Even after a 30-year career, Bryan Adams is relentlessly forward-looking. With a list of hits that includes classic rockers such as “Summer of ’69” and the mega-ballad “Everything I Do, I Do It for You,” you would think it would be easy for Adams to name his own best song. But his answer comes as a bit of a surprise.
“It’s always the one that’s not finished yet,” he said. “I love the songs that everyone else loves, but the best song for me is the one I’m working on next. It’s the addiction, if you like, of creating something from nothing that drives me.”
Since a nascent MTV catapulted his career in the early ’80s, Adams has nurtured that addiction with a near constant stream of music. Since the ’90s, the hit singles have become fewer, but that doesn’t have him looking back, yet.
Touring in support of his most recent album, “11,” for the past year or so, Adams has stripped his performance down to just him and his acoustic guitar. He said he’s feeling good about the acoustic show and plans to continue touring solo for about another year.
“I’m just rolling down the highway. It’s a never-ending tour,” he said. “I’m going to try to hit as many places as I can. Everything, you know, like the major cities, and there’s a lot of smaller towns in between.”
Fresh from his performance at the Olympics opening ceremony, Adams will begin a three-month, 20-concert tour in Rapid City. He plays a broad cross-section of his songs, old and new.
“I kind of feel like when I go out now, I’m sort of re-familiarizing people with songs they know but don’t put a name with,” he said. “They like the songs they know, and they get a few surprises for good measure.”
Coming up with a set list of acoustic songs was not difficult, because Adams composes his music primarily on acoustic guitar, which meant that there was no reworking necessary. But it also offers flexibility in his performance.
“It changes up every night, practically,” he said. “There’s always one or two songs that are different than the night before.”
In addition to his career in music, Adams is a professional photographer who has a portfolio that includes photos of celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Mickey Rourke and Maggie Gyllenhaal. With money he made from his photography, he started the Bryan Adams Foundation after the tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2004.
“I just decided that I would dedicate time and funding to projects around the world that would help other people,” he said. “With Haiti happening, we’ve been helping the Red Cross with that.”
One of the first functions of the foundation was to raise money by auctioning off one of Adams’ guitars, autographed by fellow musicians, including Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.
“I got all of my heroes to sign it, and we auctioned it off in Qatar,” Adams said. The auction raised about $300,000. On the same night, the guitar was auctioned again for the original buyer’s charity, raising $1.1 million.
“Now, it’s the most expensive guitar in the world,” Adams said. “We’ve got a Guinness Book of World Records thingy for that.”
“It’s always the one that’s not finished yet,” he said. “I love the songs that everyone else loves, but the best song for me is the one I’m working on next. It’s the addiction, if you like, of creating something from nothing that drives me.”
Since a nascent MTV catapulted his career in the early ’80s, Adams has nurtured that addiction with a near constant stream of music. Since the ’90s, the hit singles have become fewer, but that doesn’t have him looking back, yet.
Touring in support of his most recent album, “11,” for the past year or so, Adams has stripped his performance down to just him and his acoustic guitar. He said he’s feeling good about the acoustic show and plans to continue touring solo for about another year.
“I’m just rolling down the highway. It’s a never-ending tour,” he said. “I’m going to try to hit as many places as I can. Everything, you know, like the major cities, and there’s a lot of smaller towns in between.”
Fresh from his performance at the Olympics opening ceremony, Adams will begin a three-month, 20-concert tour in Rapid City. He plays a broad cross-section of his songs, old and new.
“I kind of feel like when I go out now, I’m sort of re-familiarizing people with songs they know but don’t put a name with,” he said. “They like the songs they know, and they get a few surprises for good measure.”
Coming up with a set list of acoustic songs was not difficult, because Adams composes his music primarily on acoustic guitar, which meant that there was no reworking necessary. But it also offers flexibility in his performance.
“It changes up every night, practically,” he said. “There’s always one or two songs that are different than the night before.”
In addition to his career in music, Adams is a professional photographer who has a portfolio that includes photos of celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Mickey Rourke and Maggie Gyllenhaal. With money he made from his photography, he started the Bryan Adams Foundation after the tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2004.
“I just decided that I would dedicate time and funding to projects around the world that would help other people,” he said. “With Haiti happening, we’ve been helping the Red Cross with that.”
One of the first functions of the foundation was to raise money by auctioning off one of Adams’ guitars, autographed by fellow musicians, including Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.
“I got all of my heroes to sign it, and we auctioned it off in Qatar,” Adams said. The auction raised about $300,000. On the same night, the guitar was auctioned again for the original buyer’s charity, raising $1.1 million.
“Now, it’s the most expensive guitar in the world,” Adams said. “We’ve got a Guinness Book of World Records thingy for that.”
No comments:
Post a Comment