You Probably Never Heard Adam’s Farm’s ‘Rock Music Machine,’ and That’s a Shame

Adam’s Farm was this nifty blending of popular music that still resonates with me, years after the now-defunct Dallas-area group wandered off.

Band motto: If they can’t take a joke, folk ’em. Well, at first anyway. Adam’s Farm started out as a respectable set of earnest, well-meaning acoustics. Then they took a left turn in early January 1992 when Jeff Whittington dragged in a Marshall amp and a distortion pedal.

Along the way, they once again showed that pop is an endlessly appealing yet still challenging proposition when held in the right hands. There was a furious songcraft to Rock Music Machine – released in 1994 via Rainmaker Records – along with some of the age-appropriate knitted brows and a touch of real danger.

“Want In,” for instance, was genuinely nasty, a driving example of what made Adam’s Farm special. They take a shot at the Lemonheads, too. Even more traditionally folkie pieces like “Folsum” had a sneering guitar deep in the mix, making for a pleasantly rumbling sound texture. Like Neil Young, but with updated threads.

Yet, somehow, they never really broke out. They came, and went. Still, the fizzy alchemy, the sense of adventure found here – musical and otherwise – stayed with them.

Jeff Whittington’s twenty-five pin connector – a solo record from the late ’90s that closed with a stripped-down version of the Psychedelic Furs’ “Heaven” – was initially only available by e-mail from [email protected]. He performed as part of the 2006 experimental theater tribute Waiting for a Train: The Life and Songs of Jimmie Rodgers, the Father of Country Music. His next band grew out of a shared moment with a Beatles tune.

Whittington, who has such a solid, unironic way of singing and is definitely not the North Carolina banjo champion, apparently tried moving into straight life: He worked as a special-events coordinator for a television station, and became a longtime host on Dallas public radio. But his infatuation with song kept bringing him back to the stage – memorably with Toby Pipes from Deep Blue Something (of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” fame) as the Hundred Inevitables.

Adam’s Farm had opened for Deep Blue Something at the height of their one-hit-wonderdom, and Whittington would often join them onstage for the encore, which included “Dear Prudence.” Pipes and Whittington later recorded “Trampoline” and “Kind to Hold” from twenty-five pin connector.

Paul Nugent’s Rainmaker Records also put out some Nixons stuff. The old Adam’s Farm rhythm section, bassist Mark Hedman and drummer Matt Pence, subsequently helped form Centro-matic. The ever-restless Whittington went on to work with Stuart Sikes, producer of the White Stripes, before hatching a plan to tour the country in a customized Fort Transit.

• Author
• Recent Posts

Jimmy Nelson

The Something Else! webzine, an accredited Google News affiliate, has been featured in The New York Times and NPR.com's A Blog Supreme, while our writers have also been published by USA Today, Jazz.com and UltimateClassicRock.com, among others. Contact Something Else! at [email protected].

Latest posts by Jimmy Nelson (see all)

• Why Pink Floyd’s ‘The Endless River’ Provided a Perfect Ending - November 11, 2024
• The ‘Wildflowers’ Track That Pointed to Tom Petty’s More Mature Path - November 4, 2024
• The Five Must-Have Songs For Your Halloween Playlist - October 31, 2024

You May Also Like:

Bryan Adams Finally Established His Own Identity With ‘Cuts Like a Knife’ How Bryan Adams Finally Put It All Together With ‘Reckless’ How the Sweet Finally Came Into Their Own With ‘Sweet Fanny Adams’