Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Gimbel
Hi Adam, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My family moved to San Diego when I was six and I discovered top 40 radio on the Mighty 690 not long after, starting a lifelong obsession with music. I interned at 91X-FM after highschool and went to college in Los Angeles with hopes of being behind the scenes in the music business. I thought I couldn’t possibly be cool enough to be onstage so I stuck with playing a tennis racket in the mirror until I was almost 30. I ruined that illusion when my first band, Rookie Card, won a San Diego Music Award. Since then, I’ve stuck with the fun side of repurposing pop culture with many silly coverbands, anti-karaoke and music trivia nights, music pages and podcasts. I’m always keeping it fresh so nothing ever gets old….or popular.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ve been lucky enough to have people all over the world enjoy what I do as a hobby. It’s pretty low stakes, which keeps me grounded. Like anyone, I’ve had tragedy in my life but I couldn’t be more appreciative that I get to do what I do in the one of the greatest cities on earth. We had a California show snowed out last year, which I never thought I’d see happen. Hardly a catastrophe.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I get to work in a lot of situations but being in unique coverbands has become my specialty. There are plenty of groups that copy and cover well known music but through various Cover Me Badd acts, we’ve managed to mash and medley music together in ways that are unique enough to get noticed more than most. Our crowning achievement was probably taking the band Stones n’ Roses over to England. It was a little risky since it hinged on fans of the British band Stone Roses having a sense of humor about watching Americans dressed as Guns n Roses tearing apart their beloved national anthems. We didn’t know it would really work until we got there but we were a huge hit with thousands of unsuspecting victims at a huge UK festival. Definitely a dream come true.
How do you think about happiness?
I love making people laugh and smile but I get even more joy out of getting others in on the act. That’s why I loved hosting karaoke and trivia nights and getting guests for our podcast, We Will Rank You. I recently corralled dozens of Leap Year babies from around the world to lipsync the Rookie Card song “2/29”, which landed us in the New York Times. In our old man comedy act, Geezer, we get “grandkids” involved as often as we can. The San Diego School of Rock started in my old office so we used to get their finest students up to play with us and nothing made me happier. When we did a huge rap show at Petco Park a few years ago, we had a couple of preteen breakdancers steal the show and I couldn’t have been prouder. Whenever we play with other bands, we try to do something together but most of them can’t think outside of their little box to do something special. The more, the merrier!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.GetOffOfMyLawn.com
- Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/Damngimbel
- Facebook: http://www.YerDoinGreat.com
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/rookiecard
- Other: http://www.WeWillRankYouPod.com
Image Credits
Rookie Card photos by Marie Haddad
Geezer group photo by Alex Matthews
