Matt Adams is a man out of time and place. Under the moniker the Blank Tapes, he marches to the beat of his own ’60s indebted drum, channeling the flower power of that decade with a sound as sunny as his California home. He’s something of a do-it-himself savant. Adams plays almost all the instruments on his recordings, and his album art hints to his past work as a Mad Magazine designer. Even the band name is impeccably crafted: Adams claims he has nearly four hundred original songs rattling around in his head, so his blank canvas ends up being more of a blank tape.
Even though he’s so single-minded about his musical pursuit, he never could have imagined having a hit, let alone in a foreign country. Somehow, his 2010 album Home Away From Home made its way to Brazil, and the positive buzz prompted Adams to take his show on the road. With help from several San Francisco musicians, Adams turned the Blank Tapes into a bonafide band and toured South America. Soon after, the group accompanied fellow Bay Area psych-poppers Thee Oh Sees to Europe, and they can also cross Japan of their touring itinerary.
All this traveling is something new for a home-recording enthusiast like Adams, but it’s starting to seep into his music. Last week, the Blank Tapes released Vacation and to celebrate, the band is undertaking a “Coast To Coast” summer jaunt. The outfit stopped by Studio 1A recently, and they’ll also be back in Austin at the Mohawk on June 9. The Blank Tapes kicked off their 1A live session with a song that perfectly sums up Adams’ youthful fervor: “Don’t Ever Get Old.”