ABOUT OUR BAND:

This release compiles all but two "studio" recordings of Pittsburgh, PA's Adams and the Blackout. We existed from May 31, 2002 - until July 2005 (with a brief reunion New Year's gig on Dec. 31, 2005), forming the night of a catastrophic thunderstorm that knocked out power to all of the city (except the room where we were held our first jam session) and collapsed the roof of the venerable "Whip" ride at nearby Kennywood Park. I remember having to wake up a groggy Clownie Blackout from a nap on the couch to get him to come with us all that evening (he had just worked a long nursing shift), and he was effectively "drafted" from then on. We set out to work within our limitations, even celebrating them. Lorax had just started playing bass, so we made it the lead instrument, typically structuring tunes around simple melodies she came up with, rendered in shaky Will Shatter/Tim Wright strokes. We started out tuning our guitars (me on a Fender strat that I was also using in the more traditional OPD; Adam Prime on a de-fretted Squier strat that he always ran through a small battalion of effects pedals), but after I was gifted a Japanese thrift-shop number from Dave Kuzy (Microwaves), we abandoned that idea and went without any tuning whatsoever (except for Lorax). What I liked most about the band was that it grew spontaneously out of a fond friendship among us all, rather than some calculated move to get something together. Brad was playing concurrently in Funerus, and I was splitting time already between Conelrad and the OPD. It seemed like everyone was loaded down with projects (we thank you for that influence, John Roman...) but we always made time for what practice was necessary for the Blackout - and listening back to this stuff, the looser we played, the better.

ABOUT OUR SONGS:

Lyrically, most everything was an absurd inside joke that Prime and Lorax would suggest to Clownie, who would then run wild with it. "Weekend at Drinkies," for example, was inspired by an amateurish East Carson Street storefront (pictured on our cover) that sold warm beverages and a handful of energy drinks, but then hard-sold you on games of pool and video poker upon entry. The rest are for you to figure out. Also included are several improvised bits from our extensive collection of four-track practice tapes. I edited the best parts out a few years back when we were flirting with the idea of a CD-R release. The rest of the tracks are the product of two separate sessions: one engineered (probably in 2003 or 2004 - memory fails) by the Kasunic brothers John and Mike and recorded at the dampest, scuzziest room at ABC-EZ storage on the Southside; the other was recorded January-February 2004 by Phil Cresswell at his basement studio setup at the Joe Hammer Trade Center/Hammer Smashed Face. These guys were all big boosters of our band and to repay the favor on Phil's part, we recorded a tribute to his band "Totally Awesome Dudes," presented here.

ABOUT OUR SHOWS:

Ah, they were chaotic affairs, especially if we were on a bill with the Pay Toilets and/or if Jim Lingo were in attendance to "interact" with Clownie. Many times I had ushered my Marshall Valvestate head to Dr. Kuzy for repairs after sending it careening off the stage halfway through our set, or likewise had to re-glue my fretboard to the guitar neck after attempting to "prepare" it during one performance using a metal folding chair. The whole "crazy performance" bit was a big thing back then, and we tried to do our best to keep up with bands we loved like Arab on Radar. I remember Lorax performing one show on roller skates, somehow keeping balance throughout all the mess. One Halloween show I played keyboards (never having played before), and there was the infamous New Year's Eve gig at Artists Image Resource where Clownie had imbibed so much he earned the lifetime "Rock N Roll Madman" title as well as passing his Shit Mayor audition in one fell swoop. Sometimes Clownie couldn't make it due to his work schedule - this again was a limitation we were happy to work with. I filled in on vocals for these gigs ("Dehumanized" is from one of those instances, at Modern Formations in 2004). Once, Clowns couldn't make it to play a show at the defunct Penn Ave. club Thee Eye, so we played tape-recorded greetings and messages from him that he made the night before to the audience between songs. Another time we turned up at a gig at the art department at Edinboro College - without Clownie - to find that the PA that the organizer had booked hadn't been delivered. No big deal - we just turned down a little bit more than normal and I shrieked over the instruments. We played with some great touring acts also: Our idols the Flying Luttenbachers (actually, just Weasel Walter doing his solo Luttenbachers set), The Coachwhips at Modern Formations (Clownie left enough of an impression on John Dwyer for him to mention it to me years later), and the Wrangler Brutes at the Mr. Roboto Project. I remember their bass player inadvertently slugging me in the face with his headstock mid-song and if I hadn't had so much to drink that night, I'd have been in the emergency room. We actually got to be on TV that night, as that gig was documented by "On Q" a local public TV news show that was doing a story on local punk rock. I have a feeling that the host and camera crew came out to the club expecting to see something like the Ramones and instead got us (HA!).

THE END:

Adam Prime and Lorax relocated to Chicago in 2005, effectively ending the band. We played a blowout final show at Gooski's that July and a one-off gig for aforementioned infamous New Year's of 2006. Lorax (real name Lori Felker) has become a noted filmmaker (www.felkercommalori.com) and Adam continues to play solo guitar/electronics shows. Brad continued on in Funerus and later formed Abysme, getting full-on back to his death metal roots. By the time AATBO ended, I had already been playing in the newly formed Brown Angel and would later join Microwaves for a short spell before catching the world-travel bug for a few years. Clownie co-fronted Shit Mayor, hops-fueled bozos who laid waste to most of the local "scene" in 2006-2007. Lori had the foresight to capture almost all of our shows on video, so some more old material may be on the way from us at some point in the future.

We never claimed to be doing anything new or revolutionary - no wave and avant noise were our touchstones and in many ways we copped as much as we could from them as often as possible (hell, we even covered Teenage Jesus' "Orphans" early on). The aim first and foremost was to have fun, hang out, get weird, and entertain ourselves - and that was the real spark for me. I don't know if that kind of creative modus operandi exists still in our old hometown, or even in the "indie" scene at large for that matter - hopefully for some younger crowd, the kind of magic we found is still there. Enjoy your weekend at Drinkies.

For Adam, Brad, Justin and Lori

- Adam (Other) MacGregor
Beijing, P.R.C., November 2013

Adams and the Blackout Discography:

- Live in Garfield (RecORds, 2004) CD-R
- Various Artists: The West Coast of the East Coast (Hope/Hardtravelin', 2004) zine/CD, track "Shithouse Tennis"
- Various Artists: Unicorn Mountain, Vol. I (Unicorn Mountain, 2005), track "The Larvus"