Most of us remember summer camp as the woodsy, s’mores filled stomping ground of our youth, but for musician Adam Melchor, the place looks a bit different. For Melchor, and his all-star collaborators, Andrew Sarlo, Ethan Gruska, and John DeBold, “Summer Camp” is an adult’s creative oasis. It trades the trees for a mixing board and some guitars.
The group spent three days together at a studio and created Melchor’s new six-track EP. The songs are sweet and simple, perfect for casual listening or campfire renditions. Below, Melchor outlines his thoughts on each of the tracks.
**JEWEL**
I originally came up with the idea of JEWEL after talking to my sister Julie. My nickname for her has always been Jul. I was living in Pasadena and missing my family back in NJ. I talked to Julie the day before a session. She was cheering me up by telling me everything would work out. She sounded so happy on the phone and when I asked, she was telling me about how happy her boyfriend (now fiancé!) makes her. Their love for each other has always been so true from the start, and I decided to write about it.
The next day, I brought this song and idea to Nick Long at his house in LA. We got into writing it in his kitchen. His neighbor has a very loud rooster and we kept talking about it throughout the day. When we got to the second verse, I said “this is gonna be about the rooster isn’t it” and Nick just said “yes, yes it is” without even looking up.
We recorded everything to tape, and flipped the tape, so it would print out a backwards version of the song. We recorded the reversed print while the song was playing and it all felt like a dream.
**I CHOOSE YOU**
I wrote I CHOOSE YOU with Nick Long and Leroy Clampitt. I was just thinking about how crazy it is to be lucky enough to find someone to love, and all that goes into it. The fact that all the scenarios leading up to the point where you fall in love have worked together to bring you to the point where you are with that person. This song is about the moment you realize that and everything starts to make you manic, thinking about how nothing makes sense and everything does at the same time. Love is a confusing and perfect roller-coaster and this song is its sonic companion.
**HELP YOURSELF**
Have you seen that snickers commercial where it says, “You’re not yourself when you’re hungry?” This is basically the song version of that commercial. This song is about being hangry, and being in a bad mood just for moods sake. It’s about being on the other side of the coin and trying to bring the person back to a happier place. I wrote this with Ethan, who is an accomplished magician as well as incredible singer/songwriter and he showed me a magic trick before we wrote this song. We wound up putting the word magic into the second verse because bringing someone into a better mood sometimes feels as difficult as a magic trick!
**30 MINUTES**
I wrote this song after meeting (or almost meeting) someone for dinner the night before I was about to go on tour. I try to see as many people as I can before I leave town, and there was a person I really wanted to see. We had plans to get dinner and when I got there, she said, “I’m so sorry, but I double booked and I’m supposed to meet some other people in about 30 minutes, but I can hang for a little bit.”
We wound up catching up for about 15 minutes outside my parked car in the street and I drove back to my house after that and ate alone. I used to always tell her I liked eating alone, so she made a joke about that and it all turned into a song.
**STICK IT OUT**
I moved to LA two years ago, and still miss my family like crazy. This is a short song about the time difference between NY and LA and how even though we might be on a different clock, our love never breaks. I personified my family with the word “she” in the song, so whenever you hear the word “she” it basically means the word “family”.
**BUZZER BEATER**
This song is about making the last ditch effort to make amends with someone. Sometimes there’s only so much one can do, and this is about laying it all on the line. Throwing up a buzzer beater before the time with the person runs out.
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Photo Credit: Alonso Ruiz
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