Hold Me Down Revisited

I’ve gotten some questions about the lyrics for “Hold Me Down.” I was going to give a pretty straightforward explanation of what they mean to me, where they come from, etc., but where’s the fun in that? So, instead, here’s the lyrics to “Hold Me Down” in the form of a pulp novel:


Temptation is a cocktail waitress, holding a tray full of $4 shots, staring you in the face with a practiced smile, saying “choose your poison.” I say, “No thanks, I quit.” She laughs and says, “sure you did.”

If I don’t get out of this dive bar fast, I know I’ll be here way past my bedtime, but before I can even finish this sentence, I drop a week’s paycheck on the roulette table. I put it all on red. The guy behind the wheel doesn’t even bother spinning the thing. He says, “It’s out of order. But it would probably would have hit black.” He takes my check.

The bartender sees the whole thing. He offers me a drink that someone else never finished. For some reason, I accept.  

Problem is: I can’t just sit here and enjoy a drink. Next to me is a travel agent. I think maybe we went to school together. He won’t shut up about some all-inclusive getaway. I give him my credit card and say “take this, if it means you’ll shut up.” He asks if I want travel insurance. I roll my eyes and shake my head.

Two guys across the bar jabber about a story on the news. I can’t keep up. One of the guys hands me a book. “Particle Physics for Idiots.” I don’t even open it. I just push it aside. My friend the travel agent grabs the book. He finishes it in a half-hour and says he liked the movie better. I put headphones on, but all I hear is some lady with a thick Swedish accent rambling on about how music died in the 60’s. And then in the 70’s. And then again in the late 80’s.

My cell rings. It’s my cousin. Wants to know how things are going. I say “a little bit of both.” Before he can ask what that means, I drop the phone into my borrowed beer.

They shut the lights off. They kick everyone out. They lock the door, and they make sure we hear the click. I left my keys inside. I curse. I knock. I apologize. Someone shouts from inside: “we’re closed!” My friend the travel agent offers me a ride home in his brand new 6-door sedan. I get in reluctantly. He says, “see, you just never know what’s going to go wrong... you wanna rethink that travel insurance?”

Jersey Gin Joints

Do you remember that scene in the bio-pic “Ray,” where they show a young Ray Charles sitting in gin joints in the South listening to old guys jam out on Blues tunes? I couldn’t stop thinking about that scene last week when I was at an open mic in Marlton. We walked into this bar on a Wednesday night in the middle of the New Jersey suburbs, and there’s this group of guys wailing on some Blues, Classic Rock, and Pop.

Now, these are not guys who pick up a guitar every once in a while. These are guys who are seriously talented. Like, you could pay good money to hear them play at a venue, and it would be worth every cent. They can sing, they can play, they can perform. Some of them used to play with name acts. Big names. What’s even cooler is that many of them are multi-instrumentalists. It was amazing to watch them take turns soloing, or jump from bass to drums and back again.

It was pretty nerve-wracking to get up and play in the middle of that, but we did, and we had a great time. We even had one of the fellas sit in on drums. This guy has never even heard our song, but he just picked up his sticks and together we jammed on original Adams Wilson tunes. And it actually sounded good! The songs took on a whole new character.

I personally don’t understand why people pay $200 bucks or more to see an act that’s been playing the same tunes for 20-30 years when you can walk into a bar in the middle of Camden County and hear these guys play for free. The next Ray Charles or Springsteen could be playing at a bar in your neighborhood. You could meet him. You could even jam with him! Are you gonna stay home and watch the Voice instead? :)

2012: The Year We Did Cool Stuff

I have one resolution for 2013: I would like to appreciate the positive things around me. You see, I am somewhat of a “negative Nancy...” in fact, that was the original name of Adams Wilson until I found a bunch of other bands on MySpace with the same name. So, let’s take a very quick look back at 2012:**

1) We got to go to upstate NY in the dead of Winter. Good God was it cold. We saw all the zany sights Buffalo has to offer, like buildings, dive bars, and stoplights and things. It was crazy... We also happened to record five songs with one of the Goo Goo Dolls before we left. I happen to think that the EP we made (Lies Worth Telling) is the best thing we have done in the 6 or 7 years I’ve invested into this music thing.

2) We reduced our fan base by converting two fans into band members. In the Spring, we added a new bass player by the name of Brian Scorben. He is just a heck of a swell guy, and he is the perfect fit for our group in that he loves both the Counting Crows (which means he and I have things to geek out about) and Rush, which means he and Matt have things to geek out about. I think we can ALL agree, however, that geeking out about Rush is far more geeky than geeking out about Counting Crows.

2a) Last year this time, Matt handed a CD to a random lady named Andrea. She loved the CD and asked us what the band was doing to promote our career. Being musicians, we of course shrugged and said, “huh?” Since then, Andrea’s been helping us get our music out into the world. Andrea, while not technically a band member, has been an inextricable part of the band experience over the past year.

2a-1) I lost a bet to Andrea. She tried to argue that we should do a cover of Paul McCartney’s “Let Me Roll It,” and that if we did, XPN would probably play it. I said we didn’t have a prayer of getting on there, because, as I said, I’m just a negative Nancy. Anyways, in June, I had to hand Andrea a case of “7 Deadly Zins” (her favorite wine), because dang if she wasn’t right. Thank you to Helen Leicht for playing both our cover, and our original song, “Take it or Leave it.”

3) The last and most important thing: we gained new fans. At every show we played this year, we had people come up to us and say that someone had given them one of our CDs. When they played it they loved it and knew they had to come to a show. I want to thank all of you who have been our “missionaries” and ask that you’ll keep up the good work. We NEED your support, and we are incredibly grateful for it. THANK YOU.

Adams


**These are, of course, in no particular order, and I should add that I’ve spent a number of hours paralyzed at the keyboard, hoping that I don’t miss anything or forget someone.