Saturday 4 February 2012

ADAM GOLIGHTLY Interview

Interview Date: 30/01/2012
Interview Location: On the train from Birmingham New Street to Perry Barr (Pezza B)

Forget one man and his dog.
It’s all about one man and his guitar.



Secret Admirer threw some questions at acoustic-enthusiast Adam Golightly on a train after looking around a nifty independent record store and taking some pictures. Adam was visiting Birmingham strictly on business. Later that night he performed live on the New Music show with Ant Lee and Jack Parker on Scratch Radio (www.scratchradio.co.uk).
Boomshackalacka.

Are you ready?

Yeah.

When did you start writing songs of your own?

I started playing guitar when I was about eleven or twelve. As soon as I started learning chords, I started to write. I was around about 15, 16 when I had my first band and started playing out live. I started working on it at home and did gigs, got some feedback and just kept going really. That was five or six years ago.

Dedication.

Yeah.

What’s your favourite song that you have written out of all of them?

Probably my new one, one of my new ones; which I am going to play tonight. It’s quite a slow one but it’s quite meaningful and it’s about someone else for once. A lot of my music is about me, basically. It’s good to write from another perspective. That’s probably why it’s my favourite as well.

Do you have a favourite song you like to cover?

I don’t really cover many songs really.

That’s a good thing.

I do a Johnny Cash cover though; ‘Folsom Prison Blues’. I’m a bit lazy though, I don’t really learn songs. I probably should, probably should start doing that actually.

If you have original stuff of your own, I think that’s much better than covering other people’s songs.

I feel more comfortable playing my own. And if I do a cover, I usually have my own meaning out of the song. I can’t really perform it otherwise, if that makes sense.

What influences your song writing?

I’ve been listening to a lot of Laura Marling, Damien Rice, Carl Barat’s solo album and The Libertines.
I haven’t heard his solo album, is it good?

It’s fantastic, yeah. Saw him last year actually. So he’s a big influence now, and Pete Doherty as well and then people like Bob Dylan and Neil Young. Back in the day, you know, old stuff, Johnny Cash.

What has been your favourite gig to play so far?

I enjoyed playing with my college band at The Roadmender in Northampton. That was fun because it was quite a big gig. Solo shows, I played a charity gig a few months ago which was for YMCA. Which is a good cause so it was really fun meeting new musicians and stuff. That was probably my favourite so far.



Would you ever consider switching to an electric guitar?

I first started to play electric before when I was in the band, funk stuff. So, I switched to acoustic and it’s always been there. I use it to back up my music when recording. But if I got a band going I think I would yeah. I’m comfortable playing electric guitar, bit of both.

Like Bob Dylan when he switched, but a lot of people hated him for it. Hopefully they wouldn’t hate you as well.

(Laughs) Tread carefully.

Are there any artists you’d like to collaborate with?

Probably the people I’ve mentioned but I guess it’s not possible. But I’d like to work with Carl Barat, I think that would be fantastic, Laura Marling definitely. I think…there’s probably loads but most of them are dead though to be honest. Like Kurt Cobain, I’d love to collaborate with him. Yeah, Laura Marling I think would be awesome.

What music of yours can people get hold of at the moment?

My first EP was released two years ago, it’s the ‘Toy Town’ EP. It’s on Itunes and stuff and all the websites and stuff so that’s available for download at the moment. I’m releasing a new one in a couple of months with a fresh sound, a developed sound. So that’ll be out in a couple of months.

What websites do you like using most to promote your music?

I’m on Soundcloud and MySpace. Actually I deleted my MySpace because no one uses it. But I’m on Facebook, pretty much everything, I’m on Twitter. The lot really, YouTube, I’m on most of them.
If you could soundtrack a film, which one would you choose?

That’s a good question.

Any film that you like that exists or is going to exist.

I watched a film called Welcome To The Rileys the other night that was really good. My music would probably fit to that sort of film. It’s a bit dark, so yeah.
Nice. Is there any song you wish you’d written?

Thousands! Probably a Nirvana song, ‘Come As You Are’ I think. Or some of their more obscure stuff. It’s an amazing tune, I wish I had the mind-set to write that.

Have you got any future plans for albums, EPs and gigs?

I’ve got a gig coming up in Northampton; it’s at The Bat And Wicket, small pub. And EPs, I got an EP coming out in a couple of months. Halfway through recording that, I’m really looking forward to getting that done and releasing it.

Awesome.

So yeah, that’s my next project.

Thanks man!



Photography by Jack Parker

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