflects all that. Soulful, bluesy, with jazz chords, call it a “blues infused” amalgam. In any given set he’ll play Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson and Taj Mahal songs along with his own blues compositions on his mahogany Martin and National resonator guitars. He described his music as “The mood … will take you on a ride from New Orleans to the Caribbean and drop you off somewhere in the Delta, with stops along the way.”
The songwriting bard told thecountryblues.com, “I play blues with a different groove and I like everything from reggae to Brazilian music. During my Brazilian phase I played a nylon string guitar. I switched to steel string guitar and went to a period of loving Richie Havens, Bill Withers and Ben Harper. I also love the deep blues of Robert Johnson and Taj Mahal. Blues to me is folk music from a particular group of people, whereas old country music is folk music for another group of people. It’s all music for people having a good time. I don’t label myself as a blues musician but I am rooted in the blues with different influences, of blues, reggae and soul music. That’s why they call it “roots music” after all. I just want to spread a good message. When people hear me play, I want them to feel good at that moment, to feel like someone else understands what they are going through. You can feel alienated in this world. Music should be uplifting.”
His own fiery compositions pack a punch and he wrote some fierce blues songs that will grab anyone’s heart and soul. The song “True Blue” that he wrote for the multi-Grammy winner George Benson was noticed by The Song Writers Hall of Fame, which bestowed him the Abe Olman Scholarship Award for Songwriting in 2007. Another composition “Like A Soldier” was used in the national television series, The Injustice Files. His powerful blues song “Woke Up Cryin’ ” (see the video below) made Falcon a semi-finalist in the International Songwriters Competition, as well landing him a nomination in the blues category of the Independent Music Awards.
He plays mostly around the New York region, with occasional trips to New Orleans. He’s a regular at top local venues: The Falcon, Daryl’s House in Pawling, The Turning Point and The Towne Crier Café in New York. He frequently opens at big venues and he has opened shows for James Cotton Blues Band, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, The Wailers, Ruthie Foster, Jim Lauderdale, Tower of Power and many more. Adam Falcom also actively teaches in the Rockland Conservatory of Music.
NJ ARTS. NET
by: JAY LUSTIG January, 8th 2018
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL J. STAHL From left, James Maddock, Emily Grove, Willie Nile, Jeffrey Gaines and Joe D'Urso at Light of Day concert at the Outpost in the Burbs Montclair, Jan. 5.Communities converged at the Light of Day concert at the Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair, Jan. 5.
The long-running Outpost has a community of its own, as does the Light of Day festival. The musicians on the bill formed a sort of community, too: Many had worked together before.
And tying this Songwriters in the Round-style show together even more was the fact that it was, in part, a tribute to one of the most universally beloved rock singer-songwriters, the late Tom Petty: All eight performers were asked to include one Petty song apiece in the show.
“Somewhere in there, there’s a song for everybody,” said Adam Falcon, referring to Petty’s vast songbook, before performing “I Won’t Back Down.” “This one speaks to me,” he added.
Falcon [also] provided an early highlight with his haunting blues song, “Woke Up Cryin’,” which he wrote for his late mother, who had Parkinson’s disease.
James Maddock, left, and Willie Nile at Outpost in the Burbs.
Emily Grove at Outpost in the Burbs.
Adam Falcon at the Outpost in the Burbs.
Singer-songwriter-guitarists Willie Nile, James Maddock, Jeffrey Gaines, Joe D’Urso and Emily Grove performed in the main set (with instrumental support from lead guitarist Rob Dye and pianist Seth Saltzman), while singer-songwriter-guitarists Falcon, Jon Caspi and Isabella Rose were featured in the opening set. The seven musicians in the main set frequently played with each other, particularly on energetic numbers such as Nile’s “One Guitar” and Gaines’ cover of Petty’s “The Waiting,” and all 10 contributed to the show’s encore, Bruce Springsteen’s “Light of Day.”
While Light of Day — which has raised more than $4.5 million for Parkinson’s disease research and related causes over the last 18 years — takes place mainly in Asbury Park (and will do so again this year, though Jan. 15), it has begun, for the last four years, with an Outpost show. This year’s lineup offered a good mix of familiar and new faces, as Nile, Maddock, Gaines and D’Urso had all done the Outpost LOD show at least once, while Grove, Falcon, Caspi and Rose hadn’t.
Maddock, who played on Nile’s recent album Positively Bob: Willie Nile Sings Bob Dylan, backed Nile on Nile’s cover of Dylan’s “Love Minus Zero/No Limit,” and Rose, after performing in the opening set, returned to the stage to sing D’Urso’s inspirational anthem, “Sway,” with him. Dye deftly added Heartbreaker Mike Campbell’s essential lead guitar parts to “The Waiting” and D’Urso’s cover of Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream.”
Other standout numbers included Maddock’s cover of Petty’s “Fooled Again (I Don’t Like Again)” — one of those gems that hasn’t been covered much since Petty died, only because he has so many other great songs — and D’Urso’s “Hold On,” which ended the evening on a hopeful, heartfelt note (before that final, celebratory “Light of Day” encore).
Later, Grove was mesmerizing on her solo, a cappella “Johnny Lee,” and Maddock sang his “Leave Me Down” with so much plain-spoken soul that Gaines said he thought Rod Stewart should record it. (Good idea.) Gaine provided two of the show’s best moments with “The Waiting” and his own “Right My Wrongs,” while Nile — still incredibly prolific, deep into his career — was most impressive on “Looking for Someone,” an uncharacteristically playful, new and, as yet, unreleased song, co-written with the late Andrew Dorff.
Independent Music Awards
Nominated along with Adam Falcon is an eclectic mix of established artists and rising stars that includes: Macy Gray, Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche, Air Traffic Controller, Hackensaw Boys, All Hail The Yeti, Deep Dive Corp + Ingrid Chavez, Milli Janatková, The Alternate Routes, Le Bouef Brothers, Murashita, The Krickets, and Nive and the Deer Children. Fan-nominated artists in the Song and Video categories include: Monica Pasqual and The Handsome Brunettes, Ganda Boys, Mean Mary, Olivia Penalva and Juliette Reilly among others. Click here for a full list of The 15th annual IMA Categories and Nominees
IMA Winners will be promoted to millions of music fans via online & broadcast promotions, performance and distribution opportunities. Details and complete list of Nominees and Judges available at: IndependentMusicAwards.com
IMA WINNERS ANNOUNCED at The Independent Music Party @ Lincoln Center
The 15th Independent Music Award Winners will be announced November 12th from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City during a free, day long music festival showcasing exceptional IMA talent. Kicking off the event will be a ‘town-hall’ meeting where fans, bands and industry discuss new ways to keep independent arts alive and prospering.
Adam Falcon is among The Year’s Most Exceptional Artists & Releases Nominated In The 15th Annual Independent Music Awards
Macy Gray, Lucy Wainwright Roche & Suzzy Roche, Jonah Smith, Air Traffic Controller, Monica Pasqual & The Handsome Brunettes, Deep Dive Corp. + Ingrid Chavez, Hackensaw Boys, Milli Janatková, Cristina Morrison, Nive & the Deer Children, Mean Mary, Olivia Penalva, The Alternate Routes, Juliette Reilly, Ganda Boys, The Krickets, and All Hail The Yeti Are Among The 15th IMA Nominees
October 17, 2016 guitarist, singer/songwriter Adam Falcon of Suffern, NY was named by Music Resource Group (MRG) as a Nominee in The 15th annual Independent Music Awards (The IMAs), the influential awards program for independent artists and releases. More than 400 innovative self-released and indie label projects culled from thousands of submissions worldwide, were nominated by fans and industry in more than 80 Album, Song, EP, Music Producer, Music Video and Design categories.
Artistry Has Its Awards
Now in its 16th year, The Independent Music Awards actively support innovative self-released and indie label artists and releases. Produced by Music Resource Group, The IMAs leverage its unrivaled access to performance, promotion & distribution opportunities to place IMA artists in front of millions of music consumers and industry decision makers.
Previous IMA Winners & Nominees include former major label acts including Jackson Browne, Pete Seeger and Martin Sexton; and cutting-edge rising stars including Flying Lotus, Amanda Palmer, Killer Mike, Lacuna Coil, Amy Lee, Passenger, Team Me, Radio Radio, RuPaul, And You Shall Know Us By The Trail of Dead..., Meghan Trainor, Lionel Loueke, Girl In A Coma, Apples in Stereo, Pokey LaFarge, Valerie June and many, many more.
International Songwriting Competition 2014 Semi- Finalist
In the International Songwriting Competition (ISC) out of more than 18,000 entries, semi-finalist make up the top 10 percent of all entries. Not too shabby, I'll take it! Thanks ISC.
The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is an annual song contest whose mission is to provide the opportunity for both aspiring and established songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena. ISC is designed to nurture the musical talent of songwriters on all levels and promote excellence in the art of songwriting. Amateur and professional songwriters and musicians are invited to participate. ISC has the most prestigious panel of judges of all the songwriting and music contests in the world, offering exposure and the opportunity to have your songs heard by the most influential decision-makers in the music industry.
MR. MEDIA Interviews by Bob Andelman
A series of interviews by Mr. Media, Bob Andelman.
The Hook
by: Mary Ellen Marks
I watch guitarist Adam Falcon as he plays a song for me. “October Falls” captures the beauty of the moment when he first fell in love with his wife Kate. His slight frame leans over his guitar as a few rows of his of his long braids topple over his face. Raw emotion oozes from the man and guitar. His power over the music has left me spellbound.
Adam had a good fortune as a teenager growing up in the early seventies. He took guitar lessons at the YMCA in Manhattan with Larry Lucie who used to play with Duke Ellington and Count Basie. He went on to study for three years with the infamous George Benson before George’s career took off. By the time George signed a record deal with Warner Brothers, Adam was ready for his own journey.
At twenty-one-years-old, Adam got a job with a group of four singers called Revelation and they toured with the Bee Gees. His greatest moment came six years later when the instrumental song he wrote “In Search of a Dream” was accepted by producer Arif Mardin for inclusion on George Benson’s Grammy-nominated album In Your Eyes. Adam became well-recognized in the music circuit. He worked with artists like Phyllis Hyman, Sophie B. Hawkins, Robert Palmer, Will Downing and Jonathan Butler. He also toured with Roberta Flack, someone he’d admired ever since his mother took him to see her in Central Park.
In 1988, Adam played in Europe with Jonathan Butler at Eric Clapton’s Twenty-fifth Anniversary. On the plane coming back, Adam made the decision to quit touring so he could focus on his songwriting. He blazed a trail, using his talents and the experience he learned from all those years on the road. “I’m happier now than I’ve ever been. I love where I am with the music. I know who I am as an artist and I’m growing. If people can walk away from hearing me play with a good feeling-the way I feel when I’m playing-then my job is complete.”
Adam’s musical style has two major influences - the music aired on WNEW-FM radian from 1968 to 1970 combined with the added the pulse of today’s music. With no definable genre, he has created a sound all his own- an eclectic mix of soul, rock & roll, country, jazz, and the blues.
Bohemian 959 is Adam’s third solo album. The three numbers reference the address of the house where he was raised in the Bronx. This record took seven years to make and is based upon stories about Adam’s life during that period. The song “Better Days” concerns an inspiring conversation Adam had with three firemen who volunteered to help after the collapse of the World Trade Center. “Waves” was influenced by the fact that Adam’s mother died before she knew his wife was pregnant. “I was in the Caribbean when my Mom passed. Before coming home for the funeral, I went down to the beach and felt I heard Mom’s voice speaking through the waves. It was the beginning of a song about one life going out and another life coming in.”
Since 2003, Adam has been teaching at the Rockland Conservatory of Music. His six-year-old daughter takes piano lessons there, as well. He loves the fact that it’s a community-based school, which offers scholarships, affordable lessons, and rehearsal and concert space. “Just to be around this environment of top-notch amazing teachers-it’s great to be part of it.”
Executive Director of the Rockland Conservatory of Music, Marigene Kettler, speaks of Adam’s success as a teacher. “Adam’s love of music and education of the guitar is so infectious that students and colleagues alike can’t help but be joyfully affected. There’s nobody who comes away from a concert or a conversation with Adam that isn’t grinning from ear to ear. He’s also the coolest guy I know.”
A ukulele leans against the fireplace in Adam’s living room. He bought it for his three-year-old son after the child crooned over it in a music store. Adam speaks of a time when he was his son’s age. My dad, who is from New Orleans, bought me a plastic guitar because I watched Chuck Berry perform on TV. Gene Autry was another one of Adam’s idols at that time. “I was obsessed with being a cowboy. When I saw Gene Autry on TV with his guitar and cowboy boots, I thought, ‘There it is. Two for one. I can be a cowboy and play guitar!’” As far as I can see, Adam has fulfilled his dream.
M Music & Musicians
by Lee Zimmerman
The sheer love of music exhibited by the beaming kid holding the toy guitar on the cover and the man leaping enthusiastically on the inside sleeve continues well into the grooves of Adam Falcon’s Bohemian 959. Smooth melodies frame the voice of a classic crooner with influences from Seal to Smokey Robinson, but when he gets his groove on more aggressively with “Soul Satisfied” and “Like a Soldier,” or shows a fondness for the blues on “Better Days,” he makes an equally formidable impact. Bohemian 959 benefits from not only Falcon’s versatility, but his polish and professionalism as well. Poised and confident, Falcon is ready to soar..
amalgamation
by: David Mitchell
Singer, songwriter, guitarist Adam Falcon continues to assert his influence as an independent recording artists with this release of his third solo album, Bohemian 959 (Ghetto Drum Records). According to Falcon, many of his musician friends gave up their time to contribute to this album including a number of fellow SESAC writers like K.J. Denhert (contributing vocals on “Going Back for More”), Martha Redbone (performing background vocals on several songs), and singer Marc Nelson from the 90s boy-band Az Yet (contributing vocals on the song “Like A Soldier”).
Nona Hendryx wrote the albums first single “Sunshine Woke Me Up This Morning,” back in the day as a member of LaBelle. Falcon re-recorded it for Bohemian 959 with Ms. Hendryx as his duet partner. The album’s only other cover tune is an inspiring remake of the Jackson 5’s “I Wanna Be Where You Are” ; with the remaining songs all penned by Falcon himself, and Trevor Gale as producer. That’s no typo! SESAC Vice President of Writer - Publisher Relations Trevor Gale, an amazing musician in his own rite, plays drums on two cuts and produced the entire album.
Soul, jazz, rock, alternative; all elements you feel in Falcon’s songs. “I’ve got a good feeling about this record,” says Falcon. “This album is more soulful and moves in a funkier direction. It was a labor of love for us, and is something I think people will really enjoy. It is gritty and truly from the heart.”
Of course there is an explanation behind the unique title, Bohemian 959. The numbers 959 represent the address where Falcon grew up in the Bronx. His residence was like a meeting ground where musicians in the neighborhood would often come and play. In the spirit of his childhood home, a New York City loft was converted into a studio for the recording of Bohemian 959. Some of the best musicians were brought together within one room and tab the same time to record the album live.
Falcon, now a father of two toddlers, a girl (3) and a boy (1 1/2), has generated quite a following with his previous works: Piece of Mine, and I, too, am Colored, in Black & White. He is appreciated by numerous icons in the business, like multi-Grammy winner George Benson who recorded two of his compositions, “In Search of a Dream” (produced by Arif Mardin), and “True Blue” (produced by Tommy LiPuma). Falcon has toured as a guitarist with the likes of Phyllis Hyman, Jonathan Butler, Will Downing, Sophie B. Hawkins and Roberta Flack.
“Adam Falcon is one of those artist whose music speaks to the very core of human emotions,” says Trevor Gale. “His passion takes you from where you were to where you wanna be. It is true soul music!"
Rockland Magazine
by: Audrey Green
Adam Falcon steps up to the mic with an easy smile, an acoustic guitar, and Marley-esque dreadlocks that swing below his waist. But don't be fooled—when he opens his mouth, instead of the punctuated, Caribbean accent you might expect, the slim, petit singer speaks in a smoky tenor suitable for a late-night, smooth-jazz DJ. And when he croons, he meshes elements of jazz, funk, and soul with a hint of pop. He's performed in various Rockland music hubs—Piermont's Turning Point Café and the Something Unexpected Art Gallery in Nyack—and he teaches guitar at Rockland Conservatory of Music in Spring Valley. But most of his gigs go down in swanky Manhattan lounges. Having completed a tour in February, he's taking the next few months to record.
Circling the music industry cul de sac since the tender age of 15, Falcon pulls influences from music of the late 1960s and early '70s—he fondly recalls a Led Zeppelin concert he attended with his father when "the tickets were a dollar-fifty!" He says, "My music is more reminiscent of a period, not a genre." Probably because, as a backup guitarist, Falcon has traded chords with some of the biggest names of that period, starting at age 18 with jazz icon Jonathan Butler. In the '80s, he nabbed an opening spot on an Eric Clapton European tour, and backed Whitney Houston across America. He toured with Peter Gabriel, the Bee Gees, Sophie B. Hawkins, and Roberta Flack in the '90s, and wrote two hit songs for George Benson. The clincher? One February night last year, Jimmy Buffet jumped onstage to join him during a regular gig at a club on the island of St. Bart's. "It's been wild," Falcon smiles. "But now I'm focusing on me." Though he would be hard-pressed to turn down a major label, he's enjoyed the freedom of working on the two-artist label Ghetto Drum Records, produced by his friend Trevor Gale. "The independent artist lifestyle is very bohemian," he says. "You record where you can—in a hotel room, your kitchen, a studio, a tour bus—I even have an amplifier in my Volvo." —A.G.
Abe Olman Scholarship / Songwriters Hall of Fame
Abe Olman, for whom the scholarship program is named, was both a major figure in the music publishing community and a songwriter himself, in addition to being one of the founders of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Abe Olman Scholarships given out each year are made possible by his family in the interest of encouraging and supporting the careers of young songwriters the likes of former scholarship recipient John Legend.
