Kevin Adams

On Tour with Lee Ann Womack

Kevin Adams at the RD-700

There are hit songs, and then there are hit songs. Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” was a grand-slam single. It won a Grammy for “Best Country Song,” a Billboard Award for “Adult Contemporary Song of the Year,” and CMA and ACM Awards for “Single of the Year” and “Song of the Year.” It received massive airplay on country, pop, and adult contemporary radio, and helped Lee Ann pack venues wherever she traveled.

Not one to kick back and rest on her success, Lee Ann pushed forward full speed, and followed that career-defining single with another Grammy, CMA, and ACM Award for her “Mendocino County Line” duet with Willie Nelson.

Roland crossed paths with Lee Ann on Toby Keith’s 2005 Big Throwdown tour, and discovered that her keyboardist Kevin Adams was using a solitary Roland RD-700SX for the tour.

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How long have you been playing Roland keyboards?

Kevin: I’ve been a Roland guy since the ’80s — the Jupiter-8 was the first Roland I ever bought. I’ve had the A-80 controller, an A-90, two RD-700s, not to mention the rack gear. I’ve always liked Roland a lot.

You’re using an RD-700SX, and nothing but, onstage with Lee Ann. It’s nice to see a keyboardist getting so much great sound out of a single instrument. What led you to that particular model?

I used the RD-700 before I got the -700SX, and had played it to death. When I got the gig with Lee Ann, I thought, “Well heck, I’m gonna get myself a new keyboard.” I was comfortable with the RD-700, but I wasn’t prepared for the new piano sound in the -700SX because it’s awesome. Paul, the guy who runs sound for us is also George Straight’s production manager/front-of-house guy — he’s been with Straight for 23 years — and he thinks this is the most incredible stage piano he’s heard. It’s wonderful man, it sparkles, especially the “Ultimate-X” patch — that’s the one I like. I just love it.

What sounds do you use onstage with Lee Ann?

I’m using the piano of course, and then I use the ’60s Wurly sound, she’s got a lot of that all over the place, and I use the drawbar organ with the piano, and some strings. Usually what I do is I just layer the whole keyboard and I put the organ or strings on a volume pedal so it will always be playing but you won’t always hear it, depending on how I use the pedal. A lot of times I’ll just have the pianos going and if I use the strings I’ll just take all the velocity control off of them so that if I play the note real soft I still get the full string. I use that mainly for padding.

On “I Hope You Dance” you’re featuring a nice string pad.
Kevin Adams with Lee Ann Womack

I don’t do anything but strings on that whole thing. I have the card, the Symphonique Strings [SRX-04] card. It fills the whole daggon place full of sound.

Are there any auxiliary audio tracks being used on this tour — background vocals, etc.?

No tracks. It’s all played live. I’m really happy to be hooked up to an organization that has no strict policy of playing the same arrangement every night or trying to sound exactly like the record.

How did you get this gig?

Just lucky. I met a lot of cool players when I got to Nashville . I didn’t know what to do other then just go to Broadway and Printer’s Alley, where I met tons of people. I think that’s what it is — just being in a vibrant environment, and practicing and trying to get better. It’s been a really great move for me to come down here. Nashville is one of those towns where people just kind of look out for each other, like, “Hey, man. Did you hear about this gig?”

What are the essential skills musicians need to have in order to survive in Nashville?

People appreciate it when you know the old Merle Haggard tunes, when you know a little bit of the history, and you know how to play the stuff. It’s not just playing a certain set of notes that are right, it’s having the certain type of attitude that it takes. Listen to the great players, and keep your ears big.

Is the famous “Nashville Numbering System” still important to know?

I think so. It’s a very easy thing to learn, and it allows you to transpose freely. You know, some musicians like to make fun of it, but it’s a great little system. Mathematically you can see what’s going on in the song, and it gives you more of a global understanding.

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For more on Kevin’s concert schedule with Lee Ann, visit her official website at www.leeannwomack.com.