Mike Adams talks song writing, performing

Mike Adams at His Honest Weight stepped on stage at the Bishop Bar Saturday night for the  sixth annual XRA Fest in flowing white robes and beekeeper headpieces.

“I hope you like rock ’n’ roll music, because here it comes,” singer Adams said before the band began its set.

The audience fed off the energy Adams put forth on stage.

 Adams said he likes doing something out of the ordinary for a show.

“It needs to be fun because I’m having a great time making the records, but I don’t want to stop there,” he said.

XRA Fest is an annual event sponsored by XRA Records.

Adams formed the label when he and friends wanted to record, produce and distribute  their own music.

Every year, they try something different to make the fest memorable and the venue special, Adams said.

Outside of the band, Adams’ solo career was born after playing for years with another band, husband&wife.

Adams said a solo career is different from bands because he does all of the work himself and doesn’t have to worry about coordinating with other people.

Adams said that he wants his music to be interesting and catchy but “with a certain amount of roughness and raw edges.”

When he’s not collaborating, Adams said he enjoys writing.

Opposite from how he worked in a band, he said music and melodies come first.

“If something feels good to me in the moment, I’ll run with it,” he said of writing. “It’s kind of lackadaisical, and I like that approach.”

Honest Weight played several new songs Saturday night, but Adams also drew from his last album, recorded at a notable time in his life.

“My son, when he was born, had some major medical complications,” he said. “We were really caught off guard by that, and I was in the middle of writing this record when that happened.”

But the album’s not all frustration and fear, he said.

Those emotions were present, but he said a lot of gratitude for his support systems came out from the experience.

His son, Asa, is now almost two. Adams stays home during the day with him while his wife, Jess, works.

“When she gets home we sort of high-five at the door and switch,” he said.

Asa is already following in his dad’s musical footsteps — he’s a drummer.

Adams said XRA Fest is special because it brings a lot of friends in to listen to the label’s music.

Adams is a native of Warsaw, Ind., but moved to Bloomington in 2001 to study at IU.
“The diversity and quality of music in Bloomington I find pretty inspiring,” he said.

He said nobody’s an island, so the music bounces off each other but still manages to be distinct.

Adams spent the day before his show in Bryan Park with Jess and Asa.

Jess is starting to play with the band, Adams said, and the couple has to leave Asa behind for a few days while on tour.

“I think when he gets a little bit older, we might try to take him on the road,” Adams said.

“He could roll on a tour,” Jess added.

Adams agreed.

“For now, we mainly didn’t have room in the van to put his car seat,” Adams said.

Follow reporter Anicka Slachta on Twitter@ajslachta.