We are proud to announce our 3rd Annual Ride for Reading Benefit Concert brought to you by New Belgium Brewing featuring singer song writers Adam Hood and Sean McConnell on February 25, 2012 at 3rd and Lindsley at 6:00pm.  Last years show was a sell out and we anticipate …this year will be the same!  You can get your tickets at www.3rdandlindsley.com!

 

 When Adam Hood was asked if he has a personal motto, he answered “Do what you love and love what you do.” Such a simple declaration sounds more like a cliché slogan from a motivational speaker than an actual way of life. How lucky is the man who is actually able to live by this credo? Think it is an impossible dream? Think again. This is the life of songwriter and artist Adam Hood. Such a lofty pursuit does not come easy. Forging a successful career in music can be challenging and has been hard earned for Adam. His journey, beginning with his early years growing up in Opelika, Alabama, to a fateful encounter with country music powerhouse Miranda Lambert, ended up taking him right where he was meant to be..

 

As a young man, this son of a corporate forester spent nearly 10 years in Alabama, working a “real job” surveying land and occasionally delivering arrangements for his mother’s flower shop, all the while honing his craft as a writer and performer, using his day job as a means to support and develop his musical recordings. In 2001 upon the release of a self-produced and financed live album, 21 To Enter, he gave up working this “real job” and hit the road touring to support the record bringing along just his guitar. After a couple of years out of the road, 2003 brought the release of his first EP, 6th Street, which quickly earned attention and critical acclaim.

 

While performing at a club in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2004, Adam received his first big break when he had a chance encounter with producer Pete Anderson. Anderson watched Adam’s entire set that night and was immediately impressed with his rich, soulful voice and earnest songwriting. This proved to be a pivotal encounter in Adam’s development as a writer/artist with it leading to an invitation to join Anderson in LA for some creative collaboration. Adam spent the next two years making trips to the West Coast to write the material for what would become the album, A Different Groove, produced by Anderson and released in March of 2007.

 

The release of A Different Groove led to another fateful night, but this time at Tavern on the Gruene in Gruene, TX where Adam was appearing on Ray Wiley Hubbard’s weekly radio show on KNBT. That very night, recording artist Miranda Lambert and her mother were driving through town when their car broke down. Deciding to grab a sandwich and a beer while they sorted out their transportation problems, they caught most of Adam’s set. Miranda was impressed. So much so that she introduced herself to Adam, later asking him to open a string of shows. One of these shows was at Joe’s Bar in Chicago, where she introduced him to her producer, Carnival Music partner Frank Liddell, who signed Adam as writer to Carnival Music Publishing and to their record label as an artist.

 

One of the many talents displayed on his recordings is a voice that is rich and uniquely expressive. But it doesn’t end there. His songwriting abilities have garnered an equal amount of attention and his songs have been covered by some of the most successful artists in the genre. His newest offering is The Shape of Things, released in October 2011. The album is a collection of new material that Adam has been writing and recording over the past couple of years during breaks in his touring schedule. The album contains eleven songs penned or co-penned by Adam. Earlier in 2011, he appeared on Willie Nelson’s Country Throwdown tour. A self-titled EP was released in May 2011 to coincide with the tour. Co-written with Jason Saenz, “Flame And Gasoline” was the leadoff single from the new album. It is a great example of Adam’s exemplary writing style and unique vocals. “Jason came to me with the title” says Adam, “and we sat down to write about that relationship everyone has been in where you can’t be together, but you can’t be apart either. There’s a truth in the lyrics that I think we can all relate to.” “Hell of a Fight” is the follow-up single released to radio in October 2011.

 

 

Growing up in the coffee houses of the Boston folk scene, Sean watched his parents playing songs written by Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, David Wilcox, Shawn Colvin, Harry Chapin, CSNY, James Taylor and others of the like. Unknown to himself or his parents, Sean was soaking it all in and locking it away somewhere inside.

Fast forward pass the moments where Sean would sneak in to his parents room and steal his fathers guitar from under their bed, pass the bloody, tired fingers, pass the awkward fledgling songs trying to take flight, pass the years of teeth cutting open mikes and coffee houses, pass the 7 independent record releases, pass the countless band auditions, pass the last few years of full time touring, and find Sean where he is now, driving to another show in his 200,000 mile old van.

Now, an artist in his own right, Sean travels the states performing his own style of music that he describes as “Lyric Driven Roots Rock with Soul.” A live Sean McConnell show is truly a dynamic experience. One moment reckless rock, and the next an intimate acoustic pin drop moment. While most of his performances these days are backed by his four piece band, you can sometimes find him by himself on a stool with a guitar getting back to the basics. “In whatever case”, McConnell says, “It’s all about the song. That never changes. It always starts with an acoustic guitar and a notepad. The lyrics are the point. The story is central.”

These days, Sean finds a lot of his time spent touring Texas where he has truly been adopted into the “Red Dirt” scene.  Last year he took home the “Emerging Artist” award from Lone Star Music Awards.
The Songwriter:
As well as being an artist, Sean also boasts a successful songwriting career. After signing a publishing deal right out of college with Warner/Chappell Publishing, His songs have been recorded by such artists as the Plain White T’s, Jason Castro, Phil Stacey, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, the Randy Rogers Band, Wade Bowen, The Eli Young Band, David Nail, Julianne Hough, Jimmy Wayne, and many others. Whether in his Nashville home, in a hotel room, or in the back of his van, Sean is always writing.
The Heart Of My Music (In his own words) “For me it’s all about the SONG. I remember watching my father sitting at our dining room table for hours and hours with his pencil and pad crafting his songs; spending the time to find the perfect word, the perfect chord, the perfect melody. That really made an impression on me. When I write a song it really is a kind of science, an operation; but it isn’t mathematical or calculated, it is alive and breathing and moving. At the risk of sounding like a hippie on a soapbox, music is still powerful and holy and sacred to me. You can turn it into a product and a business, but you can’t start it that way. To me the genesis of a song has to be honest and unassuming. I truly believe that God hands me these gifts and it is my job to translate them as honestly as I can. You have to let a song be what it is. We can’t lose that. When I write songs, I like to focus on the fact that we are all the same and we are all just searching for answers and trying to make sense of everything. It’s about exploring life and celebrating truth when you find it”.