Adam Ast | GNY EP.211
In Episode 211 of Good News York, host Noah Chrysler sits down with Adam Ast — the manager and booking agent of Syracuse’s historic Palace Theatre, a seasoned 35mm film projectionist, and a veteran drummer in multiple local bands. Adam’s story is a testament to choosing creative freedom over commercial ambition, and his journey touches nearly every corner of Syracuse’s arts and entertainment scene.
The conversation kicks off with Adam’s path to running the Palace Theatre — a role he was "thrown into" after the previous manager left, leaving him buried under months of backlogged events, emails, and phone calls. Now, a couple of years in, Adam, has found his footing and is actively opening the Palace’s doors to community groups that can’t afford standard venue rates, offering 50/50 partnerships to organizations like Syracuse Improv and the Syracuse Actors Studio. He walks through the Palace’s history, including the original owners (the Hagerty family), the current owner Steven Skinner’s commitment to preserving the building, and the reality of running a venue with a $25,000–$28,000 monthly overhead that operates at a deficit.
From there, Adam traces his unlikely start as a 35mm film projectionist at the Tri County Theatre in Baldwinsville in the early ’90s — learning to thread reels on the fly when the manager had to leave mid-shift and eventually running the entire projection booth himself. He shares the serendipitous story of rediscovering those same projectors at the Palace Theatre decades later, and how he’s now teaching a new generation of projectionists — including students from American High and Emory Cinema — to keep the art of 35mm film alive. Adam gives a fascinating breakdown of the craft itself: changeovers, cue marks ("cigarette burns"), the seven-second timing window, and the relentless pursuit of a seamless reel change.
The episode takes a hilariously off-the-rails turn with Adam’s stories from his Tri County and Blockbuster Video days — including watching *Waterworld* on shrooms during a pre-screening, and the legendary tale of his Blockbuster coworker Aaron, who traded two free movie rentals for two hits of acid and then spent the entire shift walking around with a hammer, getting paranoid that the owner was in the store. Adam reflects on how the decline of Blockbuster — driven by corporate cost-cutting that gutted staffing — was visible from the inside long before the bankruptcy filing.
In the second half, the conversation shifts to Adam’s music career. At 53, he plays drums in the instrumental post-rock band Auk, Trans Sisters (compared to Talking Heads and Bowie), the improv jam band Jam Morrison, and Good God on bass. He speaks candidly about the moment he stopped chasing the illusion of a record deal and MTV fame, and how that shift brought complete creative freedom. Adam offers advice for young musicians: find your money elsewhere, protect your creative process from commercial corruption, and don’t let anyone tell you you’re doing it "wrong." The conversation closes with a discussion of Rick Rubin’s philosophy on audiences, the importance of having personal drive, and Noah’s own reflections on the tension between creative fulfillment and commercial optimization.
Chapters:
0:00 — Welcome & Introduction
0:55 — Running the Palace Theatre
2:42 — The Rocky Start & Community Outreach
7:05 — Events & Booking at the Palace
9:57 — From Concession to Projectionist
14:03 — Rediscovering 35mm at The Palace
16:40 — The Art of 35mm Projection
20:16 — Wild Stories from Tri County
22:26 — The Blockbuster Acid Story
27:00 — The Decline of Blockbuster
28:21 — Music Career & Letting Go of Money
35:35 — Advice for Young Musicians
39:42 — Creative Freedom vs. Commercialism
45:02 — Finding Drive & Personal Fulfillment
48:58 — Closing Thoughts & Outro
Good News York: https://www.goodnewsyork.com
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