Interview: Adam Kubota of POSTMODERN JUKEBOX

I would love to hear first and foremost about you and how you came to be in the performing world. Was music always an interest for you professionally?

That's a good question. I think it's something that I've always been interested in, and I think that I just keep being drawn to it despite at times trying to keep it at arms distance. I just had a lot of good opportunities in my life to play. I started playing when I was a kid. When I went to college, I wasn't sure what I was going to major in, but I ultimately chose music because it just seemed like the most interesting thing to me. And then I ended up going to law school in New York years later. Scott started Postmodern Jukebox in New York during that time so I did some of the videos, and then by the time I finished law school I was able to start touring for my livelihood.

Before we jump into discussing all things Postmodern Jukebox, I have to talk about your involvement with Sleep No More in New York City. I see that you were a part of that company for a couple years. What was that creative experience like for you?

Sleep No More was a really good thing for Postmodern Jukebox artistically because it was pretty open as to some of the things you could try out during the show. We had a lot of really great collaborators there, and we still work with some of those artists . That's where we met Puddles the Clown and this really fantastic singer named Nicole Atkins. There's another fantastic singer who I think still works there named Karen Marie. We would just try all the mashups and all the weird stuff, like bringing a seven foot clown on stage and really trying that out. It's also where we really rearranged a lot of songs and got steeped into the great American songbook, while adding in hip hop quotes or whatever else we were having fun with at that time.

What drew you to Postmodern Jukebox and how long have you been with the company?

I've known Scott, the founder of Postmodern Jukebox, since we were in our early twenties. We were in music school together. It wasn't really so much an audition situation for me because I was one of those people who was kind of there from the beginning. It's been really cool to see it come from just being a bunch of friends hanging out in someone's apartment with some music instruments into this worldwide phenomenon.

Postmodern Jukebox is known for covering such a wide variety of styles. Who were some of your personal influences in music growing up?

It's really a pretty wide variety, like I'm sure is the case with many kids. I think anything from The Red Hot Chili Peppers, to Miles Davis, to Bob Marley, to classical or electronic music was all pretty interesting to me when I was a kid. And it still is.

How do you go about selecting new songs to cover and what is that creative process like?

So yeah. The way that works is that it's sort of a collaboration. I think it's ultimately driven by Scott and what he thinks is going to do well with the audiences he has gotten to know pretty well doing this over the years. He sort of collaborates with the singer, who is the main force of interpretation of the song in addition to Scott's arrangement. It's important to find a song that they're going to feel comfortable with and that they will enjoy singing, and I think Scott and the singer work together to kind of see what form the arrangement is going to take, whether it's stylistic or key changes.

What is life like on the road with Postmodern Jukebox?

You know, it can be really fun! It's also crowded, living on a bus. It's often just a bunch of us on one bus so it's a little intense in that regards, but usually the band members are fun. The cast and show are always changing based on performer availability, so it's an interesting way to live for sure. I don't recommend it for everybody, but it can be really fun. You get to meet a lot of people and hear a lot of great voices and musicians. It's a lot of work sometimes to get everyone up to speed on stuff, but it's definitely about the network and who you know.

Toured all over and performed in some of the most beautiful halls in the world... What has the reception been like internationally?

Every country is a little bit different, even abroad. Fans in one country are not like fans in another country. With our fans, everyone loves music and sees the importance of the performing arts. It's always positive to see when you can get a thousand or more people in one place to sit and watch people go on stage and play music together. We play a lot of performing arts centers, but in Europe we play a lot of standing room places which changes the demographic a little.

What is your favorite part about being a part of/touring with Postmodern Jukebox?

It's really great to make a career traveling the world and playing music and basically doing what you love. That lifestyle is just... It's so fortunate for me to be able to live that lifestyle. I definitely missing be at home or in one place sometimes, but I've been to 64 countries in my life and most of them have been because of the band. We are very lucky and privileged humans to get to see all of these places and to see them all through this lens of performance and people loving what we're doing.

What can audiences expect at Postmodern Jukebox concerts?

It's going to be really exciting. It's not just a concert at all. It's a performance where the audience is encouraged to participate and shout out when they like something. They can get up and dance. And we don't just have musicians. We also have dancers! We play all different styles of music, and the musicians are improvising almost all of the time, so it's just never the same show twice. A lot of attention goes into the wardrobe and makeup, so the singers and the band are really wearing the best vintage styles.

Any last thoughts for Omaha readers?

It's just a very exciting and spontaneous show - you never know what's going to happen! Some of the best musicians, singers and dancers in the whole world are a part of this. It's not just a concert. It's a whole thing, and I just feel like everybody who goes is won over. I would advise people to check out the YouTube videos, which are great, but know that they only scratch the surface on the level of talent and fun you can have coming to a PMJ show.

To post a comment, you must register and login.