Madam Adam’s Scott Gould Interview: It’s All About the Raw Emotion

By: Rob Cavuoto

Madam Adam conjures forth a debut album thick with stadium-worthy anthems recalling the brightest spots of the Seattle grunge movement, the sexual bombast of ’70s AM radio rock and the exuberance of four people who live, breathe and devour music.

Think Foo Fighters and Queens of the Stone Age with an extra coating of polish and a dash of indie rock nuance. There’s something to love no matter what you’re into; if you like music that comes from a place that’s real, then Madam Adam is for you.

Frontman Scott Gould’s voice is distinct—warm, inviting and smooth—a croon that will sit easily on rock radio, while cutting through the speakers with noticeable depth and power. Both he and guitarist Drew Reindollar know when to shred and when to hold back, with bassist Kenny Varner locking into the grooves laid down by drummer Matthew Reindollar, both adding some flash. These guys are great musicians, but they maintain a supreme focus on the song itself rather than showing off. I had a chance to chat with Scott Gould about the band and their debut CD.

Madam Adam

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Rob Cavuoto: Tell me a little about the history of the band?

Scott Gould: We all started playing together in middle school in Charlton, SC. Matthew and Drew Reindollar started it up, then Kenny Varner and then I joined in. Kenny was originally the drummer but he wasn’t that good, so I taught him how to play our songs on bass and it’s been the same ever since.

Rob: You must have a great friendship to be willing to do that?

Scott Gould: Yeah, we have a brothership that for sure.

Rob: What are the bands musical influences?

Scott Gould: It’s pretty broad spectrum, we all started listening to grudge in the early ‘90s and inspired us to play and start a punk band which progressed from there. We were pretty angry punk kids, but we started taking music theory on Saturday mornings. We could only pay the guy like $20 a session, and sometimes we didn’t even pay him, but he kept teaching us. Our music progressed from three-chord punk stuff to the more elaborate chords. We studied jazz theory and then found our own way to rock.

Rob: It must be pretty cool to be signed with Roadrunner, how did that come about?

Scott Gould: Shit man, it’s really cool. We did a four song demo with our producer in Memphis and our manger went up to New York for a showcasing. Roadrunner was the one that saw some potential in our band and signed us. They’re looking for hits and we can deliver. If they don’t feel like we have a radio hit then they wouldn’t have taken us on. They pretty much own us for the rest of our lives!

Rob: Any favorite tracks of the CD?

Scott Gould: We spent a lot of time writing the songs. There are a lot of emotions involved. All the songs have depth to them. The album is kind of a story of our progression through life so far. It’s like a big journal. We just had to lay it down. I do have a few favorites. “These are the Day”- I like how it came across and has a great message about living in the moment. Obviously “Sex Aint Love” is a rocking song with a sense of humor; it has nice bite to it. Also “Story of Us” is really good.

Rob: How did you come up with the band’s name?

Scott Gould: In school I was a big nerd and a fan of palindromes. I was on the computer and found that name – Madam Adam. No glory story behind it, just glad it wasn’t copyrighted.

Rob: Is the artwork on the CD inspired by the band’s name?

Scott Gould: We hired some younger cats in Florida and just gave them the name. We told them to run with it. Between them and the people at Roadrunner, we came up with the artwork.

Rob: What does success look like to you?

Scott Gould: Ultimately, for this record to do well and then go and make more music. To keep this going as our job. There isn’t a desk that beats this out. This is our full time job. It was cool to quit our day jobs and tell them that we were going out on tour.

Rob: What can we expect live from the band?

Scott Gould: Raw emotion, just four dudes with instruments giving it their blood, sweat, and tears.

Rob: What’s the next step for you?

Scott Gould: Touring and promoting the record. The CD dropped in April so we’re all about getting the word out. We have over twenty stations across the country playing our song, which is really cool. There’s talk in the works about us doing some summer festivals, but nothing scheduled as of yet.