My music video for Skipping Stone has been posted live, and I’m so thrilled with the response so far.
In the baby steps of this video, I didn’t know how it would all go down considering it were to be shot from my jean pockets on a $300 budget. I wanted to do something completely from me that represented the music.
My friend Jess who photographs and studies in film showed a real love for the song, which led us both into a heated, creative discussion. “How can we keep it simple, keep the emotion, make it look ‘professional’, and showcase the song!? (With $300?)”…. Our big plans were written over wet napkins.
Yet, with the grace and professionalism of my dear, talented friends and the energy and ambition combined, we somehow did, I think.
I hope you enjoy Skipping Stone as much as we enjoyed creating it.
www.alexzjohnson.com is getting a facelift. It’s not a trick website or anything. I’ve been in the process of putting together an EP (that I’m really excited about). I want things to match.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazingly talented people in my career, and with their talent and participation, I think something really special is formulating. I also have been mapping out my “2012 live shows” plan – ie: making it happen, doing it legally, and getting people to come! I’m one girl, but I’ve got to tell you… in moments of being overwhelmed, I look to Joan of Arc, Amelia Earhart and Tina Turner. I think I’ve got this covered…
I shot a video for one of my new tracks entitled “Skipping Stone” in NY last weekend. I feel so lucky that I’ve surrounded myself with such brilliant, creative friends – it was a really special experience to feel so much trust and fearlessness amongst them.
For those who connect to my music, I’m going to be involving you to help me get to you live… but I’ll explain more when I get to that bridge.
I just had a wonderful birthday. I’m 25 and a quarter short.
Be well.
Transitions.. a passage from one form, state, style, or place to another..
I am probably in the biggest transition of my life. One of the most important things we have on this planet, next to love, is the power to change. It’s exciting, but also incredibly terrifying. I decided to take a leap and allow anything to happen. Hey NY.
I bring up my music here because for me it’s one of the closest things I have to understanding who I am and what I’m feeling. On the music end, when I listen to the new music I’ve been writing, it almost feels as though I’m letting go of myself. Painful for me to listen. I’ve always felt authentic in my writing, but never have I had to dig less in getting to the core. I’m not sure why, but ok… I’ll do it. I’m trying to listen.
In all honesty, majority of the time it’s not even me. I feel like I’m being driven by something outside of me to do this… still.
To push through closed doors like they’re weightless. To sometimes forget I’m a sister, a daughter and a best friend. I have too much to say.
Don’t stop.
I have dreams. Sometimes we’re given so many dreams we can’t breath.. if you’re like me, than you know what I mean.
How can you walk away from something that’s apart of you because you’re struggling?
Do you leave someone you care about at their worst of times??
I get so many questions regarding my acting journey. I do audition, I’ve not closed any doors. This past 5 months I’ve been writing songs and enjoying that much more than auditioning. I think there’s light where you’re having fun.
I want to make another record. I have some meetings, maybe they’ll hear.
I can’t play shows in the US.. yet, but I can release music. Which brings me to recently releasing the basement recordings. This was a huge letting go for my brother Brendan and I. We didn’t even flinch. To think only a few years ago we hung on to these songs for dear life! No regrets because their coat tails swung us from Coquitlam BC, to London via NY and LA… we thought it best to finally let them be heard. Also, majority of them had leaked anyway. It’s just something we chose to do.
On that note, it feels like a new chapter. Not just a new page, but a whole chapter.
I’ve always had this comfort with having my ducks in a row.
For the first time in my entire life I have no ducks.
I have a little stout though… Stout: bold, brave, or dauntless: a stout heart; stout fellows. (I like this one)
I do wish things…
I wish the musical journey thus far hadn’t been as messy as it’s been.
That being said, I’d rather make a mess than let someone else do that.
I’ve been sloggin’ on my bloggin’. ..Whoa, that doesn’t sound right.. but you know what I mean… (right?)
I’ve been pretty busy… just got back to Toronto after shooting in Nova Scotia the past little bit. I am so thankful to have got this cool little part. I didn’t have to audition, thank god. We know from previous posts this isn’t my strong suit… It’s hard having to prove yourself. Well, for me anyway. It was for a show called Haven. It was fun, I made a little mula and Nova Scotia was gorgeous. A nice little gift.
Chester, Nova Scotia
Chester Harbour, Nova Scotia
On the music end, since the release of Reloaded, everyday seems to bring more light and strength to keep going – more than ever. It’s so apparent in my heart that this is my calling and the positive response from listeners has only reinforced me that I’m on the right path. That’s been the best feeling of all.
I got a band. I got a band called The Bed and they’re awesome. We have some shows coming up this month which I’m really excited about. I so badly want to get us on a tour… that’s what I’m working towards everyday. It’s been tough for me in this regard having no financial backing to take me and 5 dudes on the road, but like anything, you have to pay your dues and keep going. The pieces will fall into place when they’re meant to. I want to play for everyone who cares about my music.
Recent show we played in Waterloo:
We have some more shows coming up which should be pretty fulfilling. I’ve also written a ton of new material, already thinking about my next record… It’s funny… I was out for lunch with a friend the other day telling him about my new songs and he was really blown away at my drive and creative juice after working at this for so so long. I quietly thought to myself, this is just the beginning… I feel more empowered than ever.
I’m off to Nashville – right now! Visiting someone special.. maybe write some more songs!
I find when you walk into situations without expectations, whatever you get is a gift…. It’s one of the best things about life, I think.
Brendan Johnson and Jimmy Robbins accompanied me tonight on my song Look At Those Eyes…. it was a rad night. Plus, I couldn’t have asked for a better background performer…….
This last week was completely unexpected and up there with some of the most un-real weeks of my musical life. I was trending for close to 4 days worldwide on twitter because Pretty Little Liars aired an Instant Star song on their season finale episode.
I didn’t have any clue about this song placement as I didn’t write “Time To Be Your 21”, so you can imagine my genuine shock when a friend from LA called to tell me I was trending in the US. I didn’t know what this meant immediately and figured he may have been drinking. As I watched my name float up beside Rebecca Black’s on the “trend list”, I also thought this could have been a bad joke on my behalf. But, I soon discovered to my surprise, it’s a pretty cool thing to be doing. Trending, not drinking.
Seeing others tweet their genuine positive response to my music felt like everything in my head made sense for a minute. It was memorable and amazing. As many artists, I’m sure, you tend to spend quite a bit of time in your own creative bubble of a reality, wondering what the hell you’re really doing. Is this just me? Either way, you just keep doing it… It’s out of your control. You must create and pray it connects. It seems to come through you from some distant and unknowable source. Elizabeth Gilbert’s Ted Talk speech on Nurturing Creativity really resonated with me..
Watch around 6:10 for what I’m getting at – watch it all if you have time.
As wonderfully loyal as this creative spirit is and has been, it tends to often abandon you, leaving you in some precarious and vulnerable situations. You can’t help that either, because you need to share and expose things that others are welcome to take or leave. It’s how you survive and feel some sense of belonging, I guess. Getting exposure and trending is exciting but really scary at the same time because a lot of people wonder who you are and why you’re there. I understand this completely…. along with a few questions and opinions to digest.
Exhibit A: Comment posted on “Lost That War” blog.
March 14, 2011 at 6:59 pm (Edit)
are you really surprised at your recent short comings? you treated your fans like shit while you were working on your first album, you wouldn’t do live shows for instant star to help promotion, you never were an active communicator with your fans until your album got shelved, and you have a sense of entitlement because you’ve been on a tv show.
get over it. waaaaaa waaaaa. get your ass out there like every other musician and starting making fucking youtube videos. what you’re above that? you’ve done everything you could to get voodoo out there? B S ALEXZ.
you said it yourself; you’re not a star. you could have been. but you’re not.
i hope and pray that you get it together and build a following like everyone else has to.
and for christ sake, get new management. stephen’s idea for boogie love being the single was the worst idea in the world. worst idea.
i wish you well. i dont apologize for the reality check, but move on girlfriend. MOVE ON.
At the end of the day, and throughout the journey we’re all on, let’s try not to forget that artists are human beings. And, Computers can give you a false sense of bravery.
People ask me if it’s scary being in music because you’re having to “promote yourself” and be “fearless.” I’d hope to tell them this part of making music comes with the territory – opinions. Some audiences feel entitled to share things, no matter how negative. It’s really not so bad though… the good always out-weighs. Plus, with all the positive lately, there’s got to be some balance, right?
I disappeared off the planet and spent the past week or so being a band-aid on the Jimmy Robbins East Coast Tour with Chase Coy. I allowed myself to go with the flow and it made sense to help heal my wounds from the pilot season grind. I’ve been curious about touring and dipping my toes in the waters of it, I found myself exactly where I was supposed to be. It happened quite naturally being picked up in NY and continuing on the last leg with him. I’m really glad I made the choice to go… It brought to the surface a lot of feelings I didn’t know I had, as well as reminding me of how badly I want to tour myself.
Auditioning in LA and waiting for Canadian radio to play my single “Boogie Love” was a targeted decision that wasn’t the most soul fulfilling or musically fulfilling way to start the year, to say the least. The music video was a fun experience, but the focus so subtly gets shifted from engagement with the audience that you forget what you’re doing or trying to achieve in the first place. Though, there was a coherent plan set it place, it was a plan that was completely out of my control from the beginning. “Please like my music, please play my music”. This sounds crazy to write, because it’s about the farthest away from my reasons for writing as it gets. Long and short, for me to get the funding to go on tour in Canada or in the US I needed some steam either from radio, or from song placements in commercials and/or films – hence the remix album “Voodoo Reloaded.” This seemed do-able and I was onboard completely. Yet, both of these options don’t seem to be in my cards at the moment, but does this really surprise me? You have to play ball, and I want to play ball, but where’s the line between playing the game and keeping your integrity? To be honest, I’ve never really made it easy on myself musically. I enjoy quirky, different music far too much to change and I don’t listen to top 40 radio these days. Knowing this, why haven’t I gone on tour myself yet? Why have I been waiting for something to kick-start it?
I believe this is because of some huge close calls and luck on my side at a very young age. My expectations became greater than most artists due to entering the major label world so soon in my career and I became really great at “The Waiting Game”. I also built a fan base different than most musicians having Instant Star in my back pocket. Had I not been the lead of a series, I’d have made my steps by engaging and playing for my fans, instead of waiting for things to happen on the radio end. There are no regrets, just a clearer view. Life takes you down some winding roads.
I was humbled and blown away at how many of my fans came out to Jimmy’s shows based on a tweet I posted. I was asked a few times if I was going to tour myself but most of the questions were along the lines of “is everything OK”, and “have I been doing anything since the Voodoo album?” I’m going to be real with you. This felt like someone kicking me in the stomach. I’ve been doing everything I can to get Voodoo out there – everything but the absolute most important thing. Performing the songs for my soul and performing the songs for my fans.
I used to think I’d earned my badges and things should have been happening easier for me on the music end considering how much I’ve put into it. But after being witness to Jimmy’s little acoustic tour that could, I see how much it takes to build an audience that wants to hear your music. An audience that will actually show up to see you play.
This is what I love about indie. This is a grass roots. This is earning your audience by their personal choice one at a time.
This is authentic and this is where my soul felt completely on fire.
I’ve been writing a lot this past year and Jimmy and I wrote a few of the songs he chose to play. One being, “I Lost That War”. He’d asked me to come up on stage and sing with him… my instinct was immediately yes, but something made me feel sad at the same time. It’s hard to believe it could have actually been ego… but maybe it was buying into an idea of myself that’s not realistic. Believing an idea that was created by the major label industry or the damage of keeping myself in hibernation this past while because I was going to “explode on the radio.” Whatever it is or was, it’s dying and leaving room for some light to shine through and share what I feel inside. So I joined him on stage. I find the lyrics quite fitting.
Live @ Croc Rock, Allentown, Pennsylvania.
I Lost That War
(Jimmy Robbins/Alexz Johnson)
I’m running around
Think my foots on the ground
But I can’t get it out of my head
I’ve brought my sword
Of this I’m sure
I’ll use it on myself instead
And it’s all fine
I know I’m blind
I feel my heads in a different time
Days too dark
Nights too bright
I think I’m wrong when I know I’m right
Never knew I’d love so much
Never thought my heart could crush
I lost that war
I lost that war
I left my armour back at home
Coming back with broken bones
I lost that war
I lost that war
I thought that love
Was just a bus
Waiting for your damn stop to come up
Then you’re out in the cold
You feel so old
It left you there
And it stole your coat
But it’s all fine
I know I’m blind
Trusted you with my heart one time
Days are long
Nights are pain
Now I’m back in that bus in the rain
Never knew I’d love so much
Never thought my heart could crush
I lost that war
I lost that war
I left my armour back at home
Coming back with broken bones
I lost that war
I lost that war
Wanna take my pages read them through so you can see
All my words and darkness they don’t leave no room to breath
Heartbreak’s contagious loves become my enemy
You think you can change it, but the war is changing me
Chorus x 2
Every experience is a gift and happens for a reason. No matter how big or small, we are reminded that we are the captains of our ship.
—— Forwarded Message
From: [Casting]
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:15:38 -0800 (PST)
To: [Agent]
Cc: [Agency]
Subject: Re: Alexz Johnson – [ _____ the Pilot]
Nice job and natural. They have a first and second choice now. I think Alex
missed the humour in the scene though. There is a fair bit to be found
there.
Sent from my iPhone
……I have only two things to express.
Often referred to as deadpan, dry humour is a form of comic delivery in which humor is presented without a change in emotion or body language, usually speaking in a casual, monotone, solemn, blunt, disgusted or matter-of-fact voice and expressing a unflappably calm, archly insincere or artificially grave demeanor. This delivery is also called dry wit when the intent, but not the presentation, is humorous, oblique, sarcastic, or the effect is apparently unintentional.
Fetal position is a medical term used to describe the positioning of the body of a prenatal fetus as it develops. In this position, the back is curved, the head is bowed, and the limbs are bent and drawn up to the torso. Usually displayed alone in the corner of a bedroom or living room space.
I’ve always been subtly influenced by Reggae – often without even knowing it. Being drawn to artists/bands such as The Police, Sublime, Joe Strummer… it’s really interesting finding out where their influences came from.
The vault of greatness:
Tenor Saw passed 3 years after this performance. He was a dance hall singer in the 80s and one of the most influential singer/performers of the early digital reggae era. His best-known song was the 1985 hit “Ring The Alarm” below.
Reggae’s used to define most types of Jamaican music following on the development of ska and rocksteady.
Many artists have been influenced by Tenor, specifically Sublime and Supercat to name a few.
The history of ska is typically divided into three periods:
1)The original Jamaican scene of the 1960s.
2)The English ska revival of the late 1970s which was a fusion of Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies with punk rock’s more aggressive guitar chords and lyrics.
3)The third wave ska movement, which started in the 1980s and rose to popularity in the US in the 1990s. No Doubt, for example.
I always wondered where my attraction to punk music came from – I knew it wasn’t the screaming or the often defiant behavior (not pointing any fingers). It was the under-lying Jamaican ska rhythms and melodies.
The Specials, The Clash, Rancid, Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
A few of my favorites…
Rancid – Time Bomb
The Clash – Straight To Hell (Every time I hear M.I.A’s Paper Planes I think of the beginning of this song……..)
