"The industry found me to be honest. I wanted nothing to do with it but suddenly here I am and unbelievably, it's the right place for me."
One ordinary day, in an ordinary house, in an ordinary street, in an ordinary town in Minnesota the life of one Adam Young changed forever. The power of the internet managed to prise Mr. Young from his ordinary job, working as a package loader for UPS, and turn his life up side down and inside out in such an overwhelming fashion even he hasn’t clicked it’s happening to him yet. The viral popularity of the tracks he put up on his MySpace page catapulted him into the lime light, where he managed to attract the attention of major record labels. He eventually signed with Universal Republic, and with the resources from this corporate giant, Fireflies was born as part of 2009’s Ocean Eyes, a collection of second wave synthpop that captivated the world, leading to multi-platinum success.
Contrary to everyone’s beliefs that this was his first album, Owl City had an independently released EP titled Of June in 2007 followed by an album, Maybe I’m Dreaming in 2008. Both these independent releases were a celebrated success, Of June reached number 20 in the Billboard Electronic Albums chart and Maybe I’m Dreaming reached number 16 in the same chart. This evidently shows the true talent behind Owl City, and with a little help from their corporate friends in high places, dreams just don’t come true, but they take over the world.
Although it is easy to get sucked into the mainstream spangle and glitter, the humbling nature of Adam Young is so rare and special that you wonder how many of the commercial chart regulars have turned into such, well "celebrities". It’s safe to say that Adam Young is such a humbled spirit that I highly doubt he’ll become one of these ‘divas’ who have taken it upon themselves to puke attitude all over the media, especially on the infamous cheap glossy magazine covers, displaying their ability to humiliate themselves to the spotlight. He’s one spiritual chap, who’s love for the finer things in life such as his plants, keep his feet firmly rooted to the ground. Adam’s sheer admiration for his father is not only beautiful, but just so touching that I feel many, many people can relate to it. I know for sure I can. His relationship to the normal aspects of life that we wouldn’t normally pay much attention to have spilled over to his music, one fine example is Dentist, one of my worst fears, on his Ocean Eyes album. His ability to find drama, excitement and beauty in such ordinary things is so humbling.
Now he’s here, slowly lighting up the world’s lives with one electronic synth riff at a time, what’s next for Owl City? Well, making a record as part of the soundtrack of the new owl film The Legend of Guardians of course. After seeing the trailer for the film I can safely say it has the ‘Aww’ factor. Who wouldn’t love a feature length film based on one of the cutest birds known to man? Let’s just throw a full on tour of New Zealand and Australia in the mix too and you’ll have Adam’s diary for the next few weeks. With all that’s going on for him at the moment, he’s answered a few questions for us here at Altsounds, which makes for an immense read. So don’t be rude, move your gaze downwards and have a look for yourself. Thank you Adam, and please don’t ever change, because you have a rare and beautiful soul that is extremely difficult to stumble upon these days in the land of popular music.
AltSounds: You started composing a melodic blend of electronic synths and strings in the basement of your Minnesota house. How did you get discovered?
Adam Young: The whole thing started on a whim one weekend when my parents were gone. I'd never listened to much pop music before I created Owl City so it was really new and excited for me at the time. I tossed a couple songs onto MySpace with zero expectations and people started spreading it around like wildfire. A few months went by and the major labels started asking me to climb aboard. I singed with Universal Republic and it's been smooth sailing ever since. Even now, I'm incredulous. I can't believe all that has happened.
AltSounds: What was life like for Adam Young before you were thrown into the music whirlwind?
Adam Young: It was super boring and ridiculously monotonous. I worked for UPS loading package trucks during the hoot owl shift. I was also going to college for nothing, I had no idea what I wanted to pursue and my grades suffered because of my lack of motivation. I wound up getting put on academic probation and dropping out after a year and a half. It sounds melodramatic, but music literally saved my life. I was headed down a one way street to a dead end life and if Owl City hadn't happened to me, I'd still be ploughing ahead at full speed. I'm so grateful to be able to do what I'm most passionate about. Holy smokes... is this real life?
AltSounds: What influenced you to begin creating your own music?
Adam Young: I spent a lot of time in high school staring out the window wondering what the world was like "out there." I grew in a small town in Minnesota and hadn't done much travelling so the "great unknown" was incredibly vast to me at that point in time. I started writing songs about things I'd never experienced and that was what really drew me into creating music. I could do anything or be anyone without leaving my basement bedroom.
AltSounds: Who was your child hood hero? Do you think they’ve had an affect on what you do now?
Adam Young: I'd have to say my dad. He’s basically Sherlock Holmes, meets MacGyver, meets the greatest father in the entire world. He’s encouraged me time and again and has always been a far greater role model and influence than a boy could ever hope for. He loves the Lord Jesus with all his heart, soul, strength and mind and I can’t even describe how honoured I’d be if I were to end up as good of a man as he is someday. On top of all that, there isn’t a broken thing in the world he can’t fix, a problem he cannot solve, nor a mystery he can’t unravel. Whenever I have engine trouble, I pull over, heave up the hood, roll up my sleeves and make a lot of noise so everyone around thinks I actually know what I’m doing. Whenever Dad has car trouble (even at 70 mph on the interstate) he DOESN’T EVEN SLOW DOWN. He puts a brick on the gas pedal, swings his legs out the window, scrambles down the hood like a human fly, somehow gets the thing open, tampers with a bunch of junk inside, and gracefully returns to the safety of the cab before the truck drifts off the shoulder and slams into the ditch - Pure Chuck Norris. He does it all the time and Mom is so used to it, she just yawns and cranks up the oldie’s station until he gets back.
AltSounds: It seems as you’ve found a niche in today’s busy and diverse music scene and you’ve snuggled right in comfortably. How hard was it breaking into such a competitive music industry?
Adam Young: The industry found me to be honest. I wanted nothing to do with it but suddenly here I am and unbelievably, it's the right place for me. I feel really called to be doing what I do and there's nowhere else I'd rather be.
AltSounds: You’ve got such a unique sound. How did you discover this entrancing concoction of electronic sounds?
Adam Young: I knew I wanted to create some kind of electronic pop hybrid sound that portrayed a lot of optimism. I like the idea of music being happy but injected with a bit of melancholy under the surface. It's a tricky thing but I really like the challenge of making "bittersweet" music in a way.
AltSounds: I’m sure many people would instinctively think of ‘Fireflies’ when they hear the name Owl City due to its massive success, topping the charts in 22 different countries. Did you anticipate the sheer love you got for this track?
Adam Young: Never. I very nearly trashed the song and didn't include it on Ocean Eyes. Thankfully, I went against my initial instincts and now I can go to McDonald's every Friday night if I feel like it. THAT is living the dream!
AltSounds: You have a headlining tour in Australia and New Zealand coming up this November. How are you feeling playing such big gigs?
Adam Young: I'm really excited about the new camera I bought. I was in Australia and NZ this winter and didn't have a camera. I was so mad.
AltSounds: You’ve already toured with major bands such as Maroon 5 and John Mayer. What was this experience like for you?
Adam Young: Incredible. I stood side-stage every night slobbering all over myself. Both are incredible and John especially is the perfect embodiment of what it means to truly master one's instrument. It was terribly inspiring. I almost felt like cancelling the rest of the tour so I could go home and practice. Haha.
AltSounds: I bet touring is a challenging experience as well as a rewarding one, did you learn some stuff about yourself when you were on the road?
Adam Young: I learned never to eat enchiladas before a 26 hour non-stop drive from New Jersey to California because everyone on the bus will inevitably hate you for the rest of the tour. Oh well. I keep telling them "Guys, it's all in the family!" and they refuse to crack a smile. Oh well, their loss.
AltSounds: What summer plans have you got? Do you think you’ll be visiting any festivals this year?
Adam Young: Well, if I was at home this summer I'd be spending a lot of time in my garden. Taking care of plants which is a hobby of mine. They never get upset with you, they never break up with you, they never con you into things and make you feel super guilty or make you go to weddings you don't wanna go to. Plants are my best friends. Ironically I'm 1,200 miles away from my house right now and all I usually see on the road is the inside of the bus, the hotel and the venue. Either way, it's incredibly rewarding. It's great to leave home but boy is it great to return.
AltSounds: If you had to pick an up-and-coming band who are under the radar at the moment, who would they be and why?
Adam Young: There's a band called Mae I really like. Great guys, incredible musicians. Their stuff is really inspiring.
AltSounds: Your album ‘Ocean Eyes’ has achieved multi-platinum sales, what can we expect from Owl City after such a huge success with a début album?
Adam Young: Ahhh, that is yet to be revealed, but whatever it is, I promise it's going to be great.
AltSounds: Are you planning on coming over to the UK any time soon?
Adam Young: Not at the moment. I had a kidney stone that thwarted my European plans, but alas, I shall remedy the problem and make my return post-haste.
AltSounds: Will 2011 be a quiet year for Owl City or can we expect even more?
Adam Young: I wrote a song for a new Warner Bros. film entitled "Legend of the Guardians" due out in September. Really excited about it. New record coming spring of 2011. Even more excited about that.
Contrary to everyone’s beliefs that this was his first album, Owl City had an independently released EP titled Of June in 2007 followed by an album, Maybe I’m Dreaming in 2008. Both these independent releases were a celebrated success, Of June reached number 20 in the Billboard Electronic Albums chart and Maybe I’m Dreaming reached number 16 in the same chart. This evidently shows the true talent behind Owl City, and with a little help from their corporate friends in high places, dreams just don’t come true, but they take over the world.
Although it is easy to get sucked into the mainstream spangle and glitter, the humbling nature of Adam Young is so rare and special that you wonder how many of the commercial chart regulars have turned into such, well "celebrities". It’s safe to say that Adam Young is such a humbled spirit that I highly doubt he’ll become one of these ‘divas’ who have taken it upon themselves to puke attitude all over the media, especially on the infamous cheap glossy magazine covers, displaying their ability to humiliate themselves to the spotlight. He’s one spiritual chap, who’s love for the finer things in life such as his plants, keep his feet firmly rooted to the ground. Adam’s sheer admiration for his father is not only beautiful, but just so touching that I feel many, many people can relate to it. I know for sure I can. His relationship to the normal aspects of life that we wouldn’t normally pay much attention to have spilled over to his music, one fine example is Dentist, one of my worst fears, on his Ocean Eyes album. His ability to find drama, excitement and beauty in such ordinary things is so humbling.
Now he’s here, slowly lighting up the world’s lives with one electronic synth riff at a time, what’s next for Owl City? Well, making a record as part of the soundtrack of the new owl film The Legend of Guardians of course. After seeing the trailer for the film I can safely say it has the ‘Aww’ factor. Who wouldn’t love a feature length film based on one of the cutest birds known to man? Let’s just throw a full on tour of New Zealand and Australia in the mix too and you’ll have Adam’s diary for the next few weeks. With all that’s going on for him at the moment, he’s answered a few questions for us here at Altsounds, which makes for an immense read. So don’t be rude, move your gaze downwards and have a look for yourself. Thank you Adam, and please don’t ever change, because you have a rare and beautiful soul that is extremely difficult to stumble upon these days in the land of popular music.
AltSounds: You started composing a melodic blend of electronic synths and strings in the basement of your Minnesota house. How did you get discovered?
Adam Young: The whole thing started on a whim one weekend when my parents were gone. I'd never listened to much pop music before I created Owl City so it was really new and excited for me at the time. I tossed a couple songs onto MySpace with zero expectations and people started spreading it around like wildfire. A few months went by and the major labels started asking me to climb aboard. I singed with Universal Republic and it's been smooth sailing ever since. Even now, I'm incredulous. I can't believe all that has happened.
AltSounds: What was life like for Adam Young before you were thrown into the music whirlwind?
Adam Young: It was super boring and ridiculously monotonous. I worked for UPS loading package trucks during the hoot owl shift. I was also going to college for nothing, I had no idea what I wanted to pursue and my grades suffered because of my lack of motivation. I wound up getting put on academic probation and dropping out after a year and a half. It sounds melodramatic, but music literally saved my life. I was headed down a one way street to a dead end life and if Owl City hadn't happened to me, I'd still be ploughing ahead at full speed. I'm so grateful to be able to do what I'm most passionate about. Holy smokes... is this real life?
AltSounds: What influenced you to begin creating your own music?
Adam Young: I spent a lot of time in high school staring out the window wondering what the world was like "out there." I grew in a small town in Minnesota and hadn't done much travelling so the "great unknown" was incredibly vast to me at that point in time. I started writing songs about things I'd never experienced and that was what really drew me into creating music. I could do anything or be anyone without leaving my basement bedroom.
AltSounds: Who was your child hood hero? Do you think they’ve had an affect on what you do now?
Adam Young: I'd have to say my dad. He’s basically Sherlock Holmes, meets MacGyver, meets the greatest father in the entire world. He’s encouraged me time and again and has always been a far greater role model and influence than a boy could ever hope for. He loves the Lord Jesus with all his heart, soul, strength and mind and I can’t even describe how honoured I’d be if I were to end up as good of a man as he is someday. On top of all that, there isn’t a broken thing in the world he can’t fix, a problem he cannot solve, nor a mystery he can’t unravel. Whenever I have engine trouble, I pull over, heave up the hood, roll up my sleeves and make a lot of noise so everyone around thinks I actually know what I’m doing. Whenever Dad has car trouble (even at 70 mph on the interstate) he DOESN’T EVEN SLOW DOWN. He puts a brick on the gas pedal, swings his legs out the window, scrambles down the hood like a human fly, somehow gets the thing open, tampers with a bunch of junk inside, and gracefully returns to the safety of the cab before the truck drifts off the shoulder and slams into the ditch - Pure Chuck Norris. He does it all the time and Mom is so used to it, she just yawns and cranks up the oldie’s station until he gets back.
AltSounds: It seems as you’ve found a niche in today’s busy and diverse music scene and you’ve snuggled right in comfortably. How hard was it breaking into such a competitive music industry?
Adam Young: The industry found me to be honest. I wanted nothing to do with it but suddenly here I am and unbelievably, it's the right place for me. I feel really called to be doing what I do and there's nowhere else I'd rather be.
AltSounds: You’ve got such a unique sound. How did you discover this entrancing concoction of electronic sounds?
Adam Young: I knew I wanted to create some kind of electronic pop hybrid sound that portrayed a lot of optimism. I like the idea of music being happy but injected with a bit of melancholy under the surface. It's a tricky thing but I really like the challenge of making "bittersweet" music in a way.
AltSounds: I’m sure many people would instinctively think of ‘Fireflies’ when they hear the name Owl City due to its massive success, topping the charts in 22 different countries. Did you anticipate the sheer love you got for this track?
Adam Young: Never. I very nearly trashed the song and didn't include it on Ocean Eyes. Thankfully, I went against my initial instincts and now I can go to McDonald's every Friday night if I feel like it. THAT is living the dream!
AltSounds: You have a headlining tour in Australia and New Zealand coming up this November. How are you feeling playing such big gigs?
Adam Young: I'm really excited about the new camera I bought. I was in Australia and NZ this winter and didn't have a camera. I was so mad.
AltSounds: You’ve already toured with major bands such as Maroon 5 and John Mayer. What was this experience like for you?
Adam Young: Incredible. I stood side-stage every night slobbering all over myself. Both are incredible and John especially is the perfect embodiment of what it means to truly master one's instrument. It was terribly inspiring. I almost felt like cancelling the rest of the tour so I could go home and practice. Haha.
AltSounds: I bet touring is a challenging experience as well as a rewarding one, did you learn some stuff about yourself when you were on the road?
Adam Young: I learned never to eat enchiladas before a 26 hour non-stop drive from New Jersey to California because everyone on the bus will inevitably hate you for the rest of the tour. Oh well. I keep telling them "Guys, it's all in the family!" and they refuse to crack a smile. Oh well, their loss.
AltSounds: What summer plans have you got? Do you think you’ll be visiting any festivals this year?
Adam Young: Well, if I was at home this summer I'd be spending a lot of time in my garden. Taking care of plants which is a hobby of mine. They never get upset with you, they never break up with you, they never con you into things and make you feel super guilty or make you go to weddings you don't wanna go to. Plants are my best friends. Ironically I'm 1,200 miles away from my house right now and all I usually see on the road is the inside of the bus, the hotel and the venue. Either way, it's incredibly rewarding. It's great to leave home but boy is it great to return.
AltSounds: If you had to pick an up-and-coming band who are under the radar at the moment, who would they be and why?
Adam Young: There's a band called Mae I really like. Great guys, incredible musicians. Their stuff is really inspiring.
AltSounds: Your album ‘Ocean Eyes’ has achieved multi-platinum sales, what can we expect from Owl City after such a huge success with a début album?
Adam Young: Ahhh, that is yet to be revealed, but whatever it is, I promise it's going to be great.
AltSounds: Are you planning on coming over to the UK any time soon?
Adam Young: Not at the moment. I had a kidney stone that thwarted my European plans, but alas, I shall remedy the problem and make my return post-haste.
AltSounds: Will 2011 be a quiet year for Owl City or can we expect even more?
Adam Young: I wrote a song for a new Warner Bros. film entitled "Legend of the Guardians" due out in September. Really excited about it. New record coming spring of 2011. Even more excited about that.
