Adam Alexander Carson (born February 5, 1975) is the drummer of the
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
band
AFI. He and
Davey Havok
David Paden Marchand (born David Paden Passaro, November 20, 1975), known professionally as Davey Havok, is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band AFI (band), AFI, the synth-pop band Blaqk Audio, the hardcore pu ...
are the two original members left in the lineup.
Carson also filled in as drummer for the psychobilly band
Tiger Army
Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13. The band has released six studi ...
. His drumming can be found on Tiger Army's ''Early Years EP'' as well as their debut album ''
Tiger Army
Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13. The band has released six studi ...
''.
Carson was also a member of Influence 13 – a band formed by
Nick 13,
Jade Puget (who joined AFI in 1998),
Geoff Kresge
Geoff Kresge is a songwriter, guitarist, bassist, and record producer.
Career
file:AFI Berkley.JPG, Kresge ar rightin 1995.
Kresge played with the punk rock, punk group AFI (band), AFI during their early career, from 1992 through 1997, and ...
(who left AFI in 1996), and two other friends.
Biography
Adam Carson was raised in Ukiah, California, along with fellow AFI members
Davey Havok
David Paden Marchand (born David Paden Passaro, November 20, 1975), known professionally as Davey Havok, is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band AFI (band), AFI, the synth-pop band Blaqk Audio, the hardcore pu ...
and
Jade Puget, and former members
Geoff Kresge
Geoff Kresge is a songwriter, guitarist, bassist, and record producer.
Career
file:AFI Berkley.JPG, Kresge ar rightin 1995.
Kresge played with the punk rock, punk group AFI (band), AFI during their early career, from 1992 through 1997, and ...
and
Mark Stopholese. AFI has been described as a
Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...
band that is "one of the top hardcore/post-punk acts in the San Francisco Bay Area." Carson acquired an interest in music as early as age three, by which time he had amassed a small collection of 45-rpm records.
As a toddler, Carson would also drag pots and pans out of his kitchen and assemble them into a drum set.
Carson's aspirations to be a drummer in a band were realized when he was eight or nine years old. He recalls, "I came home from the record store with
Def Leppard
Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...
's
Pyromania
Pyromania is an impulse-control disorder in which individuals repeatedly fail to resist impulses to deliberately start fires, to relieve some tension or for instant gratification. The term ''pyromania'' comes from the Greek word (''pyr'', 'f ...
, as well as a poster of them performing live. I remember listening to the record and looking at the poster on my wall and thinking that being in a rock band must be the best thing ever."
Carson played in his school band when he was in the sixth and seventh grade. Regarding his experience, he said, "I played the drums (surprise, surprise) and had hot pink drumsticks and thought I was totally rad. I thought because I owned a drum set and could play a rock beat that I knew everything there was to know. I got sent to the office a lot for messing around with the trombone players, and when we had substitutes I organized mass switching of instruments by the class. I think I ended up with a tuba at one point."
However, he also believes his time in the band was misused, stating "I kind of wish I had paid more attention because I can't read music and know very little about scales and that type of thing. I quit band when the teacher called me a flake. I think he was pissed because I didn't want to join marching band, and I was pissed because he turned me down for jazz band and they had a drum kit. Even though I was a screw-up, I think being in the school band was educational and affected me positively."
Adam Carson met future bandmate Davey Havok in the fifth grade. It was not until high school that the two became friends and started AFI. While still in high school, Davey Havok, Mark Stopholese, and Vic Chalker formed AFI in November 1991. Stopholese suggested his friend, who was Adam Carson, to be drummer since he owned a drum set. Chalker was soon replaced by Geoff Kresge, and AFI subsequently recorded their debut EP, ''
Dork''. Regarding the first AFI practice, Carson recalls: "The first practice was pretty funny because no one knew how to play at all. I remember my dad was in the garage and spent like an hour trying to get the bass and guitar in tune. We didn't even know how to tune anything. I think we tried to play
Angry Samoans and
Germs covers. There really wasn't any chemistry at that time—it came a little later."
AFI briefly split in 1993 after each of its members graduated high school and attended different colleges. Carson attended
UC Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located in Monterey Bay ...
, while Havok and Stopholese attended the
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
and the
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
(USC), respectively. In December of that year, the band reunited and played a show for approximately 200 fans at the
Phoenix Theater
The Phoenix Theater is an all-ages nightclub located in Petaluma, California. The club has been in existence since 1905 and has changed in both structure and purpose, mostly due to severe damage caused by several fires.
History
The Phoenix Th ...
in
Petaluma, California
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...
. Encouraged by their enjoyment and success at the show, AFI became a full-time band.
On August 3, 2013, Carson married British model Eirinie Hamil. The couple have two daughters together, Luka Lily Carson, born on April 22, 2017, and Selah Marigold Carson, born on April 17, 2021.
Career
Between 1993 and 1995 AFI released several vinyl EPs (''
Behind the Times;
Eddie Picnic's All Wet;
This Is Berkeley, Not West Bay;
AFI/Heckle;
Bombing the Bay;
Fly in the Ointment'') independently.
Their first full-length, ''
Answer That and Stay Fashionable'' was released August 11, 1995, on Wingnut Records, and was produced by
Tim Armstrong
Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid (band), Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup T ...
. AFI were soon after signed on to Nitro Records,
Dexter Holland of
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Garden Grove, California, in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band currently consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Dexter Holland, Bryan "Dexter" Holland, ...
's label, and released ''
Very Proud of Ya
''Very Proud of Ya'' is the second studio album by American rock band AFI. It was released on June 18, 1996, through Nitro Records.
Background
The liner notes of the album state that all the tracks are copyrighted to Anthems for Insubordinates, ...
'', their second album. Carson is the one who conceived the album title and has written the lyrics for the song "Key Lime Pie," (a tribute to one of his favorite foods) and contributed several lines to "Rizzo in the Box.".

After several tours in support of the album ''Very Proud of Ya,'' Kresge decided to leave the group. His spot was filled by
Hunter Burgan
Hunter Burgan (born May 14, 1976) is an American multi-instrumentalist. He is the second and current bassist of AFI (band), AFI.
Biography
Burgan grew up in Grass Valley, California. He is a vegan.
Career
Burgan was bassist in The Force w ...
for the remaining ''Very Proud of Ya'' tour dates. Burgan went on to help AFI record ''
Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes
''Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes'' is the third studio album by American punk rock band AFI. It was released on November 11, 1997, through Nitro Records.
Overview
This is the first album to feature bassist Hunter Burgan, although he was not ...
'' (1997) and was invited to become the full-time bassist.
After recording the ''
A Fire Inside EP'' (1998), Stopholese left the band and was replaced by
Jade Puget, former member of Influence 13 and vocalist Havok's close friend. The band then recorded ''
Black Sails in the Sunset'' (1999), a musical turning point which introduced AFI fans to a much darker sound, mixing the band's original hardcore roots with
dark romantic influences.
The ''
All Hallows EP'' (October 5, 1999) explored the horror punk genre touched upon on ''Black Sails'', featuring artwork and lyrics containing Halloween themes. The EP spawned the single "
Totalimmortal", a track later covered by The Offspring for the ''
Me, Myself and Irene'' soundtrack. It received a fair amount of radio play and exposed AFI to larger audiences.
Carson played drums on the
psychobilly
Psychobilly (or punkabilly) is a rock music fusion genre that fuses elements of rockabilly and punk rock. It has been defined as "loud frantic rockabilly music", it has also been said that it "takes the traditional country rock, countrified rock ...
band Tiger Army's debut album ''Tiger Army''. Bandmate Davey Havok and
Rancid's
Tim Armstrong
Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid (band), Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup T ...
also contributed backing vocals to the album. The album was released on October 26, 1999.
On September 19, 2000, AFI released ''
The Art of Drowning'', which debuted on the ''Billboard'' charts at number 174, and peaked at number 9 on the Heatseekers chart. It continued to touch base with the horror punk genre, but expanded into styles that were a departure from previous works. The album brought the band unprecedented success in the underground scene, selling in excess of 100,000 copies. "
The Days of the Phoenix" was released as a single and video and had some moderate mainstream success, garnering the band more TV and radio airplay.
In 2002, AFI left
Nitro Records
Nitro Records was an American independent record label, founded in 1994 and operated by The Offspring's Dexter Holland and Greg K. Nitro is famous for being an incubator for punk rock artists who have subsequently become successful, most notab ...
. A&R Luke Wood signed them to
DreamWorks Records
DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Mo Ostin, his son Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label opera ...
. Their first album for the label, ''
Sing the Sorrow'', was released in 2003. The songs "
Girl's Not Grey", "
The Leaving Song Pt. II", and "
Silver and Cold" had some ''Billboard'' chart success and exposed the band to even larger audiences. They were nominated in the 2003
MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...
for the
MTV2
MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision.
The channel launched initially as an all-music ...
award category for the "Girl's Not Grey" video, which came to be their first VMA.
In June 2006, AFI's seventh studio album, ''
Decemberunderground'', was released on
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...
. The album's first single "
Miss Murder" reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Modern Rock Charts. The release reflected the continually changing and growing fan base of the band, and the album debuted as No. 1 on the
''Billboard'' 200. The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of over 500,000 copies of the album.
AFI's eighth album, ''
Crash Love'', was released on September 29, 2009. The first single from the album, "
Medicate", was released on August 25, 2009, and reached No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Alternative Songs Chart. The album yielded a second single, "
Beautiful Thieves", which peaked at No. 23. The album was very well received by critics.
AFI's ninth studio album, ''
Burials
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...
'', was released on October 22, 2013. The album's first single, "
I Hope You Suffer" was released July 22, 2013, followed by the release of the album's second single, "
17 Crimes" on August 6, 2013.
Carson is involved in a new band called The Reckless Kind (formed in 2011), described as "A 5 piece, heavy soul band." They recently finished recording their debut album, and have played several shows.
Equipment
The following is the complete list of Adam Carson's equipment, as found on AFI News Headquarters
Drums and hardware
*
Drum Workshop
Drum Workshop, Inc. (also known as DW Drums or DW) is a drum kit and hardware manufacturing company based in Oxnard, California. Current products by DW include drum sets, snare drums, and hardware.
History
Drum Workshop was founded in 1972 ...
Toms (depth x width)
*18" x 24" bass drum
*9" x 12" rack tom
*14" x 16" floor tom
*16" x 18" floor tom
Snares (depth x width)
*6.5″ x 14″
Pork Pie
A pork pie is a traditional English meat pie, usually served either at room temperature or cold (although often served hot in Yorkshire). It consists of a filling of roughly chopped pork and pork fat, surrounded by a layer of jellied pork stock ...
(Brass)
*5.5″ x 14″ Ayotte "Keplinger" (Steel)
*5.5″ x 14″
Ludwig "Black Beauty" (Brass)
*6.5″ x 14″ Legend (Maple)
Sticks
*
Vater "Power" 5B (primarily)
Cymbals
*22″
Zildjian
The Avedis Zildjian Company, simply known as Zildjian (), is a musical instrument manufacturer specializing in cymbals and other percussion instruments. Founded by the ethnic Armenian Zildjian family in the 17th-century Ottoman Empire, the com ...
A Custom Ping Ride
*22″ Zildjian Z Custom Power Ride
*22″ Zildjian A Ride
*14″ Zildjian Rock Hi-Hats
*15″ Zildjian K Bottom
*15″ Zildjian Quickbeat Bottom Hi-Hat Combo
Drum heads
*
Remo
Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and drum hardware, hardware, and various percussio ...
coated Emperors (toms and snares)
*Remo Powerstroke III (bass drum)
Discography
With AFI
Studio albums
* ''
Answer That and Stay Fashionable'' (1995)
* ''
Very Proud of Ya
''Very Proud of Ya'' is the second studio album by American rock band AFI. It was released on June 18, 1996, through Nitro Records.
Background
The liner notes of the album state that all the tracks are copyrighted to Anthems for Insubordinates, ...
'' (1996)
* ''
Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes
''Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes'' is the third studio album by American punk rock band AFI. It was released on November 11, 1997, through Nitro Records.
Overview
This is the first album to feature bassist Hunter Burgan, although he was not ...
'' (1997)
* ''
Black Sails in the Sunset'' (1999)
* ''
The Art of Drowning'' (2000)
* ''
Sing the Sorrow'' (2003)
* ''
Decemberunderground'' (2006)
* ''
Crash Love'' (2009)
* ''
Burials
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and object ...
'' (2013)
* ''
AFI'' (2017)
* ''
Bodies'' (2021)
With Tiger Army
*''
Tiger Army
Tiger Army is an American psychobilly band based in Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1996 in Berkeley, California, and its only constant member is singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter Nick 13. The band has released six studi ...
'' (October 26, 1999,
Hellcat Records
Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...
)
*''
Early Years EP'' (October 8, 2002,
Hellcat Records
Hellcat Records is an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. The label, an offshoot of Epitaph Records, was started as a partnership between Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion, the owner of Epitaph, and Tim Armstrong of Rancid ...
)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Adam
1975 births
Living people
20th-century American drummers
21st-century American drummers
AFI (band) members
American punk rock drummers
American male drummers
Horror punk musicians
People from Ukiah, California
University of California, Santa Cruz alumni
Drummers from California