Adam West

(© Han Hellboy & La Bruta Zine)

Han Hellboy jabbers a bit with the Adam West-singer extraordinaire Jake Starr and learns what rock`n`roll is all about. Welcome to the classroom, professor Starr...

Of all the intellectual possibilities for a band name, why Adam West?
Wow, I can't count how many times I've been asked this question! Okay, when my school buddy Bill Crandall and I formed Adam West in late 1991, we started as a '60s mod/garage band like the Kinks or the Who. We were looking for a name that connoted the era of pop culture... so we threw out all kinds of names from cartoons and movies and stuff. I met the actor Adam West when I was 8 years old and he autographed a picture to me that said, "To Jake, From one crimefighter to another, Adam West" and I had it framed and hanging on my living room wall. Bill looked up and suggested "Adam West" and it fit perfectly. It was tongue-in-cheek and no one ever forgets the name of the band. To be honest though, I hate the name. I wanted to change it back in 1994 but Steve said that since we had released a couple 7"s and everybody in Washington DC knew who we were that it would be stupid to change the name... so I'm stuck with it!

What was the force that gave a spark to Adam West? In other words, how did you guys end up playing together?
This band has been through more line-up changes than Guns-N-Roses by now! Well, Bill and I had been playing in bands since the early 1980s so we finally decided to work together. Bill quit in 1994 and I've carried on ever since. The main reason we started playing rock-n-roll is that this city (Washington DC) is the most anti-rock city I've ever been to. Because of the Dischord and Fugazi influence here, no one plays rock-n-roll. Although, it has gotten better over the years. But back in 1991, if you admitted to owning a Black Sabbath record, you were laughed at by the elitist, pretentious fuckers who live here. Fuck 'em all, I said, and formed Adam West to play real rock-n-roll. Not that wimpy, emo shit that DC is known for.

Give us a brief introduction of the other members in Adam West, including the superpowers they possess.
Well, I'm Jake Starr and I have a magic throat. But not in a gay way, of course. Steve plays bass and sometimes guitar. He can see through girls' clothes and rides a 70s chopper. Our last guitarist quit after our last European tour, so we're looking right now. And we're using two drummers, Tom Barrick and Ben Brower. Tom can play any type of music with his magic sticks and Ben has a superior intellect when it comes to METAL!

Adam West is soon releasing a new 7" through a Swedish label where you perform two cover-songs by two different girl-victorious rock`n`roll bands, Thee Ultra Bimboos and Mensen. Where did the desire to do this come originally?
The desire came entirely from me. I convinced the other band members to cover these songs. Basically, I love Thee Ultra Bimboos and Mensen. I love their music, their attitude, and certainly how beautiful they all are. So I chose two not-so-well-known songs to cover and Bootleg Booze Records in Sweden is going to release a 7" in January 2003. The songs are "We're Inside" by the Bimboos and "Cruiser" by Mensen. The title of the single is "Adam West Digs Scandinavian Chicks!" I think it's quite appropriate.

Adam West has not been seen hangin` out in Finland a lot. Next month, fortunately, you guys are doing a tour here with The Hellacopters from Sweden. What should the audiences expect when they come see Adam West live? Feel free to advertise here!
Well, unfortunately for Finland, it'll be just me on tour with the Hellacopters, not Adam West. Someday I plan to bring Adam West to perform on Finnish soil, but in November next month it'll be just Jake Starr singing encores with the Hellacopters. It won't be as good as seeing me perform with Adam West, of course, *ha ha* but the Hellacopters will most likely invite me up on stage to sing "Search & Destroy" or something. I'm very very excited because I've never been to Finland before and what better way to see the country than tour with a rock band!

Which do you think has been the most successful release for Adam West so far?
Successful in terms of getting our name around was probably our last full-length album "Right On!" But also the split 7" we did with the Hellacopters gave us some good promotion too. We just released two 7"s this summer that I am the proudest of: "In the Back of My Hearse" on Bad Attitude Records in Finland and "Sixth Son of a Seventh Son" on Lonestar Records in Germany. I am so proud of the band's performance, the songwriting, and especially my vocals!

What kind of gear does Adam West exclusively use?
I use whatever microphone is there at the club! Steve plays Gibson guitars and basses and has a Sun amp head. Other than that, we're not too picky.

What are Adam West`s goals for the coming year 2003?
We will record our new album in the beginning of 2003 and it'll be released in Europe on People Like You Records. We'll probably license it in Japan to Myrmecoleo Records since they're releasing "Right On!" there this year. Then we need to get back to Europe and tour. Last tour we didn't have time to hit Scandinavia so this time I plan to play all of Scandinavia including Finland. Then we always ened up doing 7"s and stuff, so we'll record extra songs for those.

Besides being the singer of Adam West, you own a certain label called Fandango Records. These two things just MUST take advantage of each other, eh?
Yes, of course! I started Fandango Record with the sole intention of releasing the first Adam West 7" single. Then it blossomed from there. But I have tried to get other labels to release Adam West records while I concentrate on bands I like. The next two records will be 7"s from Thee Ultra Bimboos and Gluecifer. But owning Fandango has allowed me to release split 7"s with my favorite bands and that's always a good thing.

Tell us about the biggest embarrassment you have encountered during a tour or a gig.
The worst thing that ever happened to me was back in 1994 at CBGBs in New York City when my pants ripped as I was getting onstage and I had to do the whole gig with my cock practically hanging out. Pretty funny to think about now. In fact, it was pretty funny at the time!

What do you think are the top-three qualities one should have in order to handle rock`n`roll-fueled life?
This isn't gonna sound too rock-n-roll but I think the main thing that lets me handle it is to have a good, solid job. I work as an Information Technology Specialist at the Library of Congress and since I have job security and a lot of money, I'm able to be a rock star when I want. I know that sounds very bourgeois, but in my case, it's the truth. Another quality to have is pride. When I go on stage, I always give 110% percent whether there are 5 or 500 people watching. That's the only way I can perform. And the people in the audience realize that and appreciate it. I guess the last quality to have is patience... which I do not have much of unfortunately!!!! There is SO much downtime in rock-n-roll. So much waiting around and long drives and dealing with other personalities in the band that one has to know when to keep calm and shut the fuck up and just deal with the bullshit.

Are there any singers that you aspire to sing like?
I'm very critical of singers generally. I think most singers are lazy sacks of shit. As far as some of my favorite singers of the past, I like Iggy, James Brown, Glenn Danzig, and Jim Morrison. Also Ann Wilson from Heart and Lynn Carey from Mama Lion are two of my favorite female rock singers. As far as modern-day singers, I like Biff Malibu (Gluecfer), Eduardo (Flaming Sideburns), Suffeli (Thee Ultra Bimboos), Marianne (Mensen), Pelle (Hives), the guy from Sweatmaster, and Sweet Jane (Trassels). I'm listening to so much Finnish rock-n-roll right now that you asked me this question at a good time!

Can Japanese people expect Adam West to drop by any time soon?
Fuck, I hope so! Myrmecoleo Records will release "Right On!" soon in Japan, so that's our first step to getting there. I was just talking with the guys in Motosierra (from Uruguay) yesterday about Adam West and Motosierra touring Finland and Japan together next year, so who knows?

What will be Adam West`s next own release? A new studio album, perhaps?
We have several records still coming out this year before our next studio album. We have a CD collection of 7"s and rare tracks from 1999-2001 called "Hi-Balls Are Rolling!" on Twenty Stone Blatt Records in Scotland. Plus, I already mentioned the "Adam West Digs Scandinavian Chicks!" 7" on Bootleg Booze. Then we have assorted compilation and tribute appearances coming out.

In addition to injecting Finnish people with rock`n`roll next months, what other plans does Adam West have considering touring?
Unfortunately, Adam West will not be touring Finland next month! But we'll be there sometime in 2003. We need to give time to the Finnish rock-n-roll record collectors to find our records first! And we have released MANY records. Check our discography and be very afraid:
http://fandangorecs.com/adamwest/discog.cfm (graphics)
http://fandangorecs.com/adamwest/discog.htm (text)

Some people are already drooling for Adam West-stuff. What would be the most appropriate place to obtain releases, merchandise or other stuff?
Almost all of our records are sold out. But eBay online auctions has Adam West records every week. The first thing Finnish fans need to do is contact Sami at Bad Attitude Records in Tampere and buy the "In the Back of My Hearse" 7" from him. That should be a good introduction to Adam West. Plus, Sami has many other Adam West records in his collection. People Like You Records in Germany released our "Right On!" and "Ready Steady Adam West!" albums, so buy those 2 records from them. Then there are assorted 7" singles from assorted European labels too. We have t-shirts and stickers available directly from our website, so come on by at: http://fandangorecs.com/adamwest/

Share your words to the fans of Adam West, and to the readers of La Bruta Rockzine!
I am very grateful that you allowed me to inform the Finnish rock scene about Adam West! I look forward to seeing your beautiful country in November, so please come to all the Hellacopters shows because I will be there and I wanna meet you. Can you dig it? I knew that you could. See ya soon!



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