Singer songwriter Anthony Adams was raised on the Acoma Indian Reservation located sixty miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Anthony's love for music started at an early age when his parents brought back a guitar from the border town of Juarez, Mexico.

 

Anthony remembers: "I was in love with that colorful guitar my folks picked up from one of the outdoor marketplaces in Juarez. I played it back home on the reservation until one day under the hot New Mexico sun the glue holding it together gave way and my guitar imploded into a ball of wood, glue and guitar strings," Anthony laughs.
 

Anthony has played in several bands throughout New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana, where he made several stage appearances on the Louisiana Hayride Radio Show broadcasting live on KWKH out of Shreveport, Louisiana.
 

Anthony recalls, "The Louisiana Hayride Radio Show was a great experience. To stand and sing on the same stage that Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, George Jones, Johnny Horton, Lefty Frizzell and many others stood was overwhelming and an honor. The walls of the "Green Room" had signatures and quotes from hundreds of performers who had played there throughout the years. I couldn't resist penning my name on the wall backstage before I left."
 

Anthony Adams now lives in Eagle River, Alaska and works in the northern Alaska oilfields two hundred miles above the Arctic Circle. His songwriting is inspired by the people and landscapes of both New Mexico and Alaska.

Anthony Adams and the "Arctic Express Band" consist of some of Anchorage’s top musicians. Anthony states: When I first moved from the Albuquerque music scene to Alaska, I was reluctant to leave such a fine group of musicians that I had been working with in New Mexico. When I arrived in Anchorage I had met one of Alaska’s best musicians and music producers in the state. "Stu Schulman is a musical genius" Anthony affirms. Stu and I were working on a project when he was listening to a demo tape I had recorded in Albuquerque and he was able to recognize the pedal steel guitar player by his style. Come to find out they had worked together years prior in Nashville. The music world can be a small world; there are similar stories with everyone of the musicians in the "Arctic Express Band".

Its a pleasure to perform and record with Alaska finest: Stu Schulman: Pedal Steel, Lead Guitar, Vocals; Frank Iarossi: Drums, Guitar and Vocals; Jeanene Walker: Guitar and Vocals; Rod Masters: Key Board and Vocals; Dave Arrowsmith: Bass Guitar and Vocals.

RV: Thank you Anthony for providing an interview to Native Digest. I was listening to your music and really enjoy the style that you demonstrate. Are there any country legends that you styled your music after as you were progressing with your music?

Anthony: One of my favorite performers has always been Waylon Jennings and he has influenced my songwriting and my guitar playing.  I admire his music because he listened to his heart and played just how he wanted to play.  He wanted full control over his music and he was a renegade in country music at a time when the country music all sounded the same.  Waylon was definitely a non-conformist!

 

RV: You mentioned that you left a great band that you worked with in Albuquerque. Was there some second guessing going through your mind when made the decision to move on?

Anthony: Absolutely. I played with a real tight and accomplished group of musicians at that time.  I really struggled with leaving these guys because playing with them was where my heart and passion were. Knowing the music scene like I did in Albuquerque it was easy to obtain gigs in the city. But I had a chance to go to Alaska to make some money and I knew that

I should take the opportunity to get ahead financially.  Moving to Alaska was hard because I didn’t know anyone and I was starting over.  I think about my musician friends all the time and the fun we had playing all over New Mexico.

 

RV: Where did your inspiration to pursue a musical career come from?

Anthony: My mother always had records around the house and would play them a lot.  She had a wide-ranging taste in music and liked Carole King and Cat Stevens as well as composers like Tchaikovsky.  My dad was more of a George Jones, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard fan.  I remember she took me and my brothers and sister to California to visit some college friends she knew.  One of her friends had a guitar and played a Cat Stevens song “Moon Shadow” and showed me a few chords.  I think I was hooked from then on.

 

RV: What would you say is your most memorable performance?

Anthony: I’d have to say that my favorite shows have been playing at the Acoma Sky City Casino near the Acoma and Laguna reservations.  This one was memorable because all my friends and family were there and it was a real local crowd with a lot of energy and support.  I also have good memories of playing on the Louisiana Hay Ride which was a radio show out of Shreveport.  This was definitely a big opportunity to play on a world-renown show that had a wide broadcast area.

 

RV: What projects are you currently working on and where will you be touring at?  

Anthony: I am working on possible show in Switzerland during 2010 that would showcase American Native musicians.  But there is still a lot of logistics that need to be ironed out first. We are in the studio laying out some new material.

 

RV: What is it like to perform, write, compose and play your own music?

Anthony: For me, songwriting is a challenge to see if I can put a feeling or mood into words and then combine it with a melody where other people can feel what I am trying to convey.  It’s fun to watch something evolve from an idea and a blank piece of paper to a finished product.

 

RV: Reflecting back to your first guitar do you reflect back to the beginning and where you are today?  How has the entire experience contributed to your life?

Anthony: Oh sure.  My first guitar came from Tijuana, Mexico and was a gift from my mother and father.  It was a cheap one but I hammered on that thing like it was a high-end Fender Telecaster.  I got so much enjoyment out of that instrument.  Just being given that guitar was the start of realizing that I could make music with it.  I learned it very quickly.  Also, my father knew the lead guitar player for Dottie West.  His name was Sandy Clark and he would appear at our house intermittently and I picked up a lot from him.  Another friend of my dad’s, David Frizzell ( Who recorded “You’re the reason God Made Oklahoma” with Shelly West was a really good musician/songwriter , he took the time to show me (I was about 12 years old at the time) some key things about playing the guitar.

 

RV:  Is there a musical artist that you really admire that you would enjoy performing with on stage?

Anthony: I would love to play with Willie Nelson.  He is the last of the Outlaws of which Waylon was part of.  Also, I have always admired Buffy Sainte-Marie and her music.  And we can’t forget Redbone, the only Native American pop band with a #1 hit.  I don’t think they’re still together though.

 

RV: Is there a Native American artist, performer, musician that you admirer?

Anthony: There are a few bands in Alaska that are real good.  Both Pamuya and Medicine Dream are popular and they have won awards at the Native American Music Awards.  Others whose music I admire are Robert Mirabal and Indigenous.

 

RV: Has there ever been a peculiar situation or experience that has occurred that you would like to share with us?

Anthony: I have a funny story to share. The band and I (a group of us from the Acoma and Laguna reservations) had a block session at Sun Singer Studios in Albuquerque New Mexico where we were recording a Demo.  We were all set up and playing away when in the middle of a song we learned that Robbie Robertson was in town and needed a place to record.  The Studio manager gave us our money back and said hit the road Robbie needs the studio!.  We high 5’ed out in the parking lot and felt proud to be kicked out of a recording session because of Robbie Robertson.

 

Thank you Anthony for taking time off the road to provide this interview. I wish you continued success in your career which is undoubtedly a sure bet given your talents and gifts as a country singer/songwriter. I’m sure one day you’ll be have a CMA and NAMA Award in your trophy case among many others. To listen to Anthony’s music please be sure to visit his song page located “here”.