FREE! Magazine brings you an exclusive interview with multitalented American musician Adam Ciminello, who tells us about the imminent release of his band’s debut album, The Carnival Kids, and many other interesting opinions about the music business and the complexities of building up a new musical project. Enjoy it!
When I was reading about your musical talents, I was impressed by the wide array of instruments that you can play. Can you tell us a bit how you started in the music business and how was studying music in Boston?
Thanks so much for the kind words Antonio! It really means a lot to have people support my music and artistic vision. I first started to really take music seriously towards the end of my high schooling. I played in a couple of bands that toured around the area regionally and by the time I started college, I was hooked! Boston is a really great place to get your start in music. There are many places to play and lots of college students who love live music. I’m grateful for the experiences I had there and the many talented musicians I had the privilege of playing with and getting to know.
Do you have your residence nowadays in Boston? How is the music scene there (my knowledge is pretty limited to knowing that is the home town of my beloved band Aerosmith).
Currently, I live in Poughkeepsie NY, about an hour north of NYC. I still play frequently in Boston as a solo artist and with other groups in the area. It’s a great city that’s constantly churning out fantastic new artists due to the many colleges and music schools located there.
I have seen you stated that the music in your debut album is very positive. Actually the name of the band and the art cover are already exhaling a positive feeling. So what can a new listener expect there, in the album that will be recently released on April 27th?
The music and overall message on this LP is very much intended to be positive. Some of the individual songs relate to darker themes but on the whole my aim was to make people feel good and describe relationships and events that everybody could relate to. I think listeners can expect from this LP to hear music that sounds familiar yet different enough to resonate.
Actually the country where I live nowadays, Finland, is also famous for the melancholic feeling in most of the music produced here. Why is it that seems trendy nowadays in music to be a depressive emo? Do you miss the kind of more happy-naïve compositions that people could listen in the clubs, for example in the 80s?
As both an artist and avid listener of music, existing on both sides of the equation, it’s difficult for me to really answer this question with any sort of objectivity. I don’t know why other artists make the art they choose to make because, frankly, I really don’t know why I make the art I choose to make! Composing is such an intimate process with yourself and it all happens so fluidly that it’s very difficult for me to specifically describe why I choose to write my music. Similarly, as a listener, I really don’t know definitively why we choose to listen to the music we enjoy. Duke Ellington once said “If it sounds good, it is good,” and I try my hardest to not allow any other thoughts dilute this concept when I am composing. If I enjoy it and feels genuine, then it probably is worth sharing. As a listener, if I enjoy it and feels genuine, its probably also worth sharing!
If I am not mistaken, you are the only current member-founder of the band (which is interesting cause maybe because of the name of the band in plural, everybody would be expecting a formation with more members). How is the feeling of putting an album together by yourself, do you like the freedom of creativity, or is it actually a more painful process in some ways to put everything together?
I am currently the only permanent member of The Carnival Kids. I do have a live a band that I perform with, and two of those members make up the rhythm section who recorded most of the LP with me, respectively. I can’t tell you how liberating it was to make this album largely by myself. I’ve been in collaborative bands since I was 14 and while that feeling – that of camaraderie, teamwork and equal partnership – is wonderful, being able to create/record in a scenario where I was in complete control was something I had always dreamed about. It’s been a pretty rewarding process watching this LP come to life and I feel I’ve learned a lot about myself along the way.
I have seen also in some Youtube videos that you have company of quite some other musicians. Can you tell us a bit more about their collaboration, and it is expected that they would play with you live, or could the formation and the musicians playing with you change? Are there plans to go touring during 2013?
Yes, those members make up my live band and I couldn’t ask for a more talented group of musicians. I’ve been blessed throughout my life to share the stage with some amazing artists and when it came time to put together the live act, I immediately knew this group was perfectly outfitted to bring my songs to life. I’m very lucky to be working with them.
I have a good friend who is a great fan of Government Mule, so seeing that you have played with them, I could not less than ask about the experience of collaborating with such a legendary band.
I’ve only played one show with them, which admittedly was almost six years ago, and unfortunately I can’t say that I collaborated with them creatively (I wish!). But I can say that they are incredibly nice people, grateful for the opportunities they’ve been given, and extraordinarily talented musicians.
Although it seems that music is really the centre of your life, what other hobbies and passions do you have?
Outside of music, I am an avid chess player and a lifelong fan of the New York Knicks! Looking forward to hopefully watching them bring home their first championship in forty years later this spring!
Anything you want to add for our readers?
Thank you so much for your time and support of independent music! Hope to tour Finland soon! Also, here are our various social media sites for everybody to check out! Thanks again!
http://www.facebook.com/TheCarnivalKidsMusic
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCarnivalKidsMusic
http://thecarnivalkids.bandcamp.com/
http://www.reverbnation.com/thecarnivalkidsmusic