Northeast Michigan Oral History and Historic Photograph Archive

Greg Adamus Interview

Description

Interview Part 1

Interview Part 1

Transcription

CK: Today is February first, 2015 and I'm-
GA: Sixteen!
CK: Sixteen, thank you, I said I was rusty; this is Cindy Kus, I'm sitting at the Alpena County Library in the Alpena History Room, with Dr. Greg Adamus.
GA: Hello.
CK: And Greg is a keyboardist, percussionist, comes from Detroit, um, and has been in the Alpena area for a while, I'm not sure how long; but we're going to start out asking about your roots, you grew up in Detroit, and how long you were down there, when you first started playing and when you came to Alpena.
GA: Ok. Well, it's a real simple story. I was born in Detroit; but I grew up, my childhood, ah, my parents moved out to Dearborn Heights. So, I was a West Side Detroiter. And ah, I ah, I was blessed with two parents who were both musicians, and my dad was a semi-professional musician, he was also an engineer at Ford Motor Company; but he played all of his life and the big story there is he played through World War Two with clarinet in The Navy Bands. So when he came home, back to Detroit after that, he was a war hero, and he was a musician, so he got a Big Band together, and the rest, as they say, is history.
 He kinda, he kinda really had the market. Ah, he hired my wife, or, my wife! My mother. He was dating my mother, found out she could sing pretty well, and she; he hired her as his vocalist in the Big Band. So, ah-
CK: And this is late 40's, early 50's?
GA: All, all through the late forties and all of the fifties; but the story there is she stopped singing for the band when she started having children. Now I have three siblings, and ah, so between the four of us, she basically, there's only two years between all four of us. So you can imagine, through all the fifties, she was pregnant or changing diapers- all the time. So, she, she didn't have a career path, pursued his music career throughout his whole life, he died in '87, and I was blessed to be in his orchestra, in his band. 
I started out as his drummer, I was all of eleven years old. I was the youngest member, leaving junior high school, ah, to go play funerals. We would play parades for some of the funerals, and I'd sneak out of school, my dad would pick me up and we'd go do that. And that was, that was 7th- 8th grade, and then, certainly by high school, I was, that was my full time occupation. And, and it was good money; but the money was an afterthought, because I, I didn't need money when I was a kid, so the big deal about, about having that childhood, is I learned music by osmosis. Yes, I did practice; but it didn't feel like practicing; because in my, in my household, between my parents, and their musicianship, and then I had the three siblings, we all took, we all played.
CK: You all took lessons?
GA: So, oh yeah. So, it was like breathing air. It wasn't- there was no ordeal or drudgery in playing and getting better. It was what the Adamus house, - I'm blessed that I had fun throughout and the reason I stuck with it is because it became, it became a joy for me, so-. 
CK: Well-
GA: Even now, the best time of my life.
CK: Really?
GA: I peaked early, yeah, no, it was- because, because I was a kid in an adult world. So you can imagine every weekend, and I was a, I was a big-boned, I was a big kid, physically, so I never got carded. I never, I never once couldn't play a gig because I was too young, because I looked older. And once I put that, that tuxedo on, and you know, combed my hair back, nobody bothered with me. And so, yes, being in the adult world as a kid, was fabulous for me; because I learned about life, I certainly, I rubbed shoulders with the best musicians in Detroit. My, my dad was very heavily involved with the, the musicians union, and so the guys he hired, were top-notch. And I was always not only the youngest musician on the gig, but I was the worst musician on the gig. But that's what you gotta do, you know- you ask any athlete, how do you get better at playing tennis? You got to play someone better than you. 
CK: Right.
GA: Well, so here I was, every weekend, and, just playing with guys who took me under their wing. And that's why I do it now with younger people, you know, it's the whole idea of paying forward. So yeah, I was really in a lucky position. It, it was all about being blessed, being born into the right family at the right time to do what I loved. 
CK: What clubs did you play at?
GA: Oh, wow. I'd have to say we played more private engagements- we played private parties. We played, our biggest market was the wedding circuit. So that's what we did. And because we were proficient and professional we could play any style, any type of music. And that's why the wedding market was our market, we played Jewish weddings, Polish weddings, Italian weddings, German weddings, any, any ethnicity, you can name, I've played those weddings. And you know, some of the music maybe was, was hash-dash, maybe some of it wasn't authen-, as authentic as it would have been otherwise if they had hired a band right from Poland or right from Germany; but the point is in Detroit in the seventies, you know, I'm talking about in my, my decades, as a performing musician in Detroit, which was all of the seventies, all of the eighties and most of the nineties- during those three decades, ah, the wedding market was such that you didn't want a purely ethnic band, you wanted a band that could play rock and roll, a band who could play Sinatra, and a band that could play, every once in a while, maybe, maybe four or five times a night, play a good polka. Or play a Viennese waltz, or play Chardash, or play the Hava Nagila- whatever it took.
CK: Mmhuh.
GA: So-
CK: You mentioned the funeral-
GA: Yes
CK: -bands?
GA: Yeah, those, those are gone away, they, they-
CK: Sounds, reminds me of New Orleans.
GA: Yeah, exactly what it was. We would play, we would, usually it was, ah, at church, we would play, inside the church  and then, and then, as, whenever the casket moved, if the casket was in the hearse, the hearse would pull up to the church, the doors would open, the pall bearers would come by the side and the moment that casket started moving, the band would stand in the street and we would play. And then we'd play as the casket went up the stairs into the church, as soon as the door closed, we stopped playing. And then we we'd go play cards across the street. (Laughs) Of course I was only twelve years old, so I, I kinda, my job was to watch, watch the church to see when Mass was over so I could tell the band guys to get, get goin', you know, close the deck down, let's go, we got to play. And then, and then as, as the casket came back out of the church, we'd play again and then we'd follow the hearse and cortege to the cemetery, same deal. Whenever the casket was in motion, it had music- and that was a pretty cool thing, we played, we played some military ones, not as many; because of course, the military musicians, you know, that was the era of the Vietnam War and the Vietnam veterans, the bodies that came home, those were all taken care of by, by military bands, ah, so, we basically did the, the mom and pop ones.
CK. Hmm.
GA. So-lot of Hungarian, gypsies love music at their funerals, yeah.
CK: And so you would, would you um, I'm at a little loss for the word I want here
GA: That's all right.
CK: Tailor your music- 
GA: Oh yeah.
CK: To the particular deceased person. 
GA:  Oh yes, yes, um, if there were, if there were tunes that, that we knew somebody liked, um, then yes, we would put that in there- but then, not, not a lot. I can remember at my grandfather's funeral, we played "Roll Out the Barrel," as, as the last tune. We played a polka right there in the cemetery. Um, certainly um, you know, the biggest memories of, of music and funerals, had to do with musician's funerals; those are the toughest of all to play. And there's a real tradition- I'm sure it's still going on in Detroit and every large city, ah, when a musi-, musician passes, um, if you had anything to do with learning from that guy or gal, you showed up with your horn. And, now at my dad's funeral there was, I'm gonna guess, 30 some musicians that played, the whooole, the whole thing. Yeah, it was crazy. 
CK: Wow.
GA: So- 
CK: And when did that era end?
GA: Well, it, I don't know that it ended so much, as it ended when I left town. 
CK: So it ended for you.
GA: Yeah, it ended for me; because now I'm up here.
CK: Ok.
GA: But frankly, it's not done anymore. I, in fact, the funeral library, the folio of the dirges, the Chopin, bahm, bahm, ba-bahm, bahm ba bahm ba bahm ba bahm - all that music I have since gotten rid of. I've sold it, so. I don't know that it's happening much anymore. 
CK: Right.
GA: But that's ok.
CK: Yep, yep. Different times.
GA: Yeah. 
CK: And these are different times, you're in Alpena now.
GA: Yep.
CK: And, howww long has that been?
GA: Oh goodness. I moved here in 1988. So it's been, it's been 28 years, 20-, I don't know, you do the math, you'll listen to this and you'll be able to do the math. Ah, but that's, I, I was um; I was actually a high school band director. I, I ,I graduated from Olivet College with a music degree-
CK: Ok.
GA: In pea- my major instrument was piano. Which is kind of weird because piano players don't usually become band directors; because there's no piano in the band, it's basically horn players. But I was different, because I knew how to play the instruments, and I still, I still had a love of my keyboard, my piano. So, um, so I graduated with that, I got a job at Dundee High School, Dundee Michigan, near the south border, just above, or to, to the west of Monroe.
CK: Monroe, mmhuh.
GA: And I taught there, and I taught at New Lothrop High School, which is west of Flint, between Flint and Owosso, did that for five years, and then one day, ah, it just, and then, all during that, those six years I went to get my Master's Degree in Educational Administration. So I knew that sooner or later I would stop being a band director and I would start being a principal. Now there's an interesting story about that, having to do with the wonderful world of music, so let me tell it, because-
CK: OK.
GA: -it's pretty important.
I noticed as a band director, I worked hard. It- thank god, I was young, because I can't tell you how hard it is- musically, politically, I mean you have to deal with parents, you're out in the public, and it's non-stop, you don't get summers off; because there are parades in the summer and there's, there's recruitment to do. It's a very, very, hard job. If you, if you see a high school band director, hug him- is all I got to tell you. It's really, really something. But, I noticed something- while I was doing all that. For those six years the high school principal, he had, he had at least a month off. And he was getting paid twice what I was getting paid. And I noticed every morning, I came to work, my car was there before his, and I noticed when I went home, his car was already gone. And I thought, what, what is this all about? That's why I went and got my Master's Degree in Administration, and I said "Look, I can't keep this pace up- band directing is just too much." And that's why I switched over. And ah, it was when I got the degree that I actively started looking for work as an administrator. And now, this brings me to 1988, because, it also specifies, Alpena. Because I swear to you, I didn't know Alpena from anywhere. I knew the word, Alpena. I knew there was an Alpena, Michigan; but I kid you not, it could have been, it could have been where Muskegon is. Or where- I didn't know where in the state it was- but here's what happened. 
When you're a teacher and you want to be a principal, you have to find the lowest rung on the ladder to start, because you have no experience as a principal, right?
CK: That makes sense.
GA: Well that summer that I did that, which I think was, yeah, it had to be in '87 or '88, whatever it was, that summer, there were no other jobs open in the entire state except here in Alpena for an assistant principal at a junior high school. You talk about the lowest rung (Laughs). That doesn't there is nothing below that. 
That's, if you, if you ask what's a perfect starting thing for someone with no experience, you look for an assistant principalship at a junior high school. Now there's only about ten of those in the whole state anyway; but that summer, there was only one open, and that was here in Alpena. So that's how I ended up here- I, I applied, because I had to apply, because there was nowhere else to apply. And um, I remember sitting in my car when I got the Notice of Interview. And I said, "Ok, I got to go to Alpena and interview." And I remember taking the map of Michigan out of my glove box and sitting in my car and trying to find Alpena on the map and I couldn't find it! And I just kept going and going and then I went to the top of Michigan and I said, "Oh my god, what did I do?" It was too late, they called to interview, so I, I remember the long drive up here, I couldn't believe it, for this Detroiter, I thought, "Where am I going?"
CK: Now, did you have a family at that time?
GA: Ah, I had, I was married, and I had one son. 
CK: OK.
GA: He was an infant.
CK: So this wasn't just you. 
GA: No.
CK: Uprooting and going somewhere-
GA: No, because my wife was a choir director at Montrose High School and she was greatly loved. She could have ran for mayor of that town. They just loved her. And I, you know, we had a square off and I said, "This is what I want to do, I, I worked hard for this Master's Degree, I can't do band directing all my life, this is the job that's open, they're offering it to me- let's go…" And she had to walk in, her, to her high school principal and resign. She had to just say to her choir, "Ah, that's it. It's been fun, but I'm going."  
So- But oh, I've got to tell you about the, the way Alpena happened, speaking of my wife. Ah, when I, I had two rounds of interviews. I had a first interview with, you know, maybe ten other interviewees and then about four days later, they did callbacks of the top two candidates. So I interviewed the first round, I came up to Alpena by myself. That was that long, lonely drive, right? And I interviewed. Well you know how during an interview, you'll say anything. You'll talk about anything. It's crazy, right?
I still to this day, don't know how; but somehow, I mentioned during that first interview that my wife was a church organist. I don't know how that came out, but it came out, ok? So I go back home, Betsy says, "How, how was the interview?"
I said, "It's ah, I think I have a chance. We'll see." About a night later, it was not more than a day, the phone rings, and it's Reverend Bob Case from Alpena, Michigan. And I don't know Reverend Bob Case from Alpena, Michigan. 
I said, "This is Greg."
He says, "Can I speak to your wife?"
I'm like, well this is pretty far out. "Ah, Betsy, the phone's for you. It's someone from Alpena."
She says, "But you haven't got the job yet."
I said, "I know, just take the call."
Bob Case, found out, you know how small town word of mouth is, that, that comment I made about having a church organist wife, leaped out of the interview, got around town, the Congregational Church needed a church organist, now here comes the delicious part- Bob Case hired her over the phone! Now keep in mind, I still don't have the job in Alpena. I, I did the first interview, between the first and second rounds, Bob Case hires my wife to be the church organist at UCC.
She hangs up the phone, she says, "Well you better get that job."
I said, "Why? What if I don't? Wha, wha, big deal, we'll just keep going."
She said, "No, because I'm going to Alpena." (Laughs)
So the tables turned. Here I was telling her, "You're going to have to resign if I get this job." And in the wink of a phone call, it was the other way around, "You're going to have to resign if," you know, "Betsy's going to Alpena." And that's a true story. But that's small town for you. 
CK: And she's still there!
GA: She's still the organist, she's been twenty-five, twenty, well actually the whole time we're here-so 28 years something, she's been the organist, and she loves her work. Loves it! Yeah. But isn't that ironic how it worked out. So I went to that second interview. Oh was I nervous! Because I had to get it! It was all on the line, you know? And luckily it worked out. 
CK: Was this Thunder Bay Junior High?
GA: This is the old Thunder Bay on Second Avenue.
CK: On Second Avenue. 
GA: Yep, yep, I did three years there, as what they called "the whip". You know, that terminology is long gone because we don't even see assistant principals as disciplinarians anymore, it's a whole 'nother way of looking at public education. But when I got here in '88, um, things were pretty rough, and they needed someone to be a disciplinarian and kinda get things back under control. So, that three years was pretty challenging for me at, at Thunder Bay Junior High.
CK: It's seems almost contrary in a way, I just, I think of musicianship as being this sort of a more creative, free flowing, right?

Creators

Cindy Kus, Interviewer

Greg Adamus

, Interviewee

Media Type

Audio

Image

Text

Item Type

Interviews

Description

Greg Adamus earned his chops playing weddings and funerals with his dad's bands in West Detroit. After receiving degrees in both music and educational administration, Greg and his wife Betsy moved to Alpena in 1988.
Greg was instrumental in shaping the music scene in the area through the Thunder Bay Arts council as well as shaping the lives of young musicians through his guidance at the junior high and high school level.In this interview Greg shares stories and photographs of his musical legacy in Alpena.

Place of Publication

Alpena County George N. Fletcher Library

Date of Original

1 Feb 2016

Playing Time

78:12

Subject(s)

Keyboard instruments
Percussion instruments
Detroit (Mich.)
wedding music

Personal Name(s)

Adamus, Greg ; Adamus, Betsy ; Case, Reverend Bob ; Christopher, Dean ; Wentz, Barry ; Moor, Bonnie ; Bishop, Matt ; Hubbard, MaryAnn ; Jones, Mike ; Deadman, Don ; Lamb, Maggie ; Lamb, Jerry ; Montgomery, Nate ; The Cheerful Earful ; Petoskey Steel Drum Band ; Bobbing for Piranhas ; Rigg, Bobby ; Vanverlah, Pete ; Lewis, W.C. ; Weeks, Dr. Jim ; Larkin, Dr. Dave ; The Frost ; Hartman, Donny ; Daoust, Larry ; Arbuckle, Andrea ; Diemond, Dennis ; The Douglas Family ; Popadamus ; Swing Shift Orchestra ; The KEG Band ; Crown, Chris ; seiss, Norm ; Aten, Dr. Avery ; Harwell, Ernie ; Kaltrider, Bill ; Tomaszewski, Kat ; Everett, Nancy ; Half brassed ; Dapogny, Dr. James ; Parrish, Dan ; Best, Archie ; Dunstan, Bob ; Kendziorski, Wayne ;

Corporate Name(s)

Thunder Bay Arts Council ; The American Federation of Musicians

Collection

Musicians of Northeast Michigan

Language of Item

English

Geographic Coverage

Detroit

Michigan, United States

Latitude: 42.33143 Longitude: -83.04575

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