Hi Adam and Nick,
Welcome to Humans of Weston.
We are delighted to have you here, so let’s get to know you better…
Firstly tell us a bit about yourself in a sentence or two…
‘Tenpenny Fools’ is a collaboration between Adam Lipinski, Nick Rowland and Chris Palmer inspired by a mutual respect in each other’s musical field. Rapper Nick Rowland and singer-songwriter Adam Lipinski developed a working relationship which stemmed from late night listening sessions to writing and recording together. The resulting sessions produced their 2018 debut album ‘Red & Black’; a giant melting pot of Hip-Hop, Psychedelia, Blues & Soul.
Now a few questions:
How would you describe your music?
Adam: A melting pot of Hip-Hop, Psychedelia, Blues & Soul, Americana and Electronica.
Nick: It’s a mixed bag of influences and years of listening to music really. We always try to do something different and treat each song as an individual process, which keeps things exciting. It’s a work in progress and always will be.
Was music a deliberate career choice?
Adam: Music was always my first choice of a career but it took me almost 10 years to realise this ambition whilst studying and working various part time jobs. Having been in bands from age 14, I’ve been gigging since the age of 16 and turned full time professional musician in 2004.
Nick: I don’t actually have a career in music so to speak, but if there was a choice to have one it would certainly be a deliberate choice. I’m interested in doing anything creative, so if I could make a living from it I certainly would.
What does your music say about you?
Adam: This particular project is like a blank page and so creatively it means we can do anything we like which hopefully shows our broad appreciation of many different styles, whilst always trying to have musical integrity.
Nick: Well for the most part I see the music we make as a kind of time capsule. I made solely hip hop with Chris Palmer [the third member of Tenpenny Fools] for years in a group called Techtonic Plates and wanted to make something different and explore other places. Meeting and working with Adam and merging the two worlds has certainly taught me a lot but for the most part it’s taught me that just beyond my comfort zone is a really cool place to be.
What brought you to Weston?
Adam: I was born in Weston but my Polish Grandfather ended up in Weston after the Second World War and my Irish mother met my Dad in Banwell after her father was posted to Locking Camp with the RAF in the 60’s.
Nick: A curse placed upon the town by Alistair Crowley [Occultist who is believed to have worshiped at a Temple in the Town in 1896].
How has Weston been a part of your creativity?
Adam: I studied Music technology at the old Weston College Westcliff site with some great music industry teachers who inspired me to pursue a full-time music career, whilst teaching me valuable music business knowledge, as well as all the production skills needed to set up my own recording facilities.
Nick: It’s always there I suppose, there’s no specific ‘part’ as such but your surroundings are always going to influence who you are as a person to some degree in all walks of life. I guess we ‘sound’ kind of Weston but only because we are from Weston. It’s like a ‘Dave’ looks like a ‘Dave’.
Where are your favourite places in Weston to seek out inspiration?
Adam: One of my favourite places is Uphill beach where I will often walk with my dog whilst listening to music and thinking of new musical and creative ideas.
Nick: I like to stroll along the front every now and then but I’m not exactly sitting there watching a sunset with a note pad and quill writing profound poetry. My influences are usually my mood and headspace and the people I know I suppose. Sometimes song lyrics fall out of the sky and sometimes they don’t but I’ve learnt to just let them happen.
Has anyone in Weston supported or influenced you?
Adam: I have very good relationships with the likes of Cliff Moore and all the guys from Eastertown who were some of the musicians and bands that were out performing whilst I was a teenager and going to watch my first local gigs. These are the people that first inspired me to form bands and get out gigging in Weston and we have now worked alongside each other on several occasions with Cliff Moore in particular being a regular guest at our annual ‘Lipinski Christmas Party’.
Nick: Some people have been fantastic in their support for what we’re doing and it’s always massively appreciated. We do everything in house ourselves: the production, writing, mastering, artwork and videos, so when people fully get behind it it really does mean a lot.
Could do with some more though so ‘Like’ the page, stream the songs, follow the gram, tell your friends and tell ya Gran!
What advice would you give to young musicians in the town?
Adam: For performing musicians, get and play live as much as you can as you can never have too much experience. Seek out open mic nights and always try to do it for the love of music and not the money. If you’re lucky and you work hard enough, you will hopefully find you can start making some money on the side, or in some cases enough for it to become a full-time income.
Nick: Eat junk food while your metabolism is fast and utilise any free time to the pursuit of what you want to do whilst you have no real responsibilities.
What are you working on at the moment, or what is next?
Adam: We have just put out our second album ‘Money for Old Rope’ and we are currently preparing to create another music video in support of this. Every part of this project is very much ‘DIY’, so it’s a great creative outlet to explore other aspects of the industry such as promo video’s and art. We are also starting to work with other artists on projects which will hopefully see some future releases as ‘Tenpenny Fools’ featuring…
Nick: Writing and producing for other people with Adam which seems really promising at the moment. I’m also trying to blag Adam to be a Youtuber with me.
Listen to the band’s second album below:
Listen to Nick in TECHTONIC PLATES below: