The Discipline of Adam Brannon

I first met Adam Brannon September 11, 2020 playing with his group Code Blue Austin at Planet Rock Vodka Distillery. Let’s just say, my adventure began this day. (Details in my first book – Resurgence.) He is a very dear friend and a helluva musician. I dubbed him the “Samurai Musician” early on because of his intense focus while playing. When playing he is oblivious to any distractions. The music he is playing that second commands his attention. Let’s let Adam tell us about himself.

1. Who is Adam Brannon?

1A. Who is Adam Brannon. Hmmm. I’m sure many would answer that question much differently I!! LOL! I started my music journey pretty young. My mom was a singer in her younger days, singing with Ike Cole, Nat King Cole’s brother, around the Chicago area, so I was exposed to music around the house from birth. I got my first taste of playing at the age of about 12 (’73) when a neighbor gave me an old Magnus chord organ. I was a huge Elton John fan and started hammering out Elton tunes by listening to the records and fishing them out on the organ. I found it very easy to learn songs by ear early on which has been one of my strongest abilities throughout my music journey. By middle school, much to my parent’s dismay, I had found drums. I had built a ‘drumset’ out of cardboard boxes, coffee cans and metal lampshades! LOL! I started lessons in the school band in middle school. By the start of high school, I had my first drum set. My musical endeavors in HS were varied as I played drums and percussion in marching and most all band classes (4yrs), trumpet in beginning instruments (1yr), upright bass in string ensemble class (1yr) and electric bass and drums in jazz class (2 yrs). It was my Sophomore year in HS that I discovered guitar (age 16). A friend of mine had an old acoustic he let me use and, at that point, it was all over. I ended up getting a cheap electric and took about 6 months of lessons, just enough to get the basics in chords and lead scales, and started using my ear skills to advance from there. I played my first gig at 17 at an elementary school dance. By age 18, a Senior in HS, I had a band called Firewing with other classmates that frequently played at the school during lunchbreaks and talent shows. We did our own original music, along with some covers. While I played in many cover bands throughout my career, there was one original band that I was part of that made a few waves around the San Diego area. That band was called “The Rock”. The Rock started in mid ’86. Our style was a cross between ’70 rock (Zeppelin, The Guess Who, Deep Purple) and ’80s rock (Dokken, Winger, Great White). We wrote material very quickly and got off the ground fast. We would rehearse at a place called “The Music Zone”. They would sponsor ‘original music’ shows at a popular local San Diego concert club named The Bacchanal. We quickly became a crowd favorite and had a slot in most of the Music Zone shows. It was at one of these shows that we were seen by a local promoter. That connection scored us our first major opening spot, opening for then rising star Richard Marx. It was an experience to remember!! The Rock continues to this day having released 2 albums and opening for many famous acts like Steppenwolf, The Outfield, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band (Eddie and the Cruisers), The Guess Who, BTO, Great White, Stryper and many others. While computers and technology became my career focus later in life, music has always been and will always be what grounds me and brings me the most joy.  There are a lot of musicians in the industry that do it for the wrong reasons, but what makes me most happy is when I look at the crowd and see everyone singing and dancing and having a great time. It is clearly not about me. It is about bringing a bit of happiness to the people listening that may have had a crappy day and are now enjoying themselves and escaping the ‘real world’ for a little while. There is no better feeling than that!

2. Tell me about your projects.

2A. My current project are the following:

Keepers of the Rock – A local classic rock cover band with a flare for some stage theatrics!

Code Blue – A local classic rock cover band with a 25 year history. This was my first full time band after moving to Austin TX.

JenDuo – An acoustic duo with Code Blue vocalist Jen Hasseler. Classic rock songs stripped down.

Reckless ATX – A classic era Bryan Adams tribute.

The Rock – My original music project since 1986.

Host band for Shenanigan’s Monday Night Open Mic.

Rotating member of host band for Watertank’s Tuesday Night Open Mic.

I also do sub work with many bands in the area, when needed.

3. Give me your interpretation of the Austin Music Scene of the past, present, and your hope for the future.

3A. I moved here in 2020, just 2 weeks before the world closed. I knew the music scene here would probably be great, better than most other places I’ve lived, but it took a while to make that happen. I arrived in Austin already a member of 2 bands after auditioning while here scouting houses during the previous year. My exposure to the Austin music scene was quick (2 shows with 2 different bands in one week), and then non-existent!! LOL!! I had only other people’s knowledge of Austin’s past music scene but it was something I wanted to be a part of. JenDuo got off the ground completely as a workaround to all the regular bands and clubs being shut down. We were able to get duo jobs at the places serving food so it got me ongoing exposure to the ‘Austin’ way of things. As for the present, I am busier than I have ever been in my whole music career. I am humbly blessed to be playing in an environment that lives, breaths and supports music as Austin and its people do. Most of the musicians here are not only stellar musicians, but also stellar, kind people. I have played in many prime music scenes in the past but Austin is hands down the best. Many who have grown up here and have seen the music scene change from the past, say that the scene is just a shell of what it used to be. If that’s the case…WOW, because I find it hard to believe it could be better than what I experience now. My hope for the future is that music continues to be Austin’s driving factor and its place in the city maintain its momentum, especially after the effects of the shutdown. I think Austin has done a respectable job of recovering and it is still continuing to get better.

4. A.I. and music, your thoughts.

4A. A.I. is a tricky thing. Just as any new advances in music creation and technology, it becomes a balancing act of proper usage. And, as the tech gets better, so will the ‘product’ of its usage. When digital recording was new, its usage came with varied and questionable results. It became the war of ‘natural sounding’ analog and ‘perfect sounding’ digital. As the tech behind digital recording got better and more advanced, it became the standard of use. Guitar players are still at odds and figuring out whether analog amps or digital amp modeling is the way to go. Each has its plus and minuses. As Music A.I. learns its craft and gets better, I’m sure it will have a place in the concept of music production and writing. But it should be used as a tool to ‘assist’ in the process, not replace. The best music/lyrics come from human emotion and experience. They touch us as people who say “…I know and have lived through that feeling”. Writers have been using writing tool for decades to assist in finding the right way to express something. When I was in my teens, I would use a rhyming dictionary to find the right words to use in my composition. Writer’s block is a real thing. A.I. can assist in breaking that block if used correctly.

5. What is the question you are never asked?

5A. This one!!! LOL!  That is a tough one. I think one question I never get asked is “what would you be doing if you never start playing music”. Anyone that knows me, including those I’ve known since childhood, don’t know me in the absence of playing music. So that variable doesn’t exist when people look at me. The prospect of me never playing music doesn’t even register.

Something Extra…

This is a music video for the song “One Planet” by The Rock. The song was recorded in 2017 for our CD ‘Love Is The Light’. The video was produced in 2019.

One Planet – The Rock – YouTube