The opening theme from the short film "That Cookie Smell" (2014)

I'm really, really proud of this one! We tried more than a few different styles until we stumbled upon this mix of reverb-drenched Jazzmaster tones and buzzy synths. That was fun. 

"That Cookie Smell" coming soon! 

Theme from "That Cookie Smell"

This is a composition I'm working on for an upcoming play called "The Boy Who Couldn't Grow Up" based upon the life and works of Scottish author, J.M. Barrie, the man that dreamed up Peter Pan. 

With this piece, I was aiming for the feeling of drifting off into slumber, and the creation of dreamscapes, where bits of replayed memory weave with the fantastic, the mind concocting its own story, and for a few short hours we live the unimaginable.

The next step for this piece is expansion. What you're hearing is actually the third part of a larger piece made up of four movements, the first two being ambient noise and lighter musical elements, the fourth being as if one dream lead into another, more laughter-like dream. 

 

NVRLND XSTS

Another track from "The Boy Who Couldn't Grow Up", a play about Scottish Author JM Barrie and the struggle between adulthood and persistent, childish daydreams. 

At this point in the play, Barrie and Pan face off in a last bid for James to leave distraction behind. What begins as an epic battle becomes a tender moment, as peril becomes play and man and myth discover that they aren't so different after all. 

Bowed guitar is one of my favorite sounds, and I'm thrilled to have been able to use that instrument for this score. Like a battle cry and then a low wail, that sound strikes true.

BRAWL

Demo for the opening theme of the upcoming play, "Tilt Angel" 

HOWL (Demo)

An unused demo for Los Angeles own Illyrian Players KISS OF DEATH event. A single-night engagement, KISS OF DEATH is an interactive theatrical experience consisting of six plays that the audience can view at their leisure, moving from performance area to performance area. With an emphasis on the macabre, Illyrian absolutely hit it out of the park on this one. 

Although this demo didn't get used, I put an extra layer of polish on it and decided to put it out as-is, although in the future I may elect to add more sounds and that kind of thing. For now, this one does its job just fine. 

Menacing, creepy, and anxious, this piece feels like you're being chased by an unseen entity. 

Kiss Of Death

From the incredibly fun stripped-down set Celestial City performed last month. A night to remember for sure, this song was the final selection of the evening; a stark contrast from the other laid-back, more acoustic arrangements in the set, this song had much more in common with Delta Blues, Muddy Waters and Tom Waits than the usual acoustic worship fare. 

Celestial City is made up of musicians that not only strive to be the best instrumentalists possible, but to make art that points to a greater hope than the world alone can bring. 

By the way, simply click the black arrow in the upper left side of the track to download!


What Wondrous Love Is This

DUELS opened on August 18th at 12th Ave Arts in Seattle. Tickets available at http://duels.brownpapertickets.com/

When José asked me to write and record music for his upcoming play, I jumped at the chance. José chooses his projects carefully, each of them revealing a raw truth about the human experience and the plight of the marginalized. I couldn't have been more excited for DUELS by Nick Stokes, an "impressionistic, intense, doomed and twisty love triangle." Our characters toil day after day on the same plot of land while themes of love and loyalty, materialism, and social status occupy their minds. 

The music I've written for this play is dream-like; a solemn, hopeful breath to hold on to as the day wears on. Lap steel soars above the earthy tones of the acoustic guitar and upright bass, and if you listen close, you can hear my dog Vinnie singing along. So happy that José wanted that left in! 

2016

Duels (Theme)

Thorns is a piece of incidental music from the play DUELS, currently in the middle of its run in Seattle. This track was recorded with a single mic, a Lanikai Uke, my '64 Gibson J-50, and using stone guitar picks from my pals at STOHN Picks. Check them out! 

Get tickets here: http://duels.brownpapertickets.com/

Thorns (from DUELS)

Liam Neeson being racist is the perfect reason to finally change my Taken-style voicemail from 2011. Here is my very good impression, now preserved for generations to come.

NEESON GREETING - 2:6:19, 12.15 PM

During our first year of marriage, a lot was happening: I had a new job, a few exciting musical opportunities, and for the first time since moving to Seattle I found myself with my own friends instead of only those I'd met through my wife. Nothing wrong with those friends, but being an introvert can make social settings quite dicey. 

I've never quite known what to do with myself in large groups; never the social butterfly, I'd make my way to the drinks and chips, make tiny jokes that illicit tiny laughs and hope to God I could go home soon. It's not that I dislike people at all, but that I have no idea how to handle so many at once. My wife says I'm not at all that bad, that I'm funny and entertaining. Am I making too big a deal of it? 

I was thinking about all of this one night during that first year not so much in words, but rather, in pictures. I saw lonesome skylines bisected by tail light rivers, dark desert skies viewed through cracked eyes on a days-long journey, and the white-washed, witchy mist of a potentially happy future ahead of me. 

This song is all of that, scored to an imaginary film. Ta-da. 

PS: Those are gunshots in the very beginning of the song. I forgot about that, but that's my quirky neighborhood! 

Woori

Pensive and precocious, "Little" bounces and sways, looking up at the world with a curiosity usually reserved for the very young. Its title is two- or three-fold, I can't remember which. In that case, I'll detail it for your enjoyment here:

1) In 2009, I fell in love with a Martin LX-1S guitar, an instrument made mainly with a man-made laminate for the sides and back, but with a solid spruce top. It has this broke-down sort of boxy sound that immediately inspires, and it's also good as a percussion instrument. As soon as I brought it home, I recorded this song straight to my laptop, with its three and some odd minutes of slapping the top. All sounds were made on the guitar itself. 

2) In 2008 sort of fell in love with my good friend, but only a kind of listless, hopeless, little love. She, fiercely intelligent and determined to be a woman of her own making, was no smart match for me, then a man of little faith or determination of my own. I was aimless. Once we kissed, there was nothing good in it. The most wrong kiss I've ever had, yet I did not regret it. The woman caged me in the best ways. 

3) That's my friend Debbie in the album artwork. Her name is Debbie. Get it? 

Little

I am trying to figure this whole life thing out. Lucky for me, music makes sense.

Michael James Adams

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