Alexz Johnson Island

This is a really good interview conducted by The Jitty. The questions aren’t the ones we see all the time so it was a great read.

Source

Singer/songwriter Alexz Johnson has recently completed a run of live dates in the UK & Ireland, which sadly I missed, in support of her new EP, “Heart”. The EP has been produced by Grammy Award-winner David Kahne (Paul McCartney, The Strokes, Stevie Nicks), a well informed choice since Alexz has been likened to a modern day Stevie Nicks. The reviews so far of “Heart” have understandably been overwhelmingly positive.

Alexz very kindly took time out to answer our questions.

I was gutted that I missed you at Nottingham’s Rescue Rooms earlier this month, how did the UK tour go, and what were the highlights for you?

It was really cool. Being able to play acoustic each night was very intimate and good for me.

When you’re on tour are you able to get out and about and sample a bit of the local culture etc, or is it so hectic that most time is spent on the tour bus and in the venues?

This tour was pretty much bus to venue… I ran away a couple times for a bit, to get a feel of where I was but other than that… I saw some pretty sweet venues!
JEarnshaw – AlexzJohnson

A successful pledge music campaign has seen the release of “Heart”. Do you see more musicians going down a similar route of crowd funding or do you think that the record companies will continue to fight back and maintain their hold over the music business?

I think the success of platforms like Kickstarter and Pledge are an incredible example of the shift happening in the music industry. The same way I feel in regards to streaming. As long as it can lead to people being interested in your music enough to come to your live show.. that’s the focus, that’s the goal. The shift will always happen in one way or another. It goes to show how important music is to culture and life. That will never change. I hope.

Are you a music tinkerer? By that I mean, do you think of how the song should be and write it, or do you write it and then have that thought “What if I tried it like this?”.
Heart EP

Each song comes to its completion in a different way. Sometimes, red wine will help. Which makes me a “music drinkerer”, I guess.

When do you find you are at your most productive at writing music? Is there a certain time of day or place where you find the most inspiration?

I usually set up time to bunker down and write. I do well with a big chunk of time. Once in awhile I’ll lay something down that I like. It’s time that’s usually set aside though, like a vacation.

At the moment you’re concentrating on your music, but I assume happy to act provided you get the right roles? What sort of roles would you love to do? Have you thought about doing Theatre here in the UK?

I’m pretty much focusing on music. Should the right role come my way – I’d love to explore. It’s tough balancing both at full steam. For now, it’s music that’s taking the forefront.

House of Bodies went to Netflix in a form that wasn’t intended edit wise. Do you think this is fairly symptomatic of “Hollywood” not willing to take many risks (and just repeating existing franchises with reboots and sequels)?

The script was great. Many people’s names got hurt – I won’t name any. It’s the risk in showbiz sometimes. I don’t regret doing that film, it got me my visa to tour in the US.

We run sessions for young people advising and helping on keeping themselves safer on the Internet. I remember you went through a tough time due to hackers, has that now subsided or is it still ongoing? Because of the impact was there ever a moment where you thought about coming off social networks etc?

Internet bullying is always around. And of course, It comes with the territory of being a presence on social networks. I hate it. I was an advocate for Stomp Out Bullying. You need to protect yourself and delegate what you see. Equally to life — you make good judgement and you can’t take the good OR the bad things that people say. Find inner love.

Finally, have you been following the Winter Olympics at all? Been impressed by some of the new sports that have been included? (Being part Canadian myself I’m torn between Team Canada and Team GB).

GO CANADA, GO!!! So proud. Great interview. You did good research!

Many thanks for your time, and all the best for the rest of the tour!

You can find out more about Alexz and her music here – alexzjohnson.com/

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