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Some bands enter the rock and roll world just begging for a little, recognition. Others come kickin'and screamin' onto the scene boasting a pedigree virtually guaranteed to make them instant media sensations. Without I belaboring the point, it would seem that the young band known as Adema would clearly fall into the latter category If being the first hard rock band in recent memory signed to Arista Records wasn't enough to draw some extra buzz this Bakersfield, CA unit's way, consider some other pertinent information surrounding vocalist Mark Chavez, guitarist Mike Ransom, guitarist Tim Fluckey, bassist Dace DeRoos and drummer Kris Kohls. Among those facts is that Chavez is the younger half-|-brother of Korn's Jonathan Davis, that Kohls used to be in Videodrone, and DeRoo and Fluckey used to be members of Juice, the band that I grew out of SexArt — the unit that at one time included both the aforementioned Mr. Davis and Orgy guitarist Ryan Shuck. Not a bad lineage for a band you've still probably never heard of.

"We know people are gonna jump all over some of our relatives and our past experiences," Chavez said. "I guess that's kind of avoidable, and since we've told people about 'em, there's no reason that they shouldn't be part of our story But we'd really rather have everyone get into what we're doing. We think our music is interesting enough so that all the other stuff becomes irrelevant."

Despite all coming from the Bakersfield area, and sharing a number of apparently common musical roots, the members of Adema really didn't know one another that well until the band started to take shape in 1998. It was then that Chavez and Ransom were first introduced by a mutual acquaintance, and almost immediately the pair noted their similar interests in heavy, adventurous rock. After DeRoo and Fluckey came aboard afew months later, things really started to pick up for the fledgling unit. Adema started hitting the club circuit where their rugged, cutting-edge style of metal soon made them the talk of the entire So Ca! rock scene. Word about the group's hard-hitting sound soon reached record label offices along the Sunset Strip, and a hot and heavy bidding war for the band's services soon erupted.

"It was wild having all these different label people come to our shows and pay us so much attention," Chavez said. "It's enough to really make your head spin. They all come along telling you how great they think you are, and how their label can make things really happen for you. But when Arista came along, it just felt different. They gave us so much love right from the start. We know that they haven't had much experience with a band like ours, but that's okay. I think we'll all do fine with one another."

Chavez' confidence in his label has already been richly rewarded. Within weeks of inking their deal, the folks at Arista had sequestered the band in a Los Angeles recording studio with noted producers Tobi Miller and Bill Appleberry to begin work on their self-titled debut disc. During the months of studio prep and recording, the label people went to work, laying down a rock-solid foundation of support for their young metal charges—and garnering a lot of media interest along the way. Thus, by the time that Adema hit record store shelves early this summer, there was already a loud, proud and loyal following out there just waiting to help launch this young unit to stardom, "We knew we had a following back home in Bakersfield," Chavez said. "But now we're doing national press and getting invited to play shows all around the country. That's all pretty amazing to us. But we're not getting blown away by all of this. We're keeping our heads screwed on straight. We've developed an attitude that as long as the five of us stick together, there's nothing that can stop us."