I've moved.

For a more comprehensive web presence, I've moved to adamclair.wordpress.com. This ought to be the last post I make here, but since it's topping Google's results for "adam clair," I figured I might as well let everyone know.

See you there.

Another hiatus

So, starting tomorrow, I'll be working a full-time job, 40+ hours per week, not including transportation to and from the city (an hour each way).

If this were a blog about my entire life, this post would be about how completely overwhelmed I am by all this. But it's not. It's a blog about my work on a book about the Elephant Six Recording Company, so this post is about how my new employment will affect that.

In short: It's going to affect it. Hard. I'm only committed to this job for a few months, but for that time, I won't have much time to even think about this project, much less act on it. There's also a chance that I end up staying on for more time than that, and obviously the longer I stay on, the longer it'll be before I can get back to the E6 stuff.

When it's over, though, I'm going to be sitting on a decent amount of money (I'm living at home for the duration, which means no rent and no real expenses whatsoever). With such a cushion, I should be able to move down to Athens for a few months and really be able to hit this thing hard, assuming I don't have any real job prospects by then (which seems like a probability at this point). Sigh.

Another big day

Today (the day of the Robbert Bobbert show) went well, though it didn't start off that way.

Though I set my alarm clock for 8 a.m., I didn't wake up until 9:30 for some reason. I have never, ever overslept in my entire life, but I did today. I rushed out of the house in about ten minutes, picked up Leah and still got to the city with time to spare. And, because it was Sunday, I didn't have to pay for parking (which was good because I only had about 75 cents in change and couldn't find a garage).

Anyway, the show was quite clearly aimed at little kids, littler even than barely 10-year-old Leah.

And even though she was probably a bit bored, Leah is too nice a kid to have let me know she didn't have a good time. We went out to lunch afterward, so maybe that made up for it. At any rate, I appreciate her coming along with me.
Getting to meet Robert Schneider after, though, was stellar. Tangibly speaking, I got his personal e-mail address, which was a big get. More important, however, was the interaction we had.

First, he's disarmingly charismatic and overwhelmingly nice. He seemed genuinely flattered (the word he used was "honored" that I'd be willing to write a book about him and the Elephant Six Recording Company. He offered to do whatever he could to help and seems like the kind of guy who will go out of his way to keep that sort of pledge.

And he'll definitely be helpful. Just last night, he discovered some concept drawings for the Elephant Six logo that Will Hart designed so many years ago, the night before it was due for pressing the original Apples in Stereo 7" (a 7" that somehow had three songs on each side). On top of that, he has copies of the masters of every Elephant Six release ever. In short, he has a lot to offer someone trying to write about this whole thing, not that that's the least bit unexpected. I'm damn happy I met him today.

Some pictures from the show:

Things to do in Philly

I spent yesterday afternoon at the Art Star Craft Bazaar at Penn's Landing, an arts and crafts sale (lots of cool stuff that I don't need) and outdoor concert. The only bands we paid attention to were Toy Soldiers (whom I had seen before as a two- or three-piece but who performed as a nine-piece and killed) and, the main reason I was there, Folklore.

(Click to enlarge)

Folklore, as I've mentioned before, is the project of Elf Power guitarist, former Athenian and current Philadelphian Jimmy Hughes. In Folklore, he sings and plays guitar.
Though Jimmy had sent me a couple of his CDs last summer when I interviewed him, this was the first time I had the chance to see his band live (as you'll recall, I saw him with Elf Power when they came through State College in January). They didn't really seem comfortable in the outdoor setting and it certainly wasn't the sort of music a lot of the crowd was expecting, but I really dug the set. Luckily for me, I'll have the chance to see them again in about a month.

On July 8, Madeline's summer tour stops in Philadelphia at the North Star. Folklore will be opening, as well as a couple other bands (Athens' The Ginger Envelope and Philly's Ape School).

In addition to getting to see a stellar concert, this show provides a few opportunities:

-I get to schmooze a bit with E6ers like Jimmy, Madeline and whomever is in Madeline's touring band at the time. Networking ftdub.
-I can pitch a preview of the show to City Paper and Philly Weekly in the hopes of extending my freelance career into the "paid" arena.
-I can grab an interview with somebody from one of the bands to publish probably anywhere (perhaps even here).

I still have no idea when I'll be able to get to Athens, but for the time being, it still seems like I can take baby steps from the Philadelphia area.

It's on

After some gentle prodding, I was able to convince Leah last night to join me at the Robbert Bobbert concert on June 14 at World Cafe. She'll have to miss her last soccer game of the season, but my persuasive skills are limitless.

I've tried to get in touch with Rob(b)ert's publicist about all this, but I've yet to hear back. I'd prefer not to just accost him at the show, but I'm prepared to do that if necessary. I wonder if he's gotten wind of me yet.

Awake from the dead

First, apologies to my faithful readers who haven't seen an update in months and months. I know you all refresh this page hourly, and I'm sorry you haven't been able to see anything new in a while.

Anyway, I'm back for two reasons: I graduated a few days ago, so I have more free time, and I finally have something worth reporting.

I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to Athens again (I'd like to get this whole "finding a job" thing taken care of first, even if that may preclude my travels), so for the time being I'm relying on E6ers coming through the Philadelphia area. There's one tentatively going on in early July, but it's not quite booked yet, so it would be a bad idea for me to go into any further detail just yet, but there's also one definitely booked for June 14 at World Cafe Live.


Robert Bobbert and the Bubble Machine is Robert Schneider's kids' music project; that is, music for kids, not by his kids. The description on the site says it's intended for kids 1-12, so I'm going to try to bring my 10-year-old sister Leah. She has her last soccer game of the season that same day, but I think I can convince her.

If I can, I'll bring her to the show with me and try to find Robert after the show and introduce myself. If I can't, I think I'd feel sort of odd hanging out as a lonely 22-year-old in a crowd of parents and children, so I'd try to set up something with Robert for after the show. I may do that anyway: it starts at 11:30, so I assume it will be over by 1:00 at the latest, and the man probably needs lunch, right?

One of the Elephant 6's founding members, Robert is a guy I've been trying to get in touch with for quite some time. He's supposedly an outgoing and friendly person, so making some sort of contact with him would be invaluable to this project (not to mention satisfy my inner fanboy).

More to come on this, obviously.

On an unrelated note, since I can only handle so much job-hunting each day, I'm also going to be teaching myself how to build a website and then, you know, building a website. This whole "personal branding" thing seems pretty important in making myself more marketable, which I figure is a valuable trait to have when looking for a job and/or pitching a book. Y'all will be made privy when the site is up and running.

Elf Power, indeed redux

Let's try this again, this time without such heavy eyelids. Also, pictures!

As I said, Elf Power has become something of an Elephant Six All-Star team, so let's roll down the lineup.

Andrew Rieger has been around since the beginning. The two times I've seen him perform (last night and at the Holiday Surprise show back in October), I've been shocked at how pleasant his voice sounds. He doesn't look how you might expect listening only to records. I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult or both or neither, so let's move on lest I offend someone.

Multi-instrumentalist Laura Carter, like Rieger, has been around since Elf Power began. Last night alone, she played clarinet (as pictured above), glockenspiel, accordion, keys and synth. She's also been a key member to a bunch of other E6 bands, including Neutral Milk Hotel and the Gerbils. Also, she wears a sweet hat that has ears.


On bass is Derek Almstead, who has been playing with Elf Power for about five years now. Prior to that, he was the bassist for Of Montreal. Since moving down to Athens in 1995, he's played some role or another with at least a dozen or two other bands.


Drumming/wearing the same shirt as me is Eric Harris, who has also drummed for the Olivia Tremor Control and Circulatory System, assuredly among others. Dude absolutely killed last night.


Of the five members of Elf Power, guitarist Jimmy Hughes is the newest to the Elephant Six thing, but he definitely fits in well. He's also been one of the most helpful people I've met to this point in regards to this project.

Jimmy introduced me to Laura before the show and to Eric and Derek after (I had met Andrew when I saw him in Pittsburgh a few months ago). I had probably the most constructive discussion with Derek, first sort of giving him my pitch and then talking about some of the ideas I've had so far. He seemed receptive and actively interested in what I had to say, and he'll definitely be a valuable contact going forward.

Derek also apologized for not being able to hang out when I was in Athens a few weeks ago. Apparently, John Fernandes had called him one of the nights we were hanging out, but he was busy. The fact that he even remembered was sort of flattering.

So, in short, last night pushed me a little further through Phase One (making contacts and establishing a bit of a rapport).

Today, I sent them all an e-mail just sort of saying "thank you" for the help so far and promising that I'd stay in touch. I haven't heard back yet and don't expect to for a little while (they're still on tour for a little while longer and likely don't check their mail all that often), but at this point it's important to maintain contact. I can't let anything get stale.

Elf Power, indeed

I'm going to keep this somewhat brief, as I have to wake up in a few hours, but tonight was pretty damn productive (and more than a little fun), so I want to get some stuff down now. I'll elaborate tomorrow.

Tonight was the big Elf Power/Vic Chestnutt show at the Darkhorse Tavern (I have a bit of a column about it tomorrow, but I digress), and it was every bit as good I expected. Chestnutt, who I had never really listened to, was a pleasant surprise, and Elf Power was absolutely terrific live. They have an energy that fully transcends what their records offer.

After the show, I talked a bit to the members of Elf Power, and it turns out I'm better at "networking" (though I don't really want to call it that, but I suppose it's what it is) than I thought. I spoke with the oft-mentioned Jimmy Hughes for a bit, re-introduced myself to Andrew Rieger, met in person for the first time Laura Carter and Eric Harris, and had a pretty nice conversation with Derek Almstead. Elf Power has become something of an Elephant Six All-Star team, so tonight was a big opportunity, and I think I capitalized.

Also of moderate interest, Jeff VanFossan, a man of many hats in State College, but in this instance the guy who booked the show (as well as the prior Elf Power date back in July) happened to be outside while I was talking to Jimmy, Eric and Derek and mentioned to them that I was the one who had made this and the other show possible by hooking him up with Jimmy.

(After I had interviewed Jimmy this summer, he asked me if I knew anyone in State College who could book Elf Power for an open date they had between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, and I set him up with Jeff.)

Anyway, Jeff was very gracious (it was one of at least three or four times over the course of the night that he thanked me for my help) and he gave me a nice helping of ethos by mentioning that and my writing. Credibility is going to be damn important going forward with this project, and Jeff's words were both encouraging and palpably helpful.

Bed time. More (including pictures) tomorrow.

Keeping active

Two items of mild interest, one mildly good, one mildly bad.

First, the bad:

The Music Tapes/Nana Grizol tour dates were announced the other day, and while they're coming to Philadelphia in March, they're playing on the 4th, two days before I can get home. And there isn't much chance of me getting home in time for that, especially without a car up here (ironically, I'll be bringing my car back to State College with me after spring break). Oh well.

The good:

As I've mentioned, Elf Power is playing in State College in about a week. The show was originally scheduled for Chronic Town, but a fire left the hookah lounge badly damaged by the water from the sprinklers, and the lounge is currently unfit for the show.

So it was moved to the Darkhorse Tavern, which is a bit of a bummer because it means the show has to be 21+ (which usually means a smaller, less interested crowd), according to a Facebook event invitation received last night.

The interesting thing (the "good") is in one of the press photos uploaded to the event:



The bearded gentleman toward the middle of the photo is John Fernandes, of course. I don't think he'll be with Elf Power on this tour, but the guy is everywhere. When I hung out with him down in Athens, I asked him how many bands he played with. His response was "six or seven," and that's only current. I'm not sure what he's done with Elf Power, but he's apparently played with them enough to be eligible for one of their press photos (and to be the only one genuinely smiling in the picture).

I checked out the credits for Dark Developments (a joint effort from Vic Chestnutt and Elf Power and the record both Elf Power and headliner Chestnutt are supporting on this tour), the album I assume this photo is promoting as that's where it's filed on the Orange Twin website, but Fernandes's name isn't there.

According to the barely usable All Music Guide, Fernandes appears on 2006's Back to the Web (on clarinet and violin), so I'm guessing that's from when the picture comes. While perusing the credits for the Elf Power back catalogue, though, I saw a lot more Elephant 6 names than I had expected. The band has been around for just about as long as any other in the collective and features regularly some of the group's mainstays, but most of their albums have enlisted more outside help (though still within the Elephant 6) than I had thought.

Interest and disinterest

Aside from realizing/remembering why I hate driving to/in/from Philadelphia, today went well.

I spent a few hours this afternoon with Elf Power and Folklore guitarist Jimmy Hughes. We got some coffee and walked around the South Street and Old City areas putting up posters for the Philly date of the upcoming Elf Power tour (a date that will also feature an appearance by the newly reformed Folklore). I got to know him a little bit and he got to know me.

It also brought up something I haven't given enough consideration in regards to this book: conflicts of interest.

There were a few things that went down that, if I were writing for a newspaper or maybe even a magazine, would be breaches of ethics. He bought me a cup of coffee, I helped him brainstorm a bit about where to find work in Philadelphia, and I offered to let his band crash in my apartment when they come through State College.

That said, while I want to be a disinterested, objective reporter on this whole concept, I'm obviously a fan first. So that's something I have to reconcile. Liking the bands I'm covering is one thing; feeling like I owe them anything or they owe me anything is something else entirely.

Then again, this isn't just some superficial concert preview. For me to get to the depth I want to explore, I have to make a deeper connection than I would for a one-off interview for a 500-word article. I'm going to have to build a very strong rapport with some of these people if I want them to trust me and feel comfortable around to the extent that they're willing to share with me their life stories and let me write a book about them.

It's a lot to balance. On one hand, I have to have a deep enough relationship with at least a few of these people for us to be able to converse with some degree of depth, but on the other hand, I have to maintain enough distance and detachment to avoid the potential for conflict of interest and, as importantly, any perception of a conflict of interest.

Anyway, today was probably the last big thing for me for a while re: this book. I'll try to still update with some frequency, but I'm taking a bit of a break over the next couple weeks to get back in the swing of things with school (classes, the Collegian, UWire, tutoring, etc.). I expect to pick things back up again on January 26 when Elf Power comes through State College, and then from there try to start making moves with some phone contacts, schedule permitting. More to come, I suppose.