Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jeff Stevens. It's the Eighties Show podcast. He's got a
new tour, he's got a new album, he's got a
great new single, one of my all time favorites. It's
Brian Adams.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good to see you, Jeff.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
So we've got Roll with the Punches the song, Roll
with the Punches the tour. That's the name of the
album coming August twenty ninth. I just want to hear
everything about it.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
It man, just fire away.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
So now this is the one, Roll with the Punches
the single. This is the one where you worked with
Mutt for the first time in a while, right, Mut Lang.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well, Mutt and I've been working together on and off
now for years and years, and you know, he's just
great to work with and will always come up with
a good song when we're together. So I remember coming
up with the idea of you know, Roll with the
Punches and just said what do you think you know?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
And then he didn't say anything.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
And then about a day or two later he sent
me an idea and I was like, that's really good.
And then within no time at all, the songs that
have fell together.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yeah, you have written so many iconic songs. I mean
obviously Summer sixty nine and everything I do are probably
the two biggest. But you have just anthem after anthem
after anthem. I've I went through and I counted, I've
seen you thirteen times, starting with nineteen eighty seven with
the Hooters that was the first, and a whole bunch
(01:20):
on the Waking Up the Neighbors, which was that was
like a two or three year tour, right.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, Oh, the actually was actually a four year tour.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Wow. I think we saw you in Cincinnati, which I
think might have been opening night or one of the
first nights in like the spring of ninety two. I
love the fact that when you come out with new
music like we're talking about now, something like Roll with
the Punches or make Up your Mind, which is also
a great song, that you always stay true to that
Brian Adams sound and that Brian Adams hook, and there's
(01:52):
always a guitar punch, but you're always bringing it into
whatever year it is, too. It doesn't sound like Brian
Adams from nineteen eighty five.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Well, that's very kind. I don't know how to make
records any other way than how I make them, which
is just put everybody in a room, together and hope
for the best. But meanwhile, I do put a lot
of time into making sure that the idea of the
song is good.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Enough to bring everybody in the room.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
And so once you've got that initial idea, it's just
a matter of getting a performance, and even that takes time.
You know, It's funny if you look at the way
records are made. The idea idea which comes first, and
then there's the demo, and then then there's making the
(02:43):
record and getting their performance, and then there's the mix.
You know, there's so many different layers to getting a song,
and then then once you've got the song finished, it's
about getting it out to the people. You mentioned the
tour of Waking Up the Neighbors back in the nineties.
(03:03):
That tour was such a long, long tour, and it
was because the songs just kept going and places started
playing them around the world, and I decided, let's just
go everywhere, and we went to places that nobody ever
toured before. It was it was one of those things,
just let's go here. Okay, let's go there.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
And can they do shows? Yeah they can. They want you.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
You're the first person I remember saying we're going to
go to Vietnam. We're going to go to Pakistan, We're
going to go to you know, we're going to go
to There were places in the Eastern Bloc that you know,
never been played, and parts of Europe that never had
big concerts.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
It was amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
That's the thing too. Your your audience in the US
is massive, but it is so cool to watch you
because I love following you on Instagram. You've you're really
good about whether you're just going out back and singing
a little bit of you gotta make up your mind,
you know, it's you know, just in the back of
a lot or whatever, or showing you know, the crowd
shots like you always do it on Instagram, which I
(04:05):
think is so cool too. You're following all over the
world is just unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Well, and I think part of that is because we
put the time in to go everywhere, and it's quite normal.
Bands go around the world and they play all these
places and it's it's just I mean, we just came
back from a two.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Week tour of India.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
How was that?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
It was amazing?
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah? Are you amazed how your songs just transcend language?
I mean, there's no language barrier, right they're singing every word.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Yeah, it's it's one of the it's one of the
things about being a songwriter.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
That's that's really great.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
And so there's there's sort of a few tiers, like
there's the first thing is like hearing your song on
the radio. That's really exciting, and then there's the response
that people give you live that it's another great moment
for a songwriter. And then there's things like I don't
getting someone someone covers your song. You know, these are
(05:06):
sort of huge highlights as a songwriter. And you don't
want to ever be in a car with me if
my song comes on the radio, because I'll just crank it.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
See. I love to hear that because some artists are like,
oh man, you know, turn that off, And I love
that you crank it up. That's the way it should be.
You know, we're talking obviously about about the new tour.
This is one of your I feel like because I've
seen you thirteen times over the years and plan on
seeing a lot more on this particular tour. You know,
they're saying that this is your biggest tour in a while.
(05:39):
I feel like you're you've kind of always been on tour,
but this one is seems very planned with the new
album release, with the new singles that I'm very happy
we're going to be talking about playing on the radio
here in a minute, and in a very coordinated tour
of a lot of places this year.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Yeah, there's a big tour coming.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Well, there's certainly a big tour of America and Canada coming,
and we've got we've got plans already into next year.
So I think it's I think if you ever need
some air miles, you can call me.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Somebody write his number down. I'll be doing that. The
new album, Roll with the Punches, comes out August twenty ninth,
and we're going to talk about your new single right now,
Never Ever Let You Go. I got a chance to
preview it, and it was really hard not to somehow
illegally download it so I could hang on to it.
But I get a chance to listen to it, and
we're about to premiere it on the radio.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Great.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, yeah, that's what's interesting about it is I just
finished in a video. I wish I could play the
video for you. It's really fun. I got Liz Hurley
in the video, oh boy, And it's basically us on
a roller coaster, it's quite a loaf and but yeah, no, no,
(06:50):
it's an exciting song, and it's an exciting The whole
album I think is really exciting. But it's definitely a
rock record, and I know that that rock music really
isn't sort of the current thing.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
But I don't know.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
I would be nuts for me to try and do
something that's not, you know, in my genre, because that's
what I do.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Totally agree, and that's what makes you you. For all
these decades of being a you know, a fan, uh,
listening to you back in middle school and high school,
and then getting to getting to you know, when I
went through radio and television, to to be in a
position like iHeart, where I get to actually play your
songs on the radio is a huge thrill.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
You know, I used to be playing my tennis rackets,
singing summer system.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
You don't you don't want to admit that, and I.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Just did to everybody pretending to be you. It's, uh,
this song one one listen. That's what we always say
in the radio world. You know, is this a one
listen song? You listen to it once and you're singing
along or or you know that that hook gets you immediately.
Never Ever let You Go to Me is a one
listen song and one of my favorite news song as
you've done in a long time.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Yeah, it's another song I wrote with Mott and he's
been working with somebody out of Sweden and they sent
me a track with you know, basically a chorus set up,
and I just sat down and and cabbled together what
I do uh to to it and not expecting that
(08:25):
they would like it, but they loved it, and so
that's what it became.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
And then of course then there's the making of the record,
which is that other tier, which which which happens?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
And I'm really excited about it.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
And so how did the video come come together? With
Liz Hurley? How how did that?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
I'm basically the idea of never ever letting somebody go?
So I thought, well, I need to have somebody in
the video with me, and I know Elizabeth. So I
was just rattling my brain and I thought, do I
do I have the Do I really want to call her.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
And ask her for this question? You know? Because no?
And then it's embarrassing.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
And I called her and I said, which would you
be interested in being in a video? She goes, absolutely,
and I said, wow, really it's it's next week.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
She went, what day? When I said Wednesday, she goes,
can you do Thursday?
Speaker 3 (09:22):
I said, yes, that's and that's what that's what That's
what happened, and it was really kind of her. I
got to say, so the idea basically, we're on a
roller coasure together and I'll leave it at that.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Three new songs from Brian's new forthcoming album, Roll with
the Punches, are already out now. You can listen to
them anywhere you listen to your streaming and of course
on iHeartRadio for free. We have Brian Adams Radio that
is live now. Bang Bang is right. Thank you, Brian Adams.
Stay tuned for Part two of my conversation with Brian
(09:56):
Adams here on The eighty Show podcast
Jeff Stevens. It's the Eighties Show podcast. He's got a
new tour, he's got a new album, he's got a
great new single, one of my all time favorites. It's
Brian Adams.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Good to see you, Jeff.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
So we've got Roll with the Punches the song, Roll
with the Punches the tour. That's the name of the
album coming August twenty ninth. I just want to hear
everything about it.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
It man, just fire away.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
So now this is the one, Roll with the Punches
the single. This is the one where you worked with
Mutt for the first time in a while, right, Mut Lang.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well, Mutt and I've been working together on and off
now for years and years, and you know, he's just
great to work with and will always come up with
a good song when we're together. So I remember coming
up with the idea of you know, Roll with the
Punches and just said what do you think you know?
Speaker 2 (00:46):
And then he didn't say anything.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
And then about a day or two later he sent
me an idea and I was like, that's really good.
And then within no time at all, the songs that
have fell together.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yeah, you have written so many iconic songs. I mean
obviously Summer sixty nine and everything I do are probably
the two biggest. But you have just anthem after anthem
after anthem. I've I went through and I counted, I've
seen you thirteen times, starting with nineteen eighty seven with
the Hooters that was the first, and a whole bunch
(01:20):
on the Waking Up the Neighbors, which was that was
like a two or three year tour, right.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, Oh, the actually was actually a four year tour.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
Wow. I think we saw you in Cincinnati, which I
think might have been opening night or one of the
first nights in like the spring of ninety two. I
love the fact that when you come out with new
music like we're talking about now, something like Roll with
the Punches or make Up your Mind, which is also
a great song, that you always stay true to that
Brian Adams sound and that Brian Adams hook, and there's
(01:52):
always a guitar punch, but you're always bringing it into
whatever year it is, too. It doesn't sound like Brian
Adams from nineteen eighty five.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
Well, that's very kind. I don't know how to make
records any other way than how I make them, which
is just put everybody in a room, together and hope
for the best. But meanwhile, I do put a lot
of time into making sure that the idea of the
song is good.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
Enough to bring everybody in the room.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
And so once you've got that initial idea, it's just
a matter of getting a performance, and even that takes time.
You know, It's funny if you look at the way
records are made. The idea idea which comes first, and
then there's the demo, and then then there's making the
(02:43):
record and getting their performance, and then there's the mix.
You know, there's so many different layers to getting a song,
and then then once you've got the song finished, it's
about getting it out to the people. You mentioned the
tour of Waking Up the Neighbors back in the nineties.
(03:03):
That tour was such a long, long tour, and it
was because the songs just kept going and places started
playing them around the world, and I decided, let's just
go everywhere, and we went to places that nobody ever
toured before. It was it was one of those things,
just let's go here. Okay, let's go there.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
And can they do shows? Yeah they can. They want you.
Speaker 3 (03:26):
You're the first person I remember saying we're going to
go to Vietnam. We're going to go to Pakistan, We're
going to go to you know, we're going to go
to There were places in the Eastern Bloc that you know,
never been played, and parts of Europe that never had
big concerts.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
It was amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
That's the thing too. Your your audience in the US
is massive, but it is so cool to watch you
because I love following you on Instagram. You've you're really
good about whether you're just going out back and singing
a little bit of you gotta make up your mind,
you know, it's you know, just in the back of
a lot or whatever, or showing you know, the crowd
shots like you always do it on Instagram, which I
(04:05):
think is so cool too. You're following all over the
world is just unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
Well, and I think part of that is because we
put the time in to go everywhere, and it's quite normal.
Bands go around the world and they play all these
places and it's it's just I mean, we just came
back from a two.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
Week tour of India.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
How was that?
Speaker 2 (04:27):
It was amazing?
Speaker 1 (04:28):
Yeah? Are you amazed how your songs just transcend language?
I mean, there's no language barrier, right they're singing every word.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
Yeah, it's it's one of the it's one of the
things about being a songwriter.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
That's that's really great.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
And so there's there's sort of a few tiers, like
there's the first thing is like hearing your song on
the radio. That's really exciting, and then there's the response
that people give you live that it's another great moment
for a songwriter. And then there's things like I don't
getting someone someone covers your song. You know, these are
(05:06):
sort of huge highlights as a songwriter. And you don't
want to ever be in a car with me if
my song comes on the radio, because I'll just crank it.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
See. I love to hear that because some artists are like,
oh man, you know, turn that off, And I love
that you crank it up. That's the way it should be.
You know, we're talking obviously about about the new tour.
This is one of your I feel like because I've
seen you thirteen times over the years and plan on
seeing a lot more on this particular tour. You know,
they're saying that this is your biggest tour in a while.
(05:39):
I feel like you're you've kind of always been on tour,
but this one is seems very planned with the new
album release, with the new singles that I'm very happy
we're going to be talking about playing on the radio
here in a minute, and in a very coordinated tour
of a lot of places this year.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Yeah, there's a big tour coming.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
Well, there's certainly a big tour of America and Canada coming,
and we've got we've got plans already into next year.
So I think it's I think if you ever need
some air miles, you can call me.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
Somebody write his number down. I'll be doing that. The
new album, Roll with the Punches, comes out August twenty ninth,
and we're going to talk about your new single right now,
Never Ever Let You Go. I got a chance to
preview it, and it was really hard not to somehow
illegally download it so I could hang on to it.
But I get a chance to listen to it, and
we're about to premiere it on the radio.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Great.
Speaker 3 (06:30):
Well, yeah, that's what's interesting about it is I just
finished in a video. I wish I could play the
video for you. It's really fun. I got Liz Hurley
in the video, oh boy, And it's basically us on
a roller coaster, it's quite a loaf and but yeah, no, no,
(06:50):
it's an exciting song, and it's an exciting The whole
album I think is really exciting. But it's definitely a
rock record, and I know that that rock music really
isn't sort of the current thing.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
But I don't know.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
I would be nuts for me to try and do
something that's not, you know, in my genre, because that's
what I do.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Totally agree, and that's what makes you you. For all
these decades of being a you know, a fan, uh,
listening to you back in middle school and high school,
and then getting to getting to you know, when I
went through radio and television, to to be in a
position like iHeart, where I get to actually play your
songs on the radio is a huge thrill.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
You know, I used to be playing my tennis rackets,
singing summer system.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
You don't you don't want to admit that, and I.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Just did to everybody pretending to be you. It's, uh,
this song one one listen. That's what we always say
in the radio world. You know, is this a one
listen song? You listen to it once and you're singing
along or or you know that that hook gets you immediately.
Never Ever let You Go to Me is a one
listen song and one of my favorite news song as
you've done in a long time.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
Yeah, it's another song I wrote with Mott and he's
been working with somebody out of Sweden and they sent
me a track with you know, basically a chorus set up,
and I just sat down and and cabbled together what
I do uh to to it and not expecting that
(08:25):
they would like it, but they loved it, and so
that's what it became.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
And then of course then there's the making of the record,
which is that other tier, which which which happens?
Speaker 2 (08:35):
And I'm really excited about it.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
And so how did the video come come together? With
Liz Hurley? How how did that?
Speaker 3 (08:43):
I'm basically the idea of never ever letting somebody go?
So I thought, well, I need to have somebody in
the video with me, and I know Elizabeth. So I
was just rattling my brain and I thought, do I
do I have the Do I really want to call her.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
And ask her for this question? You know? Because no?
And then it's embarrassing.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
And I called her and I said, which would you
be interested in being in a video? She goes, absolutely,
and I said, wow, really it's it's next week.
Speaker 2 (09:16):
She went, what day? When I said Wednesday, she goes,
can you do Thursday?
Speaker 3 (09:22):
I said, yes, that's and that's what that's what That's
what happened, and it was really kind of her. I
got to say, so the idea basically, we're on a
roller coasure together and I'll leave it at that.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
Three new songs from Brian's new forthcoming album, Roll with
the Punches, are already out now. You can listen to
them anywhere you listen to your streaming and of course
on iHeartRadio for free. We have Brian Adams Radio that
is live now. Bang Bang is right. Thank you, Brian Adams.
Stay tuned for Part two of my conversation with Brian
(09:56):
Adams here on The eighty Show podcast
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