BROKE: Why are you in Korea?
ADAM: To take photographs and play music. Eerything else is pretty much secondary.

BROKE: Where are you from? What was the scene like there and what did you do?
ADAM: My hometown is based in Atlanta, Georgia in the U.S. I’ve been to a lot of different places, and have been traveling around since I was born. I’ve lived in a lot of different countries, and have been a part of a lot of different scenes. They’ve all been similar in a way. Some places are very cookie-cutter to the point where if you don’t fit a mold, things will not go very well for you. Then there were places in which diversity is promoted in the sense that it doesn’t matter who you are so much, as long as you’re down. It’s almost like going to a new school; where either you don’t know anybody, or you do, and you’re immediately have that comfort. I’ve played in a lot of bands since I was very young. The first band was ever in was a hardcore band in which played drums. After years of serving different positions in bands; from bass player, to guitarist, to singer, to roadie, to merch guy, to some guy we don‘t know anymore; I got tired of dealing with other people, and started making music on my own. Atlanta is diverse, and a fun place to be; but there seems to be this mentality, as in a lot of places, where people have to hang with their own tribes only sometimes. I don’t really like that at all. Personally, I believe that any separation like that promotes discrimination, which promotes drama and even violence. I love it out there, and there is definitely a lot going on everyday, but there can come a point where the drama becomes too much. One reason why it’s referred to as “Hate City”. Everybody seems to come together whenever a band like Agnostic Front comes to town. A lot of the discrimination seems to decrease for a while. It has it’s ups and downs in a lot of ways, as all places do. Some of us like to break through that stuff, and do what we please. That’s when we have the most fun. It gets to the point where we can walk into any joint, and be completely at home, even if Lil’ Jon & the Eastside Boys are playing. We all get along great, and we don’t have that whole rockstar mentality. So yeah, I love it, but am contemplating at the moment, whether to go back when I leave here, or not.

BROKE: It took you a while to come out to Hongdae, but now you come almost every weekend. Why did it take you so long, and what do you think of the scene now?
ADAM: Two main things. I didn’t understand quite how to navigate the train system. I also wanted to see what Daegu had to offer before I would take a voyage up to Seoul. It usually doesn’t take my that long to adjust to a new environment. Eventually, I wanted something more than what I saw in Daegu. I pretty much live here 3 days out of the week, and squat wherever I find a place. That becomes habitual when you’ve been ridiculously broke, in the boy scouts, the military, and even homeless (but not looking the part). I love it out here.

BROKE: What sort of stuff do you do, and what are you planning to contribute to the scene?
ADAM: I do a lot, I think. I try to keep myself as busy as possible with things I enjoy. I do photography. That takes up a great deal of my time during the work week. The benefits are great though. I also DJ from time to time. That basically started by living in places where there was not a whole lot of music, or places to go to hear, and dance to good music. Primarily, I’m a musician. I play the guitar, the bass, the drums, and I sing a good bit as well. Mariachi I suppose. It’s what I love to do the most. Music has always been number 1. Rebel music mostly. From punk, reggae, beat, and nearly everything that spawned from that. I like to share my talents from time to time. I don’t necessarily feel obligated to contribute for any reason, I just want to share what I do. It has nothing to do with wanting to be a part of something necessarily. I went through life either not wanting to be a part of anything, or being kicked out of something. It’s repeated so many times. This is my culture, and my entire life. That’s what it’s based around. I want to share those similarities with others. Whether I’m accepted or not, I just do what I do. A lot of art, talent, and good times are to be a good contribution, but not an obligation for me. I’d rather not show up, look pretty, and perhaps run off at the mouth here and there. That’s just taking up space.

BROKE: Is a DJ a performer? What are your DJ shows like?
ADAM: My performances are pretty much me, any equipment I may be working with. Basically I just go with what I feel at the moment. I’m very passionate, and enjoy what I do a great deal; and I suppose that reflects in my performances. I don’t like to stand around as if I don’t like what I’m doing, or as if I’m hard at work, concentrating on what I have to do. gets pretty crazy when people feel what I feel. When I connect with someone, that makes even more enjoyable. That’s something I like to spread to anyone that has some kind of interest in music. I don’t like to feel like I’m at work, when I’m at work on the weekend, especially the evening. The dancing, smiling, laughing, sweating, etc. Most things that people go out and do can be done in the privacy of our homes. There’s no point in being out public if you’re going to do the simple things that can be done in your living room. I don’t understand the concept of sitting somewhere on Saturday night. I have to stay occupied with something fun. My performance collection is primarily songs from the 1908’s/New- Wave/Punk/DancePop, among other things. That was the music I grew up with. It was playing in the car, and in the house when I was a baby, and has been a big part of my life. That music, 60’s soul, and reggae was always around when I was a lot younger. It takes me back to a much happier time. I guess it was my parent’s fault for instilling that in me unintentionally.

BROKE: Who influences you?
ADAM: This is gonna sound cheesy as all hell, but LIFE is my influence. Moments, experiences, and art influence me a lot more than any person would. Well, I suppose people who stand up for what they believe in; which is really typical to say. It’s different if you’ve been in somewhat of an underdog position in life. I could go on about things that seem unfair to me today. There are things out there that still aren’t accepted on a social and societal level as far as we’ve come. People who break through those barriers, and defy stereotypes then. That’s one of the things that drew me to Punk Rock at a very early age. There’s nothing cool about being who, or what, we are. Nearly every aspect of my life is like that mostly because of the skin that I’m in, and how I go about doing things naturally. If I had to name some people, I guess it could be some in which I share a lot of similarities with. James Dean, Debbie Harry, Mike Ness, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglass Rushkoff. Probably Morrissey of all of the ones I just pulled out. He’s probably the only person in the whole world I would be struck if I met him. It’s like meeting a version of myself that I actually admire, and wouldn’t want to kick the snot out of.

BROKE: Tell me about your photography. Initially started as a way to capture moments throughout the past few years. I’ve gone through live seeing a lot of things, going to a lot of places, and meeting a lot of great people; but all I usually have left from it is a memory. The best thing, I believe, that you can show from all of that is a photograph. It can capture any moment. They’re special to me. It can be a memory of a moment, or a work of art. I think of them as both. I started as just a shutterbug. I took as many photos as possible. I travel a lot. I go on a lot of tours, I go to a lot of shows and events. I really believe that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. I went from somebody who took a lot of pictures, and gave them to people, to someone who started making art. It expresses so much. When I work, I capture a lot. That can be seen in a lot of my work.

BROKE: Most people have never met a skinhead who doesn’t drink, let alone a black skinhead. Do you get a lot of strange reactions? How do you get treated in Korea?
ADAM: I’ve been getting strange reactions for over half my life, for just being... around. When I was younger, I was severely picked on for nearly every aspect of my personality, and my being in general. When it came to the kind of music I liked, even though I like a lot of different forms of music, just having a diverse taste was disturbingly unusual. I’m a musician, and am open to a lot of forms of music. People don’t expect that out of me right off. When I got into my pre-teens, I got picked on for being a vegetarian. I’ve been a vegetarian for 10 years. I was around a lot of people who couldn’t really think for themselves. They had this Forrest Gump mentality, as I describe it, to just do whatever, and not think about much at all. That may be fine for them, but I prefer to have control of all the aspects of my life. I’ve always been that way. Finding out about, and being Straight-Edge was very fitting for me, and still is. There is no effort in doing any of this. The things I do have become second nature. As the years have gone by, people have gotten more confused about that whole deal. I have so man preconceptions that are brought about whenever I’m around. No one really seems to care to get to know me all that thoroughly. It’s one thing, then another, and so on. What they see, what they hear, and what little they may know. It went from not eating meat, to not smoking, to not drinking as I grew older. Some may think that I also one who does not have any kind of sex, and kick the crap out of people that don’t do as I do. I can see how people can get that misconception. I don’t really fight unless I have to, and sex isn’t all that important. Drinking seems like such a civilian practice to me; as if it’s required for something. A normalcy for everyone. I never quite understood that. I’ve never gotten into it at all. It seemed like something that was very typical in a lot of modern societies, where you have to do it; and everybody does. I don’t agree with a lot of things that go on. I’ve always asked why things are the way they are. If I didn’t understand it, or if it didn’t make any sense to me, I didn’t go along with it. It’s like perpetuating a stereotype. Real men do this, or this is the Skinhead thing to do, or straight guys are pigs. He’s this, so he must do this; or if he doesn’t do this, he’s not that. It’s shit to me, really. It doesn’t serve a whole lot of importance with me at all. In Korea, it’s just a bit different. As a vegetarian, it can be difficult to find Korean food for me. A lot of food here, and around this region, is flavored with fish. It can be very strange because I don’t drink alcohol at all. A lot of my Korean, and Western colleagues alike, think that it’s very strange to be so different. I don’t care, really. I’ve grown pretty used to shocking and scaring people without doing anything at all, so new obstacles aren’t that unusual for me.