September 25, 2025 • 24 mins
Episode Description
Join host Buzz Knight for an intimate and inspiring conversation with singer-songwriter Alexa Ray Joel, daughter of music legend Billy Joel. In this heartfelt episode, Alexa Ray opens up about her journey to establish her own unique musical identity while honoring her family’s incredible legacy.
From her latest EP “Tales from a Winding Tower” and its innovative “waterfall release” strategy to her diverse musical influences spanning Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell, and George Gershwin, Alexa Ray shares the stories behind her authentic songwriting process. She discusses the challenges and triumphs of building a career in the music industry while carrying a famous name, revealing the resilience and dedication that drive her artistry.
Listeners will gain insight into Alexa Ray’s creative process, her approach to authentic storytelling through music, and her deep respect for musical legends past and present. The episode concludes with her dream walk companion choice - the iconic Billie Holiday - offering a glimpse into the artists who continue to inspire her work.
Whether you’re discovering Alexa Ray Joel for the first time or you’re already familiar with her music, this conversation provides a window into the heart and mind of an artist determined to make her own mark on the world.
Show Notes
Guest: Alexa Ray Joel - Singer-songwriter, pianist
Key Topics Discussed:
• Musical Identity & Legacy
• Carving out her own artistic path separate from Billy Joel’s influence
• The balance between honoring family legacy and establishing independence
• Navigating industry expectations and public perception
• “Tales from a Winding Tower” EP
• Creative process behind the latest release
• Innovative “waterfall release” strategy - releasing songs individually
• The artistic vision behind each track
• Musical Influences & Inspirations
• Randy Newman’s storytelling approach
• Joni Mitchell’s lyrical depth
• George Gershwin’s compositional brilliance
• Billy Joel’s impact on her musicianship
• Songwriting & Creative Process
• The importance of authenticity in music creation
• Emotional honesty in songwriting
• Raw, organic approach to developing new material
• Industry Insights
• Challenges of establishing credibility in the music business
• Building a career while managing family name recognition
• Resilience and persistence in pursuing artistic goals
• Dream Walk Segment
• Alexa Ray’s choice: Billie Holiday
• Discussion of Holiday’s lasting influence on jazz and popular music
Notable Quotes:
• Insights on finding her own voice as an artist
• Reflections on authenticity in music
• Thoughts on resilience in the entertainment industry
Music History is full of hidden connections, just like everything else worth understanding. If you're someone who can't help dig deeper, Claude is for you. We are grateful for Claude's support of the "Takin ' A Walk" podcast and we invite you to try Claude for free at Claude.ai/buzz
Support the show: https://musicsavedme.net/
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Taking a Walk. You know, there's something poetic about the
fact that Billie Joel's daughter chose to make her mark
not by running down a dream on the highway, but
by sitting at a piano bench, finding her own keys
to unlock stories her father never told. I'm buzznight and
welcome to another episode of Taking a Walk. Today, I'm
(00:21):
joined by Alexa Ray Joel, singer, songwriter and yes musical royalty.
Well most people know her last name. Alexa Ray has
been the better part of two decades proving that legacy
is just your starting point, not your destination. She's here
to talk about finding her voice when the world already
(00:42):
thinks it knows what you should sound like, the courage
it takes to bare your soul at a piano, and
why sometimes the most rebellious thing you can do is
simply be authentically yourself. Stick around through this commercial break
and we'll talk to Alexa ray Joel next on Take
a Walk, Taking a Walk. It's a glorious day. I
(01:05):
have Alexa ray Jel on the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Hi, Alexa, Hey, buzz, how are you?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I'm doing fantastic? Do does it happen on occasion if
you're doing one of these podcasts where somebody says hey
Alexa and then there Alexa goes off in the background.
Do you have to deal with that from time to time?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I was just talking about this on the last podcast
that I did, So I go buy Alexa Ray now,
because in part of that, I don't want to hear
Hey Alexa, Oh, what can I do for you? Would
you like this to?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
No? No, no, no no.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
So that's why I do Alexa Ray as much as
I can these days.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Welcome Alexa Ray. And since we call this podcast taken
a Walk, and since I'm not able to be with
you in person at the beautiful undisclosed location somewhere.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
In the east family home in the East Coasts, so
beautiful space here.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Oh my god. So since we're not able to take
a walk in person, I do want to ask you though,
if you could take a walk with somebody, living or dead,
who would you like to take a walk with? Then
where would you take that walk with him?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Whoo wow? I wouldn't mind taking a walk with Billie Holiday. Yeah,
you know someone that's grown up completely differently obviously different
in every way, different everything, skin color, different life experience,
different perspective, different time.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
A true icon for sure. A trailblazer, right.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
A trailblazer. I remembered watching I watched a documentary of hers.
I was just sitting there crying the whole time, just
in awe of just the gravity of how much she
went through, how much she suffered, how much she put
everything into her art. It was very profound to me.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
That's a good one. I think you guys would have
a nice conversation. I think it would probably be a
pretty long walk.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Don't you think it would be a very long walk. Yeah, yeah,
she and it would be mostly me listening. I would
just hear her talk.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, you know, well, congratulations on the new EP and
on Riverside Way so much. I want you to take
us inside the creation of that. But I do have
to ask you, who is your Mount Rushmore of music
if you could kind of define that, obviously knowing there's
(03:44):
a certain family member who would have to be part
of that.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But yeah, I mean, you know, it's hard to say
off the top of my head because it's a mix
of people, and I can't not put my father on
that Mount Rushmore list, just in terms of how many
different types of music you know, I measure an artist
based on how much they play, how much they experiment,
(04:09):
how much they push past different boundaries, and really just
how much of a nonconformist they are just artistically go
with whatever they want. I think that's so brave, and
so I don't know. I mean, he's at the top.
I would put Joni Mitchell up there. I would put
(04:35):
George Gershwin up there. I would put I would put
Randy Newman up there. I think he's such an unbelievable
It's so funny because I've covered some of his songs
at the Carlisle at Kathay Carlile where it's so funny.
He's so underrated, Like nobody they're like, oh, that sounds familiar,
(04:55):
you know, but they don't know it's him. And really
any artist that's made it into that classic. I'm an
old school guess. So the American Songbook is really the
pinnacle of great music for me and Rogers and Hammerstein
and all of that. I'm a theater girl, you know,
so I go way back into all of that, and
(05:18):
I think it gives you a better understanding of music
traditionally in terms of the structure, right, you have a
little maybe, like my Dad often opens with a classical
piano part. But then you have the verse, you have
the chorus, you have the second verse, you have the
second chorus, you have the bridge. Like I just have
a true respect for people that are able to write
(05:40):
like that. Whether it's Gershwin or Dad or Bob Dylan,
you know what I mean, or or Newman or any
of the greats, or Elton John or even freaking Don
Henley is such a great songwriter. He knows how to
write a structured work. He understands the craft of song,
and I can't help but feel that that's getting somewhat
(06:04):
lost because everyone's prioritizing a hook. And that's great, But
can you write something that sounds timeless and structurally like
like the Rock of Gibraltar, you know, like solid, like
a solid, timeless work. That's hard to do. I respect that.
(06:26):
I try to emulate that.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
So a couple things to unpack there. First of all,
you mentioned the Cafe Carlisle, and certainly that whole experience there,
Bembleman's experience, and just when you walk into that place,
it's such a joyous celebration. We're actually creating an episode
celebrating bem Woman's and that whole experience there institution. Yeah, yeah,
(06:54):
so I had to mention that. But I also in
thinking of Randy Newman, I think he's vastly underappreciated.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Don't you think I'm so glad you circle back to him,
because even this new generation, like I'm trying to show,
I'll play, feels like holm on the piano. My brother
and my little brother and sister, like who's that? They
thought it was something I wrote. I said, don't give
me the credit. That was written by the great Randy Newman.
(07:24):
Even da da da da dun dun dun dun dun
da dun dun dun dun dun. It's so comforting, it's
so familiar. Not everybody even associates it with him, right
toy story, It's what he's been able to write. I
recently watched Was with my fiance. We love the movie.
We bought a zoo and they had the scene where
(07:46):
the rain was coming down and it was really sort of,
you know, beautiful and like that tranquil moment in the film,
and it had I think it's going to rain today,
And I just started crying those cores words and I
remembered why. I went to see a show at guild
Hall many years ago, and I think my father was
(08:09):
going through a sort of emotional time and we saw
the show together, Randy Newman show, and he played I
think It's going to rain today, Dunda, and my father
looked at me and he just started crying, and I
just started crying, just the beauty of it. And to
this day, it's funny how those childhood memories come back
and then you hear this song and you just you
(08:31):
get misdy eyed again. So a new Randy Newman is
like Dad for me, and that he's kind of a
home base guy that is a part of that American songbook.
He understands how to write timeless work that's so well
crafted and well thought out. And like I put him
up there with Dad, and my father does too.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
You know, it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
I thought it was always tinkling on the ivories his stuff.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
So I have chills thinking about Well, one song just
popped into my head as we're having the conversation, and
that is and you can I mean, you know, there's
so many. But as somebody who spent time near the
water obviously who doesn't sail, away, Take your breath away.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I'm so glad you brought that up. I actually covered
that with my amazing pianist Carmine Julio at the Carlisle
and I did more of an even more gospel version
because it's so gospel to me, you know, say, and
you can do a lot vocally, like you can build it.
(09:39):
You can start very bare bones and then get into
those gospel and those I don't know, just really dig
in on the on the keys and even do more
that gospel sound. I love it. And it's funny because
if you listen to that, and then you even listen
to like River of Dreams from they come from a
(10:01):
similar school. It's that old school gospel and it's just
the root of soul right there, you know. Take me
to the river, take the church, and it's the best.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Oh yeah, thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
I wanted to add too. I love how there's no
pretense with him. He's one of the only artists.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
They say every artist has a little bit of an
affectation in terms of their look or how they wish
to come across to differentiate themselves. And I'll bring up
another movie because I'm a big movie buff but begin again.
I don't know if you've seen that movie. If not,
it's all about music. You should really watch it. It's
Mark Ruffalo here Knightley, and they kind of find each
(10:45):
other and do a record together in New York City.
The girl says, oh no, sorry, Mark Ruffalo says, his
character says, okay, give me. Every artist is affected, every artist,
even dealing with the shades and the hat. Only one
artist that doesn't have some form of aesthetic or appearance pretense.
(11:08):
And Kiera Knightley's character goes Randy Newman, but that and
he goes, you got me. I love Randy Newman. There
is no concern for appearance or any like external. It's
all about the writing. It's all about the music. And
I just love that. So you should watch that movie.
(11:29):
It's really a real music lovers film.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Oh I will for sure. Well take us into the
making of the EP, the whole process that you take
in terms of bringing people together, the writing process, the
collaboration process. Give us a little inside glimpse into it.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
It's very raw for me. It has to just flow.
And I was just in a place. This was a
couple of years ago. Now with the EP Tales from
a Winding Tower and we're doing Waterfowl releases, so people
right now are only hearing going to hear one song
at a time. But it was really natural for me.
(12:13):
I don't know, it just I just felt like, Okay,
this is a time when I feel like writing. It
was all just coming out. I wasn't forcing it. I
wasn't sitting there going come on, come to me ideas.
The music was just coming went after the next and
I'm very eclectic. I was particularly eclectic with the CP
(12:37):
So Riversideway is more of a fiery banger. The next
song we're putting out that I'm putting out is more
of a sixties Torch style Heavy Eyes. Then the next
one is a very melancholic ballad. The next one's more
bohemian rhapsody if you will. There's some notes to like
Fiona Apple and the Lilith Days, almost a little bit
(13:01):
more of the nineties singer songwriter approach. So it just
all of those influences just kind of came out. I
know it sounds funny, but it just happened. It just happened.
It was such an organic process. I called up my
dad's guitarist, who's an amazing producer, Tommy Burns, and I said,
(13:23):
I got to do this record. I've got all these
ideas just flowing. And he was just he was on board.
And we brought our friend Tony Bruno, who's an incredible musician,
plays every instrument, producer, and they were my guys, they
were my producers. It was a super You know, it
(13:43):
helps when you're friends and you have a sort of
repertoire in chemistry with the people you work with, because
you're sharing your as my father says, you're spilling your
guts out on the table. You got to be able
to be vulnerable and as a homebody, which I am.
You see my family home here. We actually I was
(14:03):
lucky enough to record in my piano room in the
music room right behind here, and it's a big, wide
open space. I was barefoot, you know, didn't even have
to put shoes on, really spoiled with the recording process,
and I just sat there and did the piano and
the vocals bare bones. They recorded. We did the studio
(14:26):
musicians up in Applehead, which is in Woodstock, apple Head Studios,
great place to record, very seventies Hendrix, I don't know
everybody in the seventies was there. So I wanted that energy,
that real artist energy, very earthy woodsy up there. So
it was a super organic process and I feel so
(14:47):
lucky that I just got to record right in my
living room and the rest is history. And I just
hope people connect. There's something in there for everybody, you know,
for someone that might not connect to Riversideway, I've got
a more old school nostalgic ballad coming your way that
(15:07):
you might enjoy. Like, I just wanted something for everybody,
because for me, I get bored, you know, I stick
to one genre, one niche I need to move on
to the next. My father's the same way. It's you
got to play, you gotta you know, I don't like
sticking with one style at all.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
So did you feel most in the zone in terms
of process and ultimate creation with this project?
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yes? I was completely in the zone, completely in the zone.
I mean River Sideway. I think I wrote in like
two nights, late late night and hus in the bathtub
and I was like done, da da dom boom boombo
man A bad boy on the rid of a sad
way and I just heard it and it was just there,
and you know, I know my father writes the same way.
(16:00):
He just kind of just there, and he usually does
start at the beginning with the first verse, because I
don't know listen, I don't know how people write out
of order.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
I hear some people don't we hear the chorus where
I'm like, how do you hear the chorus first? How
do you hear the bridge first? Don't you need to
write in order? I'm kind of an orderly girl too
in my life.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
I think chronologically I need things to go, So I
got to start with the first verse, then the pre chorus,
then the chorus. I feel really, really lucky that it
just flowed at that time, because I don't always have
and I know other artists. I've talked to other artists
about this. My father is the same one. Sometimes it's
a dry well. It's not every single day the songs
(16:45):
are just coming to you, the ideas are just flowing.
You have to be it's got to be there. You
got to be in that zone, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
And if there's a dry moment, though, do you just
sort of leave it there and come back to it
in an hour or the next day. I mean, how
do you sort of address that?
Speaker 2 (17:07):
If I'm being honest, I should probably be more disciplined
about it. I don't like to force it. Music is
something I love so much. It's so fluid for me.
I only go to it when it's there. And I
know there's other songwriters that are much more regimented, and
(17:27):
they will sit there and they will go, Okay, I
need to finish this today. I've never been able to
do that. I'm a little bit of in fantasy girl.
I like to live in a fantasy world and live
in my dreams as much as I can. This world
we're living in is a bit disconcerting, the reality of
our just everything that's going on, and music is my escape.
(17:50):
And with Riversideway, which is out now, it was a
lot about going into fantasy, even going into an alter ego,
even stepping out of your self and your own head
and your own kind of neuro season and comfort zone.
And oh I'm a good girl and I need to
be this way. And I just said, screw that, and
(18:12):
let me just take a huge departure, go off them,
off the grid, off the map, and have some fun
and so, you know, just write a fun, fiery bang
or the hooks came, I heard wooo, I was playing
on the piano, couldn't stop playing it. I said, well,
this is insane.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
I know.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
My father's the same way. It's like, once it's inside
of you, if you can't get that earworm out of
your head, you better see.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
It through I.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
For those who are listening, you should really watch my
father's documentary. And so it goes. He talks about with
river dreams, I'll go walking in Hapaa and he's saying,
I'm in the shower and I'm going akadavada. It was
me too with Oh Donna, boom boom, boom boom, and
(19:01):
I was like, Alexa, shut up. But I couldn't get
it out, so I knew that I had to finish it.
And then Tommy and Tony were like, damn it, Lex,
we got this earworm.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
We can't get this song out of woo.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
And they're moving equipment and they're going, I'm like, okay, great,
that's a good sign.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
We got to make this record fast because if we're
singing it NonStop.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Maybe it'll be contagious. You know, So you got to
you got to enjoy that hook and trust it that.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
The documentary is spectacular. I mean it is. It is
just Yeah, stunning on every every level and brilliant and
engaging and honest and just so wonderful. And it does, yeah,
take us inside you know, his process and his the
way it works, and his brilliance. So it's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Oh deep, I just provided such a deeper context into
his material that some of which I I didn't even know,
you know, with part one back in the seventies. Like Dad,
there's so much there, you know, even with his first
wife and how she managed him and how many uphill
battles they fought to make. It's it's really amazing because
(20:15):
people think, oh, you know, maybe just land a hit
or it just happens.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
He was not.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
That did not happen. It was not overnight. He had
to claw and blood and sweat and toil and go
through you know, being ripped off and fight for the
rights to his palog And it's just amazing. You know
how much artists do go through behind the scenes that
you know, unless people share those stories, people have no idea.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Resilience the key to resilience merging with creativity. How is
your dad?
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Resilience is everything. He's great, he's great, he's tough, he
can he can get through anything. I always say, especially
after watching the doc I called him up, I said, Dad,
are you like you're like a cat? You have nine
lives maybe more, you know, because each sort of era
(21:11):
and they sort of in my view, went decade by
decade with his career and it's sort of unfolded with
his personal life as well, which then affects his material
and how he's writing. And he went through his I
even said, I said, at one point, you were sounding
more like Woody Allen in the seventies, and then you
went You're so in love with mom, and you were
(21:32):
more like you felt like a teenager again. So you're
doing Tin pan Alley and Frankie Valley in the fourth
seasons and you know, the doop and and then you
you know, and then you wanted to go darker and
more experimental and do your Sergeant Pepper era with nylon
curtain and expand sonically, and with each he even sounded
(21:56):
different how he was speaking, like he really is a chameleon.
People don't realize this, and I've learned a lot just
from watching him through the years. He's not just a
chameleon musically, right, He'll style himself a little different he'll
start talking a little bit different because he goes into
the character of where he's at musically and what he's
(22:18):
working on. It's very interesting, you.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Know, Alexi Ray. Please give your dad our love and
thank you for sharing everything here about your new music,
Riverside Way and the full EP, which is going to
be I like how you said that it's going to
be waterfall.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Is that the term you used, Yes, Waterfall releases. I'm
glad you brought that up because a lot of people
on my Instagram and friends are asking me what's waterfall releases.
It's one song sort of flows into the next. So
I have Riversideway at the top of the EP, and
then I'll be putting out Heavy Eyes, and then we
(22:58):
have I don't want to confuse everybody, but then we
have three more coming down the line. But it's going
to be one at a time because in this sort
of add society where it's tough to catch people's attention
and it can be confusing with it, it's like a
lot to take in a whole record. I wanted to
do it one song at a time. Each song is
(23:19):
its own story, each song is its own niche, its
own world, its own kind of. I take on a
different character for each song, so I really wanted a
moment for each special song to shine. And it's going
to be five songs total. It's called Tales from a
Winding Tower because I wrote it in my family home,
(23:42):
which is actually called Tower Hill, and we have a
beautiful winding tower up to the top of the house
where you can see this gorgeous view. And there's something
storybook about a winding tower, and there's a few influences
with some psychedelic story book stuff that you'll hear later
on with the ep So that's why I call the
(24:04):
Tales from Winding Tower. I thought it sounded like a
seventies type of record.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
You know, Oh, sounds fantastic. Alexi Ray, thanks for enchanting
us and taking us inside the process and for the
beauty of everything that you give us.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Thank you so much, Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Buzz Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking
a Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your
friends and follow us so you never miss an episode.
Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Taking a Walk. You know, there's something poetic about the
fact that Billie Joel's daughter chose to make her mark
not by running down a dream on the highway, but
by sitting at a piano bench, finding her own keys
to unlock stories her father never told. I'm buzznight and
welcome to another episode of Taking a Walk. Today, I'm
(00:21):
joined by Alexa Ray Joel, singer, songwriter and yes musical royalty.
Well most people know her last name. Alexa Ray has
been the better part of two decades proving that legacy
is just your starting point, not your destination. She's here
to talk about finding her voice when the world already
(00:42):
thinks it knows what you should sound like, the courage
it takes to bare your soul at a piano, and
why sometimes the most rebellious thing you can do is
simply be authentically yourself. Stick around through this commercial break
and we'll talk to Alexa ray Joel next on Take
a Walk, Taking a Walk. It's a glorious day. I
(01:05):
have Alexa ray Jel on the Taking a Walk Podcast.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Hi, Alexa, Hey, buzz, how are you?
Speaker 1 (01:12):
I'm doing fantastic? Do does it happen on occasion if
you're doing one of these podcasts where somebody says hey
Alexa and then there Alexa goes off in the background.
Do you have to deal with that from time to time?
Speaker 2 (01:24):
I was just talking about this on the last podcast
that I did, So I go buy Alexa Ray now,
because in part of that, I don't want to hear
Hey Alexa, Oh, what can I do for you? Would
you like this to?
Speaker 3 (01:38):
No? No, no, no no.
Speaker 2 (01:40):
So that's why I do Alexa Ray as much as
I can these days.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Welcome Alexa Ray. And since we call this podcast taken
a Walk, and since I'm not able to be with
you in person at the beautiful undisclosed location somewhere.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
In the east family home in the East Coasts, so
beautiful space here.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Oh my god. So since we're not able to take
a walk in person, I do want to ask you though,
if you could take a walk with somebody, living or dead,
who would you like to take a walk with? Then
where would you take that walk with him?
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Whoo wow? I wouldn't mind taking a walk with Billie Holiday. Yeah,
you know someone that's grown up completely differently obviously different
in every way, different everything, skin color, different life experience,
different perspective, different time.
Speaker 1 (02:41):
A true icon for sure. A trailblazer, right.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
A trailblazer. I remembered watching I watched a documentary of hers.
I was just sitting there crying the whole time, just
in awe of just the gravity of how much she
went through, how much she suffered, how much she put
everything into her art. It was very profound to me.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
That's a good one. I think you guys would have
a nice conversation. I think it would probably be a
pretty long walk.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
Don't you think it would be a very long walk. Yeah, yeah,
she and it would be mostly me listening. I would
just hear her talk.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Yeah, you know, well, congratulations on the new EP and
on Riverside Way so much. I want you to take
us inside the creation of that. But I do have
to ask you, who is your Mount Rushmore of music
if you could kind of define that, obviously knowing there's
(03:44):
a certain family member who would have to be part
of that.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But yeah, I mean, you know, it's hard to say
off the top of my head because it's a mix
of people, and I can't not put my father on
that Mount Rushmore list, just in terms of how many
different types of music you know, I measure an artist
based on how much they play, how much they experiment,
(04:09):
how much they push past different boundaries, and really just
how much of a nonconformist they are just artistically go
with whatever they want. I think that's so brave, and
so I don't know. I mean, he's at the top.
I would put Joni Mitchell up there. I would put
(04:35):
George Gershwin up there. I would put I would put
Randy Newman up there. I think he's such an unbelievable
It's so funny because I've covered some of his songs
at the Carlisle at Kathay Carlile where it's so funny.
He's so underrated, Like nobody they're like, oh, that sounds familiar,
(04:55):
you know, but they don't know it's him. And really
any artist that's made it into that classic. I'm an
old school guess. So the American Songbook is really the
pinnacle of great music for me and Rogers and Hammerstein
and all of that. I'm a theater girl, you know,
so I go way back into all of that, and
(05:18):
I think it gives you a better understanding of music
traditionally in terms of the structure, right, you have a
little maybe, like my Dad often opens with a classical
piano part. But then you have the verse, you have
the chorus, you have the second verse, you have the
second chorus, you have the bridge. Like I just have
a true respect for people that are able to write
(05:40):
like that. Whether it's Gershwin or Dad or Bob Dylan,
you know what I mean, or or Newman or any
of the greats, or Elton John or even freaking Don
Henley is such a great songwriter. He knows how to
write a structured work. He understands the craft of song,
and I can't help but feel that that's getting somewhat
(06:04):
lost because everyone's prioritizing a hook. And that's great, But
can you write something that sounds timeless and structurally like
like the Rock of Gibraltar, you know, like solid, like
a solid, timeless work. That's hard to do. I respect that.
(06:26):
I try to emulate that.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
So a couple things to unpack there. First of all,
you mentioned the Cafe Carlisle, and certainly that whole experience there,
Bembleman's experience, and just when you walk into that place,
it's such a joyous celebration. We're actually creating an episode
celebrating bem Woman's and that whole experience there institution. Yeah, yeah,
(06:54):
so I had to mention that. But I also in
thinking of Randy Newman, I think he's vastly underappreciated.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Don't you think I'm so glad you circle back to him,
because even this new generation, like I'm trying to show,
I'll play, feels like holm on the piano. My brother
and my little brother and sister, like who's that? They
thought it was something I wrote. I said, don't give
me the credit. That was written by the great Randy Newman.
(07:24):
Even da da da da dun dun dun dun dun
da dun dun dun dun dun. It's so comforting, it's
so familiar. Not everybody even associates it with him, right
toy story, It's what he's been able to write. I
recently watched Was with my fiance. We love the movie.
We bought a zoo and they had the scene where
(07:46):
the rain was coming down and it was really sort of,
you know, beautiful and like that tranquil moment in the film,
and it had I think it's going to rain today,
And I just started crying those cores words and I
remembered why. I went to see a show at guild
Hall many years ago, and I think my father was
(08:09):
going through a sort of emotional time and we saw
the show together, Randy Newman show, and he played I
think It's going to rain today, Dunda, and my father
looked at me and he just started crying, and I
just started crying, just the beauty of it. And to
this day, it's funny how those childhood memories come back
and then you hear this song and you just you
(08:31):
get misdy eyed again. So a new Randy Newman is
like Dad for me, and that he's kind of a
home base guy that is a part of that American songbook.
He understands how to write timeless work that's so well
crafted and well thought out. And like I put him
up there with Dad, and my father does too.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
You know, it's awesome.
Speaker 2 (08:54):
I thought it was always tinkling on the ivories his stuff.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
So I have chills thinking about Well, one song just
popped into my head as we're having the conversation, and
that is and you can I mean, you know, there's
so many. But as somebody who spent time near the
water obviously who doesn't sail, away, Take your breath away.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
I'm so glad you brought that up. I actually covered
that with my amazing pianist Carmine Julio at the Carlisle
and I did more of an even more gospel version
because it's so gospel to me, you know, say, and
you can do a lot vocally, like you can build it.
(09:39):
You can start very bare bones and then get into
those gospel and those I don't know, just really dig
in on the on the keys and even do more
that gospel sound. I love it. And it's funny because
if you listen to that, and then you even listen
to like River of Dreams from they come from a
(10:01):
similar school. It's that old school gospel and it's just
the root of soul right there, you know. Take me
to the river, take the church, and it's the best.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Oh yeah, thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
I wanted to add too. I love how there's no
pretense with him. He's one of the only artists.
Speaker 1 (10:23):
You know.
Speaker 2 (10:23):
They say every artist has a little bit of an
affectation in terms of their look or how they wish
to come across to differentiate themselves. And I'll bring up
another movie because I'm a big movie buff but begin again.
I don't know if you've seen that movie. If not,
it's all about music. You should really watch it. It's
Mark Ruffalo here Knightley, and they kind of find each
(10:45):
other and do a record together in New York City.
The girl says, oh no, sorry, Mark Ruffalo says, his
character says, okay, give me. Every artist is affected, every artist,
even dealing with the shades and the hat. Only one
artist that doesn't have some form of aesthetic or appearance pretense.
(11:08):
And Kiera Knightley's character goes Randy Newman, but that and
he goes, you got me. I love Randy Newman. There
is no concern for appearance or any like external. It's
all about the writing. It's all about the music. And
I just love that. So you should watch that movie.
(11:29):
It's really a real music lovers film.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
Oh I will for sure. Well take us into the
making of the EP, the whole process that you take
in terms of bringing people together, the writing process, the
collaboration process. Give us a little inside glimpse into it.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
It's very raw for me. It has to just flow.
And I was just in a place. This was a
couple of years ago. Now with the EP Tales from
a Winding Tower and we're doing Waterfowl releases, so people
right now are only hearing going to hear one song
at a time. But it was really natural for me.
(12:13):
I don't know, it just I just felt like, Okay,
this is a time when I feel like writing. It
was all just coming out. I wasn't forcing it. I
wasn't sitting there going come on, come to me ideas.
The music was just coming went after the next and
I'm very eclectic. I was particularly eclectic with the CP
(12:37):
So Riversideway is more of a fiery banger. The next
song we're putting out that I'm putting out is more
of a sixties Torch style Heavy Eyes. Then the next
one is a very melancholic ballad. The next one's more
bohemian rhapsody if you will. There's some notes to like
Fiona Apple and the Lilith Days, almost a little bit
(13:01):
more of the nineties singer songwriter approach. So it just
all of those influences just kind of came out. I
know it sounds funny, but it just happened. It just happened.
It was such an organic process. I called up my
dad's guitarist, who's an amazing producer, Tommy Burns, and I said,
(13:23):
I got to do this record. I've got all these
ideas just flowing. And he was just he was on board.
And we brought our friend Tony Bruno, who's an incredible musician,
plays every instrument, producer, and they were my guys, they
were my producers. It was a super You know, it
(13:43):
helps when you're friends and you have a sort of
repertoire in chemistry with the people you work with, because
you're sharing your as my father says, you're spilling your
guts out on the table. You got to be able
to be vulnerable and as a homebody, which I am.
You see my family home here. We actually I was
(14:03):
lucky enough to record in my piano room in the
music room right behind here, and it's a big, wide
open space. I was barefoot, you know, didn't even have
to put shoes on, really spoiled with the recording process,
and I just sat there and did the piano and
the vocals bare bones. They recorded. We did the studio
(14:26):
musicians up in Applehead, which is in Woodstock, apple Head Studios,
great place to record, very seventies Hendrix, I don't know
everybody in the seventies was there. So I wanted that energy,
that real artist energy, very earthy woodsy up there. So
it was a super organic process and I feel so
(14:47):
lucky that I just got to record right in my
living room and the rest is history. And I just
hope people connect. There's something in there for everybody, you know,
for someone that might not connect to Riversideway, I've got
a more old school nostalgic ballad coming your way that
(15:07):
you might enjoy. Like, I just wanted something for everybody,
because for me, I get bored, you know, I stick
to one genre, one niche I need to move on
to the next. My father's the same way. It's you
got to play, you gotta you know, I don't like
sticking with one style at all.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
So did you feel most in the zone in terms
of process and ultimate creation with this project?
Speaker 2 (15:35):
Yes? I was completely in the zone, completely in the zone.
I mean River Sideway. I think I wrote in like
two nights, late late night and hus in the bathtub
and I was like done, da da dom boom boombo
man A bad boy on the rid of a sad
way and I just heard it and it was just there,
and you know, I know my father writes the same way.
(16:00):
He just kind of just there, and he usually does
start at the beginning with the first verse, because I
don't know listen, I don't know how people write out
of order.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
I hear some people don't we hear the chorus where
I'm like, how do you hear the chorus first? How
do you hear the bridge first? Don't you need to
write in order? I'm kind of an orderly girl too
in my life.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
I think chronologically I need things to go, So I
got to start with the first verse, then the pre chorus,
then the chorus. I feel really, really lucky that it
just flowed at that time, because I don't always have
and I know other artists. I've talked to other artists
about this. My father is the same one. Sometimes it's
a dry well. It's not every single day the songs
(16:45):
are just coming to you, the ideas are just flowing.
You have to be it's got to be there. You
got to be in that zone, you know.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
And if there's a dry moment, though, do you just
sort of leave it there and come back to it
in an hour or the next day. I mean, how
do you sort of address that?
Speaker 2 (17:07):
If I'm being honest, I should probably be more disciplined
about it. I don't like to force it. Music is
something I love so much. It's so fluid for me.
I only go to it when it's there. And I
know there's other songwriters that are much more regimented, and
(17:27):
they will sit there and they will go, Okay, I
need to finish this today. I've never been able to
do that. I'm a little bit of in fantasy girl.
I like to live in a fantasy world and live
in my dreams as much as I can. This world
we're living in is a bit disconcerting, the reality of
our just everything that's going on, and music is my escape.
(17:50):
And with Riversideway, which is out now, it was a
lot about going into fantasy, even going into an alter ego,
even stepping out of your self and your own head
and your own kind of neuro season and comfort zone.
And oh I'm a good girl and I need to
be this way. And I just said, screw that, and
(18:12):
let me just take a huge departure, go off them,
off the grid, off the map, and have some fun
and so, you know, just write a fun, fiery bang
or the hooks came, I heard wooo, I was playing
on the piano, couldn't stop playing it. I said, well,
this is insane.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
I know.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
My father's the same way. It's like, once it's inside
of you, if you can't get that earworm out of
your head, you better see.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
It through I.
Speaker 2 (18:40):
For those who are listening, you should really watch my
father's documentary. And so it goes. He talks about with
river dreams, I'll go walking in Hapaa and he's saying,
I'm in the shower and I'm going akadavada. It was
me too with Oh Donna, boom boom, boom boom, and
(19:01):
I was like, Alexa, shut up. But I couldn't get
it out, so I knew that I had to finish it.
And then Tommy and Tony were like, damn it, Lex,
we got this earworm.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
We can't get this song out of woo.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
And they're moving equipment and they're going, I'm like, okay, great,
that's a good sign.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
We got to make this record fast because if we're
singing it NonStop.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Maybe it'll be contagious. You know, So you got to
you got to enjoy that hook and trust it that.
Speaker 1 (19:29):
The documentary is spectacular. I mean it is. It is
just Yeah, stunning on every every level and brilliant and
engaging and honest and just so wonderful. And it does, yeah,
take us inside you know, his process and his the
way it works, and his brilliance. So it's fantastic.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Oh deep, I just provided such a deeper context into
his material that some of which I I didn't even know,
you know, with part one back in the seventies. Like Dad,
there's so much there, you know, even with his first
wife and how she managed him and how many uphill
battles they fought to make. It's it's really amazing because
(20:15):
people think, oh, you know, maybe just land a hit
or it just happens.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
He was not.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
That did not happen. It was not overnight. He had
to claw and blood and sweat and toil and go
through you know, being ripped off and fight for the
rights to his palog And it's just amazing. You know
how much artists do go through behind the scenes that
you know, unless people share those stories, people have no idea.
Speaker 1 (20:43):
Resilience the key to resilience merging with creativity. How is
your dad?
Speaker 2 (20:50):
Resilience is everything. He's great, he's great, he's tough, he
can he can get through anything. I always say, especially
after watching the doc I called him up, I said, Dad,
are you like you're like a cat? You have nine
lives maybe more, you know, because each sort of era
(21:11):
and they sort of in my view, went decade by
decade with his career and it's sort of unfolded with
his personal life as well, which then affects his material
and how he's writing. And he went through his I
even said, I said, at one point, you were sounding
more like Woody Allen in the seventies, and then you
went You're so in love with mom, and you were
(21:32):
more like you felt like a teenager again. So you're
doing Tin pan Alley and Frankie Valley in the fourth
seasons and you know, the doop and and then you
you know, and then you wanted to go darker and
more experimental and do your Sergeant Pepper era with nylon
curtain and expand sonically, and with each he even sounded
(21:56):
different how he was speaking, like he really is a chameleon.
People don't realize this, and I've learned a lot just
from watching him through the years. He's not just a
chameleon musically, right, He'll style himself a little different he'll
start talking a little bit different because he goes into
the character of where he's at musically and what he's
(22:18):
working on. It's very interesting, you.
Speaker 1 (22:20):
Know, Alexi Ray. Please give your dad our love and
thank you for sharing everything here about your new music,
Riverside Way and the full EP, which is going to
be I like how you said that it's going to
be waterfall.
Speaker 2 (22:35):
Is that the term you used, Yes, Waterfall releases. I'm
glad you brought that up because a lot of people
on my Instagram and friends are asking me what's waterfall releases.
It's one song sort of flows into the next. So
I have Riversideway at the top of the EP, and
then I'll be putting out Heavy Eyes, and then we
(22:58):
have I don't want to confuse everybody, but then we
have three more coming down the line. But it's going
to be one at a time because in this sort
of add society where it's tough to catch people's attention
and it can be confusing with it, it's like a
lot to take in a whole record. I wanted to
do it one song at a time. Each song is
(23:19):
its own story, each song is its own niche, its
own world, its own kind of. I take on a
different character for each song, so I really wanted a
moment for each special song to shine. And it's going
to be five songs total. It's called Tales from a
Winding Tower because I wrote it in my family home,
(23:42):
which is actually called Tower Hill, and we have a
beautiful winding tower up to the top of the house
where you can see this gorgeous view. And there's something
storybook about a winding tower, and there's a few influences
with some psychedelic story book stuff that you'll hear later
on with the ep So that's why I call the
(24:04):
Tales from Winding Tower. I thought it sounded like a
seventies type of record.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
You know, Oh, sounds fantastic. Alexi Ray, thanks for enchanting
us and taking us inside the process and for the
beauty of everything that you give us.
Speaker 2 (24:18):
Thank you so much, Thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Buzz Thanks for listening to this episode of the Taking
a Walk podcast. Share this and other episodes with your
friends and follow us so you never miss an episode.
Taking a Walk is available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
and wherever you get your podcasts.
Host
Lynn Hoffman
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