DECEMBER 30, 2007
THE MERCURY LOUNGE
NEW YORK, NY
The last of 2007 was pretty slammin'. The boys and I were back at the Mercury Lounge for another terrific night right before New Year's Eve. We were all excited and even hung Christmas lights behind the drum kit for festive purposes only. I decided to down 3 glasses of Disaronno Amaretto before the set...I usually do this to warm the 'ol vocal chords, but this time I was also trying to soothe a sore throat and take some edge off. For some reason, I was a little nervous before this one. I don't really know why for certain. Usually, I'm totally fine and ready to rock. Perhaps it was because the band and I were debuting a few new songs or maybe it was from the fact that we were home in NYC and there are usually more people that know me personally at home in New York. I wanted it to be a good one.
In all honesty, it's been a long 2007 filled with plenty of truly great times as well as some down moments. I lost my drummer and friend Chris Williams at the end of 2006 and also went through some frustrating industry-related things that made me question all that I was doing. Nonetheless, the band and I had a terrific summer tour between NYC and L.A. and even had a considerable amount of MTV love. We decided that recording a new album in the Fall and Winter of 2007 was the best decision to push things in a further positive direction. We had so many new songs and lyrical ideas...there had to be a place to put it all together.
I get nervous when I venture into a new project, especially an album. There is expectation from those listening and watching and there is also self-expectation. I don't want to fail. I want people to latch onto the songs and understand what I am saying. I want people to really become part of what I'm doing. Those that know me personally and even just on myspace know that I spend a lot of time conversing with email and messages to people...But, pressure to perform and continue to do relevant things create times of uncertainty. All these things probably came to a head on 12/30 at the Merc, when I began the process of infusing the setlist with some of the new material....there is that "Ok, here we go again from the beginning" feeling that one gets when they're starting something new and presenting it to a room full of eager listeners who, mind you, are educated music lovers.
We had a great crowd on hand at the Merc and I hope we're off to a good start now that 2008 has arrived. I hope the audiences grow and the people already involved in my world fall in love with the new songs. The new album will be released in early March.
The support means so much. You all have no idea. Being an artist is thankless 90% of the time...not by the fans of course, but by the nature of the pursuit.
Love Always,
~Alex
Setlist:
HOLIDAY
SUNRISE FALLS
WAIT FOR ME
A LETTER
INDIFFERENCE
AMSTERDAM AVENUE
DIONYSUS
VENICE
OCTOBER
PROXIMITY
encore
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STAY WHERE YOU ARE
blurry cell phone photos from merc lounge, nyc
