In it for the right reasons?

There comes a time in every musician's life when he/she asks his/herself, "Why the hell am I doing this? I'm broke, I'm starving, and I'm nowhere near where I want to be or should be..."It's definitely a valid question. As artists, we constantly struggle and sacrifice. We constantly experience rejection. We constantly need to validate ourselves and our art. We're no picnic, and neither is this business for that matter. Ultimately, you have to decide for yourself where it is you want to go, how far you're willing to go for it, and above all, if you're in it for the right reasons...

Having a dream is truly a beautiful thing (and by all means, follow it!), but the reality of this business is, you could have all the talent and drive in the world, and you may never be able to make the connections you need, or sustain a confortable living doing what you truly love to do. If you think that becoming a rich, famous rock star is going to be the answer to all your problems; emotional, financial, what have you, then you're sadly mistaken. Your personal success should not be determined by how much you can make or how famous you can get, but by how you feel inside. If you know in your heart that you won't be happy doing anything else, and there is no other path for you, then you're free, and there's no need to read any further.

Also know that what you do is not who you are. Never in any way, shape or form should you attach your career pitfalls or plateaus to your person. I still struggle with that to this day to be truthful, but I'm learning to accept the fact that having a "bad show," not landing a certain opportunity or not being at a certain level (playing or career wise) is not a reflection of me. I know that I'm a good person, I know I'm doing the best that I can, and I know I do what I do because I love it. Not because I expect anything from it. If you expect nothing, it's always a lovely surprise when the universe actually throws some candy your way.

The only thing you really can do is what you're doing. If, however, what you're doing isn't working, fix it. A major reason why the industry is crumbling right now is because the powers that be are operating the machine with an old manual. You're an artist. Be creative. There are ways to get yourself noticed so long as you put forth the time and effort to find out what those ways are. Don't give up. Just keep on trudging on and remember why you're doing what you're doing.

The key is having patience. Some people spend ten years playing dives and getting shafted before they achieve any kind of success. If you were to experience success instantly and without having to work for it, you wouldn't appreciate it nearly as much as if you had truly bled for it anyway. While you're "waiting," be productive with your time. Get involved in a project you can believe in, write, practice, find out as much as you can about the business.I'm telling you from personal experience that the only way you will be happy and successful in this industry is if you know in your heart that no matter what the outcome, you will always have your music...and yourself. Don't let other people define "success" for you, and certainly don't ever "quit" because it's not paying the bills or it hasn't yet earned you a plaque on the wall. When you picked up that guitar as a little kid, were you really thinking, "Oh man, this thing is gonna make me some bread!" or, were you thinking, "I love this instrument, and I just wanna play"? Maybe your luck will change, maybe it won't. One thing that should always remain constant is your love for what you're doing, and if it means eating Ramen noodles and peanut butter and jelly for a while, so be it. Just play with heart and you'll see that the stars will align for you, promise.

Wishing you much success!

Always,

Alexx Calise

This really is the City of Angels...

After shopping for groceries at a Von's the other day, I started my car, and I heard a loud, whirring sound. I thought I'd run out of oil or that I needed steering wheel fluid because I couldn't cut the wheel, but it turns out that a rat had crawled under the hood of my car while I was inside (probably seeking shelter from the cold weather we've been having here), and somehow managed to take off one of my fan belts—not chew it off, but completely remove it altogether. It was quite an elaborate job, but this rat was obviously a fan of McGyver.

So, I manage to get it 4 blocks down the street to an Autozone on Pico Blvd (Of course it's the weekend, and there are no repair shops open. There would be no story otherwise). I'm pissed, I'm freezing, and I'm a girl. What the hell do girls know about fixing cars? Well, a lot apparently.

I thought she was just a cashier or a phone operator, but I was way off. Lori asked me to pop the hood to see what the problem was. The next thing I know, this girl is on her hands and knees in the freezing rain, fixing my car. I told her that there was no need for her to do all of that, and that she'd gone way above and beyond the call of duty, but she just smiled and said she was used to it. After all, she rides her bike to and from work every day, despite the torrential downpours we've been having here lately.

I was so impressed, and so grateful. If it were me, I don't know if I would have been so selfless. I don't do well with cold weather (I am a Floridian after all), and I sure as hell wouldn't be so willing to dig around under the hood of a stranger's car knowing that there's a dead rat lurking around there somewhere.

Well, for the next 2 hours that it took to fix it, Lori and I joked around about the "hood rat," and talked about life, relationships, and her love of cars. I found out that she's in mechanics school, she's a violinist, and she grew up with good Southern values (her father was from Texas) despite living her whole life in California. I knew that a regular mechanic would have charged me an astronomical amount of money for the amount of labor that went into repairing that damn car, but she didn't ask for anything. I could tell that all she wanted was to talk to someone and do what she loves to do most: fix cars. Never have I met someone so kind, and so willing to help someone they don't even know.

Life is so funny sometimes. Even in the oddest or stickiest of situations, something good can be drawn from the experience. In this case, it was Lori. If it wasn't for this extremely unusual and unfortunate incident, I probably never would have met her. I also wouldn't have gotten home that night, or, if I did, I would have had to inconvenience one of my friends to come and pick me up and then chance leaving my car unattended in a questionable neighborhood. I don't know what I did to deserve the treatment that I got the other night, but I must be in check with karma. Lori was my little glimmer of hope that day.

Sometimes, I feel ravaged by life out here—the constant struggle to survive, the competition, the extremeness of it all; but she truly brightened my day, and I felt compelled to tell the whole world about her.

A lot of people would probably agree that Los Angeles isn't so deserving of its title, but every so often, someone or something comes along to prove that miracles do happen, and that angels do in fact, exist. You just have to believe.

~Alexx Calise

Halloween update!

Hey guys,

As many of you probably already know, I'm out here in California recording some new material and playing a few intimate solo acoustic shows. I've been receiving a lot of emails lately from fans asking if I'm okay and away from all of the horrendous fires that have been going on throughout the state, and I just want to assure everyone that I am, indeed, alive and well. Thousands of less fortunate Californians, however, have lost their homes and everything they own in the blaze. I think it's very important that we all band together and try to help all the poor people who have been affected by this disaster, so please visit the American Red Cross website to find out how you can do your part. I'm also working on a few things myself for all those who are in need now...I will have an update on that soon.

In other news, I've been keeping very busy, and I've really been enjoying my time here in LA, playing such historic places as Pig N Whistle, Cat Club and Rainbow Room, and recording with some of the best in the biz (Luigie Gonzalez, Cristian Delano). I will have my next track, "Good Enough" up soon, so please keep checking back.

Also, don't forget to vote for me for the Blender Battle of the Bands contest. We're in the finals now, and you're the only ones who can help us score a homerun! If you haven't voted yet, you have until November 14, and you can vote up to once a week! Just click here to cast your vote!

Thanks so much to everyone who's come to support me at all my shows. If you haven't seen me in action yet , you still have some more opportunities. Come out and say hi. I don't bite...hard!

Oct 31 - Cat Club on the Sunset Strip at 7 p.m.
Nov 8 - Rainbow Room on the Sunset Strip at 8:30 p.m.
Nov 10 - Cafe Europe on Santa Monica Blvd at 9 p.m.

Hope you're all doing well. Thank you all very much for continuing to support me. Your kindness does not go unappreciated or unrecognized! Keep it RAWKIN'!

Peace,
AC

Technologically speaking...

Another rant in the key of awesome…

In so many ways and on so many different levels, the human race has defied logic and superceded even the greatest of expectations. Every day there’s a new technology, a new antidote, or a new discovery that propels us toward a brighter new age and brings us one step closer to god. We’ve tested and stretched ourselves beyond even our own comprehension. We’ve even discovered how to think without thinking and how to do without doing. The question is though, will all this knowledge and power kill us or make us stronger? Will Rome fall again?

While I firmly believe that knowledge is power, I also believe that it is poison. We’ve become too smart for our own good (or too big for our britches at least), and because of this, we’ve become lethargic. It’s almost as if we’ve already discovered everything we need, or care to know. Just think for a moment. The entire world is at your disposal. Anything you can dream of is right at your fingertips. You don’t need to know how to read, write, or even formulate a sentence at all because of your trusty Spell Check (which I’ll admit to using while writing this essay). You don’t need to make a trip to the music store to buy an album because you can download it in its entirety instantly. You don’t even need to interact with another person physically because you can chat with them via email and instant messenger. Did you ever sit and think that you never EVER have to leave your house EVER again if you don’t want to because you have everything you will EVER need right there?

This has created some serious social ramifications. We no longer know how to communicate with each other anymore. I see this especially in today’s youth. For example, having discussions with people my age sometimes is like pulling teeth. I’m not talking deep, existential conversations either. I’m talking light conversation and small talk--simple communication. So often I feel like I’m the only one doing the talking and making the effort to get to know the other person. I don’t think that they’re being rude or aloof necessarily. I really do believe that they just don’t know what to say or how to act in social situations because they’re not involved in them often enough and they don’t allow themselves to be. They’re just always plugged in to one thing or another—the iPod, the cell phone, the computer. Hey, I’ll admit that I am to some degree as well. I’ve even experienced cell phone and internet withdrawal once or twice.

I’m definitely not innocent. With everything so readily available to us, we needn’t expend as much physical or mental energy to do anything. It’s so much easier to solve a problem using a calculator; it’s so much easier to shop online as opposed to actually going out to the store, and it’s so much easier to gather an opinion of your own after reading someone else’s superfluous, long-winded and completely biased blog entry :)

Because people no longer have to expend energy or do anything that requires any physical movement, they become lazy. Quite often, it starts to show on the exterior. While this is an entirely different discussion altogether, I’ll briefly touch on the subject…

According to obesityinamerica.org, approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million are obese and 9 million are extremely obese. While low physical activity obviously isn’t the sole cause of obesity in America, it is certainly attributable to the 400,000 deaths that occur each year because of it.

I’m not sure what the answer is to all of this. I’m not sure we should continue on this technological pursuit, but I don’t necessarily think we should slow it down either. Growth is part of life. We’d be selling ourselves short and we wouldn’t be achieving our full potential if we rested on our laurels for even a moment. We have an astounding learning and knowledge capacity that no other creature on Earth possesses; it must have been given to us for a reason. Why not use it, right?

Let me clarify before I’m accused of being provincial or “old school” that I think technology is absolutely wonderful and extremely beneficial in many ways. For the first time ever, we can communicate live with others from across the globe and we can perform the most arduous of tasks with the simple click of a button. However, I think it’s also misused, and it’s become a crutch to some. Without it, they wouldn’t know what to think or how to function.

I believe that in order to progress socially-speaking, we simply need to unplug once in a while. I’m not saying go back or nature and live amongst the natives. All I’m saying is go pick up a book, hang out with your friends, take a walk, or, if you’re just so damn computer-addicted, get in your car, drive to the local Starbuck’s and plug in your laptop there because at least it’s an excuse to get the hell out of the house. All kidding aside though, we must be able to talk to each other. Not online, not on text messaging, not on the cell phone, but face-to-face. Try it sometime. You might find that you’re good at it or, better yet, that you enjoy it.
~Alexx Calise

We Need a Hero...

I remember a day when a DUI meant hard time, when TV shows had scripts, and when celebrities were famous for something other than partying…no more.

I don't mean to be a traitor to my generation or anything, but where the hell are we headed? Even more important, who are our role models?

I know it sounds sick, but party girls and social climbers have become our heroes and idols. I don't know how that happened really. Maybe it's because we've become so celeb-obsessed and fascinated by the jet-setting lifestyle. I'm reminded of the story of the golden calf…

You know what I think the problem is? We're a generation of the moment. We're living in the age of the video game, the celebutants, the Internet, the iPod. We're all about instant gratification and feeling good here and now. Who cares what happens tomorrow? After all, that's just a buzz kill.

Hmmm…maybe these socialites are the poster children for this generation after all. They're just living up to those principles.

However, I must beg the question…what is to be learned from these people? That the law system is a joke? That all you need to do to open doors is open your legs? That sex is just a recreational activity? I mean, call me crazy, but I used to think that you needed to work hard in order to be successful and that there are always consequences for all of your actions.

These people are parasitic. By supporting them, you're continuing the cycle and putting more partying money into their already fat wallets.

I don't understand why these people are considered intriguing or admirable. What the hell do they even do? What are they all about? I mean, if you're a personality, shouldn't you have one? Shouldn't there be something to you that makes you interesting?


What baffles my mind even more so is when I see intelligent, independent, hard-working people watching these brainless, substance-abusing halfwits on TV and giving them even a second of their time. I mean, is this just sick curiosity or actual, genuine interest? Isn't it enough that you can't even go to the supermarket without seeing their faces all over the trash mags at the checkout line; why do we feel the need to watch them on television as well?

All I know is that I see a very, very sorrowful pattern developing amongst people my age. I see us heading backward instead of forward because we don't have anyone to guide us.

I'm where I'm at today because I worked extremely hard and I stood up for what I believed in. Nothing ever came easy and nothing was ever handed to me. I've never done anything underhanded and I've never screwed anyone over for my own personal gain. I'm able to look at in the mirror every day without flinching or hating myself because I'm proud of the woman I've become. I have self respect, morals and values and I have a will that couldn't be broken by anyone or anything.

While I'm not big on quoting the bible; there's a reason for the quote,"Thou shalt not worship false idols...". I just want to state to my peers that glorifying and emulating the vapid, self-serving girls on TV is not in your best interests. Do things your own way because it's much more fulfilling knowing that you've accomplished something by yourself, for yourself...It truly is one of the most rewarding things in the entire world. You don't need to starve yourself to be beautiful, you don't need to not wear underwear to get noticed, you don't need to sleep with someone to get them to like you, and most of all, you don't need to be influenced by certain girls you see on TV.

In the studio...

Wassap rawkerz!

How's everyone doing? This week's been incredibly busy and eventful. Right now, I'm sitting in the studio waiting to lay down some vocals on the new song I just wrote with my producer, Luigie Gonzalez. It's called "Good Enough." Don't be fooled by the the title though--it's really GREAT! Haha! It sounds like En Vogue or Pink as recorded by Trent Reznor if you can believe it...CRAZY!

This song in particular has been a lot of fun to produce because we blended a lot of different musical genres together. Because Luigie's forte is dancehall / electronica, we've definitely got a 90's-era Chemical Brothers / Dust Brothers vibe going on in the background. And, since I've been listening to a lot of old school rap and urban-edged pop (a la Justin Timberlake) lately, my vocal lines and melodies are very staccato and rhythmic. I think I've really opened up musically speaking since I've been here. I think it's only going to get better from here on out...
Earlier this week, I visited the world famous Rainbow Room and performed acoustically upstairs. It was really nice to do that since I've been locked away in one studio or another for so many weeks now. Not like that's all that bad either...I was at Chalice again the other day and ran into Rob Zombie. I wonder if him and The Spice Girls are teaming up on a record...hey, weirder things have happened...

Well, I gotta go do my thing now, so keep checking back. I'll have some more info regarding my Australia / New Zealand press tour very soon. KEEP IT RAWK!

Peace,

AC

In your face, David Beckham :)

Hey everybody!
How are all my favorite rawkers doing?! Things are great here in LA. I've been doing a TON of writing and recording. In particular, I've been working on the followup song to my single, "Pull It (Bullet)" with my fave producers, Cristian Delano and Mark Vinten. It's called "Round 2," and it hits you like a smack in the face. David Beckham knows this firsthand...
So last night, in a strange turn of events, I end up in Chalice Studios (my last name actually means chalice by the way...just thought you'd like to know) in LA, which is one of THE premier studios in West Hollywood.

I walk in there and this place is SICK!! It's fully equipped with top-of-the-line studio equipment, VIP lounges, marble floors, munchies (what's with studios baking Toll House cookies by the way?)...you name it, they have it. KoRn was in Studio B, and The Spice Girls were recording in the room behind us.

Then, Cristian has me jump in the isolation booth to start laying down some vocals for the new song we're doing with Mark. I start doing my thing and he calls me back to the control room for a second. As I'm opening the door, Posh Spice and David Beckham come plowing down the hallway with their entourage, and I nearly hit David smack in his face. I offered David an apology, and I offered Posh a sandwich. No takers, though, haha! :)

All kidding aside, we had a blast and I'm sure you all will really dig "Round 2." If you like KoRn, Filter, Saliva, and...Ravi Shankar (don't ask), then this will be right up your alley.

In other news, it looks like I'll be heading out to the land of Oz this winter to do some promotional appearances, so keep checking back.

I hope to get your vote for the Blender contest as well. If I win, I'll get recording time at a top notch Vegas studio, a spread in Blender, and a showcase slot at the SXSW music conference in Austin, TX. So, remember: get on the boat and vote :P

I appreciate all your support guys. YOU RAWK! Have an amazing day!

Peace,

AC