Author Archives: Adam

Man Booker and National Book Award winners offer advice on writing

George Saunders and Jesmyn Ward are two of the largest Goliaths in the literary world right now. Saunders, a noted short story master, won the Man Booker for his first ever novel Lincoln in the Bardo. Ward, winner of the 2011 National Book Award for Salvage the Bones, took home the award again for Sing, Unburied, Sing.

I was lucky enough to interview both of them in 2017. You can read both interviews at Electric Literature and The Millions, respectively. Ward’s writing advice comes from a sub-section of the interview I did for my friends at Writer’s Bone. Here are excerpts from those interviews regarding advice to writers.

More

Panic Baby (fka The Real Fits) discuss name change and release new song

The Real Fits are no more. Don’t worry, the Phoenix-based band is still around and their sound is just as mesmerizing as ever. The quartet is now Panic Baby and they, like they have the past few months, plan on releasing new music as often as possible. Their latest song “Heavy” proves the band continues to perfect their precise yet atmospheric tone.

More

Sloan Dylan (ex-Gospel Claws) releases first solo song

As Gospel Claws, the then-reigning kings of Phoenix’s indie music scene, began to disperse to Washington, Idaho, and elsewhere, vocalist, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and handsome man Sloan Walters began working on solo material.

Using his middle name, Sloan Dylan released “Loan Star State” today via Soundcloud. He cowrote the song with Eric Lauterbach in 2015.

In a post on the newly minted band Facebook page, Sloan noted he has “a lot of new stuff coming out this year and am excited to share”

A few years ago, I bumped into Sloan at Crescent Ballroom and asked what his next steps were. He mentioned he had something in the works and that it was going to be a little more country than Gospel Claws. He rattled off a slew of influences that I can’t remember at all.

The single sounds like a natural progression from his days with the Claws. His unique vocals always stood out on every song and now blend perfectly with the jangly guitars of his new project.

Listen to “Loan Star State” below.

 

I’ve never watched ‘Game of Thrones’ but here’s what I think happened so far

I love television. A lot. I watch a lot of it. I got paid to review/recap episodes at one point. I’ve interviewed Emmy-nominated actors. I knew the world was going to be abuzz Monday morning with news that Game of Thrones was back. People at work wanted to talk to me about it. I BS’d my way through it, but here’s a not-so-secret fact about me:

I’ve never seen an episode.

So, here’s a synopsis of everything I know. I’m going based off of word of mouth and things I’ve seen on Twitter. I’m not going to Google anything to check for spelling or what have you while I’m writing this. Someone please tell me how close I am.

More

Dear ESPN: find Harris Wittels’ wrestling figures

 

Bill Simmons hosted Aziz Ansari on his podcast on May 11 ahead of Ansari’s second season of the masterful Master of None (more on that season soon). The entire 90 minutes is worth listening to and ranges from eating pasta in Italy, hosting Saturday Night Live, Kanye and Jay-Z, Dave Chappelle, and so much more. Around the 50 minute mark, Simmons brings up Harris Wittels – a former Grantland writer, who was also friends and coworkers with Ansari on Parks and Recreation as well as during the genesis of Master of None.

More