{"id":2048,"date":"2011-02-02T10:41:08","date_gmt":"2011-02-02T14:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alexz.net\/?p=2048"},"modified":"2011-02-02T10:41:08","modified_gmt":"2011-02-02T14:41:08","slug":"interview-with-portrait-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.alexz.net\/?p=2048","title":{"rendered":"Interview With Portrait Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alexz was once again interviewed for Portrait Magazine<\/a>! This interview was conducted by MrLaydeeSpencer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\nSource<\/a><\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t know, why don\u2019t you tell us what Voodoo: Reloaded is?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s actually nice that I actually get to talk about this once and for all because I know that the fans have a lot of different opinions about the approach. It really is an album that I love, I love Voodoo, and I\u2019m so happy with Voodoo. And what happened was Demo Castellon was very interested in the songs and wanted to remix it and it was quite complimentary and I felt at the time I was like \u201csure, let\u2019s see what you can do.\u201d And I was really blown away by the remixes of some of the songs. And I kind of let it go in a sense, I\u2019m already working on new materials for my next record, and I\u2019m just so happy with it. To me if it\u2019s another opportunity to get it to more ears, then that\u2019s awesome. I am still very proud of being an Indie artist and I will do the music I want to do forever. But when people want to collaborate, why not? It\u2019s like, sure, share it with whoever. So that\u2019s Voodoo: Reloaded in a sense.<\/p>\n

Are all of the vocals from the original album or did you have to re-record everything?<\/strong>
\nAll from the original album. I went to the studio a couple times just to vibe out with Demo and see what he doing. He did such a good job and I was pretty happy. The original vocals of Voodoo just came from a very, in the room, honest place. And I felt like just to go and redo the vocals just didn\u2019t feel genuine to me. Because it\u2019s not where I am in my life right now. I feel that music should be timeless when you\u2019re creating something, it\u2019s very specific to that time in your life. So if I hadn\u2019t made Voodoo I don\u2019t know if I could make this now in my life. I\u2019m writing completely different things, and I\u2019m growing and changing as a person, so I just wanted him to keep it what it was and just basically remix it because it seemed like he really wanted to, and it worked out well.<\/p>\n

How did you feel when you first heard the finalized version?<\/strong>
\nI feel like my taste in music is a little more obscure than the norm. So sometimes I have to listen outside of myself. Demo got very involved with this project, and I had done what I had wanted to do as an artist, and I feel like I was a little bit disconnected more than other stuff that I had done in my life. Because I had heard these songs so much at this point that it was like, I knew what I liked off the bat, and his remix of Look at Those Eyes blew me away and Voodoo. Superstition is completely different and it was really fun to hear the songs in a completely different way outside of me and Brendan\u2019s style and sound. So I\u2019m happy with it. Does it feel like I did a lot of work with this Reloaded record? No, because it\u2019s a remix of my last one. But I\u2019m really happy with the direction it went. And if I wasn\u2019t I wouldn\u2019t have put it out.<\/p>\n

A lot of your fans are nervous for this upcoming album because they\u2019ve grown a relationship with Voodoo, and some of them can\u2019t imagine hearing their favorite songs any differently. How do you feel about that?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s been interesting watching the feedback because I know that a lot of the fans have had time to digest this music and listen to it and it\u2019s so funny to me. None of it is hurtful or anything because they\u2019re really comparing to the first record. And everyone\u2019s going \u201cwell, I love the first Boogie Love,\u201d but really no one\u2019s heard the full album in it\u2019s entirety. And Reloaded is a cohesive record in itself and it really does fit, all the songs fit together really nicely, and I hope the fans are going to be really happy with the record.<\/p>\n

Before you started remixing, were you also nervous about hearing them differently?<\/strong>
\nOh yeah, for sure I was. There comes a point as a musician where you kind of have to let go a little bit. It\u2019s really interesting, and this gave me some strength, because, to be honest, I really love the album Voodoo. I was really connected to that album and I\u2019m on an Indie label and I didn\u2019t feel like at the time it was really able to get out there as much. And it kind of made me feel like, \u201cugh,\u201d because everyone who heard the record was like \u201coh my gosh!\u201d So when the opportunity came around I thought this would be a way \u2013 I love my fans \u2013 but if there\u2019s a way to get even more people hearing this music, then that would be awesome, people outside of Instant Star. And if there\u2019s a way to get it out there than awesome, and was I nervous? Completely nervous, but what gave me strength was, I love Sara Bareilles, I think she\u2019s awesome, I think her new record is amazing – Kaleidoscope Heart. And I love King of Anything, and I was in the car and I heard on the radio King of Anything and it was completely remixed. And it wasn\u2019t authentic to what the record was. But I just know as an artist like Sara Bareilles or Bruno Mars, who I know, you have to make choices and let go of it. You make an album that you love, it\u2019s yours, and we both write the music so we\u2019ll be producing it as well and me and Brendan are really close to it so it\u2019s like our baby, and there\u2019s some amazing producers out there. If Mark Ronson came up to me and said \u201cI love your Indie album, I want to reproduce it,\u201d am I going to be like \u201cNo.?\u201d Like great! I wrote the song, I love the song, let\u2019s make it sound awesome! So, was it nerve wrecking? Yeah, but I think you can\u2019t be too precious with music. Voodoo is out there, and that\u2019s all that matters. If Voodoo wasn\u2019t out there I wouldn\u2019t have done this. But Voodoo is out, and if people want to find the original album, they can find it.<\/p>\n

What is your favorite song from the album?<\/strong>
\nLook at Those Eyes.<\/p>\n

Fans from all around the world want to see you live, do you plan on touring outside of Canada ? More specifically Chile, France, Mexico, or LA?<\/strong>
\nYes I do. That\u2019s kind of the purpose of all of this is that there\u2019s a lot of artists right now, especially in Canada , fighting to get on a great tour. And a tour costs a lot of money, and to get the funding for a tour and to get on to a great tour, in Canada at least, getting on the radio and getting your stuff out there seems to really help in that regard. So my focus and my goal is to get on a tour. I would love to do that this year, this summer, I would love to. That\u2019s all I really want to do is be on stage performing, it\u2019s my favorite thing. But I want to make sure I do it the right way, I don\u2019t want to join some lame tour because I\u2019m fear-based or something. I feel like I\u2019m taking the right steps to that direction.<\/p>\n

What was it like filming Boogie Love?<\/strong>
\nIt was fun! It was awesome to have some friends come out and support, and it was like a reunion of a lot of my Toronto friends which was cool. It was fun shooting in Toronto , and it was just fun. I wanted it to be laid-back and I didn\u2019t want it to take itself too seriously because the song is called Boogie Love. It\u2019s not rocket science; I just wanted it to be a fun video. And it turned out to be really cool.<\/p>\n

What made you decide to make it your next single?<\/strong>
\nThat was a joint-decision between close friends and obviously Orange Records and management. There\u2019s just something about the remix of the song, I think it\u2019s different, I think its eclectic and I think it kind of catches you immediately. I didn\u2019t want to come out with Voodoo first or Look at Those Eyes. I feel like I want to build with this a little bit more, and then come out with them. I just don\u2019t want to come out serious and sad. I\u2019ve taken so many hits as an artist and I feel it\u2019s important to keep it fun and light, and then hit them with the stuff that really comes from my soul. I wrote Boogie Love, I love it and I think it\u2019s really fun. And people have their own opinions and think \u201cwhy Boogie Love for the next single?\u201d but there really is a science to singles, and I\u2019m not going to pretend to know what that is, because I don\u2019t really listen to the radio, and I don\u2019t really know. So when I\u2019m in a room with 20 people and they\u2019re going \u201coh my gosh, this is the single,\u201d and it just catches you and it\u2019s so catchy, I\u2019m like, \u201coh, sure,\u201d if that\u2019s the single, that\u2019s the single. So I don\u2019t know, I haven\u2019t had a hit single yet so I\u2019m just doing the music I love to do and I\u2019ll keep putting out songs and whatever happens, happens. I\u2019m not holding on to it too much.<\/p>\n

Will there be a Reloaded Package, similar to the original?<\/strong>
\nYes, there\u2019s going to be packages and everything. The album comes out in March so they\u2019re working on it right now.
\n
\nWhat will the differences be?<\/strong>
\nI know that there\u2019s some Behind the Scenes Footage of the music video. I think there are some special remixes that are being put together and Behind the Scenes photos and cool stuff like that so I think they\u2019re putting together little packages. Really cool.<\/p>\n

Have you already started working on your next album?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t really ever stop writing, when things get busy or if I\u2019m uninspired on a day or something obviously it\u2019s hard to make it happen, but I always have ideas and I\u2019m always working on new songs but yeah I definitely have, I\u2019d say, a good couple of songs that I see on my next record. I\u2019m really excited about it, it\u2019s kind of acousticy. I\u2019ve really enjoyed writing completely by myself lately, on the guitar. And I like Tom Petty and these classic kind of, Bruce Springsteen, and it\u2019s kind of this Americana, using my voice kind of simple songs that I\u2019ve been writing and I\u2019ve been having a blast. We\u2019ll see how it comes together yeah, I\u2019ve been writing.<\/p>\n

Was Mary a song you wrote for your next album, or were you just writing it for fun?<\/strong>
\nMary will be on my next album, yes.<\/p>\n

You recently tweeted that you were writing songs with Toby Gad, will those songs be on your next album?<\/strong>
\nPossibly, I\u2019ll have to wait and see. To me it\u2019s like \u2018May the best songs win.\u2019 No matter who I write them with. I\u2019ve also written a couple songs with Jimmy Robbins, who\u2019s an artist who\u2019s based down in North Carolina and he\u2019s a super talented writer. I know I have some sessions here with Lester Mendez coming up. To me I want the songs to be authentic and it doesn\u2019t matter where they come from. And I don\u2019t mind co-writing. We\u2019ll see, once I have all the songs, I\u2019m going to put it together at that point. I also have a couple songs that are pretty dear to my heart that haven\u2019t been heard. And I might rework\u2026I don\u2019t know, I\u2019ll have to see what wins out.<\/p>\n

A lot of your fans have heard some of your old demos such as Running Back, Where\u2019s the Sky, Crawl, and Shianne, but they\u2019ve only heard half of each song and would love to hear the other half. Do you see yourself ever releasing them or re-recording them?<\/strong>
\nYeah, actually, those are one of the first demos me and Brendan ever did. It\u2019s so bizarre that they got out there. They actually only got out there because my brother\u2019s e-mail was hacked a couple years ago. So a lot of our songs that we didn\u2019t intend on coming out yet got released so we\u2019re going to have to see. I would love to be able to reword those though at some point. I\u2019d definitely rework them though because they were very young demos but sometimes your best stuff is in those young demos so I\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

From Instant Star, to your Epic Album, to Voodoo, and now Voodoo: Reloaded, you\u2019ve proven that you can do just about any sound. Is there a certain \u201cmode\u201d that you get into or is there a different way of writing for each sound?<\/strong>
\nI just stay authentic to what I like in that time. It just comes from me and my experiences and what I\u2019m going through. That\u2019s the only way I feel to make it real. But I never really know, like I didn\u2019t know I was going to do a 70\u2019s video. I was just like \u201cthis is awesome, let\u2019s make this 70\u2019s.\u201d I don\u2019t really have a plan in motion when it comes to that, at all actually. I get into what I\u2019m into at the time and I try to keep it as authentic as I possibly can.<\/p>\n

Would you say that you write more for yourself, or for the public?<\/strong>
\nI always write for myself. First and foremost I always make sure that I love what I\u2019m doing and I really respect people\u2019s opinions and I\u2019ve always taken criticism, criticism is constructive if it\u2019s given the right way. But I always make sure that I love it and then I hope that the public does.<\/p>\n

You tweeted that you\u2019re in LA looking at some scripts, can you tell us anything about them?<\/strong>
\nYeah, just a couple of cool opportunities, fingers crossed. I\u2019m really excited about a project; it looks like it could happen. I\u2019ll keep you guys posted, though. My dream part would be to be involved in a feature where I could bring my music into it. You know, play some kind of musical character or a song writer and be able to help on the music end of it, it\u2019s probably my dream thing. So there have been a couple of things that have come my way recently that are looking like that so I\u2019m definitely looking at my options.<\/p>\n

Twitter Questions<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

jasminrowley: What are you looking forward to most in the years to come?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m looking forward to just creating more, and sharing more, and going on tour, and playing live for my fans. That\u2019s what I look forward to the most right now.<\/p>\n

jasminrowley: What do you do to relieve stress?<\/strong>
\nHot yoga, and sometimes I\u2019ll just watch movies, and I\u2019ll make dinner for either friends or myself. I find it very cathartic just getting a recipe and making something. So yeah just watching movies and relaxing, or sometimes I\u2019ll go for a walk at night. I\u2019d say that hot yoga has really changed my life and it\u2019s so funny because I\u2019m not really like a workout queen at all, but I just tried it once and there\u2019s something about stretching that feels like you\u2019re going for a massage. So hot yoga for sure calms me down.<\/p>\n

alandrel: Do you see any European tours, France especially?<\/strong>
\nI do, I want to go to Europe so bad. My support in Europe has been amazing. I can\u2019t believe all the Voodoo Packages that went out and the posters that I signed going out, there were so much that I couldn\u2019t believe it, how much they really get my sound. So I will definitely, there\u2019s no question, I\u2019ll be there, singing for them and doing signings and meet-and-greets. I want to do it all!<\/p>\n

DaynaDoughnut: Do you know of any set tour locations for your album?<\/strong>
\nNot yet, I\u2019m back from LA in March, the album comes out in March. I would say definitely Spring and Summer I\u2019m going to start posting dates and venues and stuff. It\u2019ll be on my website and on Facebook and MySpace. I\u2019ll make sure I keep everyone posted.<\/p>\n

nickiboi91: What will happen to the Epic Masters now that Amanda Ghost is no longer head of the label?<\/strong>
\nI don\u2019t get those masters back, unless I buy them back, or another label buys them back. I get the songs back, and I can reproduce the songs though Greg Wells did such a beautiful job. You know it\u2019s interesting, I heard a story, which I don\u2019t mind sharing now, but the reason why I love Sara Bareilles\u2019s song King of Anything so much is because she was on the same label as me at the time, with Epic, and that song is written for Amanda Ghost, actually. And I think it\u2019s kind of out there now, I think everyone in the industry knows that so it\u2019s safe to say. But that was one of most scarring experiences on the business music hand that I\u2019ve been through. I didn\u2019t even know how to start over; I put everything into that record. I put so much time writing and sculpting it and I was feeling really genuine about it but sometimes business and timing really gets in the way. So I\u2019m not going to get the masters back but when I do get the songs back I am definitely 100% going to do an album of those songs eventually. I\u2019m going to reproduce them and put them out and call them, I don\u2019t know, maybe I\u2019ll call it like The Prequel of Voodoo or something. It\u2019ll be like Album Number One \u2013 Alexz Johnson. So we\u2019ll see. There are some really cool songs on that record, songs I wish I could\u2019ve used on Voodoo but I can\u2019t touch them until\u2026well soon actually I think I get them back this year.<\/p>\n

Lovemycelebz: How do you feel after Instant Star and how did it change you?<\/strong>
\nInstant Star was a really fun experience. It was four years and so much fun, and I got to play a rock star and it was so awesome. And I got to be on stage and write songs for it and it was really fun. At the time, I probably didn\u2019t acknowledge as much as I should\u2019ve because I so desperately wanted to be doing my own music. And I was working on songs with Capitol first and then with Epic and I was so focused on my own music, during that experience, that I was a little disconnected from it. But it was awesome and it got me on my legs and writing, I was learning how to write, and it gave me the confidence on stage. It has its goods and it has its bads. As an actress too, it was kind of difficult right after that to not be looked at as Jude. You become such a defined character, I\u2019m naturally blonde and people would come up to me and go \u201coh my gosh you don\u2019t have red hair,\u201d and I\u2019ll be like \u201coh my gosh, no I\u2019m naturally blonde.\u201d I mean I\u2019m not dying my hair blonde. But it was such a positive experience in my life and the cast was so much fun and the crew was great. And I miss everyone, it was a big chunk of my life\u2026well so far, I mean it won\u2019t be when I\u2019m forty if I make it there. But it was really fun and I think all experiences just change you so\u2026let\u2019s just say I came from being a lead of a show for four years and then losing a major record deal and losing so many things that I\u2019d worked so hard for right immediately after. So that was a very interesting growth experience for me; going from go-go-go-go-go to everything being taken away. And I think those things in life really make you realize what you\u2019re doing and why you\u2019re doing it, and I think it made me stronger.<\/p>\n

alexzjohnsonbr: Do you plan on making other movie genres like Drama or Action?<\/strong>
\nYeah, I want to do drama, for sure. Right now in my life I feel like I would love to do a great Drama role, for sure.<\/p>\n

redballoonx: When are you and Jimmy Robbins going to write a song and put it out in the public?<\/strong>
\nWell we already write together a lot so I would say\u2026I don\u2019t know\u2026I mean I can\u2019t really say anything yet but I definitely see hopefully one of the songs that we\u2019ve written in either of our futures. Maybe on one of his records, or my records. When you have people in your life that are so creative in writing, you just write with them. So it just ends up happening naturally. So yeah, it\u2019ll happen.<\/p>\n

merzylicious3: What\u2019s your inspiration for your songs?<\/strong>
\nMy inspiration for my songs come from my experiences; good, bad, or ugly. I\u2019m basically just pretty honest. I\u2019m a pretty honest person, it\u2019s a good thing but it\u2019s also kind of gotten me in trouble a lot of times because I\u2019m just brutally honest about things I see and feel in life and in myself so when I\u2019m feeling something I\u2019ll just get it out. And once I\u2019m looking at it on paper I\u2019m like \u201coh, I feel better.\u201d
\n
\nMusicFan7974: Will Brendan provide more vocals in the next album?<\/strong>
\nI would love that. I don\u2019t know yet but that would be awesome.<\/p>\n

Alexz\u2019s album Voodoo: Reloaded<\/strong> will be out in March. For more information you can check out her websites:
\nwww.alexzjohnson.com<\/a>
\nwww.twitter.com\/alexzjohnson<\/a>
\nwww.myspace.com\/alexzjohnson<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alexz was once again interviewed for Portrait Magazine! This interview was conducted by MrLaydeeSpencer. Source For those who don\u2019t know, why don\u2019t you tell us what Voodoo: Reloaded is? It\u2019s actually nice that I actually get to talk about this once and for all because I know that the fans have a lot of different […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13],"tags":[302,389,468,706],"class_list":["post-2048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-interview","tag-mrlaydee-spencer","tag-portrait-magazine","tag-voodoo-reloaded"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t