Adam Domack
by Laura Sorensen
January 2016
Adam Domack
If you follow the local rock scene in Madison, you may have noticed a familiar face over the last couple of years. Adam Domack is a singer and acoustic guitar player who has opened for numerous venues in the Madison area including The Red Zone and the Hijynx in Ft. Atkinson. After seeing him perform as the opening act for bands such as Ultrea, Haliwel and Fall II Rise, I asked Adam if he would answer some questions. This is a summary of our conversation.
MI: How long have you been performing?
AD: I’ve been involved with music since I was thirteen years old. When I was seventeen I auditioned for a band called Malice In Wonderland with Greg Dellman who is now with Ultrea and manages 301 Productionz. They liked me and threw me into the mix. We started writing material right away. I mentioned that my school had a battle of the bands coming up and asked if they wanted to participate. We ended up winning and blowing everybody out of the water. It was a really cool experience. I was with them for several years until I moved to Milwaukee. It just became too difficult to travel back and forth. I ended up dropping out of MIW and starting my own acoustic project. Right away I started writing my own songs and performing at a lot of local places in Milwaukee. Eventually I ended up moving back to Madison. I started writing a lot of original songs although I have fun covers that I like to do. I love performing more than anything in this world. I can’t ever see myself not doing it.
MI: Did you ever have any professional voice or music lessons?
AD: I’ve never had any formal training. When I was thirteen years old I was given an acoustic guitar by my aunt as a Christmas present. I looked at it like “What am I supposed to do with this?” I didn’t really know anything about it. I grew up listening to some awesome music that my parents listened to. Everything is pretty much by ear. My Dad was in a barber shop quartet. He has an amazing voice. He also played guitar a lot when he was in the navy. I guess I got it through his genes.
MI: You work with 301 Productionz, is that basically how people find you to book you for shows?
AD: Yep, I try to help Greg out as much as I can. We have people here and there that will help out with promoting shows. I try to support it as much as I possibly can. Greg has done me a lot of favors, he’s hooked me up with a lot of really cool shows that I’ve been able to open for. I wouldn’t be anywhere near where I am right now if it weren’t for him. I think he has a great company.
MI: Where have you performed?
AD: I try to keep to a 75 mile radius, maybe Milwaukee or Beloit. Although I am playing a show with Ultrea and Forever No More in Tomah around the first week in May. I have my four kids here and my fiancée so for the most part I try to stay close. Every year I try to play a new venue or a new town.
MI: You said you play cover music. Do you play more covers or originals?
AD: I play as much original music as I can. I’ve written a lot of songs over the years. I’m trying to limit myself to one or two covers per show because I want to showcase my own music instead of someone else’s.
MI: Have you recorded any of your music?
AD: Yes, I’ve been in the studio several times. I have music on Reverbnation, Sound Cloud, sometimes I share on my own page. I’ve recorded some acoustic songs. Recently I’ve recorded some of my hip hop music that I’ve started getting into. That’s pretty exciting. I love every genre of music so it’s nice being on my own. I can play whatever I want to.
MI: I would think that would offer more opportunities to open for different bands?
AD: It seems the majority of the shows I open for are for rock and metal shows. I love metal music. Sometimes I don’t exactly mesh with the music that’s being played. I’ve opened for all kinds of shows, from metal to country and folk or acoustic shows.
MI: You said you never want to give up performing music. What long range goals do you have for yourself?
AD: Right now my life is crazy with family and work. I try to do something a little more every year than I did the previous year. Last year I got spun on three different radio stations which was great. I played about twenty shows. I was in the studio twice with my friend Tyler who’s a sound engineer. I have an exciting project that I’m working on right now. I have faith that it’s going to shake the local music scene in Madison. I have a feeling we’ll be meeting again within the next six months or so. It’s going to be fun, I can’t wait to show everyone.
MI: You perform so many different kinds of music, is there one in particular that you enjoy the most?
AD: I love my acoustic stuff. It really pulls a lot of emotion out of me. It can be sappy love songs, it can be loud, angry songs. The last three or four months I’ve been doing hip hop. Most people know me for my Star Wars song “Intercourse With The Force.” It has a little bit of hip hop flow. Ever since I’ve started writing hip hop the lyrics just keep flowing. It’s easier to write. I can find producers who write beats and all I have to do is focus on the lyrics. I’m hoping to get in the studio in the next couple of weeks and start banging out a lot of these songs. I have almost a full album of material already.
MI: What has been the highlight of your musical career so far?
AD: I got to open for Aaron Lewis during his solo country music tour which was huge for me. He’s always been a big influence ever since I was in high school when the whole metal craze came out. He is someone I always formed my vocals around, Aaron and Corey Taylor from Slipknot / Stone Sour. Opening for him at The Rave in Milwaukee was a memorable point in my music career. It is something I am proud of. Hopefully within the next year or so I will start hooking up with bigger bands. I opened for Motograter last fall and that was great. I almost prefer the local bands though, it’s a big party all the time and it feels like family.
MI: You and your fiancée have four young boys including a set of twins. Your family must be very supportive for you to be able to perform as much as you do.
AD: Absolutely, my fiancée is my biggest supporter. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do if it weren’t for her.
MI: Anything else you want to share that people should know?
AD: Look for me in 2016. This is going to be my biggest year yet. I have a really good feeling about the new project that I’m working on. People are going to dig it. It’s going to be something that not a lot of people have seen before.