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EXCLUSIVE Interview with ADEMA!

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EXCLUSIVE Interview with ADEMA!
By: Matt Munoz / Bakotopia
Description: Bakersfield band sacrifice everything but their soul to keep on rockin'! HEAR THE INTERVIEWS! NEW CD OUT TODAY 8/21 !

Topics: Adema, 2007, Bakersfield, Bakotopia, Deroo, Reeves, Fluckey, Kohls, Faris, music, metal, Rock, Korn, Chavez, Ransom, Caraccioli, Immortal
Posted by matt Tue Aug 7, 2007 18:55:36 PDT
Viewed 5010 times
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<HEAR ADEMA INTERVIEWS PLUS NEW MUSIC!




Bakersfield band sacrifice everything but their soul to keep on rockin'

By Matt Muñoz
Bakotopia.com Editor

Adema's musical career has been showered with good and bad luck since day one.

Right now, things are looking good.

The Bakersfield-formed band dropped a new single, “Cold and Jaded,” from their full-length CD, “Kill The Headlights,” available Aug. 21. They are on a cross-country promotional tour, stopping in Long Beach, Aug. 22, at The Vault 350.

<<CHECK OUT THE VIDEO!

Yes, the five members of Adema have once again proven their commitment to all things rock.

But it hasn't all been cheers and chicks.

“Nothing in life worth having comes without sacrifice,” professed Bakersfield product and Adema bassist Dave DeRoo, via cellphone from the band's tour van en route to a gig in Falls Church, Virg. July 31. “Music is like the air I breathe.”

Born in Bakersfield in 1998, Adema is a band destined for a double episode of VH-1's Behind The Music. Fame, break-ups, drugs, record deals, redemption, and plenty of sacrifice - it's all here.

Now in 2007, the band has reinvented itself to stand above a list of rock's “nu-metal” casualties like Limp Bizkit and Staind, bands that rode a wave of success at the tail end of the '90s filled with rap rock cheesiness and acousti-metal ballads.

“The fans have been reacting really well,” said DeRoo, 32, of crowd reaction to the band's new music and current line-up. “They love the new songs, and there are some songs we haven't played in awhile.”

Adored and criticized as an overnight sensation for both their early success because of a bidding war among labels looking to snatch up the “next big thing” (arguably due to the ever-present shadow of original vocalist Mark Chavez' half brother Jonathan Davis of KORN), Adema formed a partnership with  Arista Records’ new rock division under the direction of unlikely producer L.A. Reid, who made stars out of artists such as TLC, Usher, and Outkast.

Handed a sweet deal and prime tour support, including the Ozzfest mainstage in 2001, the band enjoyed the limelight and the road - for awhile. Soonafter the release of their sophomore CD “Unstable,” and an EP, “Insomniac's Dream,” things went sour after Arista unceremoniously dropped the band during a label shakedown that involved numerous firings within the company.


Original stylee: Adema in 2001

That's where the rest of the story begins.

Internal conflicts ultimately led to the departure of two members, including guitarist Mike Ransom in 2003, and vocalist Chavez in 2004, but for remaining members, DeRoo on Bass, guitarist Tim Fluckey, drummer Kris Kohls, the band was determined to move forward by embracing the notion that “nothing lasts forever.”

“I have nothing but fond memories of that time,” said DeRoo of the major label experience. “That was a good time in our lives, but when it was happening, it was a bit surreal. Everybody in the band kind of reacted to success differently. I think it was hard on us to a degree. But I took it head on, because I've had so many ups and downs in my life. I lived in the moment and just rolled with it.”

Without a label and searching for a new vocalist to replace Chavez, the band brought in Bakersfield vocalist Luke Caraccioli to the fold, and in 2004 Adema was scooped up by metal music stronghorse Earache Records. “Planets,” its third full-length put them on tour again as a quartet - but just like Chavez before him, Caraccioli jumped ship citing personal reasons for leaving after only a year.


Surviving: Adema in 2004

“People think this is something they wanna do and would love to trade places with us in a minute,” said DeRoo. “Then when they immerse themselves, they don't know if they can deal with it - getting three hours of sleep a day, not seeing your friends and family, and being gone for a year.”

By this time, you'd think the band would've called it a day for good, but for Deroo and company, the only option was to move on.

“It was a very different set of circumstances for both those guys, but obviously the common thread they had was that they just didn't wanna do it anymore,” he said. “It's hard to find like minded individuals.”

Searching for a third replacement, the band was dealt another lucky hand in the form of two friends from Los Angeles.

Singer Bobby Reeves and guitarist Ed Faris, both from independently successful LA-based band LEVEL, were recruited in 2005, putting the band back to work in the studio and on the road.

No fly-by-night duo, these former LEVEL artists had experience the previous members lacked - a quality that would help the band avoid re-living their troubled past all over again.

“I didn't just hop on stage because I was friends with Dave,” said Reeves, 32, about being a rock frontman. “We just had different paths. I've been doing this for a long time, and I'm an Adema fan myself.”

As a fan and friend of the band, Reeves was fully aware of the drama that had plagued the band, but that didn't deter the singer from vigorously diving into the new lead role.

“It was a little scary at first, to be honest with you,” said Reeves. “I didn't want to follow someone else's path, I've been doing this longer than he (Chavez,) has. Markie's a great guy. I would never say anything bad about the guy, it's not my style, and he paved the way for me.”


Ready to sacrifice: Adema in 2007

Knowing the job was going to be tough when they took it, DeRoo is quick to sing the praises of his new bandmates.

“They're great, and they contribute,” he said. “This band is all chiefs and no Indians. These two guys wanna write songs, tour the world, and set people on fire. That's what we wanna do.”

Working hard at building a new catalog of songs and demos, Immortal Records, which has been responsible for launching the careers of KORN, 30 Seconds To Mars, and Rage Against The Machine, among others, took notice and offered the band a deal in February.

With more than 40 songs recorded during 2006 under its belt, the band chose 12 of their strongest tracks to be included on their eagerly anticipated return to the rock game, “Kill The Headlights.”

“Cold and Jaded,” the melodic and hook-laden first single from “Headlights,” has already helped restart the band's buzz on the web and on mainstream rock radio with its perfectly balanced mix of strong, confident vocals courtesy of Reeves, and a rhythm section that could easily outplay an army of its peers, even on a bad day.
 
“This is the best stuff we've ever written,” said DeRoo of their Immortal Records debut. “I can listen to the whole record all day, even if I wasn't in the band - I'd be like, “This is a killer album.”

LIVE IN LONG BEACH ON 8/22!


OUT ON 8/21/07!


CHECK OUT THESE LINKS!
ADEMA AT BAKOTOPIA!

ADEMA ONLINE
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