Pics - from home

a few more pics from the studio. sorry for the lack of tour dates guys, but the new record has to be right. these things always take longer than expected, but c'est la vie...i'll be in london over the holidays, taking a short break from the road and studio. it may give me a chance to reflect a bit and perhaps even work on a few side song ideas. the thoughts never stop, the work never stops, but i guess that's how we maintain creativity. and there's no break from that.

love to everyone. thanks for your patience and every ounce of support.

-Alex

Instructional music videos

When I'm not doing the "artist" thing, I give extremely interactive lessons on how to read music and feel comfortable in a recording studio. Here are some still-shot images from several instructional films I've made that are now on sale throughout most Target retail stores in the U.S.

-Alex



This is myself showing bassist Jeff Kerestes that playing music is fun and educational





This is myself also explaining to Jeff that too much fun in music can lead to drinking and substance abuse





Showing Jeff how to rock....for realz

Almost Caught The Light

Jeff, Dan, and myself have nearly caught the light at the end of the tunnel on the new album...it's been a great couple months in the studio with so many great ideas put down on tape. I'm starting to cook again, as well, to fend off some stress. I'll have some more recipes up on the blog soon enough.

+ Alex


Some more visual aides....

Continued studio love (NEW ALBUM PROGRESS)

Ok, yes, I'm here. Literally out the door and on my way to another session at the studio. It's been going great, but also time consuming...hence my lack of touring and whereabouts.

But, rest assured all is good and the tunes coming from this new canvas will warm your ears thoroughly. There has been a lot of thought put into these songs and how they're going to affect the listener. It isn't just about me this time...

Yes. back to the laboratory

Sweet, we got back into the studio last week. We had had a solid week of pre-production before and now have begun laying down the tracks for real. These new tunes have such vibe. We've been sculpting them like little blocks of mental marble.

Here is some still footage....

Where Am I? Yes, a new album

Ok, so few tour dates? Not a lot of bulletins? Lapse in consistent blog entries? This is just crazy. Some may be wondering where the hell I am...maybe not, but I'm gonna tell you anyway. The new record is coming. It's coming like a freight train and there's a lot of weight behind it. I am so psyched about the new songs. They have great energy and some sweet ethereal moods.

Jeff, Dan, and I have been hard at work here in New York doing pre-production. So, that may be the reason for our silence. But, rest assured, there is a terrific bunch of songs coming your way and there will be full national tour and a few European dates to follow the release. The album release date is up in the air, but we're shooting for the Winter, if that is vague enough for you.

SHOWS: We are doing a small amount of Northeast U.S.A. shows and always keeping our eyes peeled for nice little colleges who need a rockin' night...if your school wants to be on the Fall tour, shoot an email to BOOKING@ALEXNACKMAN.COM so we can get it done for you.

Catch songs from the current album SUNRISE FALLS all over MTV this Fall season...and grab a copy at APPLE iTunes or www.alexnackman.com if you have not already. It will warm your little ears.


.....till next time, with more studio updates and some photos.

Much Love,
Alex

Live in New York - Mercury Lounge 8/14/2007

THE MERCURY LOUNGE
AUGUST 14, 2007
NEW YORK, NY

The guys and I have finally been home for a couple weeks since returning from the road. Working on plenty of new songs and taking a breather is sort of what we all needed. The tour has been great, the people we've met along the way from L.A. to Boston have been amazing, but home is home. New York welcomed us back. The Mercury Lounge has become a pretty familiar place for us. We know the smells, we know the look, we know the vibe.

The 8/14 show was no different. It was a rock night. I made sure to keep the Fender on tight and try to really turn up the 'ol volume nob on the Vox for this one...the crowd was terrific. We had our own team of dancers in the front and some romantics in the back. I was a little uncertain about only doing the trio for this big NYC return show, but by the end, I was convinced that Dan and Jeff are able to bring the rock...hard. Brian was not with us, as he was on tour with Pat McGee. Either way, we had an absolute killer time in the east village. "Tuesday," an unreleased/new song felt pretty great. We're working on a slightly new arrangement of that one. More studio news later my babies...

Setlist:

SUNRISE FALLS
OCTOBER
HOLIDAY
PROXIMITY
LOSING THE GLOW
AMSTERDAM AVENUE
DIONYSUS
TUESDAY
STAY WHERE YOU ARE
VENICE


-Alex

POSTED FROM NEW YORK, NY AT 11:52 AM

Notes from the pacific northwest

In Seattle at the moment...drove up from Oregon with the band. It's been a good west coast run thus far. Eugene was a blast with the Justin King Band. It's been blazing hot though. I thought the Pacific Northwest would be a much needed relief from the New York City heat wave. I was quite mistaken.

Yesterday we were on the hunt for the Turtle Sundae at Dairy Queen. The band and I drove 150 miles to find what we were searching for. Finally we found it. It was quite delicious. There is video blogging footage of this. Check on Youtube.com in the next day or two. Last night we also enjoyed a Seattle dinner at P.F. Chiengs. The Singapore Noodles are quite good.

-Alex (tired)

new song ideas

hey guys:
there is a new section for you guys on my Virb.com page (virb.com/alexnackman). i've decided to create a proverbial tennis ball hopper of song ideas, record them, and toss them in raw form onto Virb.com

You guys can check them out, hear me make mistakes, hit wrong notes, and basically sus out some ideas in a very organic way from my studio. The first song up there right now is a working version of a track called "something remains." the song has slightly changed since the recording was made, but hey, that's what this is all about, right?

P.S. the music video for "Proximity" is also up there (Virb.com, Myspace.com, Youtube.com, alexnackman.com, etc, whatever)

-Alex

Back in New York City. Good to be home

Mercury Lounge
June 10, 2007
New York, NY

i had a really nice return home to New York at the Mercury Lounge on 6/10. Despite Sunday being a huge HBO night, people still fit Alex Nackman in their schedule. It's been a wild ride touring with the new band and getting used to everyone's idiosyncracies. The guys and I are meshing so well. It's a difficult thing to find truly great musicians that you can glue together in a meaningful and "untransient" way. There is so much talent out there, but not all of those talented people are best for one's own band. It takes time. Getting back to the Merc was sort of an affirmation that things are heading in that positive direction. I say "positive" because I've learned the hard way about getting hopes up about things-- in everything. I very much take things in stride and often with many grains of salt. I think being a musician, on the road, constantly developing his craft, figuring out what works, and not always having a clear direction of where to go lends itself to patience and perspective.

so great to meet a bunch of you guys after the Merc show. Thanks for the multiple Coronas as well.

Setlist:

UNLOCK MY GATE
SUNRISE FALLS
HOLIDAY
HOLD THE LINE
AND SHE'S BEAUTIFUL
OCTOBER
AMSTERDAM AVENUE
DIONYSUS
PROXIMITY
STAY WHERE YOU ARE
VENICE
LOSING THE GLOW

*encore:
TUESDAY

-Alex

Much sweat and fog...June 10 @ The Mercury Lounge, NYC

the relentless performer (even with extreme perspiration)

fighting the heat at New York's Mercury Lounge....

wow! Gross.

Alex

Need dinner? I am a {self} trained chef

I'm a pretty avid cook when I'm off the road and out of the studio. It started quite rudimentary with the simple and ubiquitous hamburger, steak, and the like. I've moved on to breaded veal in a red wine reduction over sun-dried tomato pasta and other Italian inspired dishes, after living in Florence, Italy for almost half a year. Yes, I am a lover of the Food Network. Giada De Laurentiis is gorgeous.

I was giving this recipe to a friend via email and thought I'd also share it with the world, to those interested in trying. It's an easy one, so don't be turned off by the length here. I'm just really verbose.

VODKA CHICKEN CASSEROLE with PROSCIUTTO

Your Ingredients:

-Box of ziti
-jar of vodka sauce
-3-4 breasts of boneless skinless chicken
-1/4 lb of good sliced prosciutto
-good extra virgin olive oil
-fresh parmigiana cheese
-fresh mozzarella cheese
-lots of garlic
-Half a red onion
-package of small mushrooms
-fresh flat leaf parsley
-fresh basil


So, dice a few cloves of garlic, toss them into a hot pan with olive
oil. Let them sweat for a few seconds. Slice red onion and add those
to the garlic and oil. Slice the shrooms into small-medium pieces and
add those also. Let it all mix together with salt and pepper for a
minute so the flavors blend.

Cube up your chicken breasts. Salt them. Pepper them. Touch them. Add
them to the pan with the onions, garlic, etc. Dice up your prosciutto into small
pieces or strips only an inch in length. Add those to your chicken pan AFTER the
chicken is cooked through. Grab a pasta pot. Boil water and salt that water for the ziti.

Time this right. The pasta cooks faster than the chicken. So, put the
pasta in the water at the tail end of the chicken's cooking time. You
want the chicken to be brown. While all of this craziness is going on,
pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.

A minute or so before the pasta is finished, open the jar of vodka
sauce. quickly sauté some more garlic pieces in olive oil in a sauce
pot (medium size). Add the sauce to the oil and garlic. keep the heat
on low for the sauce. When the sauce is hot, add the
chicken/onion/mushroom mixture from the pan directly into the sauce
pot. Stir well.

Grab a casserole dish, that is deep. Add the ziti into that casserole
dish. Add the sauce with all the goodies into the casserole dish. Stir
well and mix. Spoon over a liberal amount of parmigiana cheese over
the top as well as a nice helping of freshly minced basil. Slice your
mozz cheese into olympic medal-sized circles. Place those on top of
the casserole.

Put the dish into the over for about 15 minutes...but keep a close eye
on it. You want the cheese to melt, but not burn. After that, take it
out, sprinkle more parmigiana on top and finish with freshly minced
parsley.

cookin' love to all,
-Alex

video news

I had a late night with the director of my video, David Ambrose, in the Carol Gardens section of Brooklyn last night. I'm pretty happy with the footage thus far. We filmed much of it in Brooklyn (Red Hook, DUMBO) and also parts of Chelsea in Manhattan. There is a somewhat gritty feel to the video overall. I should have a preliminary cut within the next week.

-AN

POSTED FROM NEW YORK, NY AT 3:38PM

Thoughts on memory

Rainy, overcast Friday in New York City. I've been getting a few things together today for my short trip to Birmingham, AL this weekend. I'm back at Workplay Theatre, which will be very cool. But, I'm solo acoustic...a kind of show I haven't done in awhile. It's a bit bizarre for me to say that, though, because I started the first 4 years of my career doing nothing but solo acoustic shows (over 400 of them). So, why would I feel odd about going back to my roots? I guess I'm just really comfortable now with the guys I'm playing with. They know my songs well enough to tell me when I made a mistake in rehearsal.

Moving on....There are also a ton of new ideas for songs in my proverbial "song hopper." The topics have changed slightly from direct love ballads to memory and nostalgia. I find it fascinating how small elements in life trigger really profound and poignant memories. A song on the radio, a smell in a restaurant, a scene in a film. All of these things have become the backdrop and the under-coating of many of my new songs.

I don't think one ever forgets a memory. It just needs to be resurrected sometimes by a link between past and present. Comments?

~Alex

POSTED BY FROM BROOKLYN, NEW YORK @ 12:35PM

Sunrise Falls - the new album 2006

on sale right now at www.alexnackman.com, alexnackman.co.uk, Apple iTunes, and many other areas worldwide.

LIVE in LONDON

NOVEMBER 9, 2006
THE BORDERLINE
LONDON, ENGLAND

Back to London. I’m really getting to know this city pretty well—even how to deal with the drunks who have approached me on Charing Cross over 7 times. For some reason, they’ve always asked me for a sausage. This is peculiar. Being back at the Borderline was a great feeling--so much history in there—sort of like the CBGBs or Bitter End of England. The Borderline has a chronology of bands who’ve come through posted on the stone walls. Let’s just say that the Rolling Stones have graced the stage in their younger days. The room itself looks as though it could’ve served as a dungeon for King George or even earlier, maybe William of Orange (is that 1066? Who says musicians aren’t up to date on their English medieval history).

Room was filled and the audience was into it---I tried to be extra funny that night, but I failed. My jokes were less effective. Perhaps the music was more effective. I hadn’t played “Roll With It” in such a long time and broke it out of the vault at the risk of forgetting entire verses at a time. Fortunately, all was nailed without a hitch. Chatted it up with some fans post show. C.R. Avery, from Vancouver, played after with his awesome beat poetry---he jumped on the bar and grabbed my hat while I was having a pint…crazy kid. Great to be back in jolly ‘ol. At a Starbucks and I hate paying 8 pounds for an hour of internet…exchange rate bastards. Tonight I’m off for some London fun—no gig. I think I’ll see a flick with some mates and eat Indian food---yes, off to Leicester Sq kids.

-AN

Setlist:

DIONYSUS
SUNRISE FALLS
AMSTERDAM AVENUE
WINGS
PROXIMITY
ROLL WITH IT
OCTOBER


POSTED FROM LONDON, ENGLAND AT 4:17PM

NYC Return, Full Band, LIVE @ THE BITTER END

August 2006

Studio notes from Alex

There will be a quick preview/tease of one of the brand new songs next week on Myspace.com, 6/26 and 6/27. It will only be up for 48 hrs, so I hope you all will check it out...and quickly. The new songs have really been coming along great. Mixing engineer Jeff Juliano (Ben Folds/Dave Matthews/John Mayer) and producer Todd Wright have both been amazing. I am truly excited to get these tracks finished and into your hands. Your support and podcast enthusiasm every week has been appreciated more than you know.

My Best,
AN

Podcast Now on Week 3

Hey Everyone,

If you haven't already subscribed, please check out the brand new iTunes Podcast at the iTunes Store. Fans are able to directly send questions to Alex to be answered on each week's podcast. Fill out the podcast form at www.alexnackman.com or send an email to info@alexnackman with "PODCAST" in the subject line.

Great interaction and a cool way to hear Alex in a very open and relaxed setting.

-Susan
ALEX NACKMAN STREET TEAM, London and New York
================================
ONLINE OFFICIALLY AT:
www.alexnackman.com
www.alexnackman.co.uk
www.myspace.com/alexnackman