Luck doesn’t exist.

As everyone is getting back to work after the holidays I have been spending my time in Australia.
But don’t worry, I’ve been busy as well. Its not all fish and chips and video games.
It is interesting being here, out of my element, away from my fiancee, things and ways to procrastinate.

Its tough but it has helped me become a better person. how?
Well since I am away from so much, its just like a clean slate. I have been out of the rhythm of life for 2 months so I can create a new rhythm for myself. Iv’e started eating better. In fact last week the only liquid I drunk was water. Now when I taste soda, all I taste is sugar. I used to drink a lot of water anyway, but this is just a deeper step.

I brush my teeth 3 times a day! 3 times! I still have to look into whether this is healthy or not though, don’t want to be destroying my tooth enamel. But its good, who does that? After every meal I am brushing my teeth.

Iv’e started working out. I don’t think I am going to look like Arnold any time soon, nor would I want to. But being a little bit more tone and leaner is feeling good… just about as much as it hurts.

I’m still working on my sleep schedule. Iv’e never done that right. Always been up at strange time and asleep at stranger times.

But through all this, I am preparing, preparing for an influx of people who will know my name some day. Iv’e got a video series waiting to be released. I just have to press a button. I’m working on new material for future songs/videos. Iv’e been beefing up my site, more secure, better infer-structure etc.

And Iv’e been training my voice. Pushing those high notes so they sound right and working on my divers-ability.
All this, and not getting paid a dime to do it. Just doing it because I know it has to be done for my dream to become a reality which is making a living from my original music.

Now here is the funny thing, I don’t know if this trip to Australia is going to be a success in terms of being more widely known and being able to make a living from my music. But what I do know, is that I am prepared. Iv’e never been so prepared in my life, for anything! I took ‘drivers theory’ in Holland 7 times.

See luck doesn’t exist. People don’t come out of no where and succeed long term due to this magical word called luck. Luck really is preparation meets opportunity.

So come at me oppertunity. I’m ready.

-adam

Security is most important

The reason I clean installed my site is because I was worried that there might be security risks which could both suck for me and for you.

But have no fear, I’ve beefed it up considerably. So unless someone really has it in for me, my site should be safe for human viewing.

1am.  I’m gonna go pass out now.

Gotta break a few eggs to make a good omelet

I flushed my site, and cleaned it up a bit.
Still working on it at the moment.
So just take it easy ok! It will be back to normal soon.

Things ive learned the hard way about resetting your site…
Save the pictures
Save any .htmls that arnt inside your wordpress theme.
Make sure you have your old theme ready to go and install.
remember the plugins you were using.

Thats all I’ve got for now. My posts are still here, but the images are just gone some how.
So if you want pics, your just going to have to wait for new content or use your imagination.

Fonts for the ‘Chocolatier’ EP

I’ve started some font design work for my next EP called ‘Chocolatier’. The theme obviously is chocolate, and I need to decide on a font that will portray what I am trying to get across. Once the font has been chosen then I can look into the rest of the design to make it match.

A fantastic place to find fonts is www.dafont.com. There are a tonne of free ones, some paid and some donation based fonts. Ive sifted through most of them whilst listening to my new favorite artists Marc Broussard. Who actually looks quite like this guy from http://www.kingkyle.com/ who is an Australian celebrity… here let me show you how uncanny the resemblance is….

they even tilt their head the same way.

 

Anyway back to Fonts… Here is what I am looking at.

dafont fonts

 

I’m really liking the last font. It was created by Steven j. Lundeen of emerald City Fontwerks.
It has a home made feel to it as well as an old feel. Kind of reminds me of old ladies who make their own jam.

and its not that I want you to think of old lady jam jam made by old ladies. Its more the feeling of,

‘I made this with my heart and I want to share it with you.’

Anyway, what do you think of the font? Should I choose another one? Any suggestions?

If you would like to have this font, you can find it for free at http://www.dafont.com/intimacy.font.

Ok, time for some toast I think.

-adam

 

 

 

 

 

The Tale of 2 Unlikely Friends

Allrighty, its all done!

Check out the video below!

So what do you think? I know its not super classy, but its more about having fun and enjoying the project right! 😀

This isnt live yet to the public, Its just for you guys right now. I will release it later next week. Give you time to enjoy it and feel special!

Feel free to share it with your friends and let them know you were a part of it!

Would you guys like me to send you a card like i did with the last one? If you want me to send you thank you mail(real paper mail). Then E-mail me your post address and I will thank you like that 😀

you can also download this song here:

Good times guys, I think we created something special here 😀

-Adam

p.s please give me your feed back on the project. did you think it took too long, what should we change for next time?

 

 

 

 

T-shirt Design Contest

For all you creatives out there, I am having a contest. Giving you a voice!

Rules are simple. Design a print to go on a t-shirt.

These designs have to be ADAMHOEK specific. So no random wolf shirts…or unicorn shirts for that matter…unless it somehow incorperates something to do with ADAMHOEK.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Make a picture of one of my songs, like ‘Gypsy Shrinker‘ or ‘Green eyes‘.

Draw what one of my songs means to you.

Create an image of my face (please make me look stunning).

Create a t-shirt which complements one already in my tshirt store.

You could even design me a new logo for on a shirt! The more creative the better!

What can you win?
Grand Prize YEAH!
  • A physical copy of my solo EP ‘ EPH 5:19’ which includs a 45+ page full color booklet about the songs and my history, with exclusive photos inside!
  • A digital copy of my Album ‘Nectar’.
  • A physical copy of my first ever CD with my old band ‘The Exchange’.
  • A special discount code for one of my future releases.
  • Your shirt design will become available in my store!
  • Receive your T-shirt design on a t-shirt.
  • A $30 Coupon for my t-shirt store to get yourself some more tshirts.
  • A super rare ‘Longest Dutch Word‘ t-shirt hand printed by myself.
  • I will write you a poem/song about a topic of your choosing.
  • One of my guitar plectrums.
  • A box of chocolate ‘Crayons‘
2 more prizes

How To Enter:

Contest Closed

Make sure you sign up to my Free Newsletter as well to hear about who wins!( you get Exclusive free Mp3s in the news letter!)

You can submit as many designs as possible.  I will personally judge the t-shirt entries myself. Feel free to write a little something about your entry as well.

Your entries may be edited for printing and branding purposes.

GOOD LUCK!

UPDATE: Here are some of the entries!

Aren't these just fancy?!


Intellectual Property
  1. All submitted work must be original and not based on any pre-existing design.
  2. All Entries will become the sole property of ADAMHOEK and may be displayed publicly on ADAMHOEK web sites + merch.
Acceptance
Participation constitutes the Entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules. By participating in the Contest, the Entrant is representing and warranting that he/she has read and understood, and agrees to be bound by, these rules. Including the guides and rules referred to herein, these Official Rules constitute the entire agreement between the Entrant and ADAMHOEK in relation to the Contest. They govern the Entrant’s participation and supersede any prior or other agreements between the Entrant and ADAMHOEK and relating to the Contest.

Coppersky Interview with ADAMHOEK


Recently I had the honour to play a show with COPPERSKY. I thought they were so good, that I want to share them with you guys! Below are a few questions I asked them, along with some video and pictures…. In fact why don’t you let the video play whilst you read the article! What an experience that would be for your senses!

First up…What’s up?

A lot, we’re writing songs, recording demo’s, planning an EP, thinking about stage performance, too much to jot down in a few sentences. Oh almost forgot: we’re having fun!

What genre would you say you guys are?

We’re still finding out really. We know and feel what we are playing but putting it into words is pretty hard still as a new band. I would say that we play indie-rock even though that is way too broad. I think people can party to our music but there are also some intense melodramatic moments too haha!

Where did the name Coppersky come from?

 

There was a phrase in a song and suddenly while singing it (i wasn;t happy with the entire set of lyrics and subsequently tossed them away later) i thought it would be a really cool bandname. Everyone agreed. I think the name captures a mood more than it has a certain meaning. It’s visual if you think about it. Aside from that copper isn;t gold or silver, it’s a commonly used in a sorts of ways and it has something earthy about. Earth meets sky so to say.

How long have you been playing together?

Coppersky has been in business for less than a year now.

Do you try to bring a certain message across with your songs?

Yes but not one single message. Song topics range from the disappearances in South America under cruel regimes a couple of decades ago to a semi-autobiographical song about splitting up as a band to a song exploring a third way beyond violent revolution and doing nothing. So there are personal songs and some political/historical songs lyrics.

Are your songs based on experiences?

Yes. The aforementioned song about a band splitting up. Sometimes there is a sentence in a song that is personal like in Hero. I sing “Where did you go, when the most was at stake you left hero” in the chorus and that was actually from a time when i felt i had really left a friend of mine hanging dry. In the end the lyrics went in a totally different direction but maintained those words.

Who writes the songs and how does he write them?

 

Marty and Robert (Guitar and bass) come up with an idea. Usually a chorus and verse and some loose bits that we can use for other parts. Then we get together and jam. Everyone has a say about the shape of the song so in a way all songs are a collaborative effort. Marty and Robert are not dictators when it comes to their ideas. They present them plus there ideas and we add our own ideas. I try and sing some to get a melody and usually i
write lyrics later once the song has crystalized some more.

Do you have any exciting projects coming up?

Well we’re going to be recording a demo with a friend of ours and he is going to use it as his final project for his audio-engineer course so that’s pretty sweet. We’ll keep you posted once we have a facebook, twitter myspace and the whole shoolapallooza. We do have an email adress: and we have a twitter account too: @copperskymusic  but you can add us if you want to. We’ll get active somewhere in the fall I think.

What’s your favorite icecream flavor?

Hard to choose. Melon, banana, strawberry. Just plain vanilla is the best sometimes. That sounds cool: “just plain vanilla” maybe that sums up our music haha!