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 Adam Bomb. You've almost definitely heard the name, and if you haven't you've most likely either seen the man live, heard him playing on a record, and certainly know a lot of the people he's toured with. He's the last of a dying breed, and has just announced a 100 date European Tour, but that's business as usual for a professional hard working musician.
We caught up with Adam to find out more.
Komodo Rock: For those that are new to Adam Bomb, can you give us a little
background?
Adam Bomb: I'm a rock guitarist, that plays around 200 shows a year in
this decade 2K. My first record Fatal Attraction came out in 1985 on
Geffen Records. I've recorded with some famous guys from famous bands
throughout my career. I've been a monster since I started & I'm the
hardest road dog on the planet still scorching the motorways. I piss &
bleed rock 'n' roll.
How did the name come about?
I made guitar noises that sounded like
bombs exploding. A friend of mine, Tommy Thayer who now plays with
Kiss, told me I should call my band Adam Bomb. It stuck.
Going way back, you were in a band called Tyrant with Queensryche
frontman Geoff Tate. Can you tell us a little about that?
It was a
cover band, we lost a Battle Of The Bands one summer & broke up. Tate
was a bit older but he could hit the high notes in Rush & Priest songs.
He was even further into progressive stuff like Yes & ELP. I was more
into UFO & Van Halen. He wasn't from Bellevue, where we all were from &
he was a lot older then us. He worked at my father's bakery for a while.
I joined this band TKO that had a really cool singer and Tate joined
this project a school mate of mine, Chris Degarmo put together.
Degarmo & I started playing guitar at the same time, we even shared a
guitar for a while. I think Tate was just doing this rock band thing at
the time to pick up high school girls, which he did. I don't think he
ever thought anyone would ever get a deal and become a big band coming
from Seattle at that time.
Queensryche did an FM 100 KISW Rising Star
Concert at the Paramount Theater supporting some radio band like
Shooting Star or April Wine and got a record deal. It caused quite a
stir in the local Seattle scene.
Did you ever think back then he'd go on to do what he has?
I'm
surprised anybody ever got out of Seattle. It's not the most rock n roll
city. A lot of great singers & players from there haven't made a life
through rock n roll.
Back to the present though, your last album 'Rock Like Fuck' came
out out in 2005. Any plans for a followup?
I'd like to make a new
record, I'm ready to, but I'm not gonna record an album of original
material without a company backing it, & I don't have a company at this
time. I mainly concentrate on touring. I've made 9 records.
 You've just announced in your own words a "Short European Trek".
Tell us a little more about the upcoming tour.
This tour will probably
hit 100 shows. It's a job, I play rock n roll & I happen to love my
job. I really just go out in the world & play guitar tricks really loud
in bars, light a few sparklers & make a mess with confetti. It's the
only job I've ever had. It's a guitar show, a night out, & everyone that
goes has a blast.
In a lot of ways you're one the last of a dying breed, it's hard to
remember anyone that could actually say they tour the UK like you are.
How do you feel about that?
I don't see many guys I know touring like I
do because it's not the fairy tale of rock 'n roll, it's reality & it's
hard as fuck. I've grown used to it, & I know how to make things work
out there. It's expensive to drag a show around Europe, but I've
learned how to make it work. The whole key is doing a shit load of
shows, and eliminating expenses where you can. Most bands just play on
weekends in the UK.
This whole tribute scam is such an amazement to me.
It's not rock 'n roll, it's something else. There's no integrity, At
the end of the day, you have to live with yourself & I never pretend.
What do you think caused bands to head to an average 5 venue UK
Tours?
Money. Most bands, aren't bands. They're just names & one or two guys
that used to play in them. Most of these tours are put on by sleazy
agents who rip off the club owners with high guarantees, then bring in
an inferior show with overpaid musicians & a fancy bus. A true band
would just stick it out & do whatever it took to keep going, gig or no
gig. It also depends on what your goals are.
Do you think we'll see a return to bands playing up and down the UK,
or are those days pretty much gone now?
I don't know. I don't really
read Kerrang anymore or follow up on who's happening in the moment in
rock or if even rock exists outside of the discos or the festivals.
I think it's still happening in the UK but it's in the indie scene
which most rock guys will critique as shite until it gets a deal,
becomes huge & then they'll praise it even though they don't understand
it.
I only play so much in the UK because I targeted it. I read when I was
a kid in Seattle that Jimi Hendrix came to UK to get recognized, & I
always liked London. It was so much more rock 'n roll than America. It
still is. I always tried to get on a toilet tour supporting Rachel
Stamp or Dogs D'Amour in the early 90s, I got close but never could.
And I was on a UK based record label called FM Revolver. Dealing with
agencies is like trying to deal with the government, red tape &
bullshit. I learned how to do it without them.
You went out on the road with Hanoi Rocks back in 2005. How was it
touring with them?
I'm friends with Mike Monroe. We did an album
together, I was the guitarist in his solo band for a brief moment in
time. I was supposed to do the 12 Shots tour but the agent screwed me
even though I played on Hanoi's 12 Shots record. The same agent
actually booked me in London on the same day as Hanoi Rocks rather than
put me on the bill. They got a different agent & I supported The Another Hostile Takeover tour.
That was a hectic tour & I had some personal bullshit I was dealing
with at the time. It was a good tour as far as support tours go but
there were a lot of obstacles getting in the way of making that tour
fun. Support tours are really important & I wish I'd get on more of them,
but these tours are controlled by agents.
 From reports, you also pretty much ran the Infamous Adlers Appetite
tour a couple of years ago. There were a lot of stories flying around
about that one. What was the real deal with it?
Steven Adler is a nice
guy & a great drummer but he has some strange issues to deal with. It's
a real difficult thing for him or anyone to move forward & stop living
in the shadow of being in a band as big as Guns 'N Roses.
When we met
up in Germany his tour was being undermined by his road manager & his
musicians, he called them on it, & they bailed on him. I helped him
pick up the pieces & pull off his tour in exchange for being the
support act.
At the time it seemed like a really good thing to step
into, I got to play in front of bigger crowds & through better PA
systems. It was a lot to manage, but it started out exciting. Very
quickly, it got out of control as his tour was not set up properly to
begin with. Anyway it lasted 3 weeks, only because I kept it together
& got things sorted. Eventually it became too much to deal with. I was
at the tail end of 100 shows on my own, & I just couldn't deal with
petty bullshit.
We were on our way to Spain & Adler started screaming at me in
Stanstead airport. I got stopped by the cops on it & missed my flight.
That's not even 1%, It's a very long story, it was just another movie,
more of a comedy than a tragedy. Maybe I should write a script. My life
is way beyond Spinal Tap.
In the end it hurt me a lot more than it
helped. I was betting on a lame horse but sometimes you gotta take
chances even if you think the world is against you for doing it.
Over the years you've toured or played with a who's who in rock
music. Any particular memories?
I try remind myself occasionally that I
did record with John Paul Jones. That makes me smile. I really miss
Bobby Chouinard & those rock n roll New York days. Johnny Thunders was
always kinda comical.
Who was the most fun to tour with?
WASP, it was my first
professional European tour & I learned a lot. It was really tough to
get over on anything as they had this road manager, Johnny Allen, a
notorious hardass on support acts & promoters, but a good guy to have
if he's on your side.
Is there anyone that springs to mind that you haven't toured with,
but would really like to?
I would have liked to support The Darkness.
I'd support any band, I'd like to support Robbie Williams in the UK,
that audience is the heart of England.
Put on the spot, which 3 bands have influenced you the most?
Van Halen, Led Zeppelin & AC DC
 What's the biggest gig you've ever played and can you tell us how
it came about?
It was on the WASP tour in 2000. We had just gotten
thrown off the tour for getting blood on my Pink guitar, (true story.
Blackie was very nervous about the attention we were getting), & Johnny
Allen had put us back on the tour but Blackie decided to cancel the
remaining dates because of his throat.
We went to the Gods Of Metal
festival in Milan & used WASP passes & said we were WASP to get in.
They were on the bill but we weren't but not everyone knew they had
just canceled their tour. We then convinced the stage manager to let
us on for 10 minutes in place of WASP.
The crowd near rioted. It was an
an amazing thing, & I don't know another band that could ever pull something
like that off, but I did it. I played Gods Of Metal without being on
the bill just by showing up at the festival.
If you could put together your dream 3 band tour, who'd you pick?
Any stadium band with a shit opener & Adam Bomb in the middle slot.
Asked to pick the 3 best guitarist ever, who lands on your list?
Ed
Van Halen, Jimmy Page & Jeff Beck
You've said that a 3 hour guitar lesson in Eddie Van Halen's Hotel
Room back in 1980 changed your life. Do you still keep in touch?
No but
I think he'd be proud of me.
On Van Halen, what do you reckon to the rumours that they'll be
touring this year with Dave Lee Roth?
I hope so. Rock 'n roll needs
those two.
 What's the highest point of your career so far?
If I've got a gig
tomorrow, I'm happy. Recording with John Paul Jones is up there.
And the lowest?
Leaving my manager David Krebs after 18 years &
starting over, but it was the best thing for me. I've done over 500 shows
since I left Krebs.
Anything you wish you could go back and change?
I've made some bad
decisions, but you learn. I'm not big on the word if.
A lot of people are talking these days about a rock n
roll/glam/sleaze rejuvenation in the UK and Mainland Europe. From being
out on the road so much, do you think that's a fair assessment?
There
are an incredible amount of bands with pussy in their name.There's a
few glam / hard rock bands out on the road but I think punk is a lot
more popular & there are a lot of punk bands out touring but they come and
go.
Other than yourself, who do you rate as the best up and coming rock
'n' roll band out there?
Each country has their own little scene, There
are Warnipples & Motorcity Brags from Italy, The Pleasures from
Germany, High School Motherfuckers in France, Patchwork Grace & Teenage
Casket Company in the UK, all the Scandanavian bands that go out, Star
Rats are cool.
Veins of Jenna are an impressive story of a real band
that are sticking it out through whatever comes up. They're playing amphitheaters with Poison & Ratt in the USA. That's an amazing success
story for rock'n roll.
But I don't consider myself part of this scene,
I'm a working musician, that's it. Most of these bands have big dreams
but dreams can come true if you try hard enough, but most of these
bands will only stay together for a short period unless somebody signs
them or gives them a tour.
The ones that are willing to make a life of
it are the ones to look out for.
Let us know any important web links and where fans can buy your
cd's and merchandise.
Buy my stuff on tour, or you can buy some of my
CDs through
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Big thankyou for taking the time to talk to us Adam.
If you live in the UK then it's a fair to assume that Adam will be coming somewhere pretty close to where you live this summer, so get out there and hit up one of his shows. Bands like Adam Bomb are a dying breed, and how many times have we sat around a table in a bar talking about the good old days when bands used to tour the UK? Adam Bomb does it right now, and deserves all of our support for it.
Again a big thank you to Adam for taking the time to talk to us, and give us some superb answers to some of the questions, there aren't many out there who have played with the caliber of people that he has!
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