Interview: Owen Adamcik

Discussing His Ambitious New Power Pop EP Project

Owen Adamcik is an incredibly prolific one man band who plans to release monthly power pop EPs in 2024.

If the first ten songs are any indication, that is really good news for fans of high-energy, lo-fi power pop in the vein of The Nerves and The Whiffs. I only discovered this ambitious project last week and was so charmed by the scrappy debut The Owens that I had the five one-minute songs on repeat for a couple days.

By the time I interviewed Adamcik he was preparing to release the second EP in the series. On One Way Owen, he takes a leap forward from his usual all GarageBand recording process by adding real drums and amps.

“(One Way Owen) is filled with me trying to show the most powerful heartfelt emotions I can while being effortlessly nonchalant about it at the same time,” Adamcik told me for our interview. “Overall the production has definitely improved and I now have full confidence in the power pop direction. I personally believe (One Way Owen) is a much better EP, but we will have to see what other people think.”

Adamcik is an 18-year-old college student who has been self-releasing music since he was 13, but with these EPs he pointedly makes the move from punk to power pop.

“In my teenage years I moved schools, was bullied very heavily, and my parents divorced, so I quickly spiraled into making punk music as an identity,” Adamcik said.

“As I have healed and matured I realized I like singing about things I can control rather than complaining about things that make me angry. I wanna show the world I’m a much more sophisticated and talented musician than what my previous teenage discography leads people to believe.”

I caught up with Adamcik by email at his home base in Florida.

Owen Adamcik Interview

I've probably listened to The Owens tracks ten times in the last few days. Can you tell me how this one was recorded?

Owen Adamcik: Thank you very much. I recorded The Owens in my bedroom on GarageBand on my 2015 MacBook Pro. I just plugged my instruments into a Focusrite Audio Interface and was ready to rock. For the guitar I used a G&L Telecaster and for the bass I used a cherry red Epiphone SG bass.

I recorded my vocals using a AT2020 USB microphone and that was pretty much it. The drums for The Owens were programmed using the GarageBand drummer. For the mix, I added some compression here and there and that was pretty much it.

Most of the songs were recorded in as few takes as possible with me staring at pictures of musicians and albums I love on my wall. I feel it’s incredibly important while recording to channel inspiring energy into something new.

The Owens features five killer tracks in about 6 minutes. Does the debut EP represent a specific burst of power pop songwriting? 

Owen Adamcik: Thank you. Yeah, this EP was primarily written using a little power pop perfect formula I jotted down in my notebook. The song always starts with a killer bass line and then I follow that with a ‘fuck yeah’ surfy guitar riff. Then I add some kick ass drums and put the cherry on the top of the Sundae by adding bitter lyrics.

I wrote all my lyrics down in a notebook and most of the themes and stories on this EP are about really liking a girl in your teenage years and her, at the time, not returning your feelings. Years later she finally likes you when you’ve already moved on or when it’s not possible to be with her anymore. I like putting that perspective on things because it makes you feel like you ultimately won the relationship game and aren’t just a sad sap. And for me that’s what a lot of power pop is about.

Making music for me has always been just taking something I was interested in and making it more interesting within the context of myself. During this time I became incredibly fascinated with power pop and almost effortlessly spun it into songs and narratives taken from my own life. 

I hear plenty of pop hooks on some of your previous releases, but it seems more pointed with these EPs. Is this a new musical direction?

Owen Adamcik: I was interested in power pop my entire life and incredibly so as a child, so I think it’s really natural that it’s coming full circle as a creative path in my adult years. I really want to prove myself in this genre as a home-recorded household name. I am getting a Rickenbacker soon and plan on consuming and surrounding myself with as much power pop culture as possible to create a perfect environment to allow myself to be a vessel for this genre of music I love. 

As a one man band, why did you give The Owens a "band name"?

Owen Adamcik: One day I just was listening to a playlist on my phone and thought, ‘What if I was a power pop musician in the 1970s and in an awesome band?’ I found it incredibly easy to write songs by imagining this scenario in my head. I thought this idea really reflected the atmosphere of this EP, so I decided to name the imaginary band in my head and The Owens stuck.

I have always been fascinated with artists who decided to have project names for whatever they were doing at the time—Sgt Pepper’s, Haunted Graffiti, Ziggy Stardust. I always thought it was really cool how they created characters to tell the story of a specific creative output. So, yeah. I took the spirit of a bygone era and modernized it into my own mystical vision. 

The visual nod to The Nerves on The Owens cover is what first caught my eye. Are you a fan of The Nerves?

Owen Adamcik: I absolutely love The Nerves and always will. I first heard The Nerves when my dad gave me their CD in the 4th grade and it was a key part of my childhood.

Why do you think The Nerves remain so influential 45+ years later?

Owen Adamcik: I believe The Nerves remain so influential because they collectively put all their energy and spirits into proving themselves as people of significance in the world. Together they give off an incredibly strong and positive vibration. Once it was let loose in the world it was only going to attract people to it.

I think The Nerves represent the confidence a young man has to prove himself as someone who deserves love and to be seen as somebody special. Their DIY approach also strikes me as incredibly human and really strengthens my connection to it.

I can easily imagine tracks like "don't call on the phone" and "what I'm all about" on a playlist with 2nd Grade, The Whiffs and Uni Boys. Who are a few modern bands you're listening to these days?

Owen Adamcik: I would absolutely love to be on a playlist with The Whiffs and Uni Boys. I’m really hoping to escape my teenage punk scene and be associated with those guys. To be honest, The Whiffs and Uni Boys are the only modern bands I really listen to at all and I’m a massive fan.

I would say The Whiffs are up there in my top 5 bands of all time. I really love their energy and the songs just sound exactly how my teenage heart felt. Uni Boys are awesome too—a little more laid back and chill, but really great Nick Lowe-style melodies and a killer look.

I really would like to discover more modern bands and form connections with them as someone these guys know about and respect. I hope to see and hear more power pop bands in the coming years as more people put energy into keeping it alive.

Any other guitar pop bands from Orlando we should know about?

Owen Adamcik: To be honest with you, there are really only Midwest emo bands and hardcore moshing groups in Orlando. If there are any guitar pop groups in the area it’s probably more kids in coffee shops trying to sound like Mac DeMarco than anyone really on my wave of power pop influence.

I wish there were more musicians who were into what I am into, but I understand it is somewhat of a niche cultural movement. I know Rory (Cameron) from The Whiffs is originally from Florida, so maybe in the next few years I’ll meet some cool guys and start causing a scene to appear here. 

Any plans to tour for the first couple EPs? 

Owen Adamcik: I would really love to assemble a talented group to take these songs on the road. I might play a few pop up shows with some of my former punker friends, but nothing too serious.

Once I compile this next series of EPs into an album, I think it will definitely be time for me to hit the road for a few months. I’d start in Florida and would likely travel north to play all the cities up there. Hopefully I’ll find a loyal and dedicated backing band soon who is into power pop and also have good chemistry with me as friends. 

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VOLUME 1—Spring/Summer 2023

James Goodson (of Dazy) on Being Power Pop-Adjacent

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Mo Troper on Chris Bell's "I Am The Cosmos"

Rob Nesbitt (of the Suitesixteen) on the Exploding Hearts

S.W. Lauden on the Whiffs (Our debut cover models!)

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Ryan Allen on The Ties That Bind Hardcore Punk & Power Pop

Tyler Asay on the Philadelphia Power Pop Scene

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John Borack on the Muffs' Legacy

Walter Chaw on the Pretty Flowers

Nadja Dee on Fountains of Wayne

Marko DeSantis on Uni Boys

S.W. Lauden on The Replacements' Lasting Influence

Allen Lulu on Kurt Baker: The Spain Years

Aidil Rusli on Southeast Asian Guitar Pop

PLUS: Custom Cover Art By Brian Walsby