Exclusive Interview and Music Review with ADO for “Passion”

The introduction to this track is instrumental bliss – the leading riff conjures up a sort of classic Pantera meets musical theatre string of memories and images. The track is a strange one, as it feels very big and epic; the riffs, the distortion, the beat, the sheer strike of that leading vocal – yet at the same time, there is not that huge a wall of sound filling out the track. There’s not a bass heavy or synth heavy backdrop, there’s nothing overwhelming or excessively thick or loud, and for these reasons the song is really refreshing to listen to.

At times the music takes on a more modern, almost electronic sounding ambiance, but it’s a brief glimmer of something outside of the moment. For the most part, you can visualise a live performance; there are very few effects in play throughout this recording, so you know that what you’ll get from the band at a live show will be pretty damn close to what you get here.

The leading vocal is fantastic. As mentioned, there’s a hint of classic rock and metal in the delivery, but there’s also an emotional smoothness to it – this is where the musical theatre really fits in well with the overall output. The voice has feeling, it has character, it’s subtle yet powerful; delivering those lines and those ideas with perfect precision and efficiency.

The structure of the song is great as well, never getting tiresome, leaving plenty of space, moving well between sections and leading superbly into that guitar solo part towards the end. If anything the track is a little short, it seemed to be over before there was even time to complete some thoughts about it, but that’s a great thing. It leaves you wanting to hear more. It’s also great that the band are not singing about something tedious or clichéd, they’re singing about something that matters. Even better is the fact that they’re singing about passion, with a clear and consistent level of their own passion embedded in the art.

By Rebecca Cullen

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

ADO: I (Junyjun) was born in Boston, Mass but was raised in Harrisburg Pennsylvania from the age of 3 months to 14 years old. As a Youth, I was raised in a strictly religious home where music was a central part of our daily activities. My dad was the pastor/guitarist in the local church and he would spend time writing songs and practicing at home all the time. My siblings and I (10 of us in all) were all taught to play guitar and we would often perform in the church as well as other church functions we were invited to perform at. This upbringing is what started my journey as a musician. I began to listen to a lot of music from the radio and I fell in love with rock. I liked other genres, but rock was my favorite. So when I got older and went out on my own, I started to play in different bands for money. As time went on and I started having children, I began to teach them as well. In 2014 my kids Ivy (guitar/vocals), Yarie (Bass), and Ish (keys/drums), joined me in started our own rock band business. We spent all of 2014 writing and touring and began to plan our first recording project in 2015. In February of 2016 we were finally able to start our recording project. We are now finished with that and are currently in the process of getting our music produced and ready for retail sale so that we can begin to tour again.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

ADO: Well, from the offset we knew we wanted to be a different kind of rock band. You see, while we are not a christian rock band, we are all christians. And since rock has gotten such a bad rap in the past from some of the genre’s own artist, we decided we wanted to be role models for this genre and represent rock in a different light. This is why, as we say in our facebook profile, ADO does not write songs with cus language, or songs that are depressing, demeaning or condescending toward women, gays or lesbians, religions, race, color of skin, or anything that makes us different and unique beings. We believe everyone should be respected for their differences and valued as a human being. And we want to be able to perform in bars and clubs, as well as festivals and family friendly events. So when we started to brainstorm ideas for the name, I remembered that as a child I had learned that in the bible there is a word in the greek that means singing. That word is “ado.” Then we started thinking about what it could mean as an acronym that would be appropriate for what we wanted to represent. Ivy (guitarist/vocalist) reminded us that the first thing we had to overcome was fear. Fear of rejection, not being good enough, fear of not making it, etc. So we came up with “After Death Occurred.” Our name then, means that after we were able to put to death these insecurities we had, we are able to do what we love to do…sing. So, After Death Occurred, we sing (ado).

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

ADO: I, for one am convinced that albums and singles aren’t going to be the moneymakers they used to be. But again, we have only been doing this for two short years and this is our first commercial recording. That being said, we are passionate about using our music for good so we do a lot work with different charities. For example, we have been performing at the local cancer society’s relay for life for the past three years now. We will also be offering free downloads for people who join our mailing list etc. So while we will be selling our music, there are also good reasons to give it away as well.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

ADO: I would say you need to be thinking in terms of getting fans to your shows, giving them a unique experience, and sharing exclusive information – not just selling albums or creating awareness. In addition to targeting stations that play your genre, focus on stations in cities in which you frequently tour. That way, you’re opening up the opportunity to connect with fans on another level beyond just recorded music. Especially as an indie artist who can’t afford heavy rotation on a huge station, you want to do anything you can to get your music to stick. Unique content and live shows are both great options. We send extra CDs or merch to upcoming gigs for giveaways. Besides free stuff, radio stations also love sharing interesting content with their listeners. In your press kit, offer up an interview, either in person or over the phone, to air on the station. You could even do a song or two live to turn it into more of an intimate and exclusive event for the radio station and listeners. 

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

ADO: Yes, we definitely do. The truth is it happens to even the best of bands. The trick is not to get bent out of shape and get things back to where they need to be without putting a highlight on the error for the world to see. By that I mean that, most of the time, audience members will not notice a mistake. The mistake I have seen bands make on stage that we avoid is that when a member makes a mistake, we do not look over at the person making gestures or whatever. It looks unprofessional and you basically just let everyone know that this person just made a mistake. This could even upset your band mate and make things worse by breaking up their concentration and causing them to make more mistakes. There are no winners when we single someone out for a mistake and it will not make it better. So just don’t go there. Play through it and move on. Keep it professional on stage and discuss the issue later at practice, if need be.

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

ADO: Yes. We have done small local tours as well as nationwide tours. One time we did run out of gas because our gas panel was not functioning right and we completely forgot. This was in Bridgeport Connecticut and we were in a road with nothing in sight. It was late so we just decided to sleep in the truck til morning and then call someone for help. In the morning, we found out our phone battery died. So we tried flagging cars down. Cars were passing by but not stopping. So we put a pillow in Ivy’s shirt over her belly and sat at the side of the road pretending she was having labor pains. Low and behold, the first driver that saw us stopped and offered to take us to the nearest hospital. So two of us left with him and two stayed with the truck. I had the guy stop at the first gas station I saw, which was actually only two miles up the road. We wasn’t too happy when we told him the truth but he was understanding after we payed for his gas. He even gave us a ride back to the truck. Turns out he was a musician too.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

ADO: I (Junyjun) do all of the songwriting for the band. I get inspiration from different sources and it comes in different ways. Sometimes a friend will tell me something that happened to them and this will give me inspiration to write a song about it. Sometimes I have a riff or melody in my head for like a long time and I start to write around that riff when a topic I care about comes up. Sometimes I am hearing the news and a particular story catches my attention and I am inspired to write about it. So there are many ways in which I get inspired. But I never just sit down to write just to write. There is always something that gives me inspiration.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

ADO: Yes we do.  Our media info is

web url: http://afterdeathoccurred.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ADO_Band

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AfterDeathOccurred/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adoband/

You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ADOsindiemusic

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

ADO: I don’t really think of anyone’s music as embarrassing. I believe each artist/band has a unique expression to give and I respect that.

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it? 

ADO: Well, I am assuming you don’t mean a year off from music. That is not an option. In fact I would use that money to build my music business further.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?

ADO: We just updated some equipment in our studio. Mostly effects pedals and things of that nature. We are one of the few indie bands that actually have the privilege of owning our studio. Also, right now am simultaneously working on about four new songs. Hopefully we’ll have those ready for shows in about two weeks.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

ADO: I like to focus my efforts on building up good relationships with other businesses instead of trying to reach all our fans individually. So I spend a good portion of my time contacting event organizers, radio stations, websites that cover our genre of music, dj’s, and musicians who are more established than us. They just have a much bigger audience than we do and their audience are people who fit into our ideal fanbase. These people have the ability to get our music out there better than we can. This has worked well for us in the short time we have been performing.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with?  Why? 

ADO: I would have to say Prince. He was the first guitarist to inspire me for rock and I would definitely love to get tips from him on running the band business.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

ADO: We are just going to concentrate on finishing our cd production and then promotion. And we will get into as many gigs as we can to promote the band business.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing? 

ADO: I would probably be depressed. Lol! No but seriously, I cannot even think about not doing this! I don’t see that as an option unless… nope, not an option.

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head? 

ADO: The first album I ever purchased was from Prince but I can’t remember which one it was.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

ADO: This can be pretty tricky and requires a little bit of planning. To make things easier, I have all of my bills on automatic payments. As far a family time goes, we have an advantage that most bands don’t because we are a family band. Although, because of my young appearance, people don’t notice I am actually the dad and just assume we are all siblings. But well just keep that one between us. Lol!

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in the next year or so? 

ADO: More shows, new songs, and better interaction with our fans as we venture through this journey together. Thank you very much!!