{"id":5684,"date":"2014-03-06T21:16:51","date_gmt":"2014-03-07T02:16:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alexz.net\/?p=5684"},"modified":"2014-03-06T21:22:52","modified_gmt":"2014-03-07T02:22:52","slug":"alexz-johnson-from-bc-to-brooklyn-sportsology-info","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.alexz.net\/?p=5684","title":{"rendered":"Alexz Johnson — From BC To Brooklyn — Sportsology.info"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a cool read from an interview Alexz did with Sportsology<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

Alexz Johnson — From BC To Brooklyn<\/u>
\nBy Russ Cohen<\/p>\n

Alexz Johnson is a singer who has just released her first EP called \u201cHeart\u201d. It\u2019s a project funded by a PledgeMusic campaign, this wasn\u2019t her first choice because he has been signed by big labels but this is clearly her best choice since she raised $50,000 so far and a full album is in the works.<\/p>\n

\u201cI raised the money for a full-length album with David Kahne (Avatar Studios) and the album\u2019s just not done. There\u2019s no science to making a record. I wanted to give something back to the pledgers. There was such an outpouring of people wanting material now. And I realize as good as it is, and amazing as it is to use Crowdfund you also feel this real personal obligation. You don\u2019t want to let people down. They\u2019re like your family. So I put out this EP,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m really super proud of it and it gives them an idea of what the album is going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing up near Vancouver her early career started with singing and acting but music won out. It seems to be in her heart and her soul and the fact that she writes all of her songs means she pours it all into each and every song.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019d like to think I\u2019m an artist in the early stages like Katy Perry or Bruno Mars, I got to write with him a couple a years ago. I\u2019ve kind of been a major label baby my whole life (now 27). My albums never got released based on luck. I got to work with amazing people. I was with Capitol and Sony and they just never got put out. If the person who signs you isn\u2019t responsible for you anymore, if they leave, they don\u2019t want sloppy seconds,\u201dJohnson stated. \u201cYou look like an artist like Amy Mann who has had a career her whole life. Nothing massive but she has a fan base and keeps touring, that\u2019s all I want, that\u2019s all I need. When this platform came up I was like f-ing rad!\u201d<\/p>\n

Social media has really helped her as an artist but it\u2019s forced her to be a bit more public than she\u2019d like. The price of fame. And now that she\u2019s getting noticed with her EP the big labels are pursuing her once again. The music business can be a grind.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is hard and I think people should know that. It looks all glossy and great but really it\u2019s an f-ing brutal industry. It\u2019s really hard to keep going, it\u2019s tough,\u201d said Johnson, possibly gritting her teeth as she said it. \u201cRight now I wouldn\u2019t take anything back from the experience and how its shaped my music. The live touring experience that I\u2019ve had. It\u2019s taken longer. It\u2019s funny. It\u2019s interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

She knows people who have Grammy\u2019s. She\u2019s worked with them. Her path has been a bit different. <\/p>\n

\u201cI write a lot with my brother Brendan who is a producer. I write a lot of songs that are guitar based. I\u2019m definitely hands on with every song that I sing. I once did a charity event with David Foster and Michael Bubl\u00e9, we shared a stage before his career took off. I realized then I didn\u2019t want to sing other people\u2019s music.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

She\u2019s the type of artist you WANT to support. If she succeeds others get the hope to follow their dreams to do the same. The route will be different as it is for every human on this earth but no matter the high\u2019s or lows, for richer or poorer she\u2019s doing what she loves and the artist wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to be just a vocalist. I wanted to be taken seriously as a songwriter. I wrote music for a series \u201cInstant Star\u201d. I wrote for that for four years with my brother. I finally said \u2018I want to do a f-ing solo album’. I love Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel. Kate Bush can sing but she\u2019s not a big vocal singer. Just finding your sound and who you are is important,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She has an old soul. She likes vinyl, wants to put an album out on vinyl and wants to record in analog because it\u2019s not perfect like digital and the sound is comforting to her and many others.<\/p>\n

Living in Brooklyn she enjoys the food, some hockey (Canucks fan) and a touch of the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazing Pizza in New York, let\u2019s be honest. Bagels are good but soup kiosk\u2019s are amazing,\u201d Johnson said, as I waited for my dinner to show up at my front door. Then we talked about athletes. I like Dan Hamhuis (Canucks defenseman) and I think Todd Bertuzzi (formerly Vancouver now Detroit) is a babe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the four songs on this EP, \u201cThank You for Breaking My Heart\u201d seems to be a sarcastic title so I asked her about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course. Oh yeah,\u201d she quickly replied. \u201cIt\u2019s cool. It\u2019s kind of interesting being able to put your pain into songs. I wanted this EP to be fresh and present.\u201d <\/p>\n

Johnson credits Kahne for sound of this EP and encouraged me to hear the difference acoustically. I did and yes I can see where his talent lies and I would like to hear these songs acoustically in concert as well. I think because of Kahne she\u2019ll reach a wider audience faster.<\/p>\n

Having reviewed a lot of albums Alexz has one of the strongest, most incredible voices I\u2019ve heard in a long time. You can get her EP here:<\/p>\n