Ryan Adams: Bud's Paste Story

THE COMEBACK KID: Former hell raiser Ryan Adams’ newly stable life has resulted in the modern-day landmark Ashes & Fire (Pax-AM/Capitol), which sounds to us like the best record the prolific artist has ever made. Adams describes the making of the album and the serenity he’s found in his new life in L.A.to HITS’ own Bud Scoppa in this week’s Paste cover story. “I love it there,” the kinder, gentler Adams tells Scoppa. “I understand why people don’t understand Los Angeles. Because, first of all, it’s overwhelmingly beautiful and very easygoing. But I realized at one point that L.A. is what you make of it, like any place. There are as many goths in L.A. as people walking around in flip-flops. It’s everything; it’s a blank slate. And I found a lot of people who really helped me heal up, that’s for sure. You’re out there in the sun, and you remember you’re alive and that you need things.” (11/4a)