Annuals
Interview with Adam Baker
Words: Michael Spadoni
Photos: Meaghan Montagano

Adam Baker, twenty year old singer and principle songwriter of Annuals, is an enigma in the new generation of young bands.  His band recently released their debut album, Be He Me, on Ace Fu Records to incredible critical response.  When I spoke with Adam about all of his recent success, he was in the midst of a never-ending tour, dealing with the reevaluation of his stage setup, and just finding out he was going to be playing Late Night with Conan O’Brien.  Annuals will be playing at The Social on January 25, opening for indie-rock heavyweights The Dears. Expect this show to be nothing short of enlightening.

REAX:  What kind of music were you listening to when you first started writing?
Adam Baker:  I was listening to… I would call it punk music, but a lot of people would call it bullshit.  NOFX, No Use For A Name… shit, I even used to like Blink182.  But, there were always people I would go back to who I grew up with, like Johnny Cash and Paul Simon.  No matter what kind of music I was into at different points in my life, they were always in there, throughout the fluxuations I guess.  I guess a little bit of Paul Simon comes into play in my music, but not so much of the punk and country. 

REAX:  Who got you into Johnny Cash?
AB:  My first introduction to music growing up was with Johnny Cash and Credence Clearwater Revival because that is what my dad was listening to.  He was a drummer in a band and he was the one who really started my whole fascination with writing music.  When I was a little kid I was amazed at the huge noise that would come from the garage when he would practice with his band.  I would wonder how he could make something that was so good, but so fucking loud.  He is the reason I started playing, he made the appreciation of music accessible to me.  He would tell me stories about how he loved playing drums and how he paid his way through college playing music.  He passed the love of music on to me and I can’t thank him enough for it.

REAX:  Did you play in bands when you were younger and were you involved in the local music scene in North Carolina?
AB:  I was heavily involved actually.  When Kenny and I first started playing we were treated as outcasts because everyone that we were trying to hangout with were at least seven years older than us and we were trying to open for their bands.  So, we received some disdain from sound guys… shit like that, but we couldn’t be happier being able to play shows and going to school at the same time.  Luckily our parents were nice enough to let us do that. Of course, when I first started I was playing mostly house shows and parties.  The scene itself was incredibly wonderful. It’s always changing and I think that is the most interesting part about it.  No one stays in the same place for too long or they get forgotten.  So, there is always a constant need for change.  Which is what music is all about in the first place… also, trying to interpret how you’re feeling and if you’re trying to make it public, to make it accessible for other people as well.

REAX:  When did you start playing with Kenny Florence (guitar)?
AB:  Kenny is one of the best guitar players I have ever seen and he has only been playing for around five or six years.  When I started with him, I played in his band as the drummer and he was writing the songs.  Annuals developed from a side project of that.

REAX:  What steps too place to take you from playing locally, to signing with Ace Fu, and then touring nationally?  Has the success that you’ve received come easily or was it something you really had to work at?
AB:  There are two sides… I have been playing non-stop since I was twelve years old, so in that aspect it took a very long time.  We worked really fucking hard, sending demos everywhere, but no one liked it.  After a while, we were lulling back, then out of nowhere, Ace Fu called us.  That was around two years ago.  It was a gradual sort of thing and I don’t really know what the difference is now except that playing shows are a lot more fun.  Its so much nicer playing on stages that we can actually fit on because we have so much shit.  Also, we’ve already got six people in the band and we’re talking about adding a seventh and maybe an eighth.  That has to be farther down the road though because we can’t fit anyone else in the van.

REAX:  Does it take eight people to play your songs in a live setting?
AB:  After the record was done, my project was to figure out how to play those songs live.  It’s part of the reason that I want to get more members.  People tell me that we have a good show, but I always want more.  I want to get some strings players, but that’s just something we can’t do at the moment.  The musicians in Annuals are so fucking good.  Everyone is multi-talented; we can all sing and switch instruments. I think we definitely put on a very interesting an energetic show.  We’ve all been playing in bands for years so we tend to be very at home on stage.  Basically, we have a lot of fun.  When six people are trying to move around on stage with two drum sets and an entire frontline of keyboards… it’s tough, shit gets knocked over.  We pull it off well and now we have a grid in our minds of where we can’t step or else we’re going to fuck somebody else up.  It’s a shitload of energy, a wall of sound.