Written By Monet Makohoniuk
This past week I had the absolute pleasure of speaking with Andrew Adkins, the musicalgenius behind The Colored Parade’s debut album, And The Walls of Our City Will Shake,
that dropped last week.
Listening to the album in its entirety, you get taken for a ride. The music scoops you up,
and you truly do get to be a part of the fun.
Andrew is an artist inspired by many things. This album is simply a conglomeration of
all of those things, beautifully woven together and put into music that we can now be
inspired by also. His musical influences are vast—read anything about him and you will
know that—and his visual art influences are many. I asked him a few random questions
to get an idea of who he is as an artist.
MM: What is your favorite color?
AA: Clear, because you can put anything over it.
[MM: I love that answer.]
MM: Who are your biggest inspirations?
AA: Stanley Kubrick [films/directors]; Beat movement writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack
Kerouac [books]; and artist Jean-Michel Basquiat [visual arts]. And, of course, Nashville!
Everything that is going on, all the music, all of the people. Going to singer/songwriter
nights. Experiencing and being a part of the energy that is the city of Nashville.
MM: Top three favorite movies … go!
AA: 2001 Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Rocky
MM: What inspired the music video for “Hysterically Speaking?”
AA: Everything nowadays is so obvious. The Colored Parade would want to let the song
remain mysterious and stand on its own.
[MM: Let me tell you. This video definitely stands on its own!]
{{{ http://youtu.be/gptIrvhacNU }}}
Music has always been present in Andrew’s life, and before The Colored Parade, he was
in two moderately successful bands (Mellow-Down Easy and Lions for Real), but in the
end they didn’t pull through.
There were tours, fans, Ryan Gosling’s record label, and even Warner Bros., but in the
end, nothing fully panned out for the bands. “It’s sort of like, seeing a bad picture of you
from years ago,” says Andrew. As the true artist he is, he is already on to the next, while
remaining grateful that those bands added another layer to his musical history.
The Colored Parade is Andrew’s first truly solo project. For our sake, I am glad that
the past projects didn’t fully pan out. He played most of the instrumentals on it and
produced it himself. This debut album is a compilation of Andrew’s very colorful music
background and past experiences completely shine through.
And The Walls of Our City Will Shake shakes you down and brings you up. It takes you
on a ride that is mellow and invigorating. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the album as
much as I enjoyed talking to Andrew.
Check out his album on iTunes!
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