Meet Adam Perry | Drummer, writer and veterans’ law paralegal

We had the good fortune of connecting with Adam Perry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Adam, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
In creative endeavors – music, for me – as well as the business side of things and even hobbies such as softball or international adventure-cycling tours with groups, I’ve found it incredibly important to be prepared in a way that says you focused on your own performance and show up without excuses and without the expectation that anyone else will cover for your subpar performance and lack of personal preparation. Focusing on your own performance rather than criticizing others and worrying about *their* effort, talent or preparation not only ensures that you’ll do the best your capable of – it also puts you in a position where you can give constructive, honest, meaningful feedback to your co-workers, teammates or bandmates when necessary and not get pushback for hypocrisy.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I play the drums in numerous Colorado projects; book, promote and manage bands; write about music and adventure cycling for numerous publications; work full-time in veterans’ disability law; and manage and play on a softball team. Most important, I parent my 12-year-old kid, Sidney, who is more important than anything else in my life. If I want people to know anything about me, it’s that I love my child and no matter what I get interested in and work on, I hope Sidney will always know nothing is more important to me than my kid.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The Jamestown Mercantile and the Gold Hill Inn are my favorite small businesses in Colorado, and happen to be in my favorite area of Colorado – in the beautiful canyons below Peak to Peak Highway. To know what Colorado is all about – the people, the music, the food, the mountains – you have to spend time getting to know the folks in Jamestown and Gold Hill.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Some people wear “What Would Jesus Do?” wristbands, and Jesus was certainly a good guy. My guru, however, has been Joe Strummer of Clash – since I was a teenager driving around Pittsburgh listening to the first Clash album on cassette in my beat-up Pontiac Sunbird. Joe Strummer questioned everything, tried to live, work, play and create with integrity, and informed his own music with diverse sounds from all over the world that he discovered in his incessant music-geekdom. “No man born with a living soul can be working for the clampdown” was one of Strummer’s most impactful lyrics, and I think about it all the time, but I also think about how Strummer was so open about his ego-fueled mistake ruining the Clash in 1983 when he sacked Mick Jones, quickly leading to the implosion and end of the band. We all make mistakes; we all need help sometimes; they only real problems possible are when we don’t change, when we take ourselves too seriously, when we don’t seek help.

Website: adamperrywrites.wordpress.com

Instagram: adamvsthevolcano

Twitter: deathorglory80

Facebook: adammichaelperry

Image Credits
First is by Michael Emanuele (raising sticks), second is by John Spalvins (baseball cap)