What are your names?
Julie Adams and Michael Costello
What is the bands name?
Adams & Costello
How did you come up with the bands name?
Our birth certificates. We decided to use our last names because it fits our vibe…it’s also a play on the old comedy duo Abbott & Costello and we couldn’t resist.
What is your genre of music?
Whatever you guys like…Just kidding. Our sound is a blend of influences from Americana, Blues, Rock, and Soul. It’s a bit of a sultry velvet hammer.
Give us a little bio about you.
BIO:
West Coaster Julie Adams meets Native New Englander Michael Costello in this synergistic guitar and vocal duo. A real life couple whose musical journey commenced after meeting at a Lucinda Williams concert, the pair unite their mutual love for blues rock on their sophomore album One by One. Currently based in Oregon, Adams & Costello record together regularly, offering a unique blend of visceral songwriting and soulful performing. Both grew up cherishing rock, americana, and blues, and have been musically active since they were in grade school. Prior to forming the duo, Michael Costello played in a band called Razor’s Edge, and his extraordinary guitar playing helped the group open for Jimmy Cliff. Beginning as a long distance couple exchanging creative ideas, Adams & Costello quickly realized that romantic chemistry was not the only thing they shared. Ultimately, the creative process of Adams & Costello runs primarily on the mutual love and respect the duo have for each other. Combining Costello’s passion for roots music along with Adams’ strong draw to driving rhythms, this pair creates a unique sound that comes alive during their performances. Their captivating sound and onstage swagger turned the heads of two music industry veterans Bret Levick and Jim Chapdelaine, who produced and mastered One by One, respectively. The latter of which mastered tracks for blues-rock staples such as Rickie Lee Jones, The Smithereens, and Cowboy Junkees. Though a great deal of conception for the album came about remotely, the impactful sounds and meanings still hold strong.
What made you go into music?
Since we were children, music has been a huge part of our lives, and we both dreamt of writing, playing, singing, and performing on stages as adults.
Who are your influences?
Allman Brothers, Lucinda Williams, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, Nathaniel Rateliff, Chrissy Hynde, Van Morrison, John Lennon, Susan Tedeschi and many more
Are you a signed artist?
No.
You released your self-released sophomore album ‘One By One’ , tell us more about the album and the meaning behind the album.
So the press release about the album is below… But just to speak freely about the album….its a collection of songs that were recorded in an extremely difficult time, during the pandemic. It meant so much to us to be able to finish it. We had to do the whole thing long distance. The meaning of this album is about survival, the human condition and all the complex emotions that revolve around love, relationships, loss, etc. and overcoming obstacles to be able to find and use our voice freely without apology. Its written about those deep human we all experience at one time or another.
Full Press Release
Describe each track in two words.
Trouble: chill blues
Blame it On the Rain: oregon coast
Telephone: sultry latin
Worry About You: nostalgic tragedy
Wash These Sins: sassy americana
Beans & Rice: yummy treat
Save Me From Myself: vibey goove
Crueler than Blue: heavy loss
One by One: driving raw, driving You’re the
Only One: love song
What was the writing and recording process like?
Writing: We each wrote 5 songs. Usually we each write the bones of a song, and then bring that to the other person for additions, ideas.
Recording: We recorded our guitar and vocal takes in our rustic surf shacK then sent them to Bret (producer)… he would then add tracks and send back. We worked like this trading tracks back and forth until the songs felt complete. We were scheduled to start recording in April of 2020, but of course the world had other plans. It took a lot longer doing it this way, but we’re grateful to be finished
Who did you work with on the album?
Producer and mixing: Bret Levick Mastering: Jim Chapdelane.
Will we see a music videos for any of the tracks and if so tell us what we can expect from the creative process and inspiration behind them.
There are 2 music videos on Youtube now for “Trouble” and “Worry About You” that were released both as singles before the full album. We are putting out another video later this month for “Telephone”
“Trouble” video: the creative process for this video centers around telling the story of how we met when we lived on opposite coasts; Julie in Oregon, and Michael in Boston. We met in Boston at a Lucinda Williams show, and the song really describes that initial meeting, the rush one feels when stepping toward such a magnetic powerful attraction, and the anxiety of realizing how far apart we lived from each other. In the video we showcase a road sign for Highway 20 which is the longest road in the US that runs direct from Oregon to Boston with signs on both ends of the road, showing the distance. There is footage of both signs, the one in Oregon, and the one in Boston… Its symbolic of the obstacles we overcame to be together.
“Worry About You”: the idea behind this video was to take the focus off of us, and onto the world’s issues. The song is about the circle of life, love, loss, change, and how we end up taking care of those who took care of us. It’s about those we worry about, which can sometimes be strangers, or the world at large. For the video we focused on scenes that show the issues of homelessness, street life, gun violence, climate change. Things we all walk by every day, but we just wanted to bring it to the forefront through this video.
Do you have any live shows coming up?
Just finished a run of shows, planning ahead for the next ones.
What else can we expect in late 2023?
More shows. Another video for a track from this album.
We’re also writing and in prep stages for the next album after this one.
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Wherever this can take us….Touring, traveling the world, performing, recording, connecting with audiences, sharing our music with more and more people…bigger stages, and working with some amazing and talented folks.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
A few quotes off the top of our heads…
“Don’t let the bastards get us down”
“Remember to keep it fun”
“Let’s call Lucille on this one”
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Facebook
Instagram
Website
