studio • vocals • keyboards • guitar • production • custom recording/songwriting • drum sessions by mail • vocal arrangements

Adam Marsland's webpage for sideman and session work...

Adam (rear) onstage backing Julia Fordham with the most recorded musician of all time, Hal Blaine, on drums, Summer 2008. Right: Summer 2009 photo.

adam marsland music services:

"Watch out for this guy. He's scary." -- Don Randi (Wrecking Crew and Elvis Presley alumnus)

Through the course of 20 years of playing music, there is hardly any job connected to playing, recording or promoting music that I haven't learned how to do. From an early age, I learned: if you want it done right, do it yourself and learn from the best.

Allmusic.com said of me: "there's little he can't do, and do well." And, well, it's true. I can play all the basic rock instruments, sing lead and do complex harmony vocals, produce, engineer, write, and I even know how to run a record label. I can arrange and music direct for large bands doing complex arrangements. And I can do it all breathtakingly fast. I'll make it fun, too...and I'll help you be the best that you can be, just as I was mentored by some of the best people in the business. I'm not about making you do it my way. I'm about making YOUR way work as well as it can.

Yes, there are plenty of people in Los Angeles that are better than me at any one thing that I do. But when it comes to being a one-stop musical resource, I am one of the best there is. And after a long career (and 10 albums) doing my own thing, now I am helping other people do their thing.

karma frog studios

I have a fully functioning recording studio in my house. The amenities are bare bones; you don't pay for nice couches or racks of limiters. What you get is my abilities as an arranger, producer, engineer and critical ear, some good mics, and access to as many classic guitar, percussion and keyboard sounds as you could ever want. I even can record drums. No programming happens here. It's all old school.

Karma Frog Studios is available to rent for $185/day (8 hour block), $25/hour otherwise. This includes my services as engineer and studio musician if required. One of the best values in Los Angeles. Listen to some of my work here.

songs for hire

I also have a "custom song service" where I can record a fully-produced song to your specifications for a $400 flat rate. This can be almost any kind of project, including finishing and recording song ideas you provide. Certain restrictions apply; e-mail me for details.

keyboards

Onstage, my specialty is the ability to manage several different parts at the same time, and getting the right sounds. For most gigs, I rock a three keyboard setup: piano, organ (Korg CX-3, one of the best Hammond modelers there is) and synth (Korg Triton).

Need real vintage sounds? Got 'em. I also own a Wurlizer, a Farfisa compact organ and a Hohner Clavinet D-6, along with Emu's vintage pro module, which has hundreds of samples of classic synths from the '70s and '80s.

My rates for sessions by mail: $100/song. My rate for live work is on a sliding scale, depending on various factors, starting at $100/gig.

vocals

My vocal range is three octaves. One of my regular sessions is for a producer where I walk in, cold, and lay down background vocals for two songs in four hours -- three to five parts, double tracked, all the way through the song. When it comes to credits, I've arranged harmonies for members of the Beach Boys. If you need rich harmony vocals for your recording or live project, you will find few people with more expertise and ability than me.

As a lead vocalist, I can do almost any kind of song. I have a rich baritone, soulful tenor and strong falsetto. I can do punk rock, pop or smooth soul with equal precision. One of my current gigs is as one of the lead vocalists for the legendary garage band The Standells.

Rates vary according to project. E-mail for details.

guitar/bass

I don't believe in shredding. I believe in playing the right chords, doing solos that serve a purpose, and articulating the notes. My main axe is a Fender Telecaster; I also rock with two custom-made Phantom guitars (6 and 12 string), a gorgeous Alvarez 12-string acoustic, and several other secondary guitars, plus a custom pedal board that will yield the best vintage sounds. I play bass, too.

My rates for sessions by mail: $100/song. My rate for live work is on a sliding scale, depending on various factors, starting at $100/gig.

drums

Again, I believe that drums are the foundation to a song and a recording. When I do tracks for a record, I'm focused around playing to the song and making sure the groove is tight and clean. I'm also keenly aware that drum tracks, besides vocals, are the most time-consuming to edit in digital recording, and that the key to a great final mix is a solid drum track.

I offer inexpensive drum sessions by mail: $500 for 5 songs, which includes studio time (and great drum sounds!), session drumming, and any required editing.

music direction - see the big picture.

I've got extensive experience arranging bands live and in-studio, up to 10 pieces at once. Check out this live youtube video for my arrangement and my band's performance of Dennis Wilson's complex, operatic "River Song" and you'll see what I mean.

A recent music direction gig was for the Carl Wilson Foundation event with Beach Boys Al Jardine and David Marks, Carnie and Wendy Wilson, and others. Video of this is also on youtube. Check out this performance (and my arrangement) of the Beach Boys' "Full Sail" by Carnie and Wendy Wilson.

songwriting - versatility.

My BMI records list more than 100 copyrights, with kudos from the New York Press, Time Out-NY, the LA Weekly, Alternative Press, and countless others. I'm able to write on demand and come up with good material, quickly...in whatever genre, whether it's just a good hook, an instrumental score or a fully realized song.

bottom line

If you need something done musicially, I can do it. And if I can't, I know someone who can.

references

Below is a partial list of people I have performed onstage or in studio with at one time or another:

Davie Allan
The Andersons
Derrick Anderson (Bangles)
Chuck Berghofer
Marty Beller (Ivy)
Joe Berardi
Cindy Lee Berryhill
Gary Black (Four Seasons)
Hal Blaine (Wrecking Crew)
Adrian Bourgeois
Alan Boyd
Nelson Bragg (Brian Wilson)
Shawn Bryant
Carl Byron
Anny Celsi
Jerry Cole (Wrecking Crew)
Paul Collins
Counting Crows
Michael des Barres
Mark Doten
The Droppers
Carolyn Edwards
Jon E. Edwards
Adam Exler
Extra
Bobby Figueroa (Beach Boys/Brian Wilson)
Julia Fordham
Good Vibrations (Beach Boys Tribute)
Gary Griffin (Beach Boys/Brian Wilson)
Probyn Gregory (Brian Wilson)
Pete Ham (posthumously, lead singer of Badfinger)
Al Jardine (Beach Boys)
Billy Hinsche (Beach Boys/Brian Wilson)
The Honeys
The Icons Band
Susan James
Dan Janisch
Kjehl Johanson (Urinals)
Severo Jornacion (Smithereens)
Bill Korecky (Mushroomhead)
Paul Lacques (Bonedaddies, I See Hawks In L.A.)
Martin Luther Lennon
Earle Mankey (Sparks, Concrete Blonde)
David Marks (Beach Boys)
Craig McIntyre (Josh Groban)
Jeff Merchant
Rich McCulley
Eddie Munoz (Plimsouls)
Kaz Murphy
Brent Muskat (Faster Pussycat)
Lisa Mychols
Toby Myers (John Cougar Mellencamp)
The Negro Problem
New Maximum Donkey
Joe Nolte (The Last)
Paranoid Lovesick
Taras Prodaniuk (Dwight Yoakum, Lucinda Williams)
Don Randi (Elvis Presley, Wrecking Crew)
Stan Ridgway
Evie Sands
The Shells
The Standells
Sara Stanley
Jon Skibic (Gigolo Aunts)
Joe Skyward (Posies)
Stew (2008 Tony Award Winner)
Surfin' Safari (Beach Boys Tribute)
Matthew Sweet
Brian Whelan
Brian Wilson
Carnie Wilson
Wendy Wilson
Wondermints
Brian Young (Fountains of Wayne)

contact info

Let's talk about your project! e-mail me.