My dream would be to have this piece read like a complete autobiography. I need a witness. Here's enough to get started. Pretty
solid for the sake of this site...for now. More will be added as I continue to obsess.
My full name is Adam Christian Abenante and I was born in Brookdale hospital in East New York on August 4th,1981. My mother
was 21 going on 16 at the time and my father 29. My birth was difficult. I was positioned just about sideways, and my umbilical cord
was wrapped around my neck like a noose. A fine setting for any delivery. I am an ONLY child.
I started singing to some old Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart 45s that my father gave me when I was two years old. By age three, I
had all of Culture Club's "Colour By Numbers" memorized down to the last note. I would perform it daily in my living room along with
various other artists work. My father and his father would take me to McKinley Park in Bay Ridge and I would perform for my two fan
audience on the park house "stage". My set list included songs by such groups as Thompson Twins, A Flock Of Seagulls, Soft Cell,
and OMD. My mom was and still is a music fanatic. She raised me on Post-Punk, New Wave, Ambient, and Indie music from square
one. We even took a special antenna with us wherever we moved to be able to receive 92.7 WLIR (which later became WDRE, only
to later revert back to an inferior version of WLIR), the tri-state's one and only station dedicated to showcasing the fine talents of all
the European upstart bands at the time. She loved the darker side of what I suppose is now called '80s Alternative. At age 5, I heard
"Pornography" by The Cure for the first time. Mind blowing. 100 Years' opening drum line leading to that crying Jazzmaster riff that
signaled the euphoric collapse of the physical world, was enough to keep me a devoted fan of the band until this very day. My mom
became a terrible fanatic and before you knew it, EVERYTHING was The Cure. She's a hairdresser, so between our appreciation for
the band and her craft, I wound up having every haircut that Robert had In the 1980's. As a result, I was met with some strange
leers at school. When I was seven years old, I performed "In Between Days" at the St. Francis Cabrini talent show. The Priests and
parents were of course enamored with the fact that I showed up wearing make up, particularly the red MAC lipstick smeared across
my mouth. At least I never had to worry about blending in.
I am what's considered a gifted person In this country. I was pulled out of first grade a few days into the term after scoring a 157 on
the I.Q.Test that my teacher insisted I take. I was immediately placed in the DELTA program. In fifth grade, I received senatorial
recognition for annually remaining in the top.01 percentile of the country in every city and nation-wide exam. In Junior High, I was
placed in the S.P.E. Program, specializing in arts and literature, and in High School -The Institute Program, specializing in the
humanities. But school was not for me.
I am an independent thinker and categorically rebuke any procedures, traditions, customs, expressions, laws, etc... who's "truth"
cannot withstand dissection in a formal logic equation. Contrary to what one might think from the first paragraph, my education
comes not from school, but from independent study. When I take interest in something, nothing can hold me back from attaining
mastery. Striving for perfection is an obsession with me and I'm pretty much incapable of existing otherwise. I have attained (with no
formal diplomas, of course) mastery of the following: Chess, Biblical Apologetics, Martial Arts, Drawing and Painting, Film
Photography, and Skateboarding. When I was 9 I actually made it to the Nintendo World Championship. I lost by three points. I was
however, Bensonhurst / Boro park champion of Capcom's Street Fighter II: CE in 1992. I surf year round. It's my only rest. I am
currently trying my hand at music.
I have always had a great understanding and deep appreciation for fine storytelling, especially when it was conveyed in lyrical form.
I have always been utterly addicted to humming and singing and even composing music in my mind. I love to write about dreams,
time, and "The Big Picture" and how I am affected by them. Other than taking 2 guitar lessons when I was six, I have no musical
training. By the way, the lessons were taught by someone named "Francois" and he basically mumbled everything in broken
Frenglish except "fuck" and "shit". They were definitely not the apex of fine guitar lessons. I uncharacteristically quit and didn't look
back. I wanted to play the songs that I knew. There was no one to teach them to me, so what would be the point?
In 2003, a musician friend of mine had his band fall apart. He is quite talented as far as playing (he plays just about everything and
has been doing it since he was six.), but will be the first to admit his lack of creativity. I, knowing him well, offered to compose music
for him to play, to write the lyrics and to sing. He jumped on the offer seeing that he was aware of my past accomplishments saying,
"If you're Involved I know it can't fail". And so it was to be, he the body, and I, the brain. He was supposed to listen to all the music I
liked, tell me what we needed to generate those sounds, and get it. He was supposed to be the expert. The plan was to record ALL
the music and then to get people to perform it as needed. I can't have everyone throwing ideas around and compromising
everything into a homogenized piece of shit...I work alone. I asked Mike, a 10 year friend of mine who had played bass for three
months, to join on under the same conditions. He agreed and I began sending him home with CDs of my favorite artists. He took to
them immediately, especially Joy Division. Ironically he, given his lack of structure and training, actually wound up being better
suited for the project than Dave, who began taking composition courses and all kinds of crap at a music school - there goes the
danger word - and wanted to have input on what notes could go where and what not. This among other things sent me into
reclusion, and the project was halted.
During that time, Mike would call me and tell me about the equipment that these bands used as he discovered it in internet
searches. He said that I should consider getting a Vox Phantom, the guitar used by Joy Division's front man Ian Curtis, on eBay (we
were lacked performers which would eventually become an issue). I insisted that I didn't know how to play, but he said "one string
melodies are not that hard". Next came the uncovering of the "Bass VI" that Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, and Perry Bamonte played.
I knew I had to have one whether I could play it or not. Mike could use it, but I needed to own it. Even if just for nostalgia and the
fulfillment of a childhood dream. This is where my obsession set in.
Now I needed a keyboard. I figured that whatever "state of the art" keyboard made the sounds on all the music I enjoy (basically
nothing after 1992), must be cheap now. I put on "The Cure In Orange and paused on the keyboard. Bingo! Yamaha DX-7. I
researched all the other bands that used it and it read similar to my CD collection. I went right to eBay and hooked it for $350. As a
bonus, I won all the cartridges that same week for $125. The next piece falls into place.
As far as drums, my recorder, a personally customised Boss BR-864 has a fully programmable machine built in, and additional
percussion is performed live and recorded with the on-board mic. Vocals are done on a Shure SM-58 in my bathroom.
The stage was set, and in two months (Jan-Feb 2005) I had completed my first copyrighted CD. In March, Mike gave me a sample of
some bass and acoustic lines he made up. I picked out some particularly inspiring ones and within 5 days of that point, created a
second with Mike as a claimant on it's joint copyright. I am currently working on a third.
I sent a CD to Joe Rodriguez, the current bass player for A Flock Of Seagulls (my mom met him at a concert in 2002 where the band
signed a poster for me to commemorate my 21st birthday), uploaded a few songs to I AM recordings, and unintentionally clogged
The Cure's Roger O' Donnell's email account with mp3s of my stuff. I have no clue when it comes to computers. I guess I was so
fascinated with my newfound knowledge of mp3 conversion that I got carried away and didn't realize what an inconvenience it would
be. He asked me for a URL that he could hear the music from. Well, I found out what that was, and never being one to do something
half way, here it is. If you read this Roger, thanks for the idea. I'm really pleased with the way it's turning out. Without that (what I
considered to be abstract) suggestion, I would have never created this site. By the way, sorry for sabotaging your mailbox.
This history is by no means complete, but it's a start.
So here I am in 2005. I won't accept times passing, fashion trends or anything of the sort. I have no "hairstyle". Any day you come
across me, you'll find me wearing one of my 9 identical pairs grey jeans, one of my 9 grey undershirts,, and some Nike sneakers
(the only thing that changes every day). Each day, I put my all into my talents - cultivating them, and seeing which will become my
living first. That's my big plan. I live with my fiancé Anna in my grandmother's apartment. I believe the day is on the horizon where I'll
buy a house in cash (one I design, of course). Maybe someone viewing this site will choose to provide the means for me to do that.
You never know. That's all for now... -Adam 2005.
Copyright 2005 Adam Abenante
Previous Page...
solid for the sake of this site...for now. More will be added as I continue to obsess.
My full name is Adam Christian Abenante and I was born in Brookdale hospital in East New York on August 4th,1981. My mother
was 21 going on 16 at the time and my father 29. My birth was difficult. I was positioned just about sideways, and my umbilical cord
was wrapped around my neck like a noose. A fine setting for any delivery. I am an ONLY child.
I started singing to some old Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart 45s that my father gave me when I was two years old. By age three, I
had all of Culture Club's "Colour By Numbers" memorized down to the last note. I would perform it daily in my living room along with
various other artists work. My father and his father would take me to McKinley Park in Bay Ridge and I would perform for my two fan
audience on the park house "stage". My set list included songs by such groups as Thompson Twins, A Flock Of Seagulls, Soft Cell,
and OMD. My mom was and still is a music fanatic. She raised me on Post-Punk, New Wave, Ambient, and Indie music from square
one. We even took a special antenna with us wherever we moved to be able to receive 92.7 WLIR (which later became WDRE, only
to later revert back to an inferior version of WLIR), the tri-state's one and only station dedicated to showcasing the fine talents of all
the European upstart bands at the time. She loved the darker side of what I suppose is now called '80s Alternative. At age 5, I heard
"Pornography" by The Cure for the first time. Mind blowing. 100 Years' opening drum line leading to that crying Jazzmaster riff that
signaled the euphoric collapse of the physical world, was enough to keep me a devoted fan of the band until this very day. My mom
became a terrible fanatic and before you knew it, EVERYTHING was The Cure. She's a hairdresser, so between our appreciation for
the band and her craft, I wound up having every haircut that Robert had In the 1980's. As a result, I was met with some strange
leers at school. When I was seven years old, I performed "In Between Days" at the St. Francis Cabrini talent show. The Priests and
parents were of course enamored with the fact that I showed up wearing make up, particularly the red MAC lipstick smeared across
my mouth. At least I never had to worry about blending in.
I am what's considered a gifted person In this country. I was pulled out of first grade a few days into the term after scoring a 157 on
the I.Q.Test that my teacher insisted I take. I was immediately placed in the DELTA program. In fifth grade, I received senatorial
recognition for annually remaining in the top.01 percentile of the country in every city and nation-wide exam. In Junior High, I was
placed in the S.P.E. Program, specializing in arts and literature, and in High School -The Institute Program, specializing in the
humanities. But school was not for me.
I am an independent thinker and categorically rebuke any procedures, traditions, customs, expressions, laws, etc... who's "truth"
cannot withstand dissection in a formal logic equation. Contrary to what one might think from the first paragraph, my education
comes not from school, but from independent study. When I take interest in something, nothing can hold me back from attaining
mastery. Striving for perfection is an obsession with me and I'm pretty much incapable of existing otherwise. I have attained (with no
formal diplomas, of course) mastery of the following: Chess, Biblical Apologetics, Martial Arts, Drawing and Painting, Film
Photography, and Skateboarding. When I was 9 I actually made it to the Nintendo World Championship. I lost by three points. I was
however, Bensonhurst / Boro park champion of Capcom's Street Fighter II: CE in 1992. I surf year round. It's my only rest. I am
currently trying my hand at music.
I have always had a great understanding and deep appreciation for fine storytelling, especially when it was conveyed in lyrical form.
I have always been utterly addicted to humming and singing and even composing music in my mind. I love to write about dreams,
time, and "The Big Picture" and how I am affected by them. Other than taking 2 guitar lessons when I was six, I have no musical
training. By the way, the lessons were taught by someone named "Francois" and he basically mumbled everything in broken
Frenglish except "fuck" and "shit". They were definitely not the apex of fine guitar lessons. I uncharacteristically quit and didn't look
back. I wanted to play the songs that I knew. There was no one to teach them to me, so what would be the point?
In 2003, a musician friend of mine had his band fall apart. He is quite talented as far as playing (he plays just about everything and
has been doing it since he was six.), but will be the first to admit his lack of creativity. I, knowing him well, offered to compose music
for him to play, to write the lyrics and to sing. He jumped on the offer seeing that he was aware of my past accomplishments saying,
"If you're Involved I know it can't fail". And so it was to be, he the body, and I, the brain. He was supposed to listen to all the music I
liked, tell me what we needed to generate those sounds, and get it. He was supposed to be the expert. The plan was to record ALL
the music and then to get people to perform it as needed. I can't have everyone throwing ideas around and compromising
everything into a homogenized piece of shit...I work alone. I asked Mike, a 10 year friend of mine who had played bass for three
months, to join on under the same conditions. He agreed and I began sending him home with CDs of my favorite artists. He took to
them immediately, especially Joy Division. Ironically he, given his lack of structure and training, actually wound up being better
suited for the project than Dave, who began taking composition courses and all kinds of crap at a music school - there goes the
danger word - and wanted to have input on what notes could go where and what not. This among other things sent me into
reclusion, and the project was halted.
During that time, Mike would call me and tell me about the equipment that these bands used as he discovered it in internet
searches. He said that I should consider getting a Vox Phantom, the guitar used by Joy Division's front man Ian Curtis, on eBay (we
were lacked performers which would eventually become an issue). I insisted that I didn't know how to play, but he said "one string
melodies are not that hard". Next came the uncovering of the "Bass VI" that Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, and Perry Bamonte played.
I knew I had to have one whether I could play it or not. Mike could use it, but I needed to own it. Even if just for nostalgia and the
fulfillment of a childhood dream. This is where my obsession set in.
Now I needed a keyboard. I figured that whatever "state of the art" keyboard made the sounds on all the music I enjoy (basically
nothing after 1992), must be cheap now. I put on "The Cure In Orange and paused on the keyboard. Bingo! Yamaha DX-7. I
researched all the other bands that used it and it read similar to my CD collection. I went right to eBay and hooked it for $350. As a
bonus, I won all the cartridges that same week for $125. The next piece falls into place.
As far as drums, my recorder, a personally customised Boss BR-864 has a fully programmable machine built in, and additional
percussion is performed live and recorded with the on-board mic. Vocals are done on a Shure SM-58 in my bathroom.
The stage was set, and in two months (Jan-Feb 2005) I had completed my first copyrighted CD. In March, Mike gave me a sample of
some bass and acoustic lines he made up. I picked out some particularly inspiring ones and within 5 days of that point, created a
second with Mike as a claimant on it's joint copyright. I am currently working on a third.
I sent a CD to Joe Rodriguez, the current bass player for A Flock Of Seagulls (my mom met him at a concert in 2002 where the band
signed a poster for me to commemorate my 21st birthday), uploaded a few songs to I AM recordings, and unintentionally clogged
The Cure's Roger O' Donnell's email account with mp3s of my stuff. I have no clue when it comes to computers. I guess I was so
fascinated with my newfound knowledge of mp3 conversion that I got carried away and didn't realize what an inconvenience it would
be. He asked me for a URL that he could hear the music from. Well, I found out what that was, and never being one to do something
half way, here it is. If you read this Roger, thanks for the idea. I'm really pleased with the way it's turning out. Without that (what I
considered to be abstract) suggestion, I would have never created this site. By the way, sorry for sabotaging your mailbox.
This history is by no means complete, but it's a start.
So here I am in 2005. I won't accept times passing, fashion trends or anything of the sort. I have no "hairstyle". Any day you come
across me, you'll find me wearing one of my 9 identical pairs grey jeans, one of my 9 grey undershirts,, and some Nike sneakers
(the only thing that changes every day). Each day, I put my all into my talents - cultivating them, and seeing which will become my
living first. That's my big plan. I live with my fiancé Anna in my grandmother's apartment. I believe the day is on the horizon where I'll
buy a house in cash (one I design, of course). Maybe someone viewing this site will choose to provide the means for me to do that.
You never know. That's all for now... -Adam 2005.
Copyright 2005 Adam Abenante
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