Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Adam Yarish

What is your earliest memory connected to music?

When I was quite young my dad burned a CD of Beatles songs that he would play as me and my sibings fell asleep. There are certain songs that I’ll hear now and I can remember hearing them in that setting.

How did your passion for creating music begin?

I learned the basics on guitar at a young age but it didn’t really click for me until I was 14 or so, that’s when I started to get really into listening to music and writing my own.

What’s the story behind your current music project?

I’ve been writing songs for a long while now while playing in other bands. I reached a point in the last couple years where I felt like I was ready to start up a solo project to do something with all these songs that had been piling up. So I’ve been recording and finishing them, which has been a very satisfying process.

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?

At the moment I’m very interested in the combination of soft acoustic driven songs with big messy electric guitar tones. I’ve always loved psychedelic production in music and a big part of the current sound has come from experimenting with those elements in the recording process.

What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?

I read something in Rick Rubin’s book that really resonated with me. He said something to the effect of “releasing your music is the final stage in creating it and if you don’t release it and give up that ownership, then you won’t be able to move on from it and it will block you from creating the next thing.” I’m paraphrasing from memory, but it was a bit of a lightbulb moment for me when I realized I’d been doing that for a while and it was preventing me from fully finishing a lot of work.

What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?

Acoustic guitar or a piano and voice memos.

Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?

I’m a big fan of a group called “The Secret Beach.” They’re based close to Manitoba where I’m from.

How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?

I think I often draw on my own experiences in songs without realizing it. It’s often not an intentional decision but I can start to notice and pick it apart once I’ve had enough distance.

What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?

I hope people can find it relatable.

What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?

The Winnipeg Folk Festival

If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?

George Harrison. I’d imagine he’d be a very good collaborator, plus he could add some real nice solos.

Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)

Adam Yarish on streaming, @adamyarish on instagram, youtube etc. the whole sha bang.

Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?

Tough to say, I’ve always been a person who’s gravitated to multiple things at once so I feel like I have a lot of irons in the fire. Between this solo project, the band I’m part of and my work in video editing and filmmaking it’s hard to say where it’ll go next, but I think that’s partially what I like about it. Above all else I hope to keep making stuff.