GleeFan Q&A with Adam Anders (Includes Info on Amber's Solo Album)
Recently the Glee cast hit the milestone of becoming the Number 8 Top Selling Digital Artists in the US. While many credit the success of the show to its big name stars like Lea Michele and Darren Criss, the real driving force behind Fox’s musical comedy is the man behind the scenes- Executive Music Producer Adam Ander’s. He’s responsible for taking the David Guetta and Usher’s pop anthem “Without You” and turing into Rachel Berry’s power ballad for Finn. He’s also the genius that took Adele’s “Someone Like You” and “Rumor Has It” and turned it into an unforgettable mashup that Adele’s own manager thought was “brilliant [and] so creative.”
Here in our GleeFan.com exclusive Q&A Adam has answered your questions! He talks about the challenges of producing music for the show, the process behind it, Amber Riley‘s Solo Album, and Noah Saw Salling’s accident in the studio!
Q: “What inspired you to pursue music producing? How did you become involved with Glee?” -- Joey S. (17, Arizona)
A: I grew up in a musical family. My first memory is sleeping under a mixing console. I was always writing songs…and then realized I needed to record them. So I started making demos of my own songs in my bedroom. The rest is history really.
Q: “How do you plan what songs to use for each episode? And what’s their process of elimination?” -- Laura M. (Ireland)
A: Ryan Murphy plans all that while he writes the script with the writing team. A lot of times he give me options and I tell him what I think works the best musically. This especially happens a lot on mashups. He says “I want to mash “X” up with something…Any ideas?”
Q: “When arranging songs, what do you consider first, the artist who will sing it or how you want the song to sound?” -- Olga Benitez (Puerto Rico)
A: On Glee, the scene drives what my partner Peer and I do. Then based on the song, we may decide to do a totally new take that would sound amazing on the particular character singing it. When working with traditional recording artists outside of Glee, it’s all about the artist. Whatever is best for that artist wins out always.
Q: “Who is the goofiest person in the studio? Can you give us a story of something that had you in laughs?” -- Raquel H. (Los Angeles, California)
A: I don’t know who is the goofiest… That depends on who is the most tired that particular week! But Mark did bring his dog [Noah Saw Salling] to the studio, and let’s just say it wasn’t potty trained yet.
Q: “It’s speculated that you are the executive producer for Amber’s album. Can you give us any information about the genre, release date, or 1st single for Amber solo album? Anything really!” -- Rocelle Alexia (Toronto, Canada)
A: It’s true. I am Executive Producer on Amber’s Album. I am her biggest fan and am so excited to be a part of it. I have always said she is one of the best singers on the planet, so this album has to be made, and it will be amazing! There is no release date yet…but look for it sometime before summer.
Q: “I saw this video months ago of you and Nikki as Room For Two performing ‘Roots Before Branches’ at Club R&R on Youtube. You both have beautiful voices. Are there any plans of doing something like this again?” -- Joanne (Manila)
A: We made a record together about 4 years ago while we still lived in New York City. It was a special time for us. That song is very meaningful to us and was our first single. It went on Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary Charts, but then our label decided not to put the album out. We are so busy now with our careers that I don’t see us being able to do much else, but we recently learned that the record label is going to release it soon along with another single!
Q: “When cast members are recording a duet or group number, do they record together or do you mix vocals after individual recordings?” -- Tara D. (29, Minneapolis, Minnesota)
A: They hardly ever record together. We mix them together later. It’s too tough to schedule them at once. We get them whenever and however we can.
Q: “Is there a pair of duet partners that you really want to see sing together? Any chance of us seeing a Puck and Santana duet in the future? Kurt and Sam?” -- Maria G
A: How about Ryan Murphy and Adam Anders? :]
Q: “What was your reaction to the immediate praise for the ‘Rumor Has It’/'Someone Like You’ mashup?” -- April S. (20, New York)
A: We knew it was special when we were recording it. It helps when you can start with two amazing songs from an amazing artist!
Q: “Are there any difficulties during recording? What’s the easiest and hardest song that you ever arranged?” -- Monica P. (17, Indonesia)
A: Everyday has it’s own challenges. I was up at 5 am this morning dealing with a problem on a song that was to start shooting at 7 am. This train waits for no one… and it definitely doesn’t care if you’re tired! The show must go on it an understatements on Glee. But I love it! It’s never boring and that’s saying something coming from someone who gets bored as easily as i do!
Q: “How do you deal with the fast paced working environment of Glee? The turn around time from rehearsal to recording to filming to post production to airing is INSANELY fast!” -- Greg (18, Los Angeles, California)
A: That is the biggest challenge for me. Thankfully I have an amazing partner and a great team to help me get it all done. There is no one person that could do all this alone. Takes a great team and a great coffee machine!
GleeFan
Here in our GleeFan.com exclusive Q&A Adam has answered your questions! He talks about the challenges of producing music for the show, the process behind it, Amber Riley‘s Solo Album, and Noah Saw Salling’s accident in the studio!
Q: “What inspired you to pursue music producing? How did you become involved with Glee?” -- Joey S. (17, Arizona)
A: I grew up in a musical family. My first memory is sleeping under a mixing console. I was always writing songs…and then realized I needed to record them. So I started making demos of my own songs in my bedroom. The rest is history really.
Q: “How do you plan what songs to use for each episode? And what’s their process of elimination?” -- Laura M. (Ireland)
A: Ryan Murphy plans all that while he writes the script with the writing team. A lot of times he give me options and I tell him what I think works the best musically. This especially happens a lot on mashups. He says “I want to mash “X” up with something…Any ideas?”
Q: “When arranging songs, what do you consider first, the artist who will sing it or how you want the song to sound?” -- Olga Benitez (Puerto Rico)
A: On Glee, the scene drives what my partner Peer and I do. Then based on the song, we may decide to do a totally new take that would sound amazing on the particular character singing it. When working with traditional recording artists outside of Glee, it’s all about the artist. Whatever is best for that artist wins out always.
Q: “Who is the goofiest person in the studio? Can you give us a story of something that had you in laughs?” -- Raquel H. (Los Angeles, California)
A: I don’t know who is the goofiest… That depends on who is the most tired that particular week! But Mark did bring his dog [Noah Saw Salling] to the studio, and let’s just say it wasn’t potty trained yet.
Q: “It’s speculated that you are the executive producer for Amber’s album. Can you give us any information about the genre, release date, or 1st single for Amber solo album? Anything really!” -- Rocelle Alexia (Toronto, Canada)
A: It’s true. I am Executive Producer on Amber’s Album. I am her biggest fan and am so excited to be a part of it. I have always said she is one of the best singers on the planet, so this album has to be made, and it will be amazing! There is no release date yet…but look for it sometime before summer.
Q: “I saw this video months ago of you and Nikki as Room For Two performing ‘Roots Before Branches’ at Club R&R on Youtube. You both have beautiful voices. Are there any plans of doing something like this again?” -- Joanne (Manila)
A: We made a record together about 4 years ago while we still lived in New York City. It was a special time for us. That song is very meaningful to us and was our first single. It went on Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary Charts, but then our label decided not to put the album out. We are so busy now with our careers that I don’t see us being able to do much else, but we recently learned that the record label is going to release it soon along with another single!
Click to viewQ: “When cast members are recording a duet or group number, do they record together or do you mix vocals after individual recordings?” -- Tara D. (29, Minneapolis, Minnesota)
A: They hardly ever record together. We mix them together later. It’s too tough to schedule them at once. We get them whenever and however we can.
Q: “Is there a pair of duet partners that you really want to see sing together? Any chance of us seeing a Puck and Santana duet in the future? Kurt and Sam?” -- Maria G
A: How about Ryan Murphy and Adam Anders? :]
Q: “What was your reaction to the immediate praise for the ‘Rumor Has It’/'Someone Like You’ mashup?” -- April S. (20, New York)
A: We knew it was special when we were recording it. It helps when you can start with two amazing songs from an amazing artist!
Q: “Are there any difficulties during recording? What’s the easiest and hardest song that you ever arranged?” -- Monica P. (17, Indonesia)
A: Everyday has it’s own challenges. I was up at 5 am this morning dealing with a problem on a song that was to start shooting at 7 am. This train waits for no one… and it definitely doesn’t care if you’re tired! The show must go on it an understatements on Glee. But I love it! It’s never boring and that’s saying something coming from someone who gets bored as easily as i do!
Q: “How do you deal with the fast paced working environment of Glee? The turn around time from rehearsal to recording to filming to post production to airing is INSANELY fast!” -- Greg (18, Los Angeles, California)
A: That is the biggest challenge for me. Thankfully I have an amazing partner and a great team to help me get it all done. There is no one person that could do all this alone. Takes a great team and a great coffee machine!
GleeFan