Written by: Tara Thompson

Adam Baxter spends most of his year teaching music to students in Central Newfoundland, but his current focus is on releasing his brand new album, Clean Hands. With its official release party at the Ship tonight, Adam took a few minutes to have a chat with us about the album. 

Rock Eden: You’ve been playing music for quite a while but this is your first full-length album, is there a reason why it took this long to come out? 
Adam Baxter: This is my first full length, full band studio album. All my albums before were recorded in my home studio where I played all the instruments and did all the engineering/mastering myself. The reason why it took so long for me to make this happen is because I've never been in a financial position to afford a fully produced album in a real recording studio. Dean Stairs at the Citadel House signed me to his label and they took care of the financing. 

RE: Where does the album title, Clean Hands, come from? 
AB: The title Clean Hands is symbolic to me seeing this album as a new beginning to my career. I have washed my hands of my past professional mistakes and have a wide open horizon that is my musical future. 

RE: Between guest vocalists and other musicians, you had several guests come in on this album. Who were some of the people that worked on the album with you? 
AB: I had a great performance team on board that spanned the majority of the island for this record. I had: 

Jason Howard (CBS) - Percussion 
Jordan Young (St. John's) - Bass 
Paul Heppleston (Pasadena) - Lead/Ambient textural guitar 
John Ennis (Grand Falls) - Backing Vocals 
Jerry Stamp (St. John's) - Backing Vocals 
Sarah Hillier (Springdale) - Backing Vocals 
Laura Belbin (Lewisporte) - Backing Vocals (Also a grade 11 student of mine) 

RE: The song "Comin’ Back For Ya" is a few years old now, what made you decide to put it on the album? 
AB: I decided to re-record "Comin' Back For Ya" because I wanted to see how the song would sound after being recorded in a studio. I think the song deserved to be a part of this new beginning. 

RE: The official album release show is today at The Ship in St. John’s, what are you most excited for at that show? Do you have any song in particular that you’re excited to play? 
AB: I am so pumped to play the CD release at The Ship in St. John's. Why? Because I get to share the stage with some of my closest friends. It is seriously the best time ever. I'm also so excited to play with Dame Nature and the Long Distance Runners. Dame Nature is my favourite band in Newfoundland and the Runners are a band who I really love and respect for their music and their approach to the music industry. As for songs, I think I am most excited to play "This Love". We usually milk the guts out of the intro and chant something weird. For the longest time, we chanted "Chicken Fries" over and over. One time in Corner Brook we had over 200 people screaming "Chicken fries" for about 8 minutes. 

RE: You did some pre-orders with pretty interesting perks, specifically custom made YYT soaps and you making the recipient breakfast at their house. How did you come up with all of the different perks? 
AB: Dean Stairs and I came up with the online store items. We had many brainstorming meetings regarding this. I love making breakfast and pride myself in how awesome it is (seriously, I challenge anyone to a french toast making competition). The soaps were a no brainer for us because it falls into the Clean Hands theme so easily (That and Carly does incredible work). I believe we also offered hockey cards as an incentive and that is because I have hundreds of thousands of hockey cards and thought I could share the wealth. 

RE: When can people expect to see Adam Baxter play in their city? 
AB: When can you expect me to play in your town? Whenever you want me there, my schedule is currently wide open and I am hungry to get behind a microphone and sing my brains out. 

You can head down to The Ship tonight to celebrate the release of Clean Hands with Adam and his best friends. Dame Nature and The Long Distance Runners are on the bill as well so it’s sure to be a good time.

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