UK singer/songwriter Alex Gonzato (AleX) is enjoying the positive reaction to the debut single "Awake" from his band Violet Breed, the collaborative alternative rock band that features founding member and bassist Brian Wheat.
Tesla's Dave Rude is also playing guitars on the track.
Recently, Rock Life got a chance to speak with AleX about the new project and single.
Rock Life: How are you today?
AleX: I'm good. I was working all day because obviously my music isn't a full-time thing yet. In England there's been a lot of storms and I was out in the rain, which was awful. It's good now because I'm at home dry with a cup of coffee and clean hair and I'm in a good mood!
RL: How did your music career begin?
A: I've been playing music for probably over ten years. I've been in a couple of groups, but preferred to do my own solo thing I play 2 or 3 gigs a week in the South UK with my acoustic guitar. It's 2 or r 3 hour sets of popular covers and some originals.
Now I've been very fortunate to be invited into this incredible project with Brian , who obviously is such a established musician and a rock icon in America and around the world. The chance to work alongside of him was something I couldn't and wouldn't pass up.. When the option came to work with him it was incredible and it's been amazing to work with someone of his stature.
So far, the chemistry in the music between us has just felt right. The new song "Awake" hasn't been out long, but the reaction has been quite well. It's getting bigger everyday.
RL: And how did you initially hook up with Brian?
A: I've known him as a friend for like 8 or 9 years. We met through mutual friends. He was working with a group who I knew and through that time he's always been a real father figure in my life and a mentor with my music.
He's helped me with my other projects with songwriting, production and recording. During the lockdown when everyone was off the roadroad and nobody could do anything, I just started writing these songs and had all of these ideas. Brian kept in touch through all the amazing technology we have now and continued to help me.
I've been very fortunate to have his guidance and to be invited into this band. He asked me to create some songs with him and I thought that was amazing. It puts myself in a higher profile and allows me to absorb all of these skills that Brian has acquired over his years with Teams and other projects. People think it's a long process to write songs and it can be, but it surprised me how quick we've been writing together.
Rock Life: You've got a great mix of sounds going, was that a conscious effort?
A: It's always hard to describe your own music, but the fundamental thing between Brian and I is that even though there's an age gap between us, we love the same music. We're really into My Chemical Romance and Foo Fighters of modern rock, but we also love The Beatles, Queen and Led Zeppelin. It's really nice when two people come together with the same inspiration
When it comes to actually writing musicmusic we kind of piled everything we're interested in together to create our own thing and keeping it original.
Our massive hero and obsession is Paul McCartney and when Brian comes to visit me in England or I visit him at his house, we end up driving around blasting out the Wings and McCartney albums. That's the main passion in our friendship.
RL: There's a bit of a punk edge to the new song. Did you set out to really mix things up?
A: Yeah, I mean naturally Brian comes from a rock background so he brings that hard edge, but I bring a slightly more pop rock kind of feel. It's a nice combo of both. We wanted to make music that would be captured in people's heads.
RL: And the lyrics are very powerful and emotional.
A: Yeah I think that's one of the most important things that Brian has taught meme. When I first started writing songs as a young artist it was obviously a learning process. I wanted to be more poetic and artistic, but it's hard to find that balance. When Brian and I were speaking about how we were going to approach it, we wanted to write straight-up emotive lyrics that everybody could relate to. Brian brought that important aspect to the table.
RL: And you have Dave on guitar as well. How has that Bern going?
A: Yeah, I mean I haven't been there because they're off in America, but I've met Dave in person and visited on vacation and it's honestly so great because he is phenomenal on guitar. It's a cool experience for me because of the time difference. I'll wake up in the morning with a new email and it'll be Dave crushing this amazing song. I'll listen and I never have any feedback because it's always amazing. They have worked together for so long that it's flawless.
RL: Any plans to play live?
A: Nothing at the moment, but if there's a calling for it then we will look into it. Right now we're concentrating on the first single and seeing where it goes. Over the last 3 or 4 years we've probably penned eight to ten songs and continue to work on new material. With the current music industry, it makes more sense if we release a track every six to eight weeks.
We've done some videos here in England in a warehouse near me. It's cool because the American audience gets to see where I'm from. I have no idea when the next one is scheduled to drop, but it should be soon. It's very exciting!
RL: How did the video for "Awake" come together?
A: I am literally maybe two miles away from a music studio and a big warehouse and my friend manages it. I was like , would you let me have it for4 or 5 hours so we can shoot a,series of videos. Literally within two months Brian was on a plane and we recorded from 6 pm to 1 am flat out. That was really cool. Then Brian filmed Dave at their Las Vegas residence at the House of Blues. They chopped and edited it all together and when I first saw it it was like wow! It really worked and came out great. We wanted a real, raw live look and let the music speak for itself.
RL: What originally drew you to music?
A: My family had a musical background. My mom and my Nan were singers and we always were surrounded by music. The pivotal moment for me was when I was 8 or 9 years old. My dad played me a Queen record and then I saw them live at Wembley and it was like whoa, you can do that for a living?
Ever since then, I just became obsessed with music and collecting vinyls and becoming a massive McCartney fan. It all started there really. I studied music in college and that's when it started to make sense and when I wanted to go do this.
Comments