iSound

David Ryan Adams was born in Jacksonville, North Carolina in 1974. Growing up as a child, Adams was heavily influenced by country music. He listened to stars such as Loretta Lynn, George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash. As he grew into his teenage years, Adams began to listen to, and be influenced by punk rock. When he was fifteen, he began to teach himself the electric guitar and write his own music. At sixteen, Adams formed his first band. His band, The Patty Duke Syndrome, soon received a fairly large following in the group’s hometown on Jacksonville. When he was 19, Adams and fellow members of The patty Duke Syndrome moved to nearby Raleigh, North Carolina in hopes to gain a wider audience. In 1994, however, Adams left the band.

He soon joined a band called Whiskeytown (Whiskeytown is slang for getting drunk). The group consisted of Phil Wanscher (guitar), Caitlin Cary (violin), Steve Grothman (bass), and Eric ‘Skillet” Gilmore (drums). Whiskeytown released thei...