Meet Adam Klein | Singer/songwriter and actor
We had the good fortune of connecting with Adam Klein and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Adam, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
My work life balance has definitely changed over time. I make no claims of having achieved my desired balance, as I’m a work in progress, but I think I’m moving in the right direction. I’ve got a young daughter and I work a job outside of the arts, so my goal is to create a fulfilling work-life balance in which I carve out the time for my creative efforts while also enjoying quality time with my family and doing my part for the household. Being more home-bound now, in part due to the pandemic but mostly to my life as a family man, I get the value in routines, simplicity, and making the time and space to dig in to the work of creating.
I do want to maximize the reception and reach of my output as best I can, so a fair amount of time goes into the business side of music and arts— time on social media, updating websites, preparing properly for my releases, etc.— but the most important part is the creative work itself. That’s where I’d prefer to spend my limited time and energy, accessing a creative headspace and chasing inspiration, a feeling, a story, and some sort of human truth. Ultimately, only certain things are under my control, so my aim is to be satisfied with the work and stand by the songs and their recorded presentation, or my performance in an acting role, or a piece of writing. The trick is to not tie external validation (in the sense of monetary support or “popularity”), as nice as it may be, to my own sense of self-worth or the value of my work. If you can let those outside factors go, I think one can find some balance, be present, and draw fulfillment in the small pleasures of life.
I spent a number of precarious years freelancing in the local film and tv industry, and before that toured fairly often with my music. As a hustling upstart artist/creative, I felt like my time and efforts were in the service of myself, essentially, and that wasn’t entirely fulfilling. I respect that others find the fortitude and meaning to follow one creative path single-mindedly and commit to go all in for a lifetime. I tend to have a lot of interests that draw me in. I recognize that music and art are powerful and essential. And yet, in my privileged life of traveling around and spending tons of time on the road, in music venues and cafes, or tinkering around the house in search of inspiration, I longed for something that felt like I was using my background and education to make a more significant impact. The grass is usually greener, of course. In the face of one in seven American households struggling to put food on their table, for example, music can seem like a luxury. I lived in a village of subsistence farmers in West Africa when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, so that has shaped my perspective on the scheme of things. A development worker helping a community gain access to running water or electricity or improved public health, or an immigration lawyer working with refugees and migrants searching for a life of dignity, security, and hope… those lines of work seemed to make a tangible, critical difference in people’s lives in a way that felt more meaningful than music or acting. Notably, though, I am not in those types of professions, and now that my free time is much more limited, I find that I simply crave to take modest steps as often as possible in the realms of self-expression and storytelling through music, acting, and writing.
All that said, though, catch me on a different day and I may have a different response. Because all art is essential. It’s life affirming. It uplifts and energizes people, it challenges, it offers a mirror to view humanity, and to better understand our lives. It gives us stories through which we can navigate and make sense of the world. It elicits empathy. That’s a high calling. To spend one’s waking and working hours learning, growing, and engaged in the thing that a person is most passionate about is a life well-lived. It can be a tough slog to self-sufficiency in the arts, so I commend all who are persistent enough to weather its storms and all who feel the need to step away for the sake of their sanity, relationships, or comfort. Whatever one’s path, I hope they find peace within and without.
Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a singer/songwriter, an upstart Atlanta-based actor, and an aspiring writer. For a run-down of my story, background, travels, and my work in music and film, check out this interview with Voyage ATL from a couple years ago: http://voyageatl.com/
Right now I’m excited about a new album that’s nearing completion. It’s mostly recorded, and my good friend and longtime producer and collaborator, Bronson Tew of Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, Mississippi, is working on finishing the project— adding some auxiliary guitar, his trademark harmony vocals, mixing, and mastering. It’s called Holidays in United States, and it’s my reaction and commentary to the events of the past year— the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks, and others, the subsequent reckoning of racial injustice and inequities, the protests of this past summer, etc. I wrote a bunch of songs in late spring/early summer inspired by this monumental moment in our history, and realized that a few other previously written songs sat together as a unit with the new material. I was jonesing to get the songs recorded, and did a Covid-friendly session along with my friends Bret Hartley (electric guitar) and Colin Agnew (drums), who both play with me in my band The Wild Fires, along with talented Atlanta producer and Grammy-nominated engineer Will Robertson (who produced, engineered and played bass) at his Gallop Studio. Now the recordings are in Bronson’s hands, and he’s at the helm building upon and shaping the songs into their new sonic palette.
The album’s important to me for a few reasons. I think it’s some of my best songwriting, it’s obviously timely, and it’s a precise expression of my feelings toward where we are as a society today. There’s anger, resentment, and heartbreak, but also moments of hope and possibility. I’ve written some other songs that are in the realm of social commentary but most of them are unreleased or even unrecorded at this point. But this collection effectively synthesizes my beliefs, my yearnings, my songwriting, and my recordings (thanks to Bronson’s work in conjunction with Will’s set-up and delivery) in a way that feels new to me. It feels like an accomplishment. I’m proud of my previous albums, too. But the degree to which I’m making a stand and adding my voice to the larger societal discussion in Holidays is a departure.
I’ve launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise the funds to complete and release the album, and I’m psyched to offer some perks like one-of-a-kind handmade vinyl records, pre-orders of the new album, and other goodies. It’s live at this link until mid-June or so, and folks can check out a preview of one of the songs: https://igg.me/at/adamklein.
Beyond all that, I’m trying to learn more about storytelling, which is a through line across all my creative interests. So I’ve been reading essays and novels recently with a more critical eye toward structure, person, character development, and writing conventions, and feel like I’m at the start of a lifelong endeavor to learn to tell stories and frame them effectively in different mediums. I hope this will yield some worthwhile writings.
Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A week-long visit would include a number of outings of all we had was time on our hands. We’d tour Sweet Auburn— going to Ebenezer Baptist Church and MLK’s birthplace (plus driving by his house on Sunset Ave. in Vine City), the National Center for Civil & Human Rights, grab a bite to eat at Little’s on Carroll Street in Cabbagetown, at Gu’s in Krog Street Market (I’m a huge fan of the Tofu Po’Boy), walk around Little Five to check out the record shops and thrift stores, check out Ponce City Market and walk the BeltLine, and of course, have plenty of visits to Buford Highway for Vietnamese (Pho 24 has veggie pho broth, so that’s my go-to, but Nam Phuong is not to be missed either; Quoc Huong and/or Lee’s Bakery for bánh mi), Korean (Han Il Kwan and Cho Dang Tofu House), Chinese (Northern China Eatery and LanZhou Ramen), Mexican (El Rey del Taco and El Taco Veloz are my favorites), Sweet Hut and White Windmill for pastries, and of course Baldino’s for a good ole American sub. We’d catch a show at Eddie’s Attic and also visit Waller’s for music and a nice, laid back and kid-friendly hang. Since I’m now in Tucker, we’d walk over to The Corner Cup Coffee on Main Street, walk around Kelley Cofer and Henderson Parks, and of course either climb Stone Mountain or hike some trails there. A week is also enough time for a jaunt up to either Dahlonega or Clayton for hiking. We’ll definitely be heading over to my hometown, Athens, too, for music, food, and a tour of some of its great haunts.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I dedicate this shout-out to a number of local friends and collaborators— Robert Bret Hartley, who plays guitar with me; Colin Agnew and Kevin Leahy, who drum in my band; Brad Rice of Athens, who has been kind enough to join us on bass for the past few years; talented Atl filmmaker and photographer Jeff Shipman, who has filmed all of my music videos of the past few years and taken wonderful photographs and footage of my recording sessions and shows; Tim Hall, an independent filmmaker in Atlanta whose latest film, “Landlocked”, recently debuted at the Atlanta Film Festival; Athens’ ace fiddle player Adam Poulin, who has played countless shows with me as a duo; musicians and engineers Ben Holst and Jon Trujillo of Tunewelders, who have been supportive friends and done wonderful work engineering and editing my African Sky Podcast (https://africansky.org/
In the realm of film, I’m grateful to Lisina Stoneburner of the Company Acting Studio for her excellent guidance and continuing Zoom classes throughout the pandemic; my agent Barbara Garvey of East Coast Talent, and the local casting directors who offer me an opportunity to audition for a range of projects.
And finally, a big shout out to my wife, Judith, who is a talented classic flutist and flute repair technician, who manages to balance her work, motherhood, and family life with grace and charm even as I steal away moments and nighttime hours in pursuit of some sort of artistic self-actualization.
Website: https://adam-klein.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/cowboy_angel
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cowboy_angel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adamkleinmusic
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/adamkleinmusic
Other: https://adamklein.bandcamp.com for all my music…
Image Credits
Jeff Shipman
Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlana is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
