Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Rodriguez.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
At age 12, for Christmas, my mom bought me Guitar Hero and I loved it so much a real guitar was a logical next step. A friend of my mom’s had gifted me a beater with 2 strings and I played it for hours every day, even bringing it with me to school. I played it until the cows came home. and learned on guitar magazines I would steal from Wal-Mart and since many came with an instructional DVD, it was more engaging to learn from them. My favorite issue was Guitar World’s Jimi Hendrix Axis: Bold as Love DVD. I loved practicing Hendrix songs and found his writing to be something otherworldly at the time. His technique would creep into my own playing over time. Guitar has always been there for me and I try to play every day.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life and music? Well, I’m the oldest of 4 brothers raised by a single mom who did her best and was always present, but did struggle to have enough and we moved quite a lot from place to place. Money was an issue growing up and I had to make due with what i had with music being one way to grow mentally and have a foundation to build upon. I made many friends through music, though questionable ones, and followed in their habits of tom foolery. I struggled through most of my young adult life mentally and didn’t care about much. Money, education, relationships, health… Well, I cleaned up my act eventually but was a mess and I’m glad to have been set straight at some point.
To music. The pandemic was a pivotal moment for me since it gave me the peace and quiet to learn certain skills. I would go on to produce my own music for the first time during Covid locked up with my three brothers, mom and step-dad in a tiny apartment in Brooklyn. Paid for online vocal lessons as well since learning to sing had been on my get-to-at-some-point list. It killed me that I couldn’t sing and play. I couldn’t sing either, but being in a band, singing and playing is called for in a lot of scenarios and I just sucked. But, I never quit and purchasing the online lessons motivated me to sit down with my voice and meet my limitations. Quitting tobacco was a conscious effort in improving and oddly enough, bettering my health was not the deciding factor in quitting.
Struggling to find likeminded musicians was the real challenge. Many bandmates were directionless with no desire to grow and lacked respect for performing and creating. Frustrated with not having anything to be truly proud of in terms of creative output I chose to produce my own music and make the rock band I’ve wanted to be in.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a guitar player of 20 years, composer and producer. I play many different genres and have played around the country. I’m also a session player and assist other’s in bringing their vision to life. These days, I’m writing, producing and performing my own music under the name, Smokebomb Wizard.
Shredding is my thing, ballads are too. I don’t know, I love playing aggressively and am influenced heavily by people like Buckethead and Plini. Being in many punk bands allowed me to jump around on stage a lot so I dug that. I’ve been in about 3 embarrassing acts that i hope no-one digs up and I’m sure they feel the same. I think these days, with Smokebomb Wizard, it’s finally something from my heart. The best stuff i could possibly come up with.
I arrange the drums, record the instruments and produce the songs myself. A lot of influence from Buckethead, Tool, 311 and Plini. It’s just me on my lonesome for now, but I’m open to performing these songs with anybody up to the task. There are two singles, Surfacing and Desolate, that are available everywhere.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
This feels like one of those loaded questions in a job interview. My whole life is a series of risks and gracious near misses. I take risks. I tend to be impulsive which doesn’t pair well. Risks… on stage I take risks. Musical risks. I don’t always stick to the script. Dancing like a monkey on stage with my guitar barely in my hands is a risk, i guess.
Risks are a part of life, you can’t avoid them. You risk something by leaving your house everyday. It’s unhealthy to stay in a comfort zone and stupid risks should be obvious to detect, like staying up all night before an exam or taking up a meth habit, but risks involving a huge great reward are there and should be weighed out because nothing truly great comes without stakes.
Pricing:
- I charge 80/hr for session work
- 100 for recorded guitar samples
- 200 for full arrangements
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialsmokebombwizard?igsh=MXRhaXM1NHhudDVqcw==
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCahh9jytHYFouUzRZmb8V-w
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2i8408XDxJ94oNWeNZKkl0?si=s7vSnGZbR4S9GiYbGIk0jQ
Image Credits
Jesse Dennis
Ramone Perez
