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Ross Alexander



Last Updated: 11/20/2009

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Status: Single
City: Belfast
Country: UK
Signup Date: 4/22/2006

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Wednesday, September 24, 2008 

Category: Music
Well yesterday was the first recording session for the new album and it went really well.  We laid down demos for "Million" which was written a few years ago and "Me" which was only penned last weekend. 

The session started with Big Jonny (the poor engineer who doesn't know what he's letting himself in for!) setting up about 10 different mics round the acoustic guitar.  He had this crazy/genius look in his eyes like the look the Doc had in "Back To The Future" when he used to rave about "the flux capacitor".  Sorry, showing my age there!  It was obvious from that point that we were gonna do some pretty cool shit in these recording sessions! 

Million seemed to go to tape pretty well but it is hard to tell when it's a song that you've been gigging for a while, and when you're not 100% sure what direction to take it.  "Me" went down extremely well and had all the excitement of a new song that just seemed to write itself and it also seems to have a solid direction of its own that nothings gonna alter.

Here's looking forward to the next session!


9:04 PM 
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Friday, September 19, 2008 

Category: Music
I start recording sessions this coming Tuesday for what will hopefully be my new album.  I'm hoping out of the twenty or so songs gathered together that we will be able to glean 10 really good tunes to make a great CD.  Next week should see the demo stage in full swing whereby the songs will be recorded as solo acoustic numbers.  If they don't stand on their own as solo acoustic songs then they'll get binned - simple as that.  If they stand on their own and evoke some sort of melody or emotion in the listener then we'll start looking at the production side of things and bounce ideas round as to where each song should go. 

The preliminary songlist features some oldies that where written while 7 Shades was being recorded and just after it was released.  After that EP I was very conscious of wanting to write something straight, short, melodic, and simple.  That led to a few simple love songs which I have previewed at a few gigs recently and one of which I have already played live on The George Jones Show.  The feedback on these songs has been strong and positive, in particular the song "Million" which got a great response on the Jones Show.  The songlist also features songs which have been written as recently as last weekend and which again feel good and feel like they have a great vibe.

The lyrical content will be the usual fayre of love, darkness, religion, spirituality, and turmoil.  You gotta play the hand your dealt eh?   

Working title is "The Sparrows Are Flying Again" and it will be a no-holds-barred journey into the two inner personalities that wage war against one another on a daily basis.  Johnny Cash's biography and in particular his amazing version of the Nick Lowe song "The Beast In Me" has been a quiet and subtle inspiration in the writing process also.  The title was inspired by one of my favourite novels - "The Dark Half" by Stephen King.  It's a terrifying but awesome book - buy it and read it! 

So apologies to all those people who have been pleading with me over the past few years to write a happy song - it doesn't look like it's gonna come any time soon!
4:51 PM 
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008 

Current mood:  contemplative
Category: Music
I've just uploaded "Step Away" to the site.  It was one of the songs I had written and recorded for the recently released "There Is A Light" fundraiser album.  It didnt make the final cut as we ended up with way too many songs for the cd so here it is.

The song was inspired by the whole scenario surrounding the "There Is A Light" album which I'm sure most of you know but for those of you who don't here are the cliffnotes - one of my closest friends Mark lost his son Liam in 2007.  Mark's friends all got together and recorded a compilation album as a tribute to Liam and to raise money for the special needs school Liam attended. 

The Inspiration
At the time of Liams passing the grief seemed to affect anyone who knew Mark and it greatly affected those of us who have children of our own.  The thought of having to bury a teenage son is heartbreaking to say the least and having to watch a close friend try to "keep it together" while he said goodbye to his wee boy was nothing short of gut wrenching. 

This particular song was inspired by that last goodbye that we all face at some point in our lives where we let go of the coffin and watch it carry someone we love away from us.  In the song (and in reality) Liam has gone to a better place and while it is hard for his dad to let go he gently answers Mark's lament by saying "I know you want me to stay, but its time for you to step away".

The Recording
The song was originally recorded in one take with me playing and singing live.  It was gonna be impossible to capture the vibe and the emotion any other way which is why we kept the original take when we decided to add backing vocals, accordion, and bass to the track.  thats also why you'll hear a slightly flat vocal note somewhere in the song!  So what you are hearing is the first live solo acoustic take of the song with the rest of the frills added in.  Many thanks to Peter Pratt on bass; Siobhan Skates on backing vocals; and Paul Beattie on accordian.

As usual another depressing incident leads to a song.  Great pain really does inspire great art (I hope!) so if thats what inspires us why not use that inspiration as a way of dealing and as a way of moving on. 

Without turning the blog into a Hallmark card, I'll finish up by saying that we only lose people in this life, and even then we never really lose them as we'll see them again in the next.  Of that I have no doubt.
11:26 PM 
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Sunday, December 03, 2006 

Current mood:  discontent
Ok, so the debut EP is pretty much finished, and the final mixes are complete!  The only thing left to do is add orchestration to two of the newest tracks. 

One of the songs is a cover of The Almighty's "A Little Lost Sometimes", and it needs a cello track to complete it.  The other song is called "Smile" and it will be getting a celtic style arrangement added to it to finish it off. 

Both tracks were recorded live in Kaos studios with my good buddy Keith, and they have a different feel from the other tracks, with a definite live vibe.  Minimal overdubs was the order of the day with these tracks as we managed to capture an intimate performance onto tape and didnt want to mess it up with a pile of corrections and overdubs.  So you will hear mistakes, and probably the odd vocal 'pop' etc.  We went for atmosphere over perfection with them!  The orchestration will be added towards the end of the year, beginning of next year, (hopefully) and it will just add a touch of polish to the songs and finish them off the way I had imagined them when I decided to record them.  These two songs will be available without orchestration on the 'Download' version of the EP which will be available when the official Ross Alexander website goes live, which should be very, very soon!

These two songs are the last two songs I have recorded with Keith, as he has now re-located to Chicago to join a major band.  '7th Heaven' are one of the biggest unsigned bands in America and they discovered Keith through his Myspace site and asked him to come over and join them as their singer.  He is havin a blast and is getting some awesome support over there and building up a huge fanbase already. 

So I've been left with an 'unfinished symphony' of sorts, and am quite nervous about doing the orchestral arrangements in another studio without my trusty engineer and sidekick as we pretty much had a great formula goin!  Every recordin session came complete with a free vocal lesson, and we always got a great result.  We also gigged across the country quite regularly, so he will be sorely missed!  But its good to see him getting the recognition he deserves at long last.

..

Anyway!  The official site will be up and running soon, and the EP will be available as a 'download'.  The CD release of the EP should follow shortly after that, and will feature bonus tracks, and will have orchestration on the aforementioned tracks.

Feel free to offer any suggestions as to what you would like to hear or see on the site when it goes live.
10:25 AM 
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Wednesday, June 07, 2006 

Current mood:  working
Category: Music

I've just uploaded a new track.  It's called "Distance" and it was written back in 2005, one of the many tunes/licks written with my trusty and inspirational Ovation acoustic. 

Musically its came out with big production sounds, and the usual emotional/intense guitar parts that I love so much.  Lyrically, it deals with  the aftermath of grief, confusion, bewilderment, and the inevitable distance that seems to appear between people when they are dealing with an experience in their own way.  It was a hard one to nail the vocal on (professionally and mentally), and every recording session seemed to drain me, and transport me back to that weird place that inspired the song.  The chorus in particular really aggravated me, because I poured everything into the verses, and couldnt find another gear to shift into to give the chorus a real "pop". 


As usual, my trusty sidekick engineer and co-producer stepped up and went beyond the call of duty, doing a great job on the engineering and mixing.  (not to mention playing blinding drums, bass, and awesome harmony arrangements!)


Let me know what you all think, and feel free to share the track etc . . .


Love, peace, and all thats in between . . . .

2:59 AM 
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Tuesday, May 30, 2006 

Current mood:  drained
Category: Music
Well here it is, a new track for you, but kind of an oldie to me.  It's one I recorded after Stealing Beauty, around Jan 2006 and it hit the "maybe" pile due to the fact that it was a bit different than the direction I seemed to be heading musically.  I have a lot of musical influences and I have always been a rock player at heart so that is always gonna come out!  The big decision for me was "do I want to keep the rock stuff with the acoustic stuff?"  After a few months  of intensive song writing I have found that I seem to be leaning towards the acoustic side more and more so "Tonight" really is a stand alone track and may not make it to the final track listing for "7 Shades Of In Between".  Funny thing is, it was wrote on the acoustic, and was very reminiscent of Ocean Colour Scene and Turin Brakes due to the chord progression.  I decided to make it a bit weird, and dark, in the studio to change that feel, and also to mirror the lyrics which are a tad dark and schizophrenic. 


The song is basically an outpouring of feelings, and covers a lot of themes, such as redemption, self worth, self judgement, anger, fear, and general confusion at the state our mind can sometimes get into.  The song can also be seen as a struggle between 2 personalities, each trying to be the pre-dominant one.  The music and production mirrors the shizophrenic aspect  and the angst of the lyrics, with the distorted vocals juxtaposed with mellow acoustic guitars.  Keith had a blast doin the harmonies, as the chord progression slips in and out of weird territory, and leads to a deep underlying bed of strange harmonies.  He also had a blast doin the guitar lead breaks with me.  I took the first one, and he took the second one.  The "mad feedback" guitar is me gettin up close and personal with the speakers, and is again supposed to be imitating a scream, thus keepin in line with the lyrical theme.  Feedback is always somethin that I would use as an electric guitarist wherever I can fit it in!!  It took me all my might not to trash the guitar that night!!  Lol


My thoughts for playing the song live are to play it acoustically.  I also considered turning the song into a solo piano type, haunting tune, and I have offered the tune over to an amazing female piano/vocalist to see if she would like to use the song in her set.  So let me know what you think and I'll keep all opininons in mind when it comes to re-working or not re-working the song!


Love, peace, and everything in between . . . Ross-Alexander
11:39 PM 
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Tuesday, May 16, 2006 

Current mood:talkative
Well, I s'pose its time for a blog!!  You've read the bio, and info, drafted up by my supercool biographer.  You've hopefully heard the songs (and hopefully liked them!).  You've maybe even decided to come to a gig.  so here's my first blog and its pretty much "me, on me".  Short and to the point?

I am a singing, performing, cacophony of all my musical influences.

I am a walking, talking, contradiction of everything that I hate.

I am a walking, talking, contradiction of everything that I love.

My strength is only hindered by my weakness.

My love is pure . . . my hate is dark.

I love my wife, my daughter, my dog, my family, friends, singing, God, music, musicians, ice cream mars bars (mmmm, ice cream . . . ), guitars, dvds, comedy, jimi hendrix, u2, stevie ray vaughan, gigging, and the simpsons (in no particular order?) . . . .

Homer Simpson is my hero. . . If he could play the guitar like Edge, sing like Bono, and looked like Pamela Anderson, I would leave my wife for him (ha ha, sorry Nadene, but that would be some package!!)

I am the most confident, sound, tenacious, person you will ever meet, AND the most unsure, timid, insecure, unstable person you would ever want to meet . . . .pretty wired up eh?

I believe in what I do, and am very fulfilled, but I am constantly driven to acheive something that might not be there . . . .

Sometimes I wish I wasn't a musician because the risks can be scary and the ride can be hairy.

If I wasn't a musician I would be in an asylum . . . told you I was a contradiction!!!!!!!

Jesus, Martin Luther King, and Ghandi are the greatest men that history will ever see . . .

"Maybe the darkness in me is greater than redemptions call . . ."

I am open, honest, laid back, carefree, and I wear my heart on my sleeve . . . .I am deep, pensive, wound up, hard to figure out, explosive, and its a long sleeve covered up by a huge coat . . .

The Marks and Spencers food adverts always make me hungry, and everytime I watch pulp Fiction I have to have a burger . . .

It's late, and if you're still reading this you're either curious, weird, cool, arty, or stalking me . . . . or a shrink who's assessing me . . .

athiests baffle me, agnostics intrigue me, evolutionists amuse me greatly , and I'm convinced the big bang theory was concocted by two dope smoking hippies . . . "yeah, once upon a time there was like nothing, and then nothing exploded, and then like this whole world created man, groovy . . ."

homer simpson really is my hero . . . . . . . . .

Now then, feel free to approach me and talk to me at my gigs, don't be afraid . . . .Lol

Most of its true, but it looks worse on paper, ha ha.  feel free to run with this blog and chew the cud with me for a while!!!!!!!!!  Keep it clean!! 



10:45 PM 
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