A Conversation with Adam Schlesinger (continued)

PM: What about reading? Do you make time for that in your schedule?

AS: In terms of reading fiction and stuff?

PM: Yeah, and whatever.

AS: It depends. Actually sometimes when we're really in touring mode there's actually more time to read because a lot of your day is just sitting around. At home, I've got two kids now, and I'm working all the time. It's like if I get in bed at night with a book, I'm usually asleep by page 2. It's barely enough for me to like get through a magazine.

[laughter]

PM: Would you call yourself a spiritual guy to any extent, or a political one?

AS: I definitely wouldn't really call myself a spiritual guy. In terms of politics, I think Chris is probably the more angry liberal. I think we're both very liberal politically, but I think that he's like--he'll get on like political websites and blogs and really get himself really worked up about stuff. It's definitely like a second area of extreme attention for him.

PM: Wow. I spent a number of early years in the same county as Wayne, in Oakland.

AS: Oakland, New Jersey?

PM: Yeah. And I remember going to the Preakness Mall and stuff there. Will you watch the return of The Sopranos on Sunday, or Entourage?

AS: Oh, yeah. I like both those shows a lot.

PM: So your professional life always seems rich in side projects and songwriting for movies and all that. Anything come up lately in those arenas that's been fun or rewarding?

AS: I wrote some songs for this Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore movie that was out early this year called Music & Lyrics. Yeah, that was a cool project, it was fun. I liked the director a lot.

PM: How was the film? I didn't see that yet.

AS: It's a cute film. It's a romantic comedy. That's what it's supposed to be. It's a cute love story with some music in it.

PM: Did you get to hear your song pretty well, or did they push it way back or--

AS: The songs are pretty prominent--one of them in particular. I mean, I didn't write all the songs in the movie. There's a bunch of writers that worked on that movie. But my songs are pretty prominent in it, so that was cool.

PM: Other projects?

AS: I have a studio that I co-own with a couple guys in New York. It's called Stratosphere Sound, it's in Chelsea. From time to time I'll produce other bands if I've got some free time. I just worked with a band called Motion City Soundtrack. They're from Minneapolis, and they're kind of a punk pop. They're very sort of of the moment. They're pretty popular these days, and they get a lot of video play on MTV and Fuse, and all those channels.

PM: In fact, I couldn't figure out or find out which one, but I know you produced some record on my friend, and fellow Nashvillian sometimes, David Mead.

AS: Yeah, we did a record together called Mine and Yours that came out in 2000 or 2001.

PM: He's a talented dude.

AS: Yeah, he's great. Also, apart from being such a great songwriter, he's probably the best singer in America.

PM: He's an unbelievable singer.

AS: I mean, the guy is just--it's weird.

PM: Do you know the guys from Joe, Marc's Brother, too, that he--

AS: Yeah, yep.

PM: Oh, wow.

AS: Yeah, I know that whole crew--

PM: Small world. Yeah, the Pisapias, and all them, and Josh Rouse, and all that, yeah.

AS: Yep.

PM: I hope you don't consider my curiosity crass, but is it okay to ask: What's made you the most dough so far as a songwriter, was it the first big single, "That Thing You Do," or something else?

AS: Oh, well, it's hard to say. I mean, definitely, when "That Thing You Do" happened, that was a huge break for me in a lot of ways, just like in terms of opening doors, but definitely financially. I really hadn't made any money to speak of. I was trying to just do whatever I could to survive as a musician at that point. We had signed a record deal, but that didn't really put a lot of money in our pockets. So that movie definitely got me through a few years. But it wasn't like this runaway hit, either. The movie didn't actually do that well. But still, by my standards, especially at the time, it was like all the difference in the world.

PM: Right. But it's just been some here, some there, not one thing that, oh, that's the one that bought the house, or--

AS: I've been lucky in that I've been able to kind of work steadily. I've always just sort of seen myself as like a working musician who tries to keep busy, and tries to keep getting work doing different stuff. I've been lucky in that for a while now I've been able to keep working.

PM: Yeah, always doing something.

AS: Yeah. Some things end up paying more than other things do, but I kind of see it as just trying not to turn anything down unless I have to.

[laughter]

AS: I'm always going to have that fear of just being unemployed, because I remember what it was like just trying to like, whatever, just to cut demos for commercials, or something, to make some money.

PM: Absolutely.      continue

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