“Making music is hard, but promoting music is even harder,” lamented Alex the Band’s frontman as he microwaved a hotdog. “The last time we played at the Woodshop we sold two tickets… one to my mom and one to my dad.”
It was a grueling, humiliating night that led him to question why he even bothered playing music at all. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s always great to see my parents. But I couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to perform for someone who actually liked my music and wasn’t just being polite.”
In the two years following that show, things have slightly improved for Alex Volz and his namesake band. After landing the chance to open for more popular acts like Call Me Spinster and Catherine Campbell, he got a taste of what it was like to perform before an actual audience. “It was exhilarating. People weren’t talking or ignoring me. They were actually listening to the words. It felt great!”
He was also helped immensely by his band. Over the last two years of performing, Volz somehow managed to convince many extremely talented musicians to prop him up. Scott Keil and Ross Singer form the bedrock rhythm section, while a rotating crew of players sit in for various shows. “This Thursday at the Woodshop we’re going for a classic country sound,” Volz teased. “Emma DuBose and Cody Ray from the New Quintet will lay down some fiddle, lap steel and baritone guitar. And my good pal Cody Landress-Gibson from Dope Skum will be pickin’ the acoustic gee-tar.”
Quality musicianship makes all the difference when it comes to Volz’s songs. “The band is the sweet, sweet sugar that helps my lyrical medicine go down,” he laughed. “They make my long, indulgent stories sound like finely crafted art, and less like the unhinged ramblings of a bearded derelict who found a guitar in a dumpster and wandered into an open mic.”
Through sloshing mouthfuls of hotdog cud, Volz remained optimistic about his upcoming show at the Woodshop. “I don’t want to seem overly ambitious here, but I really believe we can double the audience of our last show. After all the hard work we’ve put in, there’s no reason to think we can’t sell 4 tickets this time.”
Alex The Band will perform at the Woodshop in St. Elmo on December 14th along with the Banshees. Doors are at 7. Music at 8.
Alex the Band on Spotify: