Interview: Alexx Bean

Jarod Smith

Feb 8, 2022

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

I got into music when I listened to a burned CD of American Idiot by Green Day that I found in a drawer when I was in middle school. I burned it into my computer and put it on my iPod Touch. This was likely 2009 or 2010, going from 5th to 6th grade. I learned how to play guitar by googling the guitar tabs for “Jesus of Suburbia.” After I learned how to do a powerchord, every punk and pop-punk song became playable. Then, I started writing my own music with powerchords.

If I hadn’t gotten into music, I’d be doing acting.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I used to read a lot of books, that was a big inspiration. I should get back into that.

How long have you been making music?

I’ve been writing and playing since I was 12.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

I’m based out of Atlanta where I am from and grew up. I lived in New York City for 5 years and went to school at NYU. Both of these places influenced my sound. I was surrounded by hip-hop and r&b in both places, but I liked pop-punk. I felt really alone because I tried to find other kids my age who were into pop-punk, but it was really hard to. I liked the emo rap and alternative rock influenced rappers.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

Bowery Electric in NYC was a fun venue to play at.

If you could play a show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

blink-182 from 1999, lil peep, linkin park,

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into making music?

If you really love it and you just have to do it, then do it will all you have. Put yourself 100% into it no matter what and be persistent. Don’t do it for anything else other than to manifest your vision of your creative dreams. Don’t do it to be cool.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

Trust your gut that rock, pop-punk, emo, etc will return and don’t flip out so much going

back and forth in your head about your prediction about it. See my quote from PensEyeView August 2017 “I’m also super inspired by a lot of the rappers...they are the real rock stars nowadays... xxxTentacion, Travis Scott, Lil Pump, Lil Uzi Vert, Post Malone, and Migos have come out with music that is raw, angsty, and massive sounding. I think the evolution of rock music is going to have a lot of influence from these hip-hop guys...taking that 90’s and 00’s alternative rock sound to the next level.”

Of your songs, which one means the most to you and why?

The song that means the most to me isn’t out yet and I can’t spoil it sorry :/

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

I make music to provide a cathartic outlet for people to express their angst, anxieties, yearnings, etc....I think there’s a lot of people who miss having that outlet in the main stream pop culture like it had been in the 90’s and 00’s. I personally just got worn-out by the escapism found with dance music in the early 10’s and the indie rock scene that kind of dissolved into an apathetic stoner void. Punk is confrontational, so pop-punk is just a catchier, fun way of doing that. Near the end of the 10’s some trap songs and a lot of emo rap started to somewhat fill the shoes that alternative rock did in the decades prior. After 2009 we got no new good rock records. 21st Century Breakdown by Green Day (2009) and Stadium Arcadium by Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006) were the best full length rock albums that have come out since rock basically died in 2010. When I was in New York I focused on learning from hip-hop, r&b, electronic music to see what I could add to my goal of reviving rock music. That’s a big part of my journey.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

The “Castles (Acoustic)” comes out on February 18th, so check that out when it drops! The song was recorded and filmed at Astro Studios in Atlanta—shout out to the team over there!

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