Folk duo Adrian and Meredith have always been ones to march to their own beat, and have never been apologetic for the art they create. The project brings together two performers who grew up on opposite ends of the musical spectrum. Adrian was raised on rock, punk, and Motown with a unique croon to his voice and a “clawhammer banjo” approach to playing the acoustic guitar. Meredith cut her teeth in the old-time music scene, where she played traditional fiddle and learned flatfoot clogging while studying classical violin and classical tap dancing. Those two approaches come together in a way that honors the traditions of Folk and Americana music while pushing beyond those genres’ boundaries. Both Adrian and Meredith are connected to their immigrant roots within their families and that cultural connection deeply informs the music.
Since the duo joined forces in 2015, they have been pounding the pavement, putting their own spin on Americana. Their music embodies the spirit of the human story with a nod to punk, the heart of folk, flavor of Polka, and bounce of swing. Passionate about building global empathy through sharing the stories and origins of their american roots music, Adrian and Meredith have spent nearly 150 shows a year since their inception touring the USA, Canada, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Belgium Denmark, Netherlands, The United Kingdom, and Ireland.
Adrian and Meredith will be releasing their third album “Klezmer American Acoustic Dynamite” later this year (2024), a Dial Back Recording from Water Valley MS, with the help from friends of Squirrel Nut Zippers, Drive-By-Truckers, Punch Brothers/Mighty Poplar, and Jimbo Mathus.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the video for “Klezmer American,” which was edited by Kimberly Nail with footage captured on tour in Riga, Latvia by Adrian and Meredith. Compared to their other work as well as traditional sounds, “Klezmer American” marks something of a departure in the way it takes traditional Klezmer sounds while incorporating the raw, gritty energy of John Kveen (bass), Hank West (horns), Bronson Tew (drums) of the incorrigible Squirrel Nut Zippers / Jimbo Mathus. We get a smorgasbord of feisty, Latin-influenced trumpet, drums that would be at home in a punk song, lively fiddle, and Adrian delivering vocals that bring to mind oddball vituosos like Les Claypool. The song is also an ode to the region where the video was filmed.
Watch the video for the song and read our chat with the band below…
What is the story behind this song? How did it come together? What is it about?
We have been touring Eastern Europe (Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Gotland in Sweden) for the past seven to eight years, which includes playing for Ukrainian women and children (now refugees in Germany) who speak of the Soviet times, recent and not. Both of us are one-, two-, and three-generation Americans and feel it’s very important to stay connected to what’s happening in our ancestral homelands and what knowledge is needed to hope for peace in the region.
The music was written while on tour in the region, Meredith came up with the signature fiddle line, and it instantly became our favorite song on the record to play.
You are known for your insightful lyrics. Are there any lyric lines that you really love? What do you feel makes them stand out?
Verse three: “Don’t drink the Tik Tok tea, throw the fight, send empathy, like gigabytes, a communication satellite, they can’t ignore.”
The lyric represents how we feel about doing the job of question #1 above. Sometimes we’re musicians on tour, other times we’re unofficial diplomats of the USA to audiences who have never met an American before. They want to know why we’re so nice. They want to know why we have legal guns. We attempt to find common understanding about both our and their perspectives, free of any governments or media.
If listeners can take away one thing from having heard this song, what do you hope that is?
We love it when people come up after shows and tell us of their heritage and ancestry. We encourage anyone with the means to find out where their family’s story comes from and take a pilgrimage back to see it for themselves! With our background, it’s a very powerful moment to realize we’re both American and our families come from another part of the world.
Tell us about the video. Whose idea was it and how did it come together? Who directed and filmed the clip?
Riga, Latvia is one our favorite European cities. It’s incredible. One side of the river is the old city, smothered in Latvian and Russian traditions, amber, music, art, architecture, etc. The other side is more modern European and has a “local” feel. We were fortunate to play an awesome city-sponsored event party, one of our favorites of recent memory. We spent the extra day off, traveling around old city Latvia and Brasa.
Any great stories from the video shoot that you can share with us?
We spent the entire day walking around Riga, syncing music to video, watching Latvians not entirely sure what we’re doing all day. The shot was never right to do an entire single take, and we gave up for the day and went to our favorite Riga bar. After a few pints, we took Lime Scooters over to the main scene you now see and did it in one take after a few beers!!
If you could use only three words to describe your music, what would they be and why?
Klezmer: We come from Ashkenazi Jewish landsites, we are vessels of melody, we play traditionally minor chords, and during joyous occasions!
Punk: Like klezmer, more than just a genre. It is an attitude and ideology of rebellion, anti-conformity, and community-driven meets DIY, boostrap work ethics.
Folk: We play punk and klezmer on folk instruments. We are inspired musically by folk old-time traditions, and the general storytelling of folk music.
Can fans see you on tour anywhere this summer?
We are in the Midwest, West Coast, and East Coast in the US at https://adrianandmeredith.com/#tour-section. We’ll be back in Europe at the end of the year, too!
