The Dream

  Oh Ohio. I have been through Ohio many times in my life, and it holds one of the better places in life, Cedar Point amusement park. Growing up in Michigan, I was well familiar with the phrase “Oh How I Hate Ohio State.” Something sports related. It had little meaning to non-sport-type people like myself. My grandfather lived in Florida at the time, and on holidays and summer break we would drive down to visit him. The states that are between Michigan and Florida are the following: Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia, and then it was still a 3-hour drive once at the Florida border. The interstate is boring place with usually endless fields or trees on either side. Kentucky and Tennessee got somewhat of a pass because they had mountains to look at and it was also about the time to stop for food. Florida got a little pass too because at least we were almost there. That left 2 states. 1 was Georgia, it was giant and boring to drive through (sorry anyone that lives in Georgia) its nothing but field after field. At the time, the Gameboy didn’t have lights of its own and it was dark, so it was impossible to play once night hit. I am still not fond of the state. The other state was Ohio. While not as big as Georgia, it did occupy the same spot in my heart as it was not Michigan or Florida yet, and it didn’t have a scenery like the mountain states. In Ohio there was this giant Jesus statue with his hands up in the air that my family always joked he was saying “Why God? Why did you put me here?” I suppose a God finally had moment of temporary mercy and burnt the statue down via lightening only to resurrect another statue of Jesus there. That was my experience with Ohio, I would not say my heart would ever be in Ohio. I do now live in Florida, so obviously my choices in locations can’t be great. Lol

With that long paragraph being said, Recycled Hearts Records loves the music and people that has come out of it. We have put out music for 4 different artists all hailing from the buckeye state:

• Misery| Melody
• Houseworth
• Drifting Thing
• Adonis Boyd

For this album spotlight we are going to examining Adonis Boyd’s latest album “The Dream” and the split with 2019 songs with Drifting Things. Adonis Boyd reached out to Recycled Hearts Records near the end of 2019. At that time, he had just released a single “I miss best friend” and earlier in the year an ep called, “The Memories.” Before I ever listened to his songs, what really stood out to me was how positive he seemed. Not the fake positive either that’s only smiley faces or unicorns (sorry unicorns) but a realistic positivity that acknowledges reality.

Adonis Boyd has been playing music/making music since he was literally 2 years old, playing instruments from Piano/Guitar/Bass/Drums/Vocals. He has also played with several bands over the years, his love for music/passion for it, is amazing. This Project/Band was made to spread the joy/positivity thru music letting people know that they are not alone and that they have something to live for. In 2019 Adonis performed as a solo artist and played tons of shows from May last year till March 2020, and also went on a 3 day solo tour with a fill in drummer back in December, and now he’s managed to recruit members which are Al Gonzales who plays drums, Nick Smith who does Bass, Brendan Potter who is also on guitar. An Indie/Emo Rock band from Akron OH, who has a desire to play shows, tour, record, and just have creating great music for your ears, and spreading positive vibes to the communities around us and help people not feel alone. Support your artists/bands/musicians and share their music and work.

ADONIS BOYD FACEBOOK PAGE

It just so happens that another artist that I had recently worked with also was releasing a couple single at the end of the year. This would become the Adonis Boyd/ Drifting Thing split early 2020 and would mark the second new year release as well as the only CDs I have done during the year so far. Laurence Crow, the design artist that has done our logos before, would create the perfect cover.  Everything just came together smoothly. The cassette featured only the singles at the end of the year, while the CDs included both bands earlier ep titled: The Memories by Adonis and Die Young by Drifting Thing. Something that I think makes the cd something a little different is that its not an ordinary split with one band following the other. The songs are arranged intertwined which I believe really creates an experience different than just listening to either artist.

Almost immediately following the split, Adonis released a full album called “The Dream.” This would be the third release of the year, and coincidentally also had the same number of songs as our first release, but completely a different tone. Coming off as much slower than skate punk, the songs have a mellow somber feeling throughout the fifteen-minute album.

• Give Me A Reason Not to Say Goodbye

• Everything’s Burning Away

• All I Want to Do is Lay Next to You

• Just A Mess

• Thanks Ohio

• Is It not too late to stop chasing my dreams?

The first four songs give the feeling of being left or leaving. -Impending Abandonment if you will- The ending songs seem to reflect back on himself. My personal recommendation is All I Want to Do is Lay Next to You. I would also recommend the album to anyone lying in bed at night wishing to let out their feelings. The lyrics are relatable to add your own emotion to it and be lost in the music. It will have you not wanting to say goodbye.

2020 also hasn’t allowed him to slow down either as the band had added a couple more members and featured on several different Spotify playlists including:

• The Heart Riot Agency,

• Life In Idle,

• Carmen Kelley Music,

• The Service Monkeys, and more!

*Please note that I do not mean any offense to those that live in Ohio, Georgia, and Florida. I know that each place has its positives and negatives, and that great people reside everywhere. Florida is blistering hot with high humidity half the year but has beaches. Ohio and Georgia have a boring interstate but have nice things like a burger joint in Atlanta and the best roller coasters I’ve ever been on off Lake Erie. *

“Spread positive vibes to everyone and in the community, and also never give up on your dreams.”

ADONIS BOYD

j(This article was from our old site, published July 11, 2020. We sadly do not have any more "The Dream" However, you may find a couple copies of the Adonis Boyd/ Drifting Thing split in our store :) )