Adam Ezra Talks Shows, Charity, New Release

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By Steve Miller

Adam Ezra wants you to have fun. If you come to see his band, the Adam Ezra Group, he wants you to feel like you are a part of a family. "We kind of try to break down the barrier between performer and audience," said the Boston based roots rocker in a phone interview with BMN. "But essentially, I believe that there is no such thing as that barrier."

The enthusiastic singer-songwriter stressed the importance of the communal nature of a live performance. He said artists should perform for or with an audience, not just at them.

"I've been to concerts where musicians have started an hour and a half late and never said anything, or musicians didn't want to have the stage lights on because they didn't wanna have lights shining on their face," he said. "And I always thought to myself, like, what the fuck man. There's a room full of people there and everybody decided to pay their hard earned money to come out to this place because this one band is going to fill them with joy and how can those people that are on stage not be overwhelmed by that feeling and not be appreciative of every second of that night."

The Adam Ezra Group has certainly been feeling the love of late, selling out venues like Boston's Paradise Rock Club and New York City's Mercury Lounge. The group's latest album, "A View From The Root," has garnered critical acclaim from local press and has brought them many new fans. The album mixes just the right amount of soul and gruff, resulting in a collection of genuine songs about love, friendship and politics among many other subjects.

But Ezra's good natured authenticity is not restricted to the stage. He is also an avid social activist and works closely with many charity groups, often donating proceeds from shows. The group's CD release concert at the Paradise benefited, in part, the New England nonprofit Music Drives Us. Ezra has also worked closely with Partners in Health in bringing relief aid to Haiti.

"I think artists are in an incredible place to effect people emotionally and intellectually. If you happen to be an artist and happen to care about global issues and want to get involved, I think it's one of the best ways to mobilize activism." But it isn't a one way street, said Ezra. "While art can inspire activism, I also think activism and community can inspire art. Which I think is very much the case with us."

Not one to rest on the laurels of success, Ezra said the band was working on new material even before their latest effort was released. "The next CD is a really exciting project. We began it about two weeks before our CD release concert for 'View From the Root.'" The band snagged producer Aaron Johnson who is best known for his work with Denver-bred radio darlings The Fray. "He's got a brilliant mind for production and creating or influencing a sound that is appealing to a lot of people. And then combine that with our grassroots, cause related, story-driven music and it makes for a really interesting combination."

The band has already recorded the first three songs for this new venture and Ezra says that the album will hopefully be released within the next year.