Adam Silverman : Nashville Session and Touring Drummer

10 years ago – wow – went by fast…

I was recently asked in a little interview that I was doing for my college what I was doing 10 years ago. As I was reminiscing about where I’ve come from as a musician it really reminded me of where I’ve been, and how important that’s been to my career development. 10 years ago I was playing for a rocking band in Westminster, MD called Kill Patrick. Kill Patrick was a four piece band. Steve Boughan on bass and Vocals, Steve Bohli on bass and vocals, Eric Thomas on guitars, and me on drums. 10 years ago we were rocking bars in MD. I was ambitious to be different musically from everyone else, and the dream was to be in a signed band. I loved Primus, Tool, Incubus, and a slew of hard rock bands, country music wasn’t even on my radar.

I remember not having a clue what getting signed meant. Not really knowing all the things that I know about the music industry now. It was about making music with my friends. Sometimes I long for those days where music was just about music again. Where it wasn’t a business, where I could just drum and be done with it. But then – I think I would miss all of the fun industry things that I’m learning along the way at this time in my career.

Thought maybe you guys would enjoy a little tune by the old Kill Patrick called “Push the Flux”. I truly love these guys and hope that one day I can sit in with them again! Cheers to making music for the sake of making music!  www.killpatrickmusic.com

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Here is me playing with Kill Patrick at a battle of the bands many moons ago. Crazy how different things are these days :)

Today we celebrate one of my best friend Emmett’s 32nd birthday and I have a mixed emotion of both sadness and joy. Sadness because I miss him so terribly bad. Joy because I have so many incredible memories of being his friend. I’m sitting in a hotel room up in Massachusetts preparing for a show tonight in a country bar with Lauren and band and I just keep remembering funny stories about times we had hanging out. I miss those times so badly.

I carry Emmett’s snare drum case with me everywhere, and you’ll rarely see me on the road without a Team Emmett bracelet on. In fact, Emmett’s case appeared with me holding up my computer on The Ellen Show. I loved that you could see Stallings in bright white up there,  and the wristband can be seen on my hand on all of the shows we’ve done, live and recorded. I know they are small simple things, but they remind me of how fortunate I was to know him, and I know he would be so proud of me if he was here, and that helps keep me going when I’m worn out and tired, just knowing that he’s smiling about all of it. I can’t wait to see him and talk again and tell him about all this, he’s going to love to hear it.

Today as I play and work and live life I just can’t help but thank God again for the gift that Emmett was and still is in my life. I love you buddy, Happy Birthday!

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To quote a friend Jonathan Nelson today, “The percussion section in Heaven’s band just got even more awesome.” After about a year and a half of battling esophageal cancer, one of my best friends, and an amazing percussionist here in Nashville, Emmett Stallings, has gone home to be with the Lord. I was so very blessed and fortunate to call Emmett a friend and a brother. I just wanted to take a moment to express that though we are deeply sad for this loss to us, like Jonathan said, Heaven is rejoicing at Emmett’s coming home party tonight. I wish that we all could be there with him to celebrate, but I take small solace at this point just knowing that we will see each other again one day.

I know how to shake a tambourine because of E. I know what shakers to pick because of E. He’s taught me to play more musical, to play from my heart, to listen to what I’m playing before I just start playing, and so many other things. I also learned the phrase “Punk-Face” from him, which I was so frequently called when we were goofing off… haha. I remember many afternoons working in his studio together on drum tracks, talking about sounds and feels and what works and what doesn’t, and I loved every single second of it, and I wouldn’t trade those times for anything.

As a friend, Emmett was and continues to be a true gift. He managed to encourage me when I felt so down. He brought up my spirits, built me up, pushed me to be better than I thought I could be, asked me if I had practiced enough each week, encouraged me and showed me how to be a Godly husband, and father. Lately he’s taught me about courage, faith, and he fought the good fight and ran the race with excellence until he was called home. He’s been a mentor, brother, confidant, friend, and part of my family for the last 7 years. What a blessing, privilege, and honor to have known this young man and to walk along side him all the way until the end of his journey here on earth.

Please check out teamemmett.org for more information about Emmett. His story is so touching, his faith is completely inspiring, and his legacy will live on through his amazing wife Wendy and son Quinn, and all the lives he’s touched across the world. Please continue to pray for his wife and song, and the rest of his family as we grieve this gigantic loss to our world. Thanks for reading. Be blessed.

The past couple months have really transformed from a time of fear to a time of great excitement. As I’ve made the transition from being out on the road full time, to trying my best to start making music as a session drummer, it’s been challenging but also so exciting for me. I’ve had the opportunity to do almost as many sessions as I did the entire last year in the last 2 months. Scary isn’t it… well for me it’s super exciting. I’ve been able to work with a few new folks out in L.A recording at “The Vault” here in Antioch. I’ve also done some new songwriter demos and plan to add some new pre-amps into the studio really soon. I’ve also been working in other studios in Nashville, Joelton, Franklin, and Brentwood as well.

It all started by just beginning to put the word out to my friends that I was actually in town for the first time in 3 years. I was thrilled to work on Chad Jarnagin’s new EP at Beech Creek studios. The final mixes are being done for that right now. I’ve  also had the chance to work with Anthony Mazza for more tracks, and I got to make some new friends cutting some country tunes. Last week I got to work with Paul Buono and Steve Bisher on some tunes for Paul Reter, Karen England, and Julliana Cole. That was a pretty sweet 9 hour day and I loved every second of that.

It’s really tough to be a session player in this town, the playing demands are extremely rigid, the songs come at you really fast, and you just have to do what you do best and make it fit the song… quickly, but it’s my passion and it really makes me thrilled to know I have a real shot at doing this. It’s been my dream forever to just be a drummer, and any opportunity to cut drums, play live, or practice is a blessing. Like Steve Bisher said to me last week… “it’s awesome to make great music, even better when we’re getting paid to do it…”. That outlook could do many of us a lot of good!

Anyway, that’s the update for my drumming world as it stands right now. This file just came in from a producer I’m working with out in L.A. It’s a really cool 6/8 tune where I got to be a little bit busier than my usual session work allows for. Check it out!

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This is a video tour of my touring kit from Risen Drums. It’s a really amazing setup for this coming tour with 33Miles. Take a look at their site at 33milesonline.com/tour.php to see if we’re playing anywhere near you!! Hope to see you guys out there somewhere!!

Peace!
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Well it’s been about a month or so now since I received the news that Emmett Stallings, one of my best friends, has esophageal cancer. Emmett is a 30 year old husband, father, friend, and an awesome drummer / percussionist.

The story of the beginning of his battle with cancer is absolutely amazing. Please take a few moments to support him by checking out the Team Emmett Blog. When I read his blogs I pray, cry, and smile because of the hope that I can see in both Emmett and his wife Wendy. In the past few months I’ve found myself learning lesson after lesson reading their posts, and being there as a friend for them during this crazy time in their lives. It’s so humbling to be around people with such love and faith, and it’s definitely caused me to approach the way I live my life differently.

Please take the time to check out the blog. We’ll be selling wristbands, tee-shirts, cds, and who knows what else on that site in the very near future. As a musician, music lover, husband, wife, father, mother, friend, human… whatever you are in your life I promise this will change the way that you look at things, and I for one believe that we can all use some more perspective in our small little worlds. God is bigger than all of us, bigger than this world, He’s already conquered all of this, and so Emmett is a shining example of how to keep your faith through even the most troubled times.

Bless you all.
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