As the weather warms up, school lets out, and folks make their summer plans, there’s but one word on the mind of all who enjoy the changing season: vacation. Prolific musician and artist Matt Adams has taken his love of beach-soaked grooves, relaxation, and the finer things in life and crafted the ultimate leisure soundtrack in the form of his latest LP, Vacation. Due out May 14, the full-length effort is a mixture of old songs, new works, and a touring life that took Adams all the way to Brazil.
“We toured there for three weeks with a group of friends years ago and were down there for seven weeks the second time. There’s a song on Vacation called ‘Brazilia’ and a little bit of influence and inspiration comes from those trips,” Adams tells the Appeal.
The Blank Tapes started out as a solo endeavor for the Adams’ overabundance of ideas and songs. It’s been said that there are hundreds of songs in varying states floating around in Adams’ head, just waiting to be set free and reach their fullest form. “The biggest thing is lyrics,” Adams says.
“When I have lyrics, usually a song is finished. With this album, songs were written all around the same time along with a few songs from a few years ago. I wanted to give the same vibe and feeling to the tracks. The theme really is vacation. I went for a tropical sound, there are rainbow references.”
Adams’ original recording process saw him playing every instrument and recording on a four track, hence his moniker. Now, he’s added a host of Bay Area collaborators to his musical arsenal, including Sugar Candy Mountain’s Will Halsey and producer Carlos Arredondo, who’s worked with fellow Bay Area band tUnE-yArDs. Another welcomed addition is Adams’ girlfriend and Blank Tapes drummer Pearl Charles.
In addition to laying down the drums and sweet vocals to Adams’ sun-soaked croon, Charles also inspired the song “Pearl,” detailing the night the couple met. After six years spent in the Bay Area, Adams moved to SoCal to be with Charles and for more industry opportunities. A native of the Orange County area, Adams effortlessly bridges the gap between NorCal and SoCal.
“We’ve basically been playing SF every month though. With this upcoming show at the Chapel, we’ll be playing with the Allah-Las who are also based out of LA,” Adams says.
Adams and co. are set to hit the Chapel this Thursday, May 9. Like all Bay Area music lovers, they’ll be soaking up all that this busy weekend has to offer, including taking in shows at the inaugural Bottle Rock in Napa. “It’s also my birthday this Saturday,” Charles adds, “My grand plan is to go to Big Sur and Joshua Tree. We’ve got an in-store over the weekend though, so we’ll see how that pans out.”
