Interview with Adam Bevel of Arkham

Today, I got a chance to ask Adam, vocalist of Chicago based melodic hardcore/punk band Arkham, a few questions, we got a chance to speak about his music, DIY, using Arkham as a platform for pertinent issues, the response to the record, advice for touring bands, and old music



PB- So who does what in the band? 

Adam- I handle the vocal duties, popularly referred to by one youtube commenter as “the lead talker”. Charlie and Matt play guitar, Jack plays the lesser guitar. Andrew makes it difficult for us to talk to each other during practice. PB- How has the response been to The Great American Goodbye

Adam- It’s been pretty unreal and humbling. We kinda went from this dinky little band, basically doing stuff for our friends and a microcosm of our local scene, to this thing that’s getting exponentially more attention. I got a text one morning from a high school friend’s mom that we were in the Chicago tribune. Our picture was in a news paper I read daily. All of a sudden I’m sending CD’s and shirts to Europe, Australia, and South America. All of a sudden it just wasn’t the five of us caring about it, and that’s still very strange to me. On a more personal level, I feel like this is the first release we’ve had that’s really resonated with an audience, where people “get” what we’re doing and trying to say, and that’s by far been the most rewarding part of this for me. PB- Have you been able to use Arkham as a platform for something more than just your creativity?

Adam- I’d like to think so. At the center of this band has always been a desire to speak about sociopolitical ideology, we’ve wanted to stand for something larger than just punk or hardcore or alternative music. I want to hope that maybe us doing what we do, talking about what we talk about has at least caused somebody to think about the world in a larger context than simply themselves and their viewpoint, but I guess there’s no way to be sure. Over the past 4 years, between benefit shows, shirts, compilations, and singles we’ve been able to raise roughly $10,000 for various organizations and causes, so I’d like to think that maybe somebody somewhere is having a better go of things because of us screaming in basements.

PB- What does local DIY music mean to you

Adam- It means everything to me, it is the lens through which I see all of this. I spent my high school years packing in basements to see bands like Yeni Raki, Vacation Bible School, Dr. Manhattan and Sass Dragons. Growing up in our Chicago suburb, there wasn’t really a scene, especially not for younger bands. There was no youth center to play, if there was a house show it was being played by older bands, so young bands had a hard time breaking in. Outside of a yearly park district battle of the bands (which had more bands apply than spots), there was really no way to break into the music scene. It became very obvious that if we wanted to make art, we were on our own. I remember being 16 and going from store to store, coffee shop to coffee shop, with Charlie in our town trying to convince owners to let us put on shows. Eventually we found a place and would start packing it with 150 kids . We’d find kids with big houses and beg them to let us put shows on in there garage. Eventually we made this pretty cool scene in our area because of all the groundwork myself and some others had done. Every show became a fest and we’d put like 10 bands on just so everybody could play, part of the reason I got out of booking is that I hated saying no to kids. So there has always been this reality for me, with art and music, that if I want to create this, I also have to create the apparatus by which it is spread. That creating is not simply enough, I have to fight to put it out there. Punk wasn’t something I joined, it was something I created, at least in the local sense. I think that has given us an advantage over these past years, understanding that nobody is going to care about what we do more than we do, and that if there isn’t an existing way to do something, we can make our own.

PB-If you could bring one band back for a one off show, who would it be?

Adam- If I have necromancer powers for this hypothetical, I think it’d be sweet to play with a Freddy Mercury fronted Queen. ! !
   To be honest I’m not really into the whole reunion scene, as a concert goer, or a band playing. When I was thinking through answers for this, I came up with My Chem, Rage Against the Machine, and Thursday, but the more I thought about it, I think I would much rather play with Rage in ’97 or My Chem/Thursday in ’04/’05 than now, even though the shows would likely be bigger. There’s something to be said about the enjoyment of art in the moment it is released, rather than basking in the glow of nostalgia. PB-What is next for Arkham

Adam- World Domination ! ! We’re all finishing up college right now, so come June we’re gonna hit it full stride. We’re working on new music as well as some tours. This is gonna go from the part time thing it has been for the past few years, to a full time thing. PB- If you could give advice to any band looking to tour, what would it be?

Adam- Just be cautious, take baby steps. There’s this tendency to go “well these bands that I like do these month long cross US tours, so that’s what we’re gonna do.” and go all out. It’s not until you’re out for 2 weeks DIY that you realize how much work and how many people go into “real” tours. Just start small, do a weekend here and there, then a week and so on. We bit off more than we could chew our first tour, and it crippled us financially and morale wise for a long time. Absolutely be ambitious, just be careful not to run before you crawl. Also this seems like common sense, but more and more I feel like it needs to be said: be fucking nice to the people, promoters, and bands you’re playing with. You won’t believe how many horror stories I’ve heard and witnessed by people who open up their scene to outsiders. You’re a guest, act like it. You don’t need laminates, you do need a spare tire.

PB- Any shoutouts?

Adam- Shout out to my jeweler.