People Are The Point: Adam Paddock on Life as an Independent Musician in Ohio

[UNPUBLISHED:] So excited to chat with you today. For any of our readers who may be new to your music, can you let us know how you got started in music?

[ADAM PADDOCK:] I started playing trumpet and baritone in middle school. In high school, however, nobody knew that I was a sheltered band kid that loved to play. Everyone knew me as this sports guy. I mean, I even got offers from colleges to play baseball. That's just what everyone knew me for. In my junior year though, my friends convinced me to audition for show choir for the next year. By this point, I'd picked up guitar and piano, and I thought I might be able to sing, but it was in the way that your mom always tells you you’re great without anyone else confirming it. Our show choir was very, very good and ended up placing second in the nation that year and I ended up being the soloist for it. Not only successfully auditioning but also getting the solo spot blew my mind because I had never sung in front of people before. It was my American Idol moment where it was a golden buzzer type of thing. 

My show choir Director was really honest with me in saying that I was good but had no clue what I was doing. I needed that confidence boost and also help in training, for sure. He taught me how to use the raw talent that was there. After having a great year in show choir, I got the confidence to start leading worship at my church. I then started at Ohio State and I began writing my music, a lot of which was terrible in the beginning. When COVID hit, I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands, so I built a studio in my dad's basement without asking him and got to work. I took it upon myself to reorganize the whole basement. We were getting all the carpet replaced in the house at the time, so I kept all the old carpet and then I nailed it all to the ceiling, walls, and floor to make the room completely soundproof. I did it all in a weekend and then just started recording my music from there. And the rest is history.

[UNPUBLISHED:] What was his reaction when he came home and saw that you nailed carpet to the ceiling?

[ADAM:] He was supportive because he's a total workaholic. He was madder when I got an upright piano into the house without him noticing because that's much harder to kill the sound of. I found it on Facebook and thought if I could get it down to the basement, he'd have no idea I had it. Unfortunately…moving a piano is loud enough to break through the thin carpet walls. Overall though, he's been very supportive. He's seen how much my music has grown. At this point, he doesn't miss a show, which is sweet.

[UNPUBLISHED:] That is truly so funny.

[ADAM:] It's a convoluted way to get started. My start in music is just ridiculous. I auditioned for America's Got Talent and American Idol and all of that too. American Idol is kind of a cool story, actually. The team told me to come back in about a year, after a little bit more performance experience, because they thought I was going to be a good candidate. From that, I thought “what if I don't wait a year?” So I waited a week and I just went back. I drove to Chicago and I auditioned again for the same people with better songs and with way more confidence. They liked me way more the second time around and ended up filming my audition. I did not move forward, but I got to meet all the Producers. I was one of, I think, ten that got that opportunity that day.

[UNPUBLISHED:] I love the drive of “I'm going to show up a week later and do it again.”

[ADAM:]  My friends were not surprised at all. This is just what I do, I keep it 100%, because I've gotten too many opportunities that I don't necessarily deserve, but I work hard for them. I might not be as good as the person that they're wanting, but I'm going to have way more drive than they will. So I'm going to work harder to be as good and better than them. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] I admire that drive. I am curious, with all of this DIY creation of your music, how would you describe your music and what you're currently putting out?

[ADAM:] I would say the best way to describe my music is uplifting and generally positive. The biggest thing I always say is easy on the ears. I don't want anything to be too brash. I have a blog called Easy On The Ears, and it's dedicated to all of the artists that I think make music that is easy to listen to.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Who would you say inspires you? 

[ADAM:]  Ben Platt, for sure. I love that guy so much. His voice is just so insane, and I've been compared to him a lot which means the world. John Bellion and Ben Rector as well. Jeremy Zucker is also a huge influence of mine in terms of being able to do it all. When he was at school, he was a Bio Pre-Med major and graduated with accomplishments all while doing music. I see a lot of similarities between our stories.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Looking through your music library, you have a lot of different collaborations with a variety of artists. What sparks these collaborations?

[ADAM:] My collaborations have come so serendipitously, they just shouldn't have happened but did. One of my collaborators, Moses, got stuck in America during COVID. His roommate happened to be one of my family friends, so he ended up hanging out with me and some of my friends. I didn't have expectations of making music, I just wanted to play Euchre, you know? Moses came up to me and asked me to play him something, so I played him “Milky Way” on guitar and he was like, “Give me an hour, go away.” In just an hour, he (MOSES.) created a barebones version of what you hear on Spotify now for “Milky Way.” 

Zander normally works solo. I saw his song “Daydream” and decided to reach out in his Instagram DMs. He didn’t respond for a while, but then I joined one of his live streams and we just had fun, and then out of nowhere, we were making a song. Over the next couple of months, “Broken Clarity” was born. It took a while to put something together we liked. He invited me over for a release day celebration, and in the 24 hours I was with him, we created all of “Glad You Stayed.” All those vocals that you hear were tracked around 6:30 a.m. It was insane. Collaborations are so fun for me because working with like-minded people is the core of everything. People are the point. And if everything I ever release is a collaboration from now on, I'll be so happy with that. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] Absolutely. Do you have a dream collaborator?

[ADAM:] The more that I collaborate with my friends, the more I'm like, “Wow, this is more of a dream than collaborating with even some of my biggest inspirations.” John Bellion is my answer to a dream collaboration, but the more I admire my friends for the music they're making, the more I would rather collaborate with them. Numbers are one thing, but getting people in a space to listen to something that they care about is so much more important. And I think that, in turn, will make for more longevity. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] With that, there are diverse music scenes wherever you go. Columbus is certainly not the same kind of music scene as in LA or New York. What is being a Columbus-based artist currently like for you, even as you prepare to move to Nashville? 

[ADAM:]  I'm just trying to get a good and firm hold on Columbus before I go. I would say I have become a player that has risen quickly within Columbus among a lot of people who've been doing it for a very long time. Sometimes, it's a little daunting because people are like, “Oh, you can't play that venue” meanwhile I had just sold it out. It holds true to LA and Nashville in the sense that competition is very much there. Being a Columbus act to me though, there are only going to be a handful of acts that are going to rise above the rest, which allows for the unique ones to shine. It's a smaller scene than those in LA, Atlanta, Nashville, or NYC. There are plenty of people who play music, but there are not a lot of people who make art. What other artist is going to play acoustic guitar, keys, vocals, and trumpet in the middle of their songs in one show? That does not make sense, but no one else in Columbus is doing that. 

Being from here and looking at other successful artists from Columbus, such as Caamp and Cousin Simple, Columbus has a specific spirit. We're all doing our own thing, but we all hype each other up. I think being a strong advocate for each other in the scene is super important. I would also say the music scene and the people that will come to shows without hearing a single note are the actual heart of the Columbus music scene. The acts that are supportive of others get so much further in this city. I think advocacy is a really big thing in every music market, but where it's less saturated, if we're all hyping each other up, the cream of the crop is going to rise.

[UNPUBLISHED:] As an independent artist, what challenges have you faced that you would consider unique to what you might presume about artists that have label representation?

[ADAM:] Number one: having resources. Number two: having a team of people that are there for your best interests. Right now as an independent artist, I've been approached by a handful of management and labels, but ultimately I think that they're in it more for the money than for me. I need to like everyone in my band. We are so codependent. I split everything every gig evenly with everyone. I put the most work into it and I put the most money into it, but at the end of every show, I'm still going to split it all evenly. That's how I choose to run this thing, and I haven’t had any management or label approach me with any similar heart. Honestly, I think it'll be hard to find anybody who will. Booking is also hard without a label sometimes because getting in front of 1000 people is always going to trump getting Facebook ads to reach a thousand people. I would say that's kind of why I'm in desperate need of a booking agent, but that's kind of its own issue. I have to be caught up with all the business things if I want to make it. I wear so many hats as an independent artist, and it's just a race that I feel like I can always do more.

[UNPUBLISHED:] On the flip side, what freedoms do you think that you have as an independent artist that you wouldn't have if you were under a label?

[ADAM:] I can avoid taking any gig that I don’t want, which is awesome. We take our liberties on the setup for every show. I'm also spending money in unique ways. I bought a $500 banner that could cover an entire wall, which I don’t believe a label would consider a worthy investment, but if I am playing a big show, I already have a banner with my name and design on it. The biggest freedom is the creative liberty with my releases because it makes no sense to have both a power ballad and an EDM remix on my top five, but I love it. My audience loves coming to a show with dynamics. My shows start with high-energy horns, then by the middle it's just me and an acoustic guitar or keys, and by the end, we're raging with all these EDM tracks. Nobody can tell me no, and I'm still growing, so I'm going to keep doing this.

[UNPUBLISHED:] So I know you got the opportunity to open up a concert at Ohio State with Max and Waka Flocka Flame. Can you tell me how that happened for you?

[ADAM:] This story is insane, but I’ll give the most condensed version possible. My friend was on Ohio State’s Activity Board that put on the concert, so I got the idea to see if I could open the concert and asked her who to contact. She gave me an email, but also informed me that he was a bad communicator. I figured he couldn’t be that bad….. I was very wrong. Every time I had a post or something that I thought could vouch for me as a live act, I would just send it to him. No response. Send another one to him. No response. Then I found out who was on the committee and I sent every post to all of them. I honestly just annoyed the hell out of everyone, I demanded that they at least know my name. All of a sudden he messaged me and asked if I could FaceTime right then. He said “I know the show's in like 14 days, but we would love to have you for the welcome back concert. I can't tell you who you're opening for, but is this something you could make happen?”

Keep in mind, that I had never played a full band show ever before. I had just zero experience. Later that day I tested positive for COVID, so I spent the next ten days in isolation. That sucked, but it gave me a lot of time to nail down the tracks and logistics. I had to put together a band and sort everything out. Then I got a text from the organizer and he said that since I did a live stream on the Activity Board’s Instagram during COVID, they felt like they should give the opportunity to someone else. This was two days before I got out of quarantine, so six days before the show. I'd rented all the gear. I'd made everything happen. So I fired back and asked for a reason to tell my band that had been rehearsing without me that we weren’t doing the gig. And I asked if the reason we can’t play for two thousand people is truly because I played in an acoustic Instagram live stream that 11 people watched. He told me I brought up a valid point, talked to his supervisors, and came back to tell me I’m back in but they can only give me ten minutes. I argued back a bit and got him up to 15 minutes, but that was all I could get.

I had to move mountains. I shelled out a good amount of money to make the logistics happen. We finally confirmed four days before the show and I was hoping nothing else bad would happen. We got one rehearsal, and it was not not adequate. Then, two days before the show, my electric guitar player got COVID. I had to call my sister's ex-boyfriend from Nashville and say, “Can you learn the whole set on the drive up? You can stay with me. Let's do this.” He got one run-through right before the show. We finally get on stage to about two thousand people and I was praying that my in-ears were going to work because we didn't get to check them. As I was waiting to go out, the crowd of students started cheering my name. That was the moment I got such crazy chills and knew this was what I wanted to do with my life. We didn't miss a word, didn't miss a note, we just rocked it out. I felt so good about the four songs that we got to do. Making it happen was something I had to fight for, but then as soon as I got on stage, it was what I meant for. That experience has helped me get so many more gigs. It was epic. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] So what’s coming next for you?

[ADAM:] I'm moving down to Nashville. There are four songs coming this Fall, so I'm stoked about that. They are all over the place sonically, as usual, for me. I want to be diverse and that's something that also makes me versatile in the live space. I can play a set with most people because I have enough music in most genres.

[UNPUBLISHED:] Looking back on your journey so far, is there any advice you wish you could have given yourself when you were just starting?

[ADAM:] I feel like everything that's happened since the Waka show was meant to be. It's a grind every day, but that's what it's supposed to be like. It's working. I think if I could tell myself something when I had just picked up my trumpet and was so focused on being cool, would be to follow my calling and be true to myself. Being athletic is not the only thing that a guy has to be, and being artistic isn’t something I am allowed to be. Also, at the core of everything, people are the point. If you're doing the right thing with the right people, you'll know it.

[UNPUBLISHED:] You mentioned your phrase “People Are The Point.” Can you tell me more about it?

[ADAM:] Yeah! It’s my merch line, but also my mantra. My whole thing is, you can hate my music, but you can like this. I want People Are The Point to continue to grow as a brand and become more of an artist collective. It’s also just how I live my life. I'm going to hustle and be annoying to get the gigs, but as soon as I'm there I want to be so much fun. Once we're there, everybody that is there is meant to be and I want to connect with everyone. People are so important, connecting with others is how we live. People are the whole point for me.

After our interview, I got the chance to attend a house show and watch Adam in his element. His show was blissfully reverent at some points and a downright riot at other points as he played through his diverse music library for a crowd of about 100 people. During the interview, the show, and even now as I sit in my People Are The Point crewneck to write this, I can’t help but feel the glow of Adam’s passion for music, connection with others, and life itself. Columbus has been a home to me for the last four years now, and while the music scene may not be massive, I find beauty in the way that Columbus artists can thrive with the right sound and the right heart. Adam is most certainly one of those gems for the city. 

You can stream Adam Paddock’s expansive music library on Spotify, and make sure to catch up with this star on the rise as he moves to Nashville by following him on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.