Stairway to success on Owatonna

OWATONNA — When Randy and Joan Young look back on their son’s fast track to fame under the name “Owl City,” they can hardly understand it.
Just two years ago, Adam Young, 23, was working in a local warehouse loading crates into trucks for shipping. But this week Young’s single “Fireflies” climbed the charts, landing at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 singles — one of the most recognizable charts in the U.S.
Now, “Owl City” has laid claim to Minnesota’s first national number one hit since 1998. But two years ago, Adam Young’s music was still competing with a furnace and a water heater in the basement of his parent’s Owatonna home.
“In the basement there’s a furnace and a water heater,” said Joan Young, Adam’s mom. She said because it was hard for Adam to hear his compilations over the sound of the appliances, he would wait until his parents were asleep to make his music.
“Those would interfere with his recording,” said Joan Young. “At night, he would just shut them off, and his dad and I would wake up just freezing.”
On top of the ticking and gurgling appliances, Adam’s makeshift studio was also privy to his dad’s remodeling project — something Randy Young said has been ongoing for years. His dad guessed the noise of the labor of love might have been a bit distracting for Adam when he was trying to mix a new track.
But both Randy and Joan Young knew their son had something special. They said for years, Adam just played in a band with three of his friends — making music for fun. But there was one night that, in the retelling of the story, the couple both realized was significant.
Randy Young said his son would never just come out and ask them to listen to a track he had just finished. Instead, Adam toiled away late at night, working on a set of computer equipment that lined a tight corner in the basement. But his dad does remember a particular occasion when Adam shared one of his mixes and stole his parents breathe away.
“One night he played a track for us and it just floored us,” said Randy Young. “We thought, ‘There’s something more going on here.’”
Outside of that one night, though, Adam’s parents maintain that they are just “regular people.” And they said with Adam, their only child, being so shy, it was hard to picture anything big ever coming their direction.
The couple last had the opportunity to see their son perform live in Des Moines, Iowa, when they attended one his concerts. Randy Young said so many people walked out on the stage, like the keyboardist and the percussionist. An entire line of newfound stars made their first appearance as the crowd got steadily louder.
“There was a crescendo in the music,” said Randy Young, “then our son walked onto the stage.”
New to being a father of a superstar, Randy Young said it was bewildering to see Adam come alive as an on-stage personality. He said he was much more animated and natural on the stage than he ever was in social situations in person.
“It was a total shock,” said Randy Young. “Adam sat at the edge of the stage during the performance and started swinging his legs, and the crowd was just reaching for them.”
But the social factor wasn’t the only thing Adam’s parents found surprising in his rise to fame. They marveled at his computer skills, his love and talent for creating new music, and his ability to do that all in the confines of their own basement.
“It’s the farthest thing from a recording studio,” said Randy Young.
Adam now owns his own home in Owatonna, with its own home studio, complete with concrete walls and acoustical foam. He is currently in Texas, completing a cross-country tour, but the musician always looks forward to returning to his small town home.
He will just no longer have to record his music with microphones, broomsticks and duct tape.

Melissa Kaelin can be reached at 444-2372.

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Member Opinions: By: Native33 on 11/1/09 AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME!! CONGRATS ADAM! By: lberkland on 11/1/09 the song that he sings is awesome. adam is awesome. By: fairandbalanced on 11/1/09 This is an awesome story! He is humble about all of it too! That's great! Congratulations to Adam! By: trueblue on 11/1/09 This story is FANTASTIC! Absolutely 100% AWESOME! By: secretsquirrel on 11/1/09 Funny story... My own son wants me to work with him on converting a large section of our basement into a studio. I took him to a friend's house awhile back to explore his interest in music and it seemed to spark a similar determination. Many years ago, I used to work with a band and I will never regret it. I strayed from the music scene a long time ago and it's refreshing to see kids that are willing to pursue a music career and even more exciting to see them succeed. Looks like my boy can use this story to help us convince mom to let us go ahead with our plans. Love the water heater/furnace twist! How ironic as that's one of our issues too. LOL Congratulations Adam! You've made a lot of people very proud of you in bringing recognition not only to yourself but to your family and community as well. By: cialunatic on 11/1/09 While Owl City isn't the type of music I listen to I can say that is good music and I think he does a great job doing it. I watched the video and I did enjoy it. Back in the 70's there was a band named Boston that originated out of the basement of Tom Scholz and went on to be quite succesful as they still play songs on the radio to this day. You have to start somewhere and it's nice to know that someone is living the dream from a bsaement in Owatonna. Best wishes Adam on your journey! By: Mr_Kite on 11/1/09 I listened to his CD and like some it's not my type of music, BUT, it's music with a good feel to it. Good luck and enjoy the ride. By: pookah on 11/1/09 Awesome, Adam! Congrats! By: donghua on 11/1/09 It's great to see such a nice lad do so well! I know guys who used to jam with him. May you be protected from the pitfalls of fame. Via con Dios. By: ksanh68 on 11/2/09 Catchy tunes and very creative lyricism, 9+ million views on youtube. Way to go Adam, wishing you much success. By: crazyasever on 11/2/09 opp had this story under there nose.....was reported in a cities paper before they picked it up. :-( good for this young man for the hard work he has done for his sucess. If he would had been an athlete the OPP most likely would not have missed the story.... By: sleepless_in_seatle on 11/2/09 Awesome! Best of Luck to Adam on his Journey! By: sherlock12 on 11/3/09 Great story on local boy who makes it big! I hope he stays grounded and knows from where he came from. Much success to you Adam. Waiting on the Lord pays off big! By: Grickle on 11/3/09 Congrats Adam, but can anyone say: The Postal Service? By: trueblue on 11/3/09 Hey Grickle, lose the 'but'. Adam does not deserve that 'but'. What does that 'but' mean anyway? Yes his voice is very similar to Ben Gibbard of the Postal Service. Please, do not take anything away from what this young man has done. It is his, all his. We should be proud! By: Grickle on 11/4/09 trueblue....not only the voice, but the music as well. I sometimes forget it's NOT The Postal Service when I hear it. By: kukuthi on 11/4/09 Postal Service and Owl City......Totally different. I listened to a few Postal Service songs and I see no comparison. Maybe they are similar in style but their voices are completely different. By: Native33 on 11/4/09 Just listened to 5 of Postal Services songs. There is NO comparing it to Adam's music. They are both completely different. I prefer Adam's myself and have already bought his CD. Adam if you read the online opinions I surely hope you don't forget to schedule a show in Owatonna!! By: kukuthi on 11/5/09 I totally agree with you Native. They are different. If you don't like it do not listen to it. I prefer Adam aka Owl City any day. By: Grickle on 11/5/09 That's fine if you prefer him...it's great music. I'm just saying it sounds a lot like them to me. By: Grickle on 11/5/09 Hah...KDWB is debating this right now and they played samples from both. They agree with me (which I'm not proud of_
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