Trampoline

One acoustic guitar, a funny last name, and picnic basket full of sweet, sweet vocal melodies.

It was nearly four years ago, armed with only these three items, when singer-songwriter Adam Ruskowitz embarked on his solo music adventure. Hailing from beautiful Kansas City, Kansas, Adam honed his musical chops in several basement punk rock bands, most notably the punk-pop trio Scout. As so often happens, just as the band was beginning to make a name for itself, the members drifted apart and went their separate ways.

Adam was left with an albums worth of material he had written but no band with which to develop it. With no other options, he decided to embark on a solo-acoustic experiment. He took the 10 songs which were to become Scout’s second album and stripped them down and headed for the recording studio. With the help of studio extraordinaire Greg Conchola of Digitex Studios, a marathon recording session was held in which Adam laid down 10 tracks in two days. The result was a collection of songs which were raw, scrappy, and immensely likeable. It was slightly folksy acoustic pop infused with punk-rock sensibilities. Titled “Hammock” after the laid back nature of the content, the CD was released in August 2004 and was instantly embraced within the Kansas City music scene. Riding the success of the release, Adam went on to play shows at the legendary Bottleneck in Lawrence, KS, appear live on 105.9 The Lazer, and even receive an invitation to perform at the annual Wakarusa music festival.

As the hammock slowly stopped swinging, Adam briefly considered recording a follow-up album in a similar loveable yet hasty fashion, but ultimately decided against it. Instead, he decided to take a break from music for a while, marrying his high-school sweetheart and graduating from the University of Kansas along the way. All the while he would partake in sporadic recording sessions to satisfy the plethora of new material constantly swirling around in his head. Over time a new album did begin to develop, but it was only in early 2008 that Adam began to get serious about this new recording. Hitting the studio with renewed energy and a newfound attention to detail, the follow-up to Hammock finally began to take shape in earnest.

What finally came of these sessions was a new album full of more catchy melodies, fuller and most lush vocal harmonies, and a few new stylistic departures. The album is called Boxed Wine and Bottle Rockets in honor of two of Adam’s favorite things. Like a more polished version of its predecessor, the acoustic indie-pop tracks on Boxed Wine and Bottle Rockets will have you tapping your feet and humming the irresistible choruses immediately.

And so this is where the story stands now. Many questions remain to be answered. Will Adam and his musical collaborator(also named Adam) be able to take the Kansas City music scene by storm again with their unique acoustic live shows? What dark secrets are to be unraveled from the ominous riddle of the Crazy 8’s? And what of Adam’s un-healthy obsession with the legendary yet elusive polka band, Six-Toe Ted and the Holy Cows?

Only time will bring us answers to these queries, but the bottom-line remains the same. You may not be able to pronounce his last name, but you will almost certainly enjoy his music...

Boxed Wine and Bottle Rockets is here.