Utter Trash--Adam Rich

No Escaping Life

An Interview with Adam Rich of Girth (and solo artist)

By Bob Ignizio

Utter Trash: What got you interested in playing music in the first place? How long have you been rocking out and what noteworthy musical projects were you involved with prior to Girth?
Adam Rich: I’m a person who stutters, so playing a musical instrument became a way to express myself. I can remember as a kid, I built a keyboard and guitar out of cardboard and used to put on pretend shows for my parents, lip syncing to current music. This was in the 1980’s, so MTV was happening. In high school I started writing songs, and got my first 4-track. But it wasn’t until 12th grade when I purchased Joe Satriani’s ‘Flying In a Blue Dream’ CD that really changed me. Here was a guy writing instrumental songs and playing everything himself (at least on his first few CD’s). I thought, “Fuck, I can do that.”

So I made a 4 song cassette which I took to college and sold all 25 copies. Next year I made a full length cassette and sold around 100 copies. After that I joined a band as a bassist because I wasn’t good enough for second guitarist. Even though I’d only been playing bass less than a year, I tried out and made it. They were called State Of Green, and I stayed with them for my last three years of college. I wasn’t really concerned with getting a degree; I was hoping we’d make it big. So, college took me a year longer because I let my studies slide. That was a really fun time and fun band. I’ll never forget when we drove 10 hours to play CBGB’s on a Tuesday night, and fellow Clevelanders Cows in the Graveyard pulled up right behind us to play that night as well. We also played a bunch of outdoor festivals in PA one summer, and we put out a CD which we recorded at the now Spider Studios with Ben Schiegel. Now Ben is one of the top metal producers in Ohio. Go figure.

State Of Green broke up in late 1997, so I formed another band with the drummer called 10 Watt. When my apartment lease was up in 1998, I decided to move back to Cleveland. The drummer still had another year of school so he stayed. The rest of 10 Watt moved to Columbus, got a new drummer and changed their name to the Stepford Five. They have put out 3 or 4 CD’s now and are going strong. I really liked the musical arrangements in that band and think I came up with some pretty cool bass lines.

I saw an ad in Scene for another band and tried out. That band became Tadpol and I was in them for about 3 and ½ years. We released one full length CD, played on the Warped Tour one year, and at the Rock Hall another year. We recorded the CD with Mike Brown, who’s now one of the top engineers at Lava Room Studios with Billy Morris. Must be something with me being in bands who pick producers that eventually become well known. The guys didn’t really like Cleveland though. After we submitted to Sup Pop Records and got turned down, the guys didn’t seem into it as much. In late 2001 things came to a head and we parted ways. They put out a second CD in 2002, and then broke up in late 2002. The guitarist moved to Seattle. So in early 2002 I put out my first solo CD ‘Foundation’ and then found Girth.

I also started my own label, Love Muffin Records. I originally started it in 1994, and have put all my releases out on it. Last year, I took a business class in college, and legally made the label official. I would like to put out other artists releases as well. I’m also selling other artists CD’s through Love Muffin via the website and a mail order catalog.

UT: How/when did Girth come together, and how did you become a part of it?
AR: Girth was formed in 1998 by our guitarist Pat Mahnke. I joined in the summer of 2002. I had parted ways with my last band around the end of 2001. I put out my last solo CD around April of 2002, and started looking for a band again in early 2002. I came across a flyer at Sodja Music for a metal band seeking a bass player. They were close by, around my age and I’d seen them before in early 2001 when Tadpol played with them at Ron’s Crossroads in Akron. So I emailed them, and eventually tried out. I LOVE the feeling of playing live. This is the most intense live band I’ve played with.

UT: How would you describe the sort of music you play in Girth? What do you think makes the band different?
AR: We like to describe Girth as metal with a groove. Our singer Dan is a very good singer and screamer, and can go from one to the other effortlessly. Our new drummer John fits in perfectly and brings a new energy to the band. Pat is truly amazing on guitar, and we both share a love for Joe Satriani. We really get into it onstage, too. Dan will come over to me and see me getting into it which makes him get into it even more. Dan and I are the same age, we both grew up in the 1980’s and we both love Overkill and some cheesy 80’s groups. With the addition of John on drums, we’ve been coming up with really tight and aggressive new songs which remind me of “Make Yourself”-era Incubus and System of a Down.

UT: Any favorite songs on the latest Girth CD, and why?
AR: My favorite songs are “Emptiness” and “Payback”, our two heaviest songs. They’ve got a lot of changes in them and a melodic groove. I also like “Broken” because it’s the first song Pat showed me.

UT: You also just put out a solo disc. How different is it from what you do in Girth?
AR: The first instrument I played was piano. Around 15 I got into drums, a year later guitar, and bass in my early 20’s. I made a demo in 12th grade to send to Guitar World Magazine, put out my first cassette my second year in college, and put out my first CD in 2002. So I’ve always been playing lots of instruments. It incorporates many different styles. Yeah I like metal but I also like Ben Harper, The Replacements, Bad Brains, early Goo Goo Dolls, John Cougar Mellencamp, Watershed, Hum, Helmet and others. I also really got into instrumental guitarists such as Steve Morse, Jason Becker, and Michael Fath. I even found all of Michael Fath’s albums on CD and emailed him. He was gracious enough to autograph a CD for me via mail. So on my solo stuff I’m usually playing guitar, bass and drums on every song or almost every song while having other people sing. This solo CD is the first one I had professionally duplicated and printed, so I’m really proud of it. Now I just need to sell around 100 to break even.

UT: You had a lot of guest vocalists on your solo disc. How did you get them to work with you? Why didn't you sing any of the songs yourself?
AR: I really can’t sing. Not because of my stutter – I just really cannot sing! I took voice classes in college. I passed level 1, but struggled in level 2 and eventually dropped it. The guest vocalists on this CD are longtime friends of mine. There were a couple people that I wanted but either weren’t able to at the last minute, or weren’t able to at all. I have five guest vocalists on this CD - my last one only had two. Anyways, I’ve known Xela (Alex Alvarez) since the Cows in the Graveyard days, and I’ve always wanted him to sing on something. I met Derek DePrator through the internet via a love of 70’s Cleveland punk, and he’s got a perfect voice for a punk song. Brian May and Andy Elias I’ve known since college – Brian plays guitar and sings in Pacemaker Jane, and Andy was in Pacemaker Jane for a while. I also know Jared from college – he sings and plays guitar for Pacemaker Jane. We did a few songs together for one of the cassettes I put out when I was in college. I’ve kept in touch with him, and we’ve always talked about doing some sort of collaboration in the future. I’m also going to be selling Pacemaker Jane’s new CD, and most likely releasing his solo CD.

UT: While you play bass in Girth, you're a multi talented musician playing guitar and drums as well. Which instrument is really your main love, and why?
AR: I can’t pick one. But I will say I like playing guitar and bass over drums. If I had a gun to my head, I guess I’d say guitar. I tried playing guitar in a band or two, and I don’t think I’m good enough. I don’t really know much theory or chord structure or anything. I’m better at bass, so I stuck with that for playing in bands. I love combining everything, though.

UT: While all of us local musicians dream of "making it", or at least getting some kind of recognition beyond a few friends and family members telling us we're good, I think we all know that the music biz is a crap shoot. So what is it that motivates you to keep playing, even though the odds are against you?
AR: Because it’s in my blood. I’m a very persistent person, also. Some people say I’m annoying, too. But I usually get more positive things done, so I’m alright with that. I’m actually going back to college now for graphic design. If I don’t make it in music, I’d love to design flyers and ads. I do that now for Girth and my solo stuff. However, I have no clue how to use Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop or any professional programs. I just use stuff like Microsoft Word and Publisher. But I’ll be learning Photoshop, Illustrator and Quark Express in school. One of my friends who played bass in a band started her own graphic design company and makes a very nice living working from her home now.

UT: What sort of plans do you have to take Girth beyond being a "Cleveland" band and reaching people outside of the NE Ohio area?
AR: We really wanted to play out of state last summer to support the CD but weren’t able to. We had lineup changes over the past year and a half, and now we’ve got a lineup that we think is the strongest and best, and will hopefully last. We hope to finally play out of state this summer. We also hope to have some sort of new material out in 2006. I’m also very diligent in emails. I bought the Musicians Atlas 2006 and I’ve been emailing press and radio like crazy. So far we’ve gotten half a dozen reviews, and are getting played on about 10 college radio stations and 5-6 commercial radio stations. While a good chunk of all the exposure is in Ohio, some of it is out of state. For example, if we can get a gig in Indiana and have a college radio station hype it, and get a magazine to review the CD, that would be ideal. We also have an older 3-song CD that we give out. It’s all about getting the music out and getting people interested. We also like getting good drawing bands to play with us and setting up shows where everyone gets paid and has a good time.

UT: What's the one thing you'd most like to accomplish as a musician?
AR: Earn a living. But, playing to a sold out crowd would be nice, too. Opening for Overkill later this month is probably in my top 5. I got into Overkill in high school. Something about the bright neon green logo and high pitched voice of Blitz grabbed me. When I was in Tadpol, a new free magazine called Revue appeared. I picked up a copy and emailed them. They came out to see us live and dug us so much that they reviewed our CD and put us on the cover with a bunch of local bands a few issues later. I got to know the editor and a writer, and in 2001 I began doing occasional CD reviews for them. I got invited to tag along to an Overkill concert with them. I did a concert review and got to sit in with them on the interview of singer Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth. Bobby has actually kept in touch with me via email, so being able to open for them is a dream come true. I have kept every ticket stub from the last 6 shows Overkill has played here and gotten 4 of them autographed. Sadly, the magazine stopped printing shortly after.

You can buy Girth’s new CD ‘The Sweetness Of Rejection’ at our above website or at www.CDbaby.com and CD/Game Exchange stores as well.