The self-titled album of musician Ryan Adams that was released three months ago, is nominated for Best Rock Album of the year, along with his hit single, "Gimme Something Good", is up for Best Rock Song. The 40-year-old musician was interviewed by correspondent Anthony Mason to talk about his career and the inspiration that helped him create his new album.
"I just needed to express myself so badly that I got the guitar and I just right away started making music," Adams said.
Adams started writing songs when he was only 15 years old. When he was asked if he was always this passionate about music, Adams said, "Yeah, right away. Right away." He added, "First, it was poetry and Reader's Digest and, like, old television, but then music definitely, yeah."
He also said that the members of his band are "beyond, you know, musicologists and musicians" and understand the terminologies unlike him. Adams was also able to release 17 albums in a span of only 19 years and several musicians are struggling to keep up with him. He admitted that he is in the midst of a productive period, which he has had many times before.
The singer also admits that he had developed a hearing illness. "Oh, I still do, yeah," he bluntly admitted. "I have Meniere's disease. Which is an interesting thing to have and be me. It's unbelievable."
Meniere's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that can affect a person's hearing and balance to a fluctuating degree. The sickness almost ruined Adams' career. "On stage, for many years for me, it was a battleground of fear," he confessed. "And it would turn out that it was simply because I was being lit from the front, and after a while those lights-- especially if they flashed or moved. And I didn't know that it was anything other than, 'I'm just now feeling weird.' And what's weird is I was doing that in front of thousands of people. And I was really losing my mind."
The musician said that he has fixed those lights, regulated his lifestyle, and has come back to his previous ways. "It's just cool," he calmly stated. "I just am riding this wave of feeling inspired. And there's not a better place to be. It's just one of those times where I could walk down the street and I can hear two seconds of a conversation and-- between two strangers, and even just the act of me listening to it makes me wanna get the pen out and the pocket notebook and go to work. You know, that's my sweet spot."
