Adam Green

Mar 04, 2018

Posted by: Ben Kweller

BEST FRIENDS episode #4

NAME: Adam Green
CATEGORY: Songwriter, Sculptor, Director

last week, when i told you about Guster (episode #3), it got me thinking a lot about the beginning of my solo career. about all the fateful encounters and cool characters that were instrumental in my success early on in New York City. i had two buckets of influencers from that time. Bucket 1 contained the mama/papa birds - the experienced ones who took me under their wings. artists like Evan Dando, Juliana Hatfield, Jeff Tweedy, Eels, The Black Crowes… Bucket 2 contained the sister/brother birds - the up-and-comers that held my hand as we both jumped out of the nest together. artists like Ben Lee, Conor Oberst, Bright Eyes, Kings of Leon, Tim Fite, The Strokes, My Morning Jacket, Death Cab For Cutie, and this week’s main attraction: ADAM GREEN.

*side note you might know Adam’s work with Kimya Dawson and their band, The Moldy Peaches. if not, you'd probably recognize a song or two since their music pretty much makes up the entire Juno soundtrack!

i basically met Adam as a result of those aforementioned buckets pouring into one another. most of the connections i made in those days can be traced back to the one and only Evan Dando of The Lemonheads. me meeting adam was no different. here's the lineage: Evan discovered me, took me out on tour and told Juliana Hatfield about me. Juliana took me out on tour and we played NYC’s legendary, Mercury Lounge. i had two items at the Merch booth. a DIY, puffy paint T that Lizzy and i made back on Smith Street, and a homemade CD called Freak Out It’s… Ben Kweller. Juliana had local merch sellers in each market and tonight's seller was a young, artsy singer named Kimya. she had a huge afro and a huge heart. she was telling me all about her new band, The Moldy Peaches. as we got to know each other, she finally said, "DUDE, you have to meet my friend Adam! He’s the other singer in The Moldy Peaches. You guys are like two peas in a pod!" and with that, Kimya left to make a phone call...

*side note Kimya Dawson is the one singing all those Sha-Shaaas and Sha-Dooooos with me in the old-school jam, “How it Should Be (Sha Sha)”... check it out here!

back at the Mercury Lounge doors hadn’t opened. Kimya goes over and let's some dude in the club. he's wearing ratty bell bottoms, a red blazer and a black fedora a’la Rancid’s alleged “Time Bomb”. she introduces us. "Ben? Adam... Adam? Ben..."

there we were.
two dweebs.
standing at this makeshift merch booth.
all of a sudden Adam whips his out.
so i whip mine out!
we stare at each other's things and revel in the similarities!
i'm not talkin' private parts brooooo,
i'm talking album art yooooo!
see for yerself belowwwww...

ben kweller adam green moldy peaches juno

we were both like “Holy calzone! Seriously?" we swapped CD’s and numbers and that was the beginning of our lifelong friendship.

music ain't Adam’s only creative outlet neither… he’s penned fanzines and books... acted in movies, written and directed movies. he's created sculptures and paintings that are collected by people around the world... he even had a hit blog before blogs were a hit. basically, he's a creator in every sense of the word. a true legend, a true artist.

godfather adam green with godson dorian kweller
*fun fact: Adam Green is Dorian Kweller's godfather. here they are together on the set of Adam Green's Aladdin. the two don't see each other much since Dorian has lived in Austin for 10 of his 11 years, but, Dorian being the creative soul that he is, loves knowing that somewhere up in New york City lives his eccentric godfather who will no doubt one day lend some wisdom-filled godfatherly advice on subjects ranging from creativity to the human condish.

the full Aladdin film is now available for free!!! see below.

ben kweller adam green on stage

i’ve traveled to more far-off lands and performed more far-out shows with Adam than any other artist. we’ve celebrated many occasions together and written many a silly song together. like Tim from Ash (episode #1), our collaborations have yet to be recorded or released. hopefully the day will come...

<== come to think of it, there is one AGBK collab that is available on the open market, albeit, in limited quantities… talkin' 'bout our famous cover of the underrated but always enjoyed, Beach Boys classic, “Kokomo”! Adam and i used to perform "Kokomo" together live in concert and it became a fan favorite. we finally recorded it an slapped it on Adam's Jessica EP!! if you're lucky you might be able to grab a copy here.

adam green ben kweller comedy show vintage nyc pianos us at a comedy show, Pianos, NYC.
i've always loved his skull-faced stick 'n' poke tattoo.

ben kweller adam green dashboard confessional london snipe moldy peaches the day i found some Adam Green snipes in NYC.
his album, Friends of Mine, had just come out.
(note the Dashboard snipes to the right!)

**if you can only buy 1 Adam Green album, then buy Friends of Mine!
the songs are killer, the vocal performances are killer.
#toteskiller. get it.**

ben kweller ratatat adam green josh lattanzi fred eltringham sheryl crow wrigley field cubs
Sha Sha road crew in the dugout at Wrigley Field. From L-R: me, Josh Lattanzi (Bass), John Biondolillo (ATO Records), Mike Stroud (Guitar), Fred Eltringham (Drums), Adam Green (Show opener)

ben kweller adam green in studio kokomo the strokes this one says it all....
i love you Adam!
bk

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OFFICIAL WEBSITE: adamgreen.info
TWITTER: twitter.com/averagecabbage
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/averagecabbage
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/adamgreenofficial

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