Doomed Confessionary: Nick Ryder (Adapter Adapter)
Photos by @scrolls.royce
Adapter Adapter is a stoner/doom/blues rock trio hailing from Providence, Rhode Island.
They released 4 full-length albums – »She’s Alive!« (Ukulele Horror Records, 2015), »Redeemer« (Ukulele Horror Records, 2016), »No Comfort« (Hobo Castle, 2021) and »Sleep Spell« (self-released, 2023) – and numerous singles & EPs. Their most recent release is »Dead RIP Live« EP, out on July 17th, 2024.
Adapter Adapter are Nick Ryder (vocals, guitar, harmonica), Kevin McIntyre (bass guitar) and Dylan Butler (drums).
Can you say a few words about your band?
Adapter Adapter is a doom/blues band based in Providence, RI with members living throughout Southern New England. We initially formed as a heavy blues duo in 2014 and very quickly started releasing music and playing a ton of shows. I initially formed the group as a way to get out of the extreme music scene but eventually started re-incorporating more elements from my punk and metal past into our sound. For the last few years we mostly get lumped in with the whole stoner rock/doom metal thing which I have no real problem with as I’ve been a doom fan for most of my life.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
For me it was learning how to actually play guitar and wrap my cables!
Keeping a stable lineup and hearing people ask when I would get a bassist for the first nine years. Also just trying to be a leader in general and doing my best to learn how to do things I wasn’t good at to keep the band moving forward.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Just the fact that we’ve been a band this long and I managed to keep it goin through some pretty rough spots in my life and consistently gig and release new music that people seem to enjoy. Beating cancer and making records about it is something I’m proud of, and it seemed to help a lot of people in dealing with their own battles. I am also proud to be like the heaviest band people can think of with a harmonica on every song.
What was your biggest regret?
Not playing a lot of the shows we could have or getting to do any fests to promote our last album »Sleep Spell«. I wish we had actually gotten to open for some more notable bands over the years or not had bad luck when we did. I feel like any time we play with a band I’m excited to be on with it ends up being a bust or doesn’t happen. We are a couple hundred gigs in and we aren’t stopping yet so I guess there is still time.
Photo by Jenn Lombari
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Our first national tour was cool, getting to be a part of SXSW and see a lotta cool places throughout the country. My favorite concert might have been the first one I did with my current members. We played a really good bill at Ralph’s Rock Diner in Worcester, MA but it was only the third time I had actually played with Dylan and Kevin. I was nervous because it was our first show as a trio and also took place the week of our 9 year anniversary but the first song sounded so good I burst out laughing afterward and did so after like every song! I was just really pumped to have these guys in my band and felt like we had never sounded better at that time.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
I guess sticking around long enough to feel I had the respect of my peers or even some musicians I really admired. Every now and then hearing some kind words or encouragement from someone you listen to or look up to can give you the energy or inspiration you need to keep going. Having Wino ask me for some tips on harmonica was like my Holy Shit moment!
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
I’m digging the recent album »II« from Sons Of Arrakis, a great band so far. Sign Of The Sorcerer and Las Historias are a couple good bands from Forbidden Place Records that are worth checking out. Cadaverous Condition from Austria are an odd death metal group who have been around forever and their latest »Never Arrive, Never Return« is probably the most brutal album they’ve ever done without losing their weird poetic edge. I also just got the book Noise Not Music, which is like an audio/visual history of Discharge with a ton of concert recordings, just a really neat package overall from one of my favorite bands ever.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
Don’t undersell yourself. Before a show in Texas a guy from a band we were playing with who seemed really excited was just trying to be nice and asking me where we were from, what we sounded like ect. I remember feeling kind of dejected before this show and must have given some lousy answers, just wasn’t hyping us up or being very cool. Anyway we played and ended up having a good gig and the same guy came up to me afterward and told me to NEVER undersell myself the way I did and that we were so much better than he thought we’d be based on the way I talked about us. I learned if you want people to be excited about what you are doing you gotta be excited about it yourself or else why would anyone care?
What are your guilty pleasures?
Old School Game Boy games and comic books/graphic novels mostly. I’m also a huge martial arts fan and typically combat sports make up more than half of what I watch with the rest being cartoons and weird movies.
Can you say something more about current music scene in Providence / Rhode Island?
The Providence, RI music scene is an interesting place in general. There has always been a kind of “Anyone can have a go” attitude, bills are pretty diverse for the most part. We have always been a band that is kind of between genres for most people so we have a lot of options as far as who we can play with as long as it’s loud. There are also a lot of places to play, you can do a good amount of gigs in the city a year without much overlap or feeling like you are flooding the same market. In recent years there is more of a stoner rock/doom resurgence out of Providence and we’ve been glad to be a part of it. Coma Hole has been doing great things and really getting out there, they are nice people and really deserve it. Our friends in The Sonce have been working hard as well, touring and releasing a couple of really good albums you should hear. We are also kinda lucky to be close enough to Boston to have gigged there a lot over the years. Tons of great doomy stuff coming outta there like Sundrifter, Mollusk, Kind, Worshipper, ect.
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We have a couple more local shows booked at the moment, 9/20 at the News Cafe in Pawtucket for a pretty sludgy bill, and AS220 on October 11th with some touring rock bands. We’d love to play some more places we haven’t been to as well as some more Boston and Connecticut dates. It’s been a while since we toured, covid kind of pulled the plug on the last one but I’d love to get abc on the road at some point.
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Keep hanging in there and do another album that’s even heavier than the last one. Maybe try and get back on a label at some point and do something on cassette. We’ve never done one of those and I love tapes so that’s another goal to work toward.
How can people best support your band?
Just listen to us. We got a new EP »Dead RIP Live« that we recorded in Boston last year and it’s only on Bandcamp and YouTube currently so check that out. Also we still have copies of »Sleep Spell« on colored vinyl, get one so we can make another record. Come to one of our shows and tell someone you know to check us out or book us with some cool bands.
Do you have any message for your listeners?
Keep underground music alive and be cool to one another. You’ll be glad you did.
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well