Bio
Dustin Adams, Mark Cota and Perry Justus at The 806 in Amarillo, TX
Dustin Adams’ musical personality is an amalgamation of a diverse assortment of influences, none of which he wishes to deny or extol at the expense of another. From his roots in punk rock to his Classical and Jazz training on piano and percussion, to his expedition into the vast universe of the Hindustani and Carnatic musical traditions of India, Dustin strives to honestly explore any direction his ears leads him.
Dustin began playing music at an early age. His first instrument was the cello and he briefly took piano lessons. In high school he picked up the guitar and was soon playing with other musicians and joined his first band, Mediokra. After playing a few shows with Mediokra, Dustin went on to form a band of his own where he played guitar and sang lead vocals. During this time he started playing on his drummer’s set and consequently discovered his love for drums. He traded his guitar amp for his first set of drums and then, along with guitarist Kelly Massey, formed the group Victim From Birth. They played many shows and were a popular act in the Amarillo punk scene in the mid-1990’s. One of Victim From Birth’s achievements was to raise four-hundred dollars for the AWARE Program, an AIDS and HIV educational and resource center for the Texas panhandle. Dustin formed Cabinet Crisis with friend and vocalist Chris Oles after Victim From Birth disbanded. Cabinet Crisis was the headlining local act at the 2000 Brian Deneke Unity Through Diversity Music Festival where they opened for Mike Watt.
Cabinet Crisis performing at the Unity Through Diversity Festival 2000
In 1997 Dustin began studying music at Amarillo College where he studied piano, drum set, and marimba. In addition to the traditional music theory and ear training classes, he immersed himself in a study of the jazz idiom with the guidance of Amarillo College professor and jazz saxophonist, arranger, and composer Dr. Jim Laughlin. Dustin also began playing drum set professionally with jazz singer and guitarist Jimmy James and pianist E.P. Simmons. He soon became associated with professional musicians in Amarillo including: Hugo Loewenstern, Jimmy James, Jim Laughlin, Donovan Stokes, and others. Over the course of the next three years he played in various groups with just about every jazz musician in town. Dustin earned his Associate Degree in Music from Amarillo College in 2000.
In January 2001, Dustin moved to Denton, TX to attend the University of North Texas (UNT) where he studied music and biology. During this time he studied tabla with Neel Bhaat. Tabla is a set of two drums used in the Hindustani Classical Music of North India. In 2003, Dustin began playing tabla with sitarist Tom Griffin. They played professionally at Indian restaurants, weddings, and other events for the next two and a half years. Also in 2003, Dustin joined the Garland based post-hardcore band Lady of the Lake and played many shows around Dallas, went on a short tour, and recorded the four song CD entitled I Didn’t Hear You Come Inside.
At the University of North Texas, Dustin also had the opportunity to study Carnatic (South Indian) musical theory and solkattu (the rhythmic language of South India) as well as taking mridangam (a South Indian double-sided drum) lessons with master South Indian mridangamist Poovalur Srinivasan. Dustin was a member of the The Indian Classical Music Circle of Dallas/Ft. Worth (ICMC).
Around the end of 2003 Dustin left Lady of the Lake to join the Denton based band Harry Has a Head Like a Ping Pong Ball at the request of bassist Nathan Fenoglio. The trio became a sort of musical experiment in eccentricity with abrupt stylistic, tempo, rhythmic, and time signature changes. No musical territory was off-limits to Harry Has a Head as they incorporated punk, bluegrass, funk, jazz, metal, progressive rock, as well as other styles. The 4 song CD entitled Post-Apocalyptic Time Travel Core was recorded in 2005 at Foundation Sound.
HHHLPPB - Post-Apocalyptic Time Travel Core EP Cover
Dustin spent the last half of 2005 in Los Angeles, CA and returned to Amarillo in 2006 where he stays busy performing with The Jim Laughlin Quartet, The Vanguard Jazz Sextet, Patrick Swindell and Pizzazz, Jazz Alley (from Lubbock), and The Martini’s, as well as a variety of local and visiting nationally and internationally recognized artists including Donovan Stokes, Noah Baerman, Fred Hamilton, Jason Berg, Lynn Seaton, Mike Vax, and others. Dustin also maintains a busy teaching studio.
Dustin Adams w/Donovan Stokes at Unity Through Diversity 1999 (In Memory of Brian Deneke)
Dustin has an an associates degree in music from Amarillo College and a minor in music from the University of North Texas and studied drum set with Randy Markham (Amarillo College), Henry Okstel and Dan Robins (University of North Texas), snare drum with Christopher Deane (University of North Texas), tabla with Neel Bhatt (private instructor based in Dallas), mridangam and South Indian music theory with Poovalur Srinivasan (University of North Texas), piano with Jim Rauscher (Amarillo College), and marimba with Mark Ford (University of North Texas)