A 19-year-old Christian-raised South Florida pop-punk/alternative rock musician, xxALEXAxx seeks to create personal, passionate, and dynamic music with a distinctive sound.
The song Harmony is a lively, cheerful, and energizing tune about something or someone that makes you feel whole. This song was written simply out of rebellion. Her mentor and voice coach at the time told her that a song she had written was too gloomy and depressing and that she should instead compose an optimistic, uplifting song. As a corny joke, she improvised the lyrics and tune, and to her surprise, it actually sounded fantastic! When things began to fall into place in life, she began to add more words. Check out the song and the exclusive interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
XXALEXAXX: I was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale Florida, and it has definitely influenced me a lot. South Florida has a very unique culture that I’ve grown to love over the years, and a lot of who I am as a person has been shaped by it. In terms of music, I’ve loved it ever since I was able to walk! I remember one day specifically, I had an entire concert in my grandparents’ kitchen and would make up whole dance routines with costumes. My mom said I was always walking around humming or singing.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
XXALEXAXX: I initially started with piano lessons, tacked on acoustic guitar, and then added bass to the pyramid of skills I was building, but while I’ve taken lessons for years, I very much play by ear. I find it very rewarding figuring out a small lick, inverted chord, or complicated line in a song just by hearing it rather than staring at sheet music.
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘XXALEXAXX’?
XXALEXAXX: Surprisingly, my first musical influence was Taylor Swift with her Red album. I was nine years old at the time, and I loved specifically when Taylor Swift would add inflections and little nuances to her vocals on each track – like the spoken bridge of “We Are Never Getting Back Together”. My next strongest musical influence was Skillet with their song Monster. It was the first time I had ever heard a song that talked about the human condition and revealed raw emotions. Later on, Fall Out Boy would become one of my greatest musical influences along with Avril Lavigne with both of their pop-punk and rock sounds.
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
XXALEXAXX: I feel that the key elements in my new release “Harmony” are in the verses, bridge, and down-chorus. The first verse talks about two people or things working so well together that they’re compared to “black and white”, as well as “dark and light”. The idea of a “Harmony” is to compliment the melody. This song is about someone or something that completes or blends well with you. The bridge also has an important line saying “through all my troubles, I will find a way”. This is about persevering and clinging on to what you love even when it gets hard. Personally, I would describe my sound as pop-punk/pop-rock. I absolutely love heavy guitars, and resonate the original meaning behind the punk movement (standing up for what you believe in), and I want to incorporate that into my music without the ofensiveness of some of the original and classic punk bands.
5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as ROCK?
XXALEXAXX: My learning and emulating stage of becoming an artist began with the artists that heavily influenced me in my youth – Taylor Swift, Skillet, Fall Out Boy, and Avril Lavigne. I loved Taylor’s vocals, Skillet’s deep and heavy lyrics, Fall Out Boy’s instrumentation and melodies, and lastly Avril Lavigne’s attitude, aesthetic, and drive. My development as an artist and music maker didn’t always exist, but I remember specifically in 2016 I saw Twenty One Pilots for their Blurryface tour and I felt a specific pang and nudge within my heart that I was meant to be on a stage like that. Now, since then, every concert I’ve been to I’ve felt an overwhelming sense that I’m meant to be in front of people using my talents and impacting others. I’ve always loved rock, and I feel it is the genre that I can cause the most impact, and where I am my most original self.
6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and afront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
XXALEXAXX: Music has diferent facets and genres varied by culture, but regardless of race or ethnicity, so much can be said with music alone. Spiritually, I grew up Christian and still am a very strong one and try to incorporate positive and uplifting messages into my music, but there is much that can be communicated without very blatant and obvious words. I also strongly resonate with the punk countercultural movement in the 70s and how people were empowered by being diferent. I applaud and stand behind the basic principles of punks by going out and making change happen, and rebelling against injustice, but I also want to spread a positive message at the same time.
7. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or diferent in the future?
XXALEXAXX: I would say that I’ve put a massive amount of efort, hard work, sweat and tears into my music and there is still much more to come. This is only my debut single, so I’m expecting greater things in the future.
8. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
XXALEXAXX: For Harmony, I started with a very sad song about losing a best friend and how I hated everything without her, but was told by one of my mentors that a song like this wouldn’t sell and needed to make a happy song. I went home and laid on the floor with my guitar singing cheesy lines until I sang the words “when I can’t breathe, you’re my Harmony”. It sounded so silly at the time, but I kept adding words and deeper meaning to it, and it all tied together! Typically I come up with a melody first, then add lyrics and chords and while I’m doing this, an entire song starts to form in my head.
9. What has been the most difcult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
XXALEXAXX: Comparison and rejection. I know rejection is common and necessary for growth, but comparison has been the hardest thing lately that I’ve had to overcome. I’m currently in college for music, and being around so many amazing musicians every day makes me start to think much less of myself like – “why can’t I play bass as good as him?” Or “wow… my voice could never sound that great”. But, through all of this, I’ve been focusing on just being the best version of myself and not letting others negatively afect my mental health. At the end of the day, I’m a Christian making poppunk music for a positive impact and that’s all that matters.
10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
XXALEXAXX: I’ve played at a few festivals as an opener, written many complete songs that are in the production stage (and will later complete an album), been in multiple bands, had an internship at a recording studio that taught me so much, and am currently in a band as a bass player and am being challenged and growing so much each day!
11. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
XXALEXAXX: At first, negative comments really terribly afected me. I’m a people-pleaser, and the things I post are so that others like it. But, when faced with negative feedback it does hurt a lot. However, I’ve lately been able to ‘pick out the meat from the bones’ and figure out which comments are just hate, and which are actually constructive. You can’t let pixels on a screen ruin your day.
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Photo credits: Carla Nicolella