March 3, 2025 • 46 mins
Join us in this dynamic episode as we dive deep into the life of rising rock artist Alyxx, who is on the brink of something monumental - her performance at the Inkcarceration Festival. Discover the journey that brought her from a theater background and girl group experiences to carving out her unique identity in the rock scene. With her infectious energy and passion for music, Alyxx shares her excitement about the upcoming festival where she will be sharing the stage with bands like Falling in Reverse and Beartooth.
Listen as she reflects on the thrills of live performance, recounting her unforgettable experiences at events such as the Blue Ridge Rock Festival. Beyond music, we explore the complexities of creating, producing, and the challenges of self-recording. Alyxx reveals invaluable insights into her creative process, her songwriting journey, and the emotional impact of her music.
We not only discuss her artistic vision and lyrical content but also touch on the importance of support systems. Hear how her family and friends have played a crucial role in her success as she navigates this competitive industry. Through heartfelt stories, humor, and candid reflections, Alyxx's journey exemplifies dedication and resilience in the music world.
As this episode unfolds, feel inspired by her commitment to sharing genuine, relatable experiences through her songs. Don’t miss this chance to hear what it truly means to pursue a career in music, building connections, and creating art that resonates with others. Tune in, subscribe, and join us for an empowering conversation that sparks creativity and passion!
Links
- Jay Franze: https://JayFranze.com
- Alyxx: https://www.officialalyxx.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tony Scott (00:05):
Welcome to The Jay Franze Show, a
behind-the-curtain look at theentertainment industry, with
insights you can't pay for andstories you've never heard.
Now here's your host, JayFranze.
Jay Franze (00:33):
Well, hello, hello, hello and welcome to the show.
I am Jay Franze and this isyour Backstage Pass to the Music
Industry.
This week we get to talk with arock and a metal recording
artist.
We get to talk with Alyxx.
We'll talk to her about theopportunity she has to open up
for Falling in Reverse at theIncarceration Festival, what her
(00:54):
production process is like and,well, we'll discuss how she
approaches playing live.
Now.
I first came across Alex onInstagram and I just knew that I
had to get her on the showTonight's the night Instagram,
and I just knew that I had toget her on the show Tonight's
the night and I can't wait totalk with her.
So if you would like to join in, comment or fire off any
questions, please head over tojayfranze.
com.
Now let's get started, alright.
(01:25):
Well, let's go ahead and jumpinto the music a little bit,
because I saw on your page thatyou have an opportunity coming
up.
Opportunity coming up here in.
Alyxx (01:29):
Is it July where you're opening up for Falling in
Reverse?
Yeah, so I'm going to beplaying Incarceration Festival,
which is absolutely insane andit still doesn't feel real.
Yeah, falling in Reverse and, Ibelieve, beartooth, they are
headlining, headlining,co-headlining.
Jay Franze (01:44):
Yeah To me.
I mean it's got some of myfavorite bands on the bill, but
I think they're on a differentday.
Like I would like to see FiveFinger Death Punch.
Alyxx (01:53):
I'm a huge fan of them, so I'm excited to see them.
I've seen them a bunch yeah.
Jay Franze (01:59):
I've seen them a few times now.
We had Bruce Ryder on the show.
He's their front of houseengineer.
When they came through townhere, we went and checked them
out and it was great that'sreally cool.
Yeah, he's a very, very niceguy.
It was great and I got to sitin the front of house with him
and just watch him work.
He is very impressive engineer.
Alyxx (02:17):
That's amazing.
Yeah, I've seen them side stagea few times.
The fire is really hot.
Jay Franze (02:23):
Yeah, I would say that I wasn't ready for that.
So when did you find out andhow excited were you?
Alyxx (02:31):
So my manager, you know, set everything up and I knew in
like September of last year andI couldn't say anything and I
was like this is veryfrustrating, frustrating.
I just wanted to announce it,but you know, obviously, like
you can't spoil anything, andthey didn't even tell us the
full lineup until an hour before, an hour before it went live.
(02:55):
They gave us the flyer becausethey didn't want anyone to like
spoil anything, yeah, and like Ididn't know who else was
playing.
I had assumptions for some ofthem, but I saw the flyer and I
was like, oh my God, and Icircled everyone.
I was like, cause I'm going forthe whole weekend.
So I'm like, all right, this iswho I got to see.
So I'm going to be that personrunning around after my set like
(03:17):
checking and checking everybodyelse out.
Jay Franze (03:20):
You got Slipknot on there.
That's a big one.
Three Days Grace.
Alyxx (03:25):
I am so excited for that one.
Jay Franze (03:27):
So what are you most excited about being on the bill
?
Alyxx (03:30):
Just like being able to perform and to see a different
crowd.
So I played at Blue Ridge RockFestival in 2021 before it got a
little chaotic, but it was thecoolest experience to date and I
just, you know, I met so manyother bands and people and
(03:51):
everybody is there just to havea good time.
The energy is like intoxicatingand I just want to get back up
on that stage and have thatfeeling again.
You know, meet cool people,meet cool bands and just be
around music, because sometimes,like you know, when you see a
show, there's only, you know, acertain amount of people.
But this festival is going tohave like 20,000 people there
(04:12):
and like, just that energy islike Does that make you nervous.
You know what's funny?
A little bit, but I know thesecond I get up on that stage
it's going to go out the window.
So leading up to it I'mprobably, I'm like, oh my God,
but when I'm there I'll bepacing backstage for a little
while.
Kind of probably.
Jay Franze (04:31):
So when you played at the Blue Ridge Festival, what
made that so special?
Alyxx (04:36):
So a few things.
Main thing is that was my firstshow back from COVID, so it was
September 2021.
So the world had kind of slowlystarted to open again and it
was just like you know, for solong we didn't really know what
the state was going to be, ifpeople were even going to want
to go to a concert again or tolike to see live music, and I
(04:59):
had just really started in thebusiness and I was maybe like
2019.
I started really playing showslike consistently, and then the
pandemic hit and I was, like youknow, devastated because I
didn't know what was going tohappen.
Everything's moving to onlineand I don't like that.
I like being in person and beingon stage.
So I didn't really know wherethings were going to go and if
(05:21):
the festival was even going tohappen, because it actually was
supposed to be for 2020 and theycanceled it.
And then they were like what doyou want to do?
And I said I want to do 2021,like I don't want to not do it.
Finally getting there was justlike it just felt normal again,
and so it was just reallyspecial for that and then again
met so many cool people that I'mstill in contact with to this
(05:44):
day, which is cool.
Jay Franze (05:46):
So you met those people and you're in contact
with them.
Are they people in the business, people that performed?
Alyxx (05:52):
Both.
So there's like a band calledMajor Moment that I connected
with.
I met Mixie from Stitched UpHeart.
So I have those people and thenalso photographers that I met,
media crew fans.
Like it's just people that I'mstill in contact with to this
day, like even on facebook, likeI had mentioned that I was
playing incarceration, andpeople like sent me photos.
(06:14):
They're like I'm gonna be fromlike blue rage and they sent the
photo.
Jay Franze (06:16):
I'm like, oh my god, I'm a pretty other cool hat,
like it was just that kind ofthing so if these are people
that you met and you stay incontact with them, is there any
chance of collaborations or hasthere been any collaborations?
Alyxx (06:29):
uh, not yet, but that would be really cool.
Yeah, I haven't reallycollaborated that much.
I've done a lot of like coverswith people, uh, not so much on
originals, although I amactually currently writing for a
collaboration with a friend ofmine, so literally like I was
just recording like an hour ago,so that's going to be fun.
Jay Franze (06:50):
Well, I know you do the collab videos on TikTok and
Instagram and that type of stuffand they're very impressive,
but I just didn't know if you'dwant to be doing collabs with
other artists.
Especially when you're out onthe road like this, it's always
good to pair up with somebodyand sing a song or two together.
Alyxx (07:07):
That would be awesome.
If someone wants to invite meup on stage, let's go.
Jay Franze (07:12):
Well, let's talk about that for a second.
If you could hop on stage withone of these acts that are going
to be at this festival, whichone would you want?
Alyxx (07:20):
I'm going to be very unrealistic Three Days Grace,
because they're one of mybiggest influences, so I would
probably cry.
I don't cry, but I probablywould cry for that.
Yeah, I mean, that's probablylike goals.
Jay Franze (07:32):
All right.
Well, if you're listening guys,call in right now and let's
discuss it.
And let me send a text messagereal quick see if we can make
that happen.
Alyxx (07:40):
Come on, alan, let's go.
Jay Franze (07:44):
That would be pretty cool, though it'd be fun that
would be very cool.
Alyxx (07:48):
What would I sing?
Anything honestly, like I'lljust stand in the background at
that point, just like there'sbeen some bands.
Jay Franze (07:58):
I used to say I'll just come up there with a
tambourine, if that's alrightwith you guys, just let me up
just give me a triangle cowbell.
Alyxx (08:03):
I need more cowbell, I like that theme.
Jay Franze (08:04):
If that's all right with you guys, just let me up.
Just give me a triangle RightCowbell, I need more cowbell.
Alyxx (08:08):
I like that theme.
Jay Franze (08:09):
Nice.
All right.
So you said you started in 19.
So, if we go back to 19, canyou describe what it was like
for you back in 2019?
Alyxx (08:20):
Yeah, so I used to do theater and then I was in a girl
group, so my life had been invery different.
Jay Franze (08:27):
Let's stop A girl group.
What genre of music are wetalking?
Alyxx (08:43):
So it was like pop, r&b kind of.
Truth is, I completelyauditioned for this accidentally
, which I still think ishilarious.
So, like I said, I did theaterand there was a flyer for like
looking for a girl group and Ihad sent it to my best friend,
who we acted together and I waslike I don't know if this is
real, you submit, let me knowwhat happens.
And then it was during auditionseason, so we were just going
to a bunch of auditions and shewas like, oh, we got to go to
this one.
(09:03):
I was like, all right, so I hadmy, I had my book and
everything.
And we're sitting down and I'mlooking at her and I was like,
what are you?
What is this for?
And she goes it's for that girlgroup.
I'm like, wait, what?
Like no idea.
And then I booked it.
So, yeah, that was just a funexperience.
Nothing happened from it.
I mean, I definitely made likesome good connections and stuff
(09:25):
like that.
Jay Franze (09:26):
Well, what do you remember most from that time?
Alyxx (09:29):
Learning how to use Pro Tools and to run a session.
Jay Franze (09:32):
That's cool.
Alyxx (09:34):
Yeah.
Jay Franze (09:35):
So how did Pro Tools come into it from you
performing with a girl group?
Alyxx (09:40):
So we didn't really get to perform that much.
A lot of it was more in thestudio and like writing songs
and whatnot.
It only lasted for like alittle over a year and then
things kind of fizzled out.
But that time was spent, youknow, recording, and after our
sessions I would stay later withthe producer and he'd have
other clients come in and Iwatched how they recorded, how
(10:01):
they produced, because I waslike I want to learn this and be
useful.
And I remember there was onetime where our producer had left
because he was on the phone andI jumped in the seat and I just
started running the session andhe came in.
He goes guess you don't need me.
He was kidding, but yeah.
So I mean that's one of themain reasons I know how to use
(10:22):
Pro Tools now.
Jay Franze (10:23):
Well, Pro Tools is definitely the industry standard
when it comes to audiorecording software.
Alyxx (10:29):
Yeah.
Jay Franze (10:29):
If you're going to learn one, that's the one to
learn for sure.
Exactly, are you comfortable atit now?
Alyxx (10:47):
Yeah, so I track myself, for I mean all the covers I do.
I'm recording myself for myoriginal songs as well, like
I'll track piano strings, pianostrings, synth effects, whatever
, at my home studio which I'm inand then I'll send that off to
my drummer's studio and then Iuse all of his.
His vocal setup is insane.
So the past, uh, actually, likemost ep, I tracked myself.
So I kind of kicked him out ofthe room and I recorded all the
vocals and I mixed them, compedthem and then we sent everything
(11:11):
off to get mix and masteredproperly.
I can't mix and master thatwell, but you will find out when
I post a cover.
I did, I think, the end of thisweek.
Jay Franze (11:19):
All right, so let's discuss the recording process.
So you've got the laptop,you've got the, the Scarlett,
you've got pro tools.
You're able to record and edityour own music.
Then you take it to yourdrummer's house for vocal
overdubs and then you kick themout of the room.
So do you feel more comfortablewhen nobody's around?
Alyxx (11:42):
Um, it's not even that.
I mean, I've been tracking withhim for years.
I just, I think I'm at a point,especially like I know exactly
how I want it to sound andinstead of like being like, oh,
can we try this again, oh, canwe do this, I just do it.
So I feel like it's less stresson him more so than anyone else
, but then you know we track therest of the instruments there
(12:06):
as well, so are you producingthe entire?
Thing yourself.
Yes.
Jay Franze (12:09):
I can understand when you're producing other
people, but when you'reproducing yourself vocally, do
you feel confident enough toknow when you've got it to be
able to give yourself theguidance you need to get through
a tune?
Alyxx (12:20):
Yeah, I spent my whole life singing and learning
harmonies and things like that,so I think I've developed a very
good ear for how things shouldbe laid out, where the harmonies
should go, any ad-libs, theintonation or that kind of stuff
(12:40):
.
Am I perfect at it?
Absolutely not.
Of course you are Great, I'mthe best ever.
I think I have the confidenceat least to to be able to put
together a song.
I mean, I write all the songsthat I put out, so I think I'm
doing okay so it's the, thedrummer's studio.
Jay Franze (13:03):
Do you ever take the moment to shoot ideas off of
them or to collaborate in anyway like that and just get ideas
from somebody else?
Alyxx (13:11):
yeah, uh.
So for end of me I had an ideathat I was like I wanted it to
sound.
I was listening to a lot oflike orbit culture.
I love septic flush and thatstuff is way too metal for me,
but I like that vibe.
So I sat there with him and mydrummer is also an insane
guitarist as well.
So we sat together and I waslike this is kind of the vibe
(13:31):
I'm going for.
I could try to program that,because I program everything for
my demos.
But I was like I feel like it'snot going to sound right.
So we kind of sat theretogether and he came up with
this really cool riff and thenmy guitarist, you know, did his
thing and it just kind oforganically came together, you
know, singing harmonies and likecoming up with the choruses as
(13:51):
we were doing it.
So that was the first song weactually wrote together.
Every other song I've come inand I'm like here's the full
demo lyrics, melody,everything's done.
Just make it sound like realinstruments and like add your
flair.
Like when I program drums Ireally don't use double bass or
anything like that, because I'mafraid I'm gonna totally butcher
(14:13):
that.
And zach, that's like his forte.
So I'm like, all right, you doyour thing, especially leads.
Although what was kind of cool,what song?
It's a new song off the ep.
Uh, zach was playing thisguitar lead and I was like, oh,
I love that.
And he's like I'm just playingwhat you played and I was like,
oh, that's why I like it.
Jay Franze (14:33):
Well, I know you can play piano.
Do you play guitar as well?
Alyxx (14:36):
no, not well no, but enough I could bs my way through
some chords, but that's theextent of that.
I'm very good at programmingthings.
Jay Franze (14:46):
Well, I know you can play piano well.
So when you pick up a guitar,you know what you want to come
out of it, I'm sure.
Alyxx (14:53):
Yeah.
Jay Franze (14:54):
So can you use the guitar enough to be a writing
tool?
Alyxx (14:58):
No, I mean truthfully, if I sat there, probably, but my
piano is right there and that'sjust so much easier.
And if I have an idea, I wantto be able to get it out before
I lose it.
So, like I have this oneplug-in.
It's called Opus, opusHollywood Strings and there's a
bunch of different versions ofthat, but it's this crazy.
(15:20):
That's where I get all thestrings and everything that
sounds so real.
Well, they are real and theyhave a bunch of guitar ones, so
I just play out what I want itto sound like.
I'm like, there we go, it worksall right, that's pretty cool.
Jay Franze (15:33):
And yeah, I know you mentioned too, like the double
bass, programming a double bassnever seems to come.
Quite the same as if you havethe drummer play it.
You know just the ghost notesand everything in between just
never feel the same when you'reprogramming it.
Alyxx (15:46):
Yeah, exactly, so I understand that.
Jay Franze (15:48):
So I mentioned the piano.
I mean, you're a very, verygood piano player.
When did that start?
Alyxx (15:54):
I'm not quite sure.
I took a few literally twopiano lessons when I was eight
and I was terrible because hewould play, he would play, he'd
put the music in front of me andthen he'd play it.
But I can play by ear, so Iwouldn't look at the music, I
would just play it.
So I never learned how to likeread music or anything, I just
(16:15):
played that way.
And then this one time I thinkI was like 15, there was a piano
.
My mom had played piano, so Iwas around piano a lot.
I just sat down and I startedplaying something.
I wrote a song.
My parents were like who'splaying the piano?
I just sat down and I was likeyou know what?
I had an idea for a song and Ineeded to get it out.
(16:36):
I was like you know what?
Let me just figure this out.
I don't even know what I'mplaying, but I can hear it, like
I can hear the orchestras in myhead.
I just have to put it, you know, to Pro Tools or to music.
Jay Franze (16:52):
So you say you, you don't even know what you're
playing.
You have to have some sort ofan idea.
I mean, do you understand whatthe chords are as you're playing
them, or do you just pickthings that sound good?
Alyxx (17:05):
I pick things that sound good.
I do.
I mean, I know what the chordsare and like the um intervals
and things like that.
But I I don't sit there and gooh, I'm playing a C, now I need
to go to like a F sharp, I justplay what sounds good.
I like a lot of diminishedchords.
Jay Franze (17:23):
I like things that have to resolve into something
else, like um so, theoretically,you have the foundation, but
you're taking artistic freedomwhen it comes to assembling what
you like.
Alyxx (17:34):
Yeah, exactly Like I.
I studied so much for voice, soI just kind of take what I hear
like vocally and like ifthere's a chord that I'm trying
to figure out, I'll just hum itand find it.
Jay Franze (17:48):
All right, so let's get back to your your writing
process, cause this kind offascinates me.
So do you come up with the, thelyrics and melody at the same
time.
Alyxx (17:59):
Very rarely.
I normally come up with themusic first, um, whether it's me
humming it or me, you know,playing it on piano, and then
lyrically, it's like the lyricsare always the last thing to
come.
I don't know.
To me, like, when I hear music,I don't focus so much on the
(18:20):
lyrics at first, so I can createan entire song, have melody
done and lyrically I'm like okay, wait, now I'm the exact
opposite.
Jay Franze (18:32):
It's lyrics first and then everything else falls
around.
That, unlike yourself, I can'tjust hear something and play it.
So you come up with these ideas.
So it's all by feel.
So you get a feeling inside ofyou that pushes you towards a
direction, and then you startplaying music and start
recording it, and so you do thaton piano, I'm assuming.
Alyxx (18:55):
Yes, and again, I think I focus more on the melody to see
, like how the song makes mefeel and I think that'll dictate
the lyrical content.
I'm like, if it's somethingwhere I'm feeling, you know,
happy, I mean be very simple orsimplistic.
If it's a happy song, I'm goingto be in a happy direction.
(19:17):
If it's something sad, I'mgoing to go in a sad direction.
Or if it's like a longingfeeling or like it's funny,
because I'm not very emotional,emotional, but like when it
comes to music, like I can Ijust have to see where it takes
me mentally, and there are sometimes I end up with lyrics I'm
like that was dark, you neverknow I can't imagine.
Jay Franze (19:35):
You're not an emotional person.
It's just how that emotioncomes out of you that's true so
I mean usually it's sarcasm yeahright, I'm right there with you
, my friend.
So you sit down, you come upwith this mood, you write this
music, and then it comes time tostart assembling the melody and
the lyrical content.
Alyxx (20:00):
So what is your approach when you're putting lyrics
together?
Well, one thing I think,personally, is what sounds the
best.
So there are times that I'llhave a phrase where I'm like oh,
this in, like you know, interms of like poetry, this is
beautifully written and it worksreally well, but like vocally
phrasing like this or likeholding out that word doesn't
(20:23):
fit.
So there's a lot of going intowhat works melodically and
lyrically.
Jay Franze (20:30):
Do you find yourself changing words to fit a melody?
Alyxx (20:33):
A lot, yeah.
And there's sometimes like I'llsay a phrase and I'm like that
doesn't really make the mostsense, but it fits and it works
in the song.
So I'm like okay.
And then sometimes I'll hearsongs like very famous songs
can't think of any at the momentbut I'm like wow, those lyrics
are a choice.
So then I'm like I don't feelso bad.
Jay Franze (20:53):
Yeah, there's some rough lyrics out there for sure.
So I mean we talk about thatand we talk about other people
who have some rough lyrics.
Do you have influences thatkind of shape, who you are today
?
Alyxx (21:06):
um, I mean, I grew up listening to evanescence and, uh
, three days grace and breakingbenjamin, so I think I tend to
have a writing style similar tothem.
But I liked how their lyricswere just real, you know it was.
It was more like I don't.
I just I seem to like resonatewith it more and some of them,
(21:27):
like there's some like pop punksongs that are like very
aggressive and just like angry.
I'm like all right, not reallywhere I am.
So, yeah, I don't know.
I just I found some of theirmusic just really it clicked.
Jay Franze (21:41):
So what is it about Evanescence?
I just saw Evanescence, themand Hellstorm.
Alyxx (21:45):
Oh, I'm so jealous.
Jay Franze (21:47):
They are both great bands.
Alyxx (21:49):
One day.
Jay Franze (21:50):
Are you a Hailstorm fan?
Alyxx (21:52):
Oh, of course We'll see.
Hale just started following meon Instagram and I want to do
literally cry.
I don't know what happened, butI was like, oh my God.
Jay Franze (21:59):
She is awesome.
I introduced my family to herAt that time.
My now 10-year-old was like twoand she picked up the
two-year-old and she's huggingher and she ran out to my now
14-year-old and was just allexcited from one event to
another.
And she gets in the car andwe're talking and as she gets
(22:20):
out, she turns around and handsme a guitar pick and said can
you give this to your daughterfor me?
and she remembered it's not likeI brought that up, I mean she
just remembered it and I waslike, wow, that's super, super
(22:41):
nice that's amazing so shesigned a picture, gave it to me
for my daughter and a guitarpick and it's so cool so she's
very nice.
But back to evanescence.
What is it about evanescencethat drew you to that, that
style?
Alyxx (22:55):
I think I've always been a fan of metal and hard rock and
I don't have like a typicalhard rock voice.
So, like you know, people thinklike hard rock.
They think like lizzie hill,like joan jett, like that kind
of gritty, like raspy voice andI was not blessed with that.
So I found evanescence and Iwas like hold on, like heavy
(23:18):
guitars, melodic singing likethis is something I like I can
sing along to these songs andlike this fits my voice and I
was like maybe I could dosomething like this one day and
here we are now comes my cycleright, there you go.
Jay Franze (23:33):
So you were comparing yourself to to them.
In what was the other one?
Alyxx (23:38):
you said um Breaking Benjamin.
Jay Franze (23:42):
Yeah, it is not quite the same to me, no.
So what are you drawing fromthose bands?
Alyxx (23:51):
I think lyrical content and, um, especially like
Breaking Benjamin, harmonies andjust like the melodic singing.
Obviously I don't scream, but,um, I think the passion behind,
like Adam's voice for Three DaysGrace, like that was something
I always loved because it wasn'tjust oh, he's singing and he
sounds good, it's like you canfeel everything that he's
(24:12):
singing.
So that was like, oh, I wasvery drawn to that and, like I
said, breaking Benjamin, theharmonies and just the melodies
were just so pretty.
Jay Franze (24:21):
And then Evanescence , you know, so I could sound
like her what kind of challengesdo you have when you sing songs
like that?
Alyxx (24:31):
I think for me it's trying to sounds like a silly
problem, but trying to figureout where to place them so my
voice can either do like a fullbelt, a mix, head voice,
falsetto.
So it's just kind of like,where does this fall?
So on my own stuff, I try toalways do things more of a mix
because I'm like that'ssomething that's more longevity
and I can actually do that live.
(24:51):
But sometimes in the studio I'mjust like I'm just gonna go as
hard as I can and see whathappens is there anything
vocally that you wish you coulddo, that you can't?
Scream.
I've tried, it just doesn'twork.
Jay Franze (25:09):
Does it not work or does it not feel comfortable to
you?
Alyxx (25:13):
It just doesn't feel right.
I've watched a bunch of videosand I do try to dabble in it
here and there, but I'm like youknow what.
I'll keep trying to learn it,but I'm not set on it.
If I can't do it and I don'tperfect it, I'm fine.
Jay Franze (25:28):
Well, you wouldn't want to possibly danger your
voice either.
Alyxx (25:32):
That too, I think that's always in the back of my head.
Jay Franze (25:35):
I mean, as amazing as Lizzie Hale is, she damaged
her voice.
She had to recover from thatand learn an entirely different
way of singing.
So when you have a voice likeyours, I wouldn't want to see it
get damaged by trying to dosomething like that.
Alyxx (25:50):
Thank you.
Yeah, that's definitely notsomething I want to do.
Jay Franze (25:54):
You mentioned earlier that you have a manager.
So when did you meet themanager and how did that come
about?
Alyxx (26:03):
Through Instagram I don't know if I followed their
company or they followed me andyou know, a couple of messages
back and forth being like hey,like you know what's your story,
like who, what are you planningon doing?
Then a couple of phone callsand then, you know, started
working together.
I think it's been about two anda half years now and it's cool.
You know, it's nice to have aguidance or like a guiding force
(26:27):
and tell me, like, give mesuggestions on, like, what I
should and shouldn't do, becausesometimes the business can be
kind of lonely and, you know,trying to figure out what the
next step is or trying to managewhat you should do, you know,
next in line is is overwhelming,so it's nice to have someone
help and, you know, push in forme as well especially on the
(26:47):
business side, the business sideof music can be rough.
Jay Franze (26:50):
Yeah, what have you learned most from having a
manager right now?
Alyxx (26:56):
the business side of things.
Jay Franze (26:58):
There's so much I'm trying to like pinpoint what
specifically what has been onething that you've learned that
you truly didn't know beforehaving a manager.
Alyxx (27:09):
I guess in terms of like getting releases set up and like
strategically, how to do thatcorrectly and to get you know
the most out of it.
Jay Franze (27:19):
I'm talking on the DSPs and when to I used to just
like post a song.
Alyxx (27:24):
It was like right, and then realizing that there's so
much more that goes into that.
So that was a learning curve.
Jay Franze (27:31):
Is there anything about having a manager that you
don't like?
Alyxx (27:35):
Not, really no.
Jay Franze (27:38):
All right, so you said that there was a company,
so is there a team of people oris there any one representative?
Alyxx (27:46):
There is a company, but he is my manager, so it's just
him.
Jay Franze (27:50):
Okay, Does he?
Does just him have a name.
Chris, yes, chris Bianchi fromCB Entertainment, sorry there
you go let's just give him alittle bit of credit, so that's
pretty cool.
So now that you have him, thereis similar to the producer that
we were discussing earlierabout having somebody to you
know bounce ideas off of, butyou're just doing it on a
(28:12):
business point of view versus amusical does he take any
interest in guiding youmusically yes, um, he actually
for the ep that's not coming outyet.
Alyxx (28:24):
Hold on, I have an announcement later.
I said to like solidify thedate, but I have an ep coming
out soon.
But he helped me find someoneto mix and master it.
We listened to the first draftof it and, very nicely, was like
you know, I think you might,you know, we should reach out to
someone to mix, master, to getkind of like the full feel that
(28:45):
you're going for.
And I was kind of like set onwhat I had and then realizing
that, oh, you know, maybe Ishould branch out a little bit
more.
So, with his guidance, hehelped me, um, find someone.
And then I ended up findingthere's a bunch of people who
were going back and forth and Ireached out to.
Well, well, he reached out to aman named Jeff Dunn and he did,
(29:07):
like Motionless in White Ice,nine Kills, catch your Breath,
that song Dial Tone.
So he did what is it?
Wage War Everybody.
Jay Franze (29:17):
So with a little bit more practice he might be
pretty good.
Alyxx (29:20):
Yeah, he's got a little ways to go.
But I was like you know what,especially like dial tone.
I was like these are songs.
I love the way they sound.
I'm just going to go to him.
So, did you originally mix it?
No, I did not.
Well, kind of it was a groupeffort, so my drummer mixed it
(29:42):
and I mixed it.
And it was a group effort, somy drummer mixed it and I mixed
it and it was.
It was like the sound was great, but it was kind of a different
thing, like we didn't have likeeffects and stuff like that in
it and just like to have a moreof like the modern kind of twist
to it.
So, yeah, we reached out andthat's what we ended up doing
nice.
Jay Franze (29:58):
so how many songs are on the EP?
Five Did Jeff mix all five?
Alyxx (30:03):
Yes.
Jay Franze (30:04):
How long did it take for him to mix all five songs?
Alyxx (30:07):
So they were kind of spread out.
Three of the songs are alreadycurrently out it's Alive,
creature of the Night and End ofMe.
So they were all kind of donein different times, but the last
three were mixed within, Ithink, from like September to
October.
Jay Franze (30:24):
Whose idea was it for the Dracula sample at the
end of Creatures?
Alyxx (30:28):
Mine.
Jay Franze (30:29):
It was kind of an accident.
Alyxx (30:31):
So I'm very ADD when I'm recording stuff.
So I was recording the demo forCreature and I was scrolling
through TikTok and I had my micon and like the vocal effects
and everything.
And I scrolled through and it'san old video from like the 40s,
started playing and the way itsounded through my microphone I
(30:51):
was like, wait, that sounds socool.
And I was like, hold on, I wantto do this, I want to like
sample something and I was like,well, creature of the Night
obviously Dracula.
So that famous quote.
I was was like, let me find it.
So I found it on youtube and Irecorded it through my
microphone and that became theending and I was like, wait,
that sounds so cool I know Ifound you through the internet.
Jay Franze (31:12):
Like I said, you did a duet that I thought was
really amazing took me down therabbit hole of the rest of your,
your videos and songs and thatwas my goal it Perfect.
So what is your intent withsocial media?
To connect with your audience.
How are you using it to connectto your audience?
Alyxx (31:30):
Um, that's a hard question because I don't really
know.
So my goal, what I try to do,is I'll post covers and then, if
people have suggestions, I liketo go live a lot so I can
really interact with people aswell, and I like, like I said,
doing some of those collabs andstuff where you can get a
broader audience.
(31:51):
But social media like hates me,I'm convinced, because I'll
post something and it like goesto the void and I'm like well,
there it goes, especially likeon TikTok and whatnot.
So my goal is just to connectwith people and to introduce
them to my music and me.
You know I want this to be acareer, so I'm trying, but
(32:13):
sometimes social media hasdifferent ideas.
Jay Franze (32:15):
Well, that's true, and you never know who's on the
other end, whether you thinkit's going well or not, there's
people that are listening thatjust never interact.
Alyxx (32:29):
So you could be reaching somebody and just not even ever
knowing it.
Well, people should interact,let me know.
They should, let me knoweverybody listening.
Jay Franze (32:33):
Please go, you know, send some messages, let her
know that we're here you're likeI'm alive, all right I know you
mentioned COVID earlier and thechallenges that we were faced
with during that time, but whatother setbacks have you had in
your career?
Alyxx (32:51):
One fun setback.
Tunecore decided to delete afew of my songs, like my old
songs.
They accused me of falsifyingmy streams and paying for
whatever, whatever it wasplaying for playlists and I'm
like I don't even know how to dothat.
And like they took away songsthat had barely any streams.
(33:11):
I'm like if I was going to fakemy stream, I would go past like
2000 for some of these songs,but I digress.
I could have sat there and triedto fight it.
But you know, I looked at it.
I was like, look, some of thesesongs are from the end of 2018,
2019, 2020.
I was like these are adifferent vibe for what I am now
.
So I was like it is nicenostalgia thing.
(33:34):
So my, I have an old EP from2018.
There's a physical copy, sosome people have that and I do
sometimes sell it at shows.
I'm like it's a little like fun, exclusive, you can't get
anywhere else.
But that's not what I soundlike anymore.
I think also because I was hadjust done theater slash girl
group, my voice was still inthat kind of pop-ish realm,
(33:56):
which I didn't like.
So I'm like I think I'veevolved vocally as well.
The only song that I am verydevastated is the song serenity,
that kind of had like a cultfollowing and I have people to
this day message me and be likewhere did it go?
I'm like, um, so that a bunchof them too it is exactly so.
(34:18):
I'm like go youtube but also mypatreon.
I do have a bunch of thosesongs that were taken down
available there.
Jay Franze (34:24):
That's cool Join my Patreon.
There you go Another reason tointeract.
Yeah, all right.
So you're building an audienceand you have a very good
following at the moment.
Is there any strategic planthat you have to build the
audience, or is it justsomething that's happening?
Alyxx (34:44):
Um, there was a plan.
So I know what the algorithmsthey say.
You know, if something catcheson, jump on the bandwagon and do
things like that.
That's never worked for me.
So I'm at this point where I'mjust posting what I like and I
hope that people like it.
And there are certain thingsthat I notice do better in the
(35:06):
algorithm, like when I do likemakeup transition videos.
I'm like I really don't want tobe known for that, but if I can
do one of those videos, grabsome people in and I go oh yeah,
by the way, I sing and here'smy other stuff, so I try to do
that.
Jay Franze (35:20):
Well, the videos are .
You know, they're eye-catching,if nothing else.
I mean, people scroll by andsee it and it's got a familiar
feel to it.
And then, all of a sudden, yourmusic is there and you're right
, it's going to introducesomebody to your music,
ultimately.
That's what it's all about.
So what are you hoping theaudience takes away from your
music?
Alyxx (35:40):
I hope they feel inspired .
I know that sounds so cheesy,but like most of my songs except
one is kind of depressing, butthe other ones are, they're just
.
I want you to have like a goodfeeling coming out of it.
Like the song alive is aboutgetting out of a toxic
relationship and realizing thatlike you might feel like the
(36:00):
world is ending, but it's notbecause you're gonna be okay and
you've got this and, like youknow, more power to you.
End of me kind of similar,realizing that someone that you
thought you knew wasn't who theythought they were, and like you
might have felt like this wasthe end of the world, but it's
like no, no, this won't be theend.
This is just this chapter.
(36:21):
So I try to have positivity atthe end of everything, because
life's depressing, as is, youknow was that relationship
something you lived through?
no, it was a friend of mysituation.
I, uh, was texting him.
I was like, let's open a can ofworms, like so how did you feel
(36:43):
when this happened?
And uh, some of the lyrics Ihad sent him, and he was like,
oh, that's it.
I was like, all right, nailedit.
Jay Franze (36:51):
That kind of puts it in place right there.
Yep, I think you've nailed it.
Alyxx (36:55):
And he's like oh, that's at home.
Jay Franze (36:58):
Well before we get off social media.
You have colorful hair.
You have an image that youportray.
Is that something that is justyou, or is it something that you
actually put time into thinkingabout?
Alyxx (37:11):
It was absolutely no thought behind this.
I've done every color.
I was already purple like alavender and I was bored.
So I saw a picture of someonethat had like teal on one side,
purple on the other, and I waslike, oh, that looks like fun.
So in 2019 I dyed this halfgreen and it came out more like
a bluish green because I justput it over the purple and I'm
(37:34):
not a hairdresser, so I didn'tknow what the hell I was doing I
was like I'm just gonna throwthe color on and hope for the
best.
and yeah, I went to my birthdaydinner.
My whole family and I walkedinto this nice restaurant purple
and green hair and they werejust like okay, and then it
stuck.
I don't know, I just gotexperimenting with it.
Jay Franze (37:51):
You say, they said okay, what did they really think
?
Alyxx (37:55):
They're like nothing surprises me at this point.
You know I had changed my hairlike every six, seven months but
I really liked this.
And then I was exploring, youknow, going darker and different
variations and the more my hairgot used to the color, like it
just kind of sticks.
Jay Franze (38:13):
It gets brighter and brighter and brighter.
I only laugh.
I came home the other night andmy daughter was in the bathroom
and I look in there and she'sjust scrubbing her hair and I
was like, oh god, here we go.
And she comes out and it it waspurple not quite as bright
purple as yours, but it waspurple.
And she, like it doesn't lookblue.
Alyxx (38:37):
I'm like no, it looks purple.
Jay Franze (38:38):
I think she, I think she thought it was gonna come
out blue, but it came out.
So yeah, I mean, the hair thingis definitely an image.
Your, your clothing, youroutfits are all part of an image
.
Your website, it all kind offalls in line of who you are, or
at least it gives an image.
So I guess my question to youis that who you really are.
Alyxx (39:01):
Yeah, what you see is what you get.
What you see is what you get.
What you see is what you get.
Like I said, I did theater.
I was a dancer my whole life,so I was always being someone
else, so it's nice to just dowhat I think feels right and
looks right.
Jay Franze (39:14):
Well, that's a good point.
You mentioned the theaterbefore and you mentioned being
in the girl group, both of whichare transition points into what
you're doing now, both of whichare transition points into what
you're doing now.
And then you mentioned yourearlier songs that were removed,
that those weren't quite yourvoice at that time.
So do you feel like this hasall been a transition to this
point?
Is this who you are?
Alyxx (39:35):
yeah, I mean, I think it was always variations of that.
I think I'm just constantly.
I'm constantly learning andgrowing and hopefully getting
better.
So, looking back, you know, atthe time I was like, oh, this is
awesome.
And then, you know, lookingback, I'm like, eh, so I'm very
proud of where I am now.
I worked my butt off and I justwant this to be a full-time
(39:59):
career and I'm just going tokeep pushing like a psychopath
until the day I die and hope forthe best.
Jay Franze (40:05):
Do you ever look back at your, your older
material and think that it couldhave been better or you don't
like it?
Alyxx (40:13):
Oh, of course, there are times I'm like, oh, I should
have done this, I should havedone that, but then I'm like
okay, well, that's you know, andI'm I'm like, you know, at the
end of the day I'm proud.
Like I said, I write my own song.
So I'm like I was still kind ofnew to like fully composing
stuff.
So you know, at the end of theday, yeah, I can go back and
criticize myself, but I do thatenough.
(40:33):
So sometimes it's nice to belike you know what I'm proud.
This is what I did, it was outand now I'm in a totally
different place all right, right.
Jay Franze (40:41):
Well, let's talk about your live performances
then.
The musicians that you playwith.
Are they the same musiciansevery time?
Alyxx (40:48):
Yes, so Zachy Ali is my drummer.
He also plays guitar and bass,and on the records he also has
his own original stuff out.
He's absolutely insane.
He plays like eight stringguitar and it's just.
He does all his own stuff.
He's absolutely so.
Jay Franze (41:02):
check him out too much talent, too much talent,
zach literally it's like can yourelax?
Alyxx (41:08):
um, and then my guitarist is brendan hawks and he's an
insane shredder but he also hassuch like a cool like old school
vibe to him.
So it's just we blend reallywell.
Zach, I knew from retro, thegirl the girl group's called
retro glam.
I met someone named dean whoplayed bass for a hot second and
(41:29):
then introduced me to zach andzach introduced me to brynden.
So it's kind of like everybody.
That's another thing about thegirl group is it introduced me
to a lot of people that I knownow and through association so
who's playing bass?
I don't have one at the momentso I use backing tracks.
Everyone has their own opinionon that.
I would like a bass player.
(41:50):
They're hard to come by becausethey're always in like 500
other bands.
So for, uh, incarceration, Idid reach out to a friend of
mine so hopefully he plays.
Uh, he actually played with meand um, blue Ridge Rock Fest.
So I sent him a picture ofincarceration and I was like, do
you want to play this?
And he was like, how can I sayno?
So hopefully you actually can,but we'll see.
Jay Franze (42:13):
All right, very cool .
So, and then do you playkeyboards when you play live.
Alyxx (42:27):
No, I have.
I didn't like it and that thatsounds silly because I play.
But I think if I'm at a pointwhere I'm doing like a full set,
like I'm headlining something,where I have the luxury to have
a bunch of songs, I can throw insome of those slower songs and
do kind of like what amy leedoes and just have piano and
singing.
Like that I would like to do.
But I think you know, if I'mplaying a 25, 30 minute minute
set, I really don't want to liketotally kill the vibe and be
like let's have a soft pianosong.
Jay Franze (42:48):
I want something like super high energy, because
you want people to remember it,and also, too, you're the front
person of the group, and if youstop to sit behind the keyboard,
that might show off some talent, but you'd rather be engaging
with the audience, I'm sure.
Alyxx (43:05):
Exactly, and I want to move around.
I want to, you know, get theaudience hyped up, and if I'm
stuck which I've done I've beenbehind a keyboard and I was like
sucks.
Jay Franze (43:15):
So what's next for you?
Alyxx (43:18):
So I have an EP coming out.
I'm currently waiting on thecover art for that and then I
can process that and have anactual date.
Just working on setting acouple more shows, some locally,
some down south.
So a lot of things are in theworks.
Nothing's solidified yet.
The only thing I can say is Iwill be playing Incarceration
Fest on July 18th.
Jay Franze (43:39):
In my neck of the woods.
That's very cool.
I'm going to have to see if Ican come check that out.
That would be awesome.
All right, my friend, while wedo this thing here, we call
Unsung Heroes, where we take amoment to shine the light on
somebody who's worked behind thescenes or somebody who may have
supported you along the way.
Do you have anybody you'd liketo shine a little light on?
Alyxx (43:58):
Can I say my family, you can say anybody you'd like my
mom and dad and my boyfriendhave been nothing but supportive
and always there for me andlike sometimes you know this
business is hard and it'soverwhelming and the fact that
they're all there like rootingfor me and supporting me and
being my brain half the time,like I'll text my mom or call
(44:21):
her and be like I'm trying towrite an email but I can't form
words like can you just makesure this sounds like english?
And you know my dad has.
You know he's come to shows.
He's been helping me out.
He's been like a roadie.
He came out to meet with me toa show in ohio.
He freaking drove the van thewhole time, which was insane.
He helped with my merch.
Like you know, he's just that'sa good dad yeah, I am so lucky
(44:45):
that I have family that supportmy insane dreams does boyfriend
have a name?
Boyfriend does.
His name is frank, he's in aband called garden state radio
and he is a full-time musicianwell, that's what I was just
gonna ask if he was in theindustry or not.
Yeah, he actually played guitarfor me for a couple years, Nice
(45:06):
.
Jay Franze (45:07):
But then his band took off and I'm like ah, I feel
like we're crossing a line alittle bit there.
You know, dating the help andall you ever bust his cookies.
Alyxx (45:15):
No, you know what's funny though.
So we went to high schooltogether and we're like
collaborating and stuff back inthe day, and then we actually
did cover of uh, bring me tolife that we did for like some
school talent show thing, and wewon.
Jay Franze (45:30):
A big thanks to Alex for taking the time to share
stories with us and thank youfor taking the time to hang with
me here.
I really do appreciate it.
If you know anyone that wouldenjoy this episode, please be
sure to share it.
You can do that and find thelinks to everything mentioned
over at jayfranze.
com/episode123.
(45:51):
Thanks again for listening andI'll see you next week.
Tony Scott (45:56):
Thanks for listening to The Jay Franze Show.
Make sure you visit us atjayfranze.
com Follow, connect and sayhello.
Welcome to The Jay Franze Show, a
behind-the-curtain look at theentertainment industry, with
insights you can't pay for andstories you've never heard.
Now here's your host, JayFranze.
Jay Franze (00:33):
Well, hello, hello, hello and welcome to the show.
I am Jay Franze and this isyour Backstage Pass to the Music
Industry.
This week we get to talk with arock and a metal recording
artist.
We get to talk with Alyxx.
We'll talk to her about theopportunity she has to open up
for Falling in Reverse at theIncarceration Festival, what her
(00:54):
production process is like and,well, we'll discuss how she
approaches playing live.
Now.
I first came across Alex onInstagram and I just knew that I
had to get her on the showTonight's the night Instagram,
and I just knew that I had toget her on the show Tonight's
the night and I can't wait totalk with her.
So if you would like to join in, comment or fire off any
questions, please head over tojayfranze.
com.
Now let's get started, alright.
(01:25):
Well, let's go ahead and jumpinto the music a little bit,
because I saw on your page thatyou have an opportunity coming
up.
Opportunity coming up here in.
Alyxx (01:29):
Is it July where you're opening up for Falling in
Reverse?
Yeah, so I'm going to beplaying Incarceration Festival,
which is absolutely insane andit still doesn't feel real.
Yeah, falling in Reverse and, Ibelieve, beartooth, they are
headlining, headlining,co-headlining.
Jay Franze (01:44):
Yeah To me.
I mean it's got some of myfavorite bands on the bill, but
I think they're on a differentday.
Like I would like to see FiveFinger Death Punch.
Alyxx (01:53):
I'm a huge fan of them, so I'm excited to see them.
I've seen them a bunch yeah.
Jay Franze (01:59):
I've seen them a few times now.
We had Bruce Ryder on the show.
He's their front of houseengineer.
When they came through townhere, we went and checked them
out and it was great that'sreally cool.
Yeah, he's a very, very niceguy.
It was great and I got to sitin the front of house with him
and just watch him work.
He is very impressive engineer.
Alyxx (02:17):
That's amazing.
Yeah, I've seen them side stagea few times.
The fire is really hot.
Jay Franze (02:23):
Yeah, I would say that I wasn't ready for that.
So when did you find out andhow excited were you?
Alyxx (02:31):
So my manager, you know, set everything up and I knew in
like September of last year andI couldn't say anything and I
was like this is veryfrustrating, frustrating.
I just wanted to announce it,but you know, obviously, like
you can't spoil anything, andthey didn't even tell us the
full lineup until an hour before, an hour before it went live.
(02:55):
They gave us the flyer becausethey didn't want anyone to like
spoil anything, yeah, and like Ididn't know who else was
playing.
I had assumptions for some ofthem, but I saw the flyer and I
was like, oh my God, and Icircled everyone.
I was like, cause I'm going forthe whole weekend.
So I'm like, all right, this iswho I got to see.
So I'm going to be that personrunning around after my set like
(03:17):
checking and checking everybodyelse out.
Jay Franze (03:20):
You got Slipknot on there.
That's a big one.
Three Days Grace.
Alyxx (03:25):
I am so excited for that one.
Jay Franze (03:27):
So what are you most excited about being on the bill
?
Alyxx (03:30):
Just like being able to perform and to see a different
crowd.
So I played at Blue Ridge RockFestival in 2021 before it got a
little chaotic, but it was thecoolest experience to date and I
just, you know, I met so manyother bands and people and
(03:51):
everybody is there just to havea good time.
The energy is like intoxicatingand I just want to get back up
on that stage and have thatfeeling again.
You know, meet cool people,meet cool bands and just be
around music, because sometimes,like you know, when you see a
show, there's only, you know, acertain amount of people.
But this festival is going tohave like 20,000 people there
(04:12):
and like, just that energy islike Does that make you nervous.
You know what's funny?
A little bit, but I know thesecond I get up on that stage
it's going to go out the window.
So leading up to it I'mprobably, I'm like, oh my God,
but when I'm there I'll bepacing backstage for a little
while.
Kind of probably.
Jay Franze (04:31):
So when you played at the Blue Ridge Festival, what
made that so special?
Alyxx (04:36):
So a few things.
Main thing is that was my firstshow back from COVID, so it was
September 2021.
So the world had kind of slowlystarted to open again and it
was just like you know, for solong we didn't really know what
the state was going to be, ifpeople were even going to want
to go to a concert again or tolike to see live music, and I
(04:59):
had just really started in thebusiness and I was maybe like
2019.
I started really playing showslike consistently, and then the
pandemic hit and I was, like youknow, devastated because I
didn't know what was going tohappen.
Everything's moving to onlineand I don't like that.
I like being in person and beingon stage.
So I didn't really know wherethings were going to go and if
(05:21):
the festival was even going tohappen, because it actually was
supposed to be for 2020 and theycanceled it.
And then they were like what doyou want to do?
And I said I want to do 2021,like I don't want to not do it.
Finally getting there was justlike it just felt normal again,
and so it was just reallyspecial for that and then again
met so many cool people that I'mstill in contact with to this
(05:44):
day, which is cool.
Jay Franze (05:46):
So you met those people and you're in contact
with them.
Are they people in the business, people that performed?
Alyxx (05:52):
Both.
So there's like a band calledMajor Moment that I connected
with.
I met Mixie from Stitched UpHeart.
So I have those people and thenalso photographers that I met,
media crew fans.
Like it's just people that I'mstill in contact with to this
day, like even on facebook, likeI had mentioned that I was
playing incarceration, andpeople like sent me photos.
(06:14):
They're like I'm gonna be fromlike blue rage and they sent the
photo.
Jay Franze (06:16):
I'm like, oh my god, I'm a pretty other cool hat,
like it was just that kind ofthing so if these are people
that you met and you stay incontact with them, is there any
chance of collaborations or hasthere been any collaborations?
Alyxx (06:29):
uh, not yet, but that would be really cool.
Yeah, I haven't reallycollaborated that much.
I've done a lot of like coverswith people, uh, not so much on
originals, although I amactually currently writing for a
collaboration with a friend ofmine, so literally like I was
just recording like an hour ago,so that's going to be fun.
Jay Franze (06:50):
Well, I know you do the collab videos on TikTok and
Instagram and that type of stuffand they're very impressive,
but I just didn't know if you'dwant to be doing collabs with
other artists.
Especially when you're out onthe road like this, it's always
good to pair up with somebodyand sing a song or two together.
Alyxx (07:07):
That would be awesome.
If someone wants to invite meup on stage, let's go.
Jay Franze (07:12):
Well, let's talk about that for a second.
If you could hop on stage withone of these acts that are going
to be at this festival, whichone would you want?
Alyxx (07:20):
I'm going to be very unrealistic Three Days Grace,
because they're one of mybiggest influences, so I would
probably cry.
I don't cry, but I probablywould cry for that.
Yeah, I mean, that's probablylike goals.
Jay Franze (07:32):
All right.
Well, if you're listening guys,call in right now and let's
discuss it.
And let me send a text messagereal quick see if we can make
that happen.
Alyxx (07:40):
Come on, alan, let's go.
Jay Franze (07:44):
That would be pretty cool, though it'd be fun that
would be very cool.
Alyxx (07:48):
What would I sing?
Anything honestly, like I'lljust stand in the background at
that point, just like there'sbeen some bands.
Jay Franze (07:58):
I used to say I'll just come up there with a
tambourine, if that's alrightwith you guys, just let me up
just give me a triangle cowbell.
Alyxx (08:03):
I need more cowbell, I like that theme.
Jay Franze (08:04):
If that's all right with you guys, just let me up.
Just give me a triangle RightCowbell, I need more cowbell.
Alyxx (08:08):
I like that theme.
Jay Franze (08:09):
Nice.
All right.
So you said you started in 19.
So, if we go back to 19, canyou describe what it was like
for you back in 2019?
Alyxx (08:20):
Yeah, so I used to do theater and then I was in a girl
group, so my life had been invery different.
Jay Franze (08:27):
Let's stop A girl group.
What genre of music are wetalking?
Alyxx (08:43):
So it was like pop, r&b kind of.
Truth is, I completelyauditioned for this accidentally
, which I still think ishilarious.
So, like I said, I did theaterand there was a flyer for like
looking for a girl group and Ihad sent it to my best friend,
who we acted together and I waslike I don't know if this is
real, you submit, let me knowwhat happens.
And then it was during auditionseason, so we were just going
to a bunch of auditions and shewas like, oh, we got to go to
this one.
(09:03):
I was like, all right, so I hadmy, I had my book and
everything.
And we're sitting down and I'mlooking at her and I was like,
what are you?
What is this for?
And she goes it's for that girlgroup.
I'm like, wait, what?
Like no idea.
And then I booked it.
So, yeah, that was just a funexperience.
Nothing happened from it.
I mean, I definitely made likesome good connections and stuff
(09:25):
like that.
Jay Franze (09:26):
Well, what do you remember most from that time?
Alyxx (09:29):
Learning how to use Pro Tools and to run a session.
Jay Franze (09:32):
That's cool.
Alyxx (09:34):
Yeah.
Jay Franze (09:35):
So how did Pro Tools come into it from you
performing with a girl group?
Alyxx (09:40):
So we didn't really get to perform that much.
A lot of it was more in thestudio and like writing songs
and whatnot.
It only lasted for like alittle over a year and then
things kind of fizzled out.
But that time was spent, youknow, recording, and after our
sessions I would stay later withthe producer and he'd have
other clients come in and Iwatched how they recorded, how
(10:01):
they produced, because I waslike I want to learn this and be
useful.
And I remember there was onetime where our producer had left
because he was on the phone andI jumped in the seat and I just
started running the session andhe came in.
He goes guess you don't need me.
He was kidding, but yeah.
So I mean that's one of themain reasons I know how to use
(10:22):
Pro Tools now.
Jay Franze (10:23):
Well, Pro Tools is definitely the industry standard
when it comes to audiorecording software.
Alyxx (10:29):
Yeah.
Jay Franze (10:29):
If you're going to learn one, that's the one to
learn for sure.
Exactly, are you comfortable atit now?
Alyxx (10:47):
Yeah, so I track myself, for I mean all the covers I do.
I'm recording myself for myoriginal songs as well, like
I'll track piano strings, pianostrings, synth effects, whatever
, at my home studio which I'm inand then I'll send that off to
my drummer's studio and then Iuse all of his.
His vocal setup is insane.
So the past, uh, actually, likemost ep, I tracked myself.
So I kind of kicked him out ofthe room and I recorded all the
vocals and I mixed them, compedthem and then we sent everything
(11:11):
off to get mix and masteredproperly.
I can't mix and master thatwell, but you will find out when
I post a cover.
I did, I think, the end of thisweek.
Jay Franze (11:19):
All right, so let's discuss the recording process.
So you've got the laptop,you've got the, the Scarlett,
you've got pro tools.
You're able to record and edityour own music.
Then you take it to yourdrummer's house for vocal
overdubs and then you kick themout of the room.
So do you feel more comfortablewhen nobody's around?
Alyxx (11:42):
Um, it's not even that.
I mean, I've been tracking withhim for years.
I just, I think I'm at a point,especially like I know exactly
how I want it to sound andinstead of like being like, oh,
can we try this again, oh, canwe do this, I just do it.
So I feel like it's less stresson him more so than anyone else
, but then you know we track therest of the instruments there
(12:06):
as well, so are you producingthe entire?
Thing yourself.
Yes.
Jay Franze (12:09):
I can understand when you're producing other
people, but when you'reproducing yourself vocally, do
you feel confident enough toknow when you've got it to be
able to give yourself theguidance you need to get through
a tune?
Alyxx (12:20):
Yeah, I spent my whole life singing and learning
harmonies and things like that,so I think I've developed a very
good ear for how things shouldbe laid out, where the harmonies
should go, any ad-libs, theintonation or that kind of stuff
(12:40):
.
Am I perfect at it?
Absolutely not.
Of course you are Great, I'mthe best ever.
I think I have the confidenceat least to to be able to put
together a song.
I mean, I write all the songsthat I put out, so I think I'm
doing okay so it's the, thedrummer's studio.
Jay Franze (13:03):
Do you ever take the moment to shoot ideas off of
them or to collaborate in anyway like that and just get ideas
from somebody else?
Alyxx (13:11):
yeah, uh.
So for end of me I had an ideathat I was like I wanted it to
sound.
I was listening to a lot oflike orbit culture.
I love septic flush and thatstuff is way too metal for me,
but I like that vibe.
So I sat there with him and mydrummer is also an insane
guitarist as well.
So we sat together and I waslike this is kind of the vibe
(13:31):
I'm going for.
I could try to program that,because I program everything for
my demos.
But I was like I feel like it'snot going to sound right.
So we kind of sat theretogether and he came up with
this really cool riff and thenmy guitarist, you know, did his
thing and it just kind oforganically came together, you
know, singing harmonies and likecoming up with the choruses as
(13:51):
we were doing it.
So that was the first song weactually wrote together.
Every other song I've come inand I'm like here's the full
demo lyrics, melody,everything's done.
Just make it sound like realinstruments and like add your
flair.
Like when I program drums Ireally don't use double bass or
anything like that, because I'mafraid I'm gonna totally butcher
(14:13):
that.
And zach, that's like his forte.
So I'm like, all right, you doyour thing, especially leads.
Although what was kind of cool,what song?
It's a new song off the ep.
Uh, zach was playing thisguitar lead and I was like, oh,
I love that.
And he's like I'm just playingwhat you played and I was like,
oh, that's why I like it.
Jay Franze (14:33):
Well, I know you can play piano.
Do you play guitar as well?
Alyxx (14:36):
no, not well no, but enough I could bs my way through
some chords, but that's theextent of that.
I'm very good at programmingthings.
Jay Franze (14:46):
Well, I know you can play piano well.
So when you pick up a guitar,you know what you want to come
out of it, I'm sure.
Alyxx (14:53):
Yeah.
Jay Franze (14:54):
So can you use the guitar enough to be a writing
tool?
Alyxx (14:58):
No, I mean truthfully, if I sat there, probably, but my
piano is right there and that'sjust so much easier.
And if I have an idea, I wantto be able to get it out before
I lose it.
So, like I have this oneplug-in.
It's called Opus, opusHollywood Strings and there's a
bunch of different versions ofthat, but it's this crazy.
(15:20):
That's where I get all thestrings and everything that
sounds so real.
Well, they are real and theyhave a bunch of guitar ones, so
I just play out what I want itto sound like.
I'm like, there we go, it worksall right, that's pretty cool.
Jay Franze (15:33):
And yeah, I know you mentioned too, like the double
bass, programming a double bassnever seems to come.
Quite the same as if you havethe drummer play it.
You know just the ghost notesand everything in between just
never feel the same when you'reprogramming it.
Alyxx (15:46):
Yeah, exactly, so I understand that.
Jay Franze (15:48):
So I mentioned the piano.
I mean, you're a very, verygood piano player.
When did that start?
Alyxx (15:54):
I'm not quite sure.
I took a few literally twopiano lessons when I was eight
and I was terrible because hewould play, he would play, he'd
put the music in front of me andthen he'd play it.
But I can play by ear, so Iwouldn't look at the music, I
would just play it.
So I never learned how to likeread music or anything, I just
(16:15):
played that way.
And then this one time I thinkI was like 15, there was a piano
.
My mom had played piano, so Iwas around piano a lot.
I just sat down and I startedplaying something.
I wrote a song.
My parents were like who'splaying the piano?
I just sat down and I was likeyou know what?
I had an idea for a song and Ineeded to get it out.
(16:36):
I was like you know what?
Let me just figure this out.
I don't even know what I'mplaying, but I can hear it, like
I can hear the orchestras in myhead.
I just have to put it, you know, to Pro Tools or to music.
Jay Franze (16:52):
So you say you, you don't even know what you're
playing.
You have to have some sort ofan idea.
I mean, do you understand whatthe chords are as you're playing
them, or do you just pickthings that sound good?
Alyxx (17:05):
I pick things that sound good.
I do.
I mean, I know what the chordsare and like the um intervals
and things like that.
But I I don't sit there and gooh, I'm playing a C, now I need
to go to like a F sharp, I justplay what sounds good.
I like a lot of diminishedchords.
Jay Franze (17:23):
I like things that have to resolve into something
else, like um so, theoretically,you have the foundation, but
you're taking artistic freedomwhen it comes to assembling what
you like.
Alyxx (17:34):
Yeah, exactly Like I.
I studied so much for voice, soI just kind of take what I hear
like vocally and like ifthere's a chord that I'm trying
to figure out, I'll just hum itand find it.
Jay Franze (17:48):
All right, so let's get back to your your writing
process, cause this kind offascinates me.
So do you come up with the, thelyrics and melody at the same
time.
Alyxx (17:59):
Very rarely.
I normally come up with themusic first, um, whether it's me
humming it or me, you know,playing it on piano, and then
lyrically, it's like the lyricsare always the last thing to
come.
I don't know.
To me, like, when I hear music,I don't focus so much on the
(18:20):
lyrics at first, so I can createan entire song, have melody
done and lyrically I'm like okay, wait, now I'm the exact
opposite.
Jay Franze (18:32):
It's lyrics first and then everything else falls
around.
That, unlike yourself, I can'tjust hear something and play it.
So you come up with these ideas.
So it's all by feel.
So you get a feeling inside ofyou that pushes you towards a
direction, and then you startplaying music and start
recording it, and so you do thaton piano, I'm assuming.
Alyxx (18:55):
Yes, and again, I think I focus more on the melody to see
, like how the song makes mefeel and I think that'll dictate
the lyrical content.
I'm like, if it's somethingwhere I'm feeling, you know,
happy, I mean be very simple orsimplistic.
If it's a happy song, I'm goingto be in a happy direction.
(19:17):
If it's something sad, I'mgoing to go in a sad direction.
Or if it's like a longingfeeling or like it's funny,
because I'm not very emotional,emotional, but like when it
comes to music, like I can Ijust have to see where it takes
me mentally, and there are sometimes I end up with lyrics I'm
like that was dark, you neverknow I can't imagine.
Jay Franze (19:35):
You're not an emotional person.
It's just how that emotioncomes out of you that's true so
I mean usually it's sarcasm yeahright, I'm right there with you
, my friend.
So you sit down, you come upwith this mood, you write this
music, and then it comes time tostart assembling the melody and
the lyrical content.
Alyxx (20:00):
So what is your approach when you're putting lyrics
together?
Well, one thing I think,personally, is what sounds the
best.
So there are times that I'llhave a phrase where I'm like oh,
this in, like you know, interms of like poetry, this is
beautifully written and it worksreally well, but like vocally
phrasing like this or likeholding out that word doesn't
(20:23):
fit.
So there's a lot of going intowhat works melodically and
lyrically.
Jay Franze (20:30):
Do you find yourself changing words to fit a melody?
Alyxx (20:33):
A lot, yeah.
And there's sometimes like I'llsay a phrase and I'm like that
doesn't really make the mostsense, but it fits and it works
in the song.
So I'm like okay.
And then sometimes I'll hearsongs like very famous songs
can't think of any at the momentbut I'm like wow, those lyrics
are a choice.
So then I'm like I don't feelso bad.
Jay Franze (20:53):
Yeah, there's some rough lyrics out there for sure.
So I mean we talk about thatand we talk about other people
who have some rough lyrics.
Do you have influences thatkind of shape, who you are today
?
Alyxx (21:06):
um, I mean, I grew up listening to evanescence and, uh
, three days grace and breakingbenjamin, so I think I tend to
have a writing style similar tothem.
But I liked how their lyricswere just real, you know it was.
It was more like I don't.
I just I seem to like resonatewith it more and some of them,
(21:27):
like there's some like pop punksongs that are like very
aggressive and just like angry.
I'm like all right, not reallywhere I am.
So, yeah, I don't know.
I just I found some of theirmusic just really it clicked.
Jay Franze (21:41):
So what is it about Evanescence?
I just saw Evanescence, themand Hellstorm.
Alyxx (21:45):
Oh, I'm so jealous.
Jay Franze (21:47):
They are both great bands.
Alyxx (21:49):
One day.
Jay Franze (21:50):
Are you a Hailstorm fan?
Alyxx (21:52):
Oh, of course We'll see.
Hale just started following meon Instagram and I want to do
literally cry.
I don't know what happened, butI was like, oh my God.
Jay Franze (21:59):
She is awesome.
I introduced my family to herAt that time.
My now 10-year-old was like twoand she picked up the
two-year-old and she's huggingher and she ran out to my now
14-year-old and was just allexcited from one event to
another.
And she gets in the car andwe're talking and as she gets
(22:20):
out, she turns around and handsme a guitar pick and said can
you give this to your daughterfor me?
and she remembered it's not likeI brought that up, I mean she
just remembered it and I waslike, wow, that's super, super
(22:41):
nice that's amazing so shesigned a picture, gave it to me
for my daughter and a guitarpick and it's so cool so she's
very nice.
But back to evanescence.
What is it about evanescencethat drew you to that, that
style?
Alyxx (22:55):
I think I've always been a fan of metal and hard rock and
I don't have like a typicalhard rock voice.
So, like you know, people thinklike hard rock.
They think like lizzie hill,like joan jett, like that kind
of gritty, like raspy voice andI was not blessed with that.
So I found evanescence and Iwas like hold on, like heavy
(23:18):
guitars, melodic singing likethis is something I like I can
sing along to these songs andlike this fits my voice and I
was like maybe I could dosomething like this one day and
here we are now comes my cycleright, there you go.
Jay Franze (23:33):
So you were comparing yourself to to them.
In what was the other one?
Alyxx (23:38):
you said um Breaking Benjamin.
Jay Franze (23:42):
Yeah, it is not quite the same to me, no.
So what are you drawing fromthose bands?
Alyxx (23:51):
I think lyrical content and, um, especially like
Breaking Benjamin, harmonies andjust like the melodic singing.
Obviously I don't scream, but,um, I think the passion behind,
like Adam's voice for Three DaysGrace, like that was something
I always loved because it wasn'tjust oh, he's singing and he
sounds good, it's like you canfeel everything that he's
(24:12):
singing.
So that was like, oh, I wasvery drawn to that and, like I
said, breaking Benjamin, theharmonies and just the melodies
were just so pretty.
Jay Franze (24:21):
And then Evanescence , you know, so I could sound
like her what kind of challengesdo you have when you sing songs
like that?
Alyxx (24:31):
I think for me it's trying to sounds like a silly
problem, but trying to figureout where to place them so my
voice can either do like a fullbelt, a mix, head voice,
falsetto.
So it's just kind of like,where does this fall?
So on my own stuff, I try toalways do things more of a mix
because I'm like that'ssomething that's more longevity
and I can actually do that live.
(24:51):
But sometimes in the studio I'mjust like I'm just gonna go as
hard as I can and see whathappens is there anything
vocally that you wish you coulddo, that you can't?
Scream.
I've tried, it just doesn'twork.
Jay Franze (25:09):
Does it not work or does it not feel comfortable to
you?
Alyxx (25:13):
It just doesn't feel right.
I've watched a bunch of videosand I do try to dabble in it
here and there, but I'm like youknow what.
I'll keep trying to learn it,but I'm not set on it.
If I can't do it and I don'tperfect it, I'm fine.
Jay Franze (25:28):
Well, you wouldn't want to possibly danger your
voice either.
Alyxx (25:32):
That too, I think that's always in the back of my head.
Jay Franze (25:35):
I mean, as amazing as Lizzie Hale is, she damaged
her voice.
She had to recover from thatand learn an entirely different
way of singing.
So when you have a voice likeyours, I wouldn't want to see it
get damaged by trying to dosomething like that.
Alyxx (25:50):
Thank you.
Yeah, that's definitely notsomething I want to do.
Jay Franze (25:54):
You mentioned earlier that you have a manager.
So when did you meet themanager and how did that come
about?
Alyxx (26:03):
Through Instagram I don't know if I followed their
company or they followed me andyou know, a couple of messages
back and forth being like hey,like you know what's your story,
like who, what are you planningon doing?
Then a couple of phone callsand then, you know, started
working together.
I think it's been about two anda half years now and it's cool.
You know, it's nice to have aguidance or like a guiding force
(26:27):
and tell me, like, give mesuggestions on, like, what I
should and shouldn't do, becausesometimes the business can be
kind of lonely and, you know,trying to figure out what the
next step is or trying to managewhat you should do, you know,
next in line is is overwhelming,so it's nice to have someone
help and, you know, push in forme as well especially on the
(26:47):
business side, the business sideof music can be rough.
Jay Franze (26:50):
Yeah, what have you learned most from having a
manager right now?
Alyxx (26:56):
the business side of things.
Jay Franze (26:58):
There's so much I'm trying to like pinpoint what
specifically what has been onething that you've learned that
you truly didn't know beforehaving a manager.
Alyxx (27:09):
I guess in terms of like getting releases set up and like
strategically, how to do thatcorrectly and to get you know
the most out of it.
Jay Franze (27:19):
I'm talking on the DSPs and when to I used to just
like post a song.
Alyxx (27:24):
It was like right, and then realizing that there's so
much more that goes into that.
So that was a learning curve.
Jay Franze (27:31):
Is there anything about having a manager that you
don't like?
Alyxx (27:35):
Not, really no.
Jay Franze (27:38):
All right, so you said that there was a company,
so is there a team of people oris there any one representative?
Alyxx (27:46):
There is a company, but he is my manager, so it's just
him.
Jay Franze (27:50):
Okay, Does he?
Does just him have a name.
Chris, yes, chris Bianchi fromCB Entertainment, sorry there
you go let's just give him alittle bit of credit, so that's
pretty cool.
So now that you have him, thereis similar to the producer that
we were discussing earlierabout having somebody to you
know bounce ideas off of, butyou're just doing it on a
(28:12):
business point of view versus amusical does he take any
interest in guiding youmusically yes, um, he actually
for the ep that's not coming outyet.
Alyxx (28:24):
Hold on, I have an announcement later.
I said to like solidify thedate, but I have an ep coming
out soon.
But he helped me find someoneto mix and master it.
We listened to the first draftof it and, very nicely, was like
you know, I think you might,you know, we should reach out to
someone to mix, master, to getkind of like the full feel that
(28:45):
you're going for.
And I was kind of like set onwhat I had and then realizing
that, oh, you know, maybe Ishould branch out a little bit
more.
So, with his guidance, hehelped me, um, find someone.
And then I ended up findingthere's a bunch of people who
were going back and forth and Ireached out to.
Well, well, he reached out to aman named Jeff Dunn and he did,
(29:07):
like Motionless in White Ice,nine Kills, catch your Breath,
that song Dial Tone.
So he did what is it?
Wage War Everybody.
Jay Franze (29:17):
So with a little bit more practice he might be
pretty good.
Alyxx (29:20):
Yeah, he's got a little ways to go.
But I was like you know what,especially like dial tone.
I was like these are songs.
I love the way they sound.
I'm just going to go to him.
So, did you originally mix it?
No, I did not.
Well, kind of it was a groupeffort, so my drummer mixed it
(29:42):
and I mixed it.
And it was a group effort, somy drummer mixed it and I mixed
it and it was.
It was like the sound was great, but it was kind of a different
thing, like we didn't have likeeffects and stuff like that in
it and just like to have a moreof like the modern kind of twist
to it.
So, yeah, we reached out andthat's what we ended up doing
nice.
Jay Franze (29:58):
so how many songs are on the EP?
Five Did Jeff mix all five?
Alyxx (30:03):
Yes.
Jay Franze (30:04):
How long did it take for him to mix all five songs?
Alyxx (30:07):
So they were kind of spread out.
Three of the songs are alreadycurrently out it's Alive,
creature of the Night and End ofMe.
So they were all kind of donein different times, but the last
three were mixed within, Ithink, from like September to
October.
Jay Franze (30:24):
Whose idea was it for the Dracula sample at the
end of Creatures?
Alyxx (30:28):
Mine.
Jay Franze (30:29):
It was kind of an accident.
Alyxx (30:31):
So I'm very ADD when I'm recording stuff.
So I was recording the demo forCreature and I was scrolling
through TikTok and I had my micon and like the vocal effects
and everything.
And I scrolled through and it'san old video from like the 40s,
started playing and the way itsounded through my microphone I
(30:51):
was like, wait, that sounds socool.
And I was like, hold on, I wantto do this, I want to like
sample something and I was like,well, creature of the Night
obviously Dracula.
So that famous quote.
I was was like, let me find it.
So I found it on youtube and Irecorded it through my
microphone and that became theending and I was like, wait,
that sounds so cool I know Ifound you through the internet.
Jay Franze (31:12):
Like I said, you did a duet that I thought was
really amazing took me down therabbit hole of the rest of your,
your videos and songs and thatwas my goal it Perfect.
So what is your intent withsocial media?
To connect with your audience.
How are you using it to connectto your audience?
Alyxx (31:30):
Um, that's a hard question because I don't really
know.
So my goal, what I try to do,is I'll post covers and then, if
people have suggestions, I liketo go live a lot so I can
really interact with people aswell, and I like, like I said,
doing some of those collabs andstuff where you can get a
broader audience.
(31:51):
But social media like hates me,I'm convinced, because I'll
post something and it like goesto the void and I'm like well,
there it goes, especially likeon TikTok and whatnot.
So my goal is just to connectwith people and to introduce
them to my music and me.
You know I want this to be acareer, so I'm trying, but
(32:13):
sometimes social media hasdifferent ideas.
Jay Franze (32:15):
Well, that's true, and you never know who's on the
other end, whether you thinkit's going well or not, there's
people that are listening thatjust never interact.
Alyxx (32:29):
So you could be reaching somebody and just not even ever
knowing it.
Well, people should interact,let me know.
They should, let me knoweverybody listening.
Jay Franze (32:33):
Please go, you know, send some messages, let her
know that we're here you're likeI'm alive, all right I know you
mentioned COVID earlier and thechallenges that we were faced
with during that time, but whatother setbacks have you had in
your career?
Alyxx (32:51):
One fun setback.
Tunecore decided to delete afew of my songs, like my old
songs.
They accused me of falsifyingmy streams and paying for
whatever, whatever it wasplaying for playlists and I'm
like I don't even know how to dothat.
And like they took away songsthat had barely any streams.
(33:11):
I'm like if I was going to fakemy stream, I would go past like
2000 for some of these songs,but I digress.
I could have sat there and triedto fight it.
But you know, I looked at it.
I was like, look, some of thesesongs are from the end of 2018,
2019, 2020.
I was like these are adifferent vibe for what I am now
.
So I was like it is nicenostalgia thing.
(33:34):
So my, I have an old EP from2018.
There's a physical copy, sosome people have that and I do
sometimes sell it at shows.
I'm like it's a little like fun, exclusive, you can't get
anywhere else.
But that's not what I soundlike anymore.
I think also because I was hadjust done theater slash girl
group, my voice was still inthat kind of pop-ish realm,
(33:56):
which I didn't like.
So I'm like I think I'veevolved vocally as well.
The only song that I am verydevastated is the song serenity,
that kind of had like a cultfollowing and I have people to
this day message me and be likewhere did it go?
I'm like, um, so that a bunchof them too it is exactly so.
(34:18):
I'm like go youtube but also mypatreon.
I do have a bunch of thosesongs that were taken down
available there.
Jay Franze (34:24):
That's cool Join my Patreon.
There you go Another reason tointeract.
Yeah, all right.
So you're building an audienceand you have a very good
following at the moment.
Is there any strategic planthat you have to build the
audience, or is it justsomething that's happening?
Alyxx (34:44):
Um, there was a plan.
So I know what the algorithmsthey say.
You know, if something catcheson, jump on the bandwagon and do
things like that.
That's never worked for me.
So I'm at this point where I'mjust posting what I like and I
hope that people like it.
And there are certain thingsthat I notice do better in the
(35:06):
algorithm, like when I do likemakeup transition videos.
I'm like I really don't want tobe known for that, but if I can
do one of those videos, grabsome people in and I go oh yeah,
by the way, I sing and here'smy other stuff, so I try to do
that.
Jay Franze (35:20):
Well, the videos are .
You know, they're eye-catching,if nothing else.
I mean, people scroll by andsee it and it's got a familiar
feel to it.
And then, all of a sudden, yourmusic is there and you're right
, it's going to introducesomebody to your music,
ultimately.
That's what it's all about.
So what are you hoping theaudience takes away from your
music?
Alyxx (35:40):
I hope they feel inspired .
I know that sounds so cheesy,but like most of my songs except
one is kind of depressing, butthe other ones are, they're just
.
I want you to have like a goodfeeling coming out of it.
Like the song alive is aboutgetting out of a toxic
relationship and realizing thatlike you might feel like the
(36:00):
world is ending, but it's notbecause you're gonna be okay and
you've got this and, like youknow, more power to you.
End of me kind of similar,realizing that someone that you
thought you knew wasn't who theythought they were, and like you
might have felt like this wasthe end of the world, but it's
like no, no, this won't be theend.
This is just this chapter.
(36:21):
So I try to have positivity atthe end of everything, because
life's depressing, as is, youknow was that relationship
something you lived through?
no, it was a friend of mysituation.
I, uh, was texting him.
I was like, let's open a can ofworms, like so how did you feel
(36:43):
when this happened?
And uh, some of the lyrics Ihad sent him, and he was like,
oh, that's it.
I was like, all right, nailedit.
Jay Franze (36:51):
That kind of puts it in place right there.
Yep, I think you've nailed it.
Alyxx (36:55):
And he's like oh, that's at home.
Jay Franze (36:58):
Well before we get off social media.
You have colorful hair.
You have an image that youportray.
Is that something that is justyou, or is it something that you
actually put time into thinkingabout?
Alyxx (37:11):
It was absolutely no thought behind this.
I've done every color.
I was already purple like alavender and I was bored.
So I saw a picture of someonethat had like teal on one side,
purple on the other, and I waslike, oh, that looks like fun.
So in 2019 I dyed this halfgreen and it came out more like
a bluish green because I justput it over the purple and I'm
(37:34):
not a hairdresser, so I didn'tknow what the hell I was doing I
was like I'm just gonna throwthe color on and hope for the
best.
and yeah, I went to my birthdaydinner.
My whole family and I walkedinto this nice restaurant purple
and green hair and they werejust like okay, and then it
stuck.
I don't know, I just gotexperimenting with it.
Jay Franze (37:51):
You say, they said okay, what did they really think
?
Alyxx (37:55):
They're like nothing surprises me at this point.
You know I had changed my hairlike every six, seven months but
I really liked this.
And then I was exploring, youknow, going darker and different
variations and the more my hairgot used to the color, like it
just kind of sticks.
Jay Franze (38:13):
It gets brighter and brighter and brighter.
I only laugh.
I came home the other night andmy daughter was in the bathroom
and I look in there and she'sjust scrubbing her hair and I
was like, oh god, here we go.
And she comes out and it it waspurple not quite as bright
purple as yours, but it waspurple.
And she, like it doesn't lookblue.
Alyxx (38:37):
I'm like no, it looks purple.
Jay Franze (38:38):
I think she, I think she thought it was gonna come
out blue, but it came out.
So yeah, I mean, the hair thingis definitely an image.
Your, your clothing, youroutfits are all part of an image
.
Your website, it all kind offalls in line of who you are, or
at least it gives an image.
So I guess my question to youis that who you really are.
Alyxx (39:01):
Yeah, what you see is what you get.
What you see is what you get.
What you see is what you get.
Like I said, I did theater.
I was a dancer my whole life,so I was always being someone
else, so it's nice to just dowhat I think feels right and
looks right.
Jay Franze (39:14):
Well, that's a good point.
You mentioned the theaterbefore and you mentioned being
in the girl group, both of whichare transition points into what
you're doing now, both of whichare transition points into what
you're doing now.
And then you mentioned yourearlier songs that were removed,
that those weren't quite yourvoice at that time.
So do you feel like this hasall been a transition to this
point?
Is this who you are?
Alyxx (39:35):
yeah, I mean, I think it was always variations of that.
I think I'm just constantly.
I'm constantly learning andgrowing and hopefully getting
better.
So, looking back, you know, atthe time I was like, oh, this is
awesome.
And then, you know, lookingback, I'm like, eh, so I'm very
proud of where I am now.
I worked my butt off and I justwant this to be a full-time
(39:59):
career and I'm just going tokeep pushing like a psychopath
until the day I die and hope forthe best.
Jay Franze (40:05):
Do you ever look back at your, your older
material and think that it couldhave been better or you don't
like it?
Alyxx (40:13):
Oh, of course, there are times I'm like, oh, I should
have done this, I should havedone that, but then I'm like
okay, well, that's you know, andI'm I'm like, you know, at the
end of the day I'm proud.
Like I said, I write my own song.
So I'm like I was still kind ofnew to like fully composing
stuff.
So you know, at the end of theday, yeah, I can go back and
criticize myself, but I do thatenough.
(40:33):
So sometimes it's nice to belike you know what I'm proud.
This is what I did, it was outand now I'm in a totally
different place all right, right.
Jay Franze (40:41):
Well, let's talk about your live performances
then.
The musicians that you playwith.
Are they the same musiciansevery time?
Alyxx (40:48):
Yes, so Zachy Ali is my drummer.
He also plays guitar and bass,and on the records he also has
his own original stuff out.
He's absolutely insane.
He plays like eight stringguitar and it's just.
He does all his own stuff.
He's absolutely so.
Jay Franze (41:02):
check him out too much talent, too much talent,
zach literally it's like can yourelax?
Alyxx (41:08):
um, and then my guitarist is brendan hawks and he's an
insane shredder but he also hassuch like a cool like old school
vibe to him.
So it's just we blend reallywell.
Zach, I knew from retro, thegirl the girl group's called
retro glam.
I met someone named dean whoplayed bass for a hot second and
(41:29):
then introduced me to zach andzach introduced me to brynden.
So it's kind of like everybody.
That's another thing about thegirl group is it introduced me
to a lot of people that I knownow and through association so
who's playing bass?
I don't have one at the momentso I use backing tracks.
Everyone has their own opinionon that.
I would like a bass player.
(41:50):
They're hard to come by becausethey're always in like 500
other bands.
So for, uh, incarceration, Idid reach out to a friend of
mine so hopefully he plays.
Uh, he actually played with meand um, blue Ridge Rock Fest.
So I sent him a picture ofincarceration and I was like, do
you want to play this?
And he was like, how can I sayno?
So hopefully you actually can,but we'll see.
Jay Franze (42:13):
All right, very cool .
So, and then do you playkeyboards when you play live.
Alyxx (42:27):
No, I have.
I didn't like it and that thatsounds silly because I play.
But I think if I'm at a pointwhere I'm doing like a full set,
like I'm headlining something,where I have the luxury to have
a bunch of songs, I can throw insome of those slower songs and
do kind of like what amy leedoes and just have piano and
singing.
Like that I would like to do.
But I think you know, if I'mplaying a 25, 30 minute minute
set, I really don't want to liketotally kill the vibe and be
like let's have a soft pianosong.
Jay Franze (42:48):
I want something like super high energy, because
you want people to remember it,and also, too, you're the front
person of the group, and if youstop to sit behind the keyboard,
that might show off some talent, but you'd rather be engaging
with the audience, I'm sure.
Alyxx (43:05):
Exactly, and I want to move around.
I want to, you know, get theaudience hyped up, and if I'm
stuck which I've done I've beenbehind a keyboard and I was like
sucks.
Jay Franze (43:15):
So what's next for you?
Alyxx (43:18):
So I have an EP coming out.
I'm currently waiting on thecover art for that and then I
can process that and have anactual date.
Just working on setting acouple more shows, some locally,
some down south.
So a lot of things are in theworks.
Nothing's solidified yet.
The only thing I can say is Iwill be playing Incarceration
Fest on July 18th.
Jay Franze (43:39):
In my neck of the woods.
That's very cool.
I'm going to have to see if Ican come check that out.
That would be awesome.
All right, my friend, while wedo this thing here, we call
Unsung Heroes, where we take amoment to shine the light on
somebody who's worked behind thescenes or somebody who may have
supported you along the way.
Do you have anybody you'd liketo shine a little light on?
Alyxx (43:58):
Can I say my family, you can say anybody you'd like my
mom and dad and my boyfriendhave been nothing but supportive
and always there for me andlike sometimes you know this
business is hard and it'soverwhelming and the fact that
they're all there like rootingfor me and supporting me and
being my brain half the time,like I'll text my mom or call
(44:21):
her and be like I'm trying towrite an email but I can't form
words like can you just makesure this sounds like english?
And you know my dad has.
You know he's come to shows.
He's been helping me out.
He's been like a roadie.
He came out to meet with me toa show in ohio.
He freaking drove the van thewhole time, which was insane.
He helped with my merch.
Like you know, he's just that'sa good dad yeah, I am so lucky
(44:45):
that I have family that supportmy insane dreams does boyfriend
have a name?
Boyfriend does.
His name is frank, he's in aband called garden state radio
and he is a full-time musicianwell, that's what I was just
gonna ask if he was in theindustry or not.
Yeah, he actually played guitarfor me for a couple years, Nice
(45:06):
.
Jay Franze (45:07):
But then his band took off and I'm like ah, I feel
like we're crossing a line alittle bit there.
You know, dating the help andall you ever bust his cookies.
Alyxx (45:15):
No, you know what's funny though.
So we went to high schooltogether and we're like
collaborating and stuff back inthe day, and then we actually
did cover of uh, bring me tolife that we did for like some
school talent show thing, and wewon.
Jay Franze (45:30):
A big thanks to Alex for taking the time to share
stories with us and thank youfor taking the time to hang with
me here.
I really do appreciate it.
If you know anyone that wouldenjoy this episode, please be
sure to share it.
You can do that and find thelinks to everything mentioned
over at jayfranze.
com/episode123.
(45:51):
Thanks again for listening andI'll see you next week.
Tony Scott (45:56):
Thanks for listening to The Jay Franze Show.
Make sure you visit us atjayfranze.
com Follow, connect and sayhello.
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