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October 31, 2003/Cheshvan 5 5764, Vol. 56, No. 6
17-year-old musician, songwriter releases CD
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
Seventeen-year-old musi-cian Adam Panic is aiming high.
"Ten years from now I can see myself headlining a tour across America with a platinum record under my belt," he says.
While his goal may not seem unusual for a guitar-toting high school student, the path he's taking to achieve it is more heavily worn than most. He recently released his second compact disc "A Siren EP," a year after the release of his self-recorded debut CD "The Vamp." He wrote the music and played the instruments, except drums, on both pop music discs.
He began playing piano at age 7, and after spending a summer taking a guitar class at Camp Charles Pearlstein in fifth grade, Panic says he came home and told his parents he had to take guitar lessons.
His first experience in a band was in seventh grade, and he says that each year after that he would start out in a new band, but it would never work out.
"I've always been the person who's been the most driven out of the people I've worked with," he recalls. "It was always tough for me to organize and get five other 15-year-olds to be on the same level I was at."
The struggle to find serious band-mates led Panic to start a solo project a little over a year ago. He uses backup musicians for live shows, and at his most recent show at Bash on Ash in Tempe, he was accompanied by a cellist.
"I'm trying to find a flute, violin, viola, cello, bass, guitar, keyboard - I'm really into the symphonic orchestra backing up rock bands," says Panic.
Panic is the stage name he adopted as a solo artist because his given name -- Kootman - is too hard for people to spell, he says.
Panic calls himself "ob-sessed" with music and is excited about the early success he's had. He says he's played dozens of shows, had some radio airplay, and has had an independent record label show interest in his work.
All of this work has been self-funded. Panic says he's been working for years (getting paid under the table before he reached 16, the legal age for employment), and now works at Scottsdale North Hospital.
The Chaparral High School senior resides in Paradise Valley with his parents, Sally and Jeff Kootman, and his sister Amy - all members of Temple Chai. He is currently preparing to apply to Berklee College of Music in Boston.
While Panic says he's aware of the struggles many musicians face before getting their "break," he's not letting that knowledge deter him from trying to achieve his own goals.
"I feel like I'm one step ahead of myself and I'm dragging the reality behind me," he laughs.
He credits his current level of success to self-confidence and ambition.
"So far I've accomplished everything I've wanted to do," Panic says. "If you really believe you can do something and you have the talent behind it, it can be done."
"A Siren EP" is available at all Zia Records locations, Stinkweeds and Hoodlums. For more information, visit www.adampanic.com.
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