{"id":5787,"date":"2014-04-25T13:42:04","date_gmt":"2014-04-25T18:42:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alexz.net\/?p=5787"},"modified":"2014-04-25T13:42:04","modified_gmt":"2014-04-25T18:42:04","slug":"commercial-doesnt-have-to-be-a-dirty-word-substream-magazine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.alexz.net\/?p=5787","title":{"rendered":"Commercial Doesn\u2019t Have to be a Dirty Word — Substream Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this interview with Substream Magazine<\/a> Alexz talks about the “Heart” EP, transparency, and being a musician:<\/p>\n

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

Commercial Doesn’t Have To Be a Dirty Word<\/u>
\nby Sebastian Mackay<\/p>\n

There are common themes in all music (read: all music worth listening to) and, despite whether it\u2019s the heaviest of metal or the storytelling of folk, those themes are life, love, pain, spirit and authenticity.<\/p>\n

Music, as with all art, is a community of people coming together to share experiences and to grow with each other. It\u2019s a romantic notion, but it\u2019s no less true because of it. Alexz Johnson, singer, songwriter, guitarist, is one of the many that\u2019s peeling back layers of her personal life in hopes of empathy, honesty, and vulnerability.<\/p>\n

Her latest offering, EP, Heart is a testament to exactly that. It\u2019s a collection of songs about love, loss and heart. Johnson says she hopes \u201cto emote strength and survival; the amazing outcome of going through tribulation in your life.\u201d She phrases it perfectly when, after a pause, she says \u201cit\u2019s a gift.\u201d And as the old cliche goes: it\u2019s a gift that keeps on giving. One person\u2019s pain is another\u2019s empathy. But honesty doesn\u2019t come easily.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t set out for that to happen,\u201d she says about honesty behind her lyrics, \u201cit sort of just did. I feel I\u2019m a pretty transparent person musically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transparent. That\u2019s the proverbial key. Because without transparency there\u2019s none of what we value in music. Johnson calls it \u201cauthentic connection and understanding of the human spirit.\u201d And she\u2019s not wrong. Transparency allows for \u201clisteners to empathize with me, understand where I\u2019m coming from, in turn where they\u2019re coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re going to be an authentic person, in general, you can\u2019t listen to the outside voices.\u201d She\u2019s talking about growth, becoming more transparent and opening up to give people the truth. \u201cYou have to find who you are,\u201d Johnson continues, \u201cwhat you are from within. I mute it out [the outside voices]. My mission is to be true to me and share what I can. It\u2019s a vulnerable thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a fairytale to think it\u2019s all that simple (after all, not every artist can have James Michael (a hit songwriter for pop stars) behind every song they write). Johnson has bills to pay, real life, while it provides a lot of inspiration, can be hard. Musicians need to make money and it\u2019s not as easy as throwing songs onto SoundCloud and becoming famous overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the time.\u201d She says about being commercially viable and feeling the pressure to create popular music. \u201cMore so in my earlier years of being an artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear, Alexz Johnson is no sell-out, she\u2019s honest about her situation. \u201cI always felt funny doing something that wasn\u2019t me. It\u2019s been a blessing, but its my curse at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Complaints? No, not in the least. She finishes by saying \u201cI\u2019d rather take the long way home, so to speak.\u201d Besides there\u2019s nothing more woe, is me than complaining about living the life you\u2019ve dreamed of. Johnson isn\u2019t that person and it\u2019s refreshing. There\u2019s still a genuine want for people to find something in her words.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s truth.\u201d She says of the EP Heart. \u201cWhether I like it or not, it\u2019s truth.\u201d That\u2019s both true for the niggling voice that says she needs to be commercially viable and for what\u2019s come out of the writing process of the new EP.<\/p>\n

From the many just like Johnson seeking human connection to the songs on her new EP she has championed what makes music special for her and the end result is an EP that she\u2019s taken the long road home on, locked out the outside voices and come up with songs that are as hopeful as they are honest.<\/p>\n

Love, pain, spirit and authenticity. It\u2019s a full circle.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this interview with Substream Magazine Alexz talks about the “Heart” EP, transparency, and being a musician: Source Commercial Doesn’t Have To Be a Dirty Word by Sebastian Mackay There are common themes in all music (read: all music worth listening to) and, despite whether it\u2019s the heaviest of metal or the storytelling of folk, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","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":true,"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":[766,302,833],"class_list":["post-5787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-heart","tag-interview","tag-substream-magazine"],"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