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(Winter 2005) by George Dionne
A lot happened in the Adema camp since the release of their last album.
They signed a new record deal with Earache Records after being dropped from
their former label and they lost their lead singer Marky Chavez and guitarist
Mike Ransom due to ‘creative differences. A lesser band would have
packed up in thrown in the towel, but not Adema. They went on a search for
a new
singer and found one in Luke Caraccioli. Refreshed and re-energized, Adema
ditched their nu-metal sound for a more melodic/hard rock sound. The result
is their 2005 release Planets (read
CD review). Before heading out
to Iraq to perform a handful of shows for the U.S. Troops, drummer Kris Kohls
took
the
time
to talk with
us.
RIL: You seem to be the one that does all the interviews, why is that?
KK:
I don’t do all the interviews, is that the way it seems?
RIL: Every Adema interview I came across was with you.
KK:
I guess I do quite a few, but I don’t do all of them. I guess
I’m fun to talk to, that’s all.
RIL: How did you settle on Luke?
KK: We tried out about
40 guys through e-mail, phone interviews, and bringing guys in the studio.
There’s going to be a DVD documentary that will
be coming out around June that will show the whole audition process. Luke
was just the guy we vibed with. We had perfect chemistry from the very start.
We wanted someone that was completely different than what we had before.
We wanted someone that brought the magic back, someone who brought us back
together as a band. Our last album wasn’t as good as it could have
been. We wanted to make the best possible album we could with [Planets].
When we started working with Luke, we felt this sort-of cosmic thing. You
know, the planets just started to align. That’s why we called the record
Planets.
RIL: Was there anyone during the audition process that you said, “Come
on, give me a break!”?
KK: There were a few (laughs).
RIL: Did anyone else audition that people would recognize?
KK:
No. It wasn’t Chris Cornell or anybody like that. It was guys
from local bands and stuff like that. A couple of guys had been in bands
that were signed, but no one above that level.
RIL: I know that you’re asked this question a million times,
but why did Marky leave the group?
KK: Marky left the group because
we asked him to do his job basically. We were in the process of writing
this record and we told him that he had to
write lyrics. We had gone into the studio in the past and he was always unprepared.
We didn’t want to do that with this record. We produced the record
ourselves and we were very prepared, other than the fact we didn’t
have a singer. All the music was done and recorded, but we had no singer.
This was prior to the thing with Marky. We told him that we weren’t
even going into the studio until we hear what you’re going to sing.
We told him that he got pissed off and quit. His heart just wasn’t
into it. He had a lot of personal things going on that was distracting him.
RIL: Is the new melodic hard rock sound of the new album the way you always
wanted to the group to sound or was it a natural progression?
KK:
We got categorized as a nu-metal band in the past, and that was because of
our singer. That’s the sole reason. He was the brother of the guy
that basically invented nu-metal. We’ve always been a rock band with
metal influences. We like all kinds of music, but we’re a rock band.
We definitely wanted to showcase that on this record. We knew we wanted to
be more melodic and have more lyrical substance. It’s sort of a natural
progression as well. That’s why we didn’t get someone that sounded
like our old singer. We wanted a rock singer, and that’s what Luke
is.
RIL: Was Luke able to be involved in the songwriting process, or did you
have everything ready to go?
KK: We had the music all ready to go, but he was involved in writing the
lyrics a melodies. When [Marky] left, the rest of us went away and just kept
writing for three months. We went into the studio and recorded the music.
We had a good grasp on what we wanted for lyrics, vocals, and the direction
of things, but a lot of stuff was unfinished. When Luke came in, not only
did he make the stuff we had done better, but he had written a lot of stuff
on his own. It was certainly a collaborative record.
RIL: The first single and video from Planets is “Tornado” why
this particular song?
KK: I think it’s just a good rock song. The album is just so vast;
there are sixteen songs. I think that song is a good representative for the
album; it’s a good hooky rock song.
RIL: So who’s the Ultimate Fighting fan that wrote “Enter the
Cage”?
KK: That would be me.
RIL: Have you heard from the UFC guys about them using that song, I think
it would fit in perfectly.
KK: I haven’t, but that would be
cool. The UFC or Pride could use it. I actually have a blue belt in Brazilian
Jujitsu.
RIL: Really?
KK: Yeah. Howard Gracie actually raps on “Bad Triangle”. He’s
a friend of mine. I’m a huge fan and I compete.
RIL: How may fights have you won?
KK: Well, I compete in
tournaments; I haven’t done any cage fights.
I’ve won a couple or tournaments. I’ve coached a few cage fights
outside the cage. I’m involved in all that stuff, I love it.
RIL: “Better Living Through Chemistry” is a pretty deep
song, how did the idea for it come about?
KK: Luke wrote that one about the health industry; buying over-the-counter
drugs and pills and whatnot.
RIL: Earache Records are more of an extreme metal label, how did you end
up signing with them?
KK: Al Dawson came out and saw us at a show in Bakersfield, California.
We sat down and talked about the kind of record that we wanted to make and
the future of the band. He seemed very enthusiastic about it. The thing about
Earache is; Marky was still in the band when we signed with them. When Marky
left, they stood by us 100%. They said, go find a new singer, and make an
Adema record. I just see them as a good label, not so much a particular type
of label.
RIL: You guys are heading out on a tour of the Persian Gulf for the USO,
is that because Luke is an ex-Marine?
KK: It’s actually former Marine, not ex-Marine. I made the same mistake.
Their whole thing is, “once a Marine, always a Marine”. That
is why we’re going out there. His whole squadron is still over there.
He really wanted to do it, so we said why not.
RIL: Aren’t you just a little bit scared of something going
vastly wrong out there in the middle of a war?
KK: I guess it crosses
my mind a little bit, but it’s for rock and
roll and it’s a good cause. The troops need this. They need some type
of escape, and we’re happy to help them out. All you can do is hope
for the best. I’m sure we’ll be fine, and we’re gonna rock.
RIL: Are you planning a U.S. tour when you return?
KK: Yeah.
We’re doing a bunch of dates in April; New York, Cleveland,
L.A., Chicago, there’s a bunch of dates. Then we’re gonna hit
it had again in June. We’re gonna hit it hard all summer.
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KRIS
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