Tell us about your career, including your history, where you are from and how you started?
The roots of the band started in Leamington in 2010 learning covers during our high school days. After several name and member changes we emerged as The Brandy Alexanders in 2016 with a debut five-track EP that was later adapted into our full length nine-track album which we’re finally releasing March 4 at Meteor in Windsor.
How did you come up with your band name?
Our band name refers to a story that took place during John Lennon’s infamous “Lost Weekend” in the early 70s. He and Harry Nilsson had been drinking brandy alexanders all night and were ejected from the Troubadour club in Hollywood after being a bit too rambunctious.
The story was featured in the documentary Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)?
Do you have any recorded music available for fans?
Our debut self-titled album came out December 10 and is available anywhere you want to stream. We have CDs and vinyl copies available at the Gypsy Soul Records online store and at our shows. The album was recorded by Brett Humber at sound foundry studios in Kingsville Ontario and Derek Impens at South Bridge Recording in Windsor Ontario.
How would you describe your music?
Introspective and almost existential lyrics expressed via dream like vocals that weave themselves into a wall of propulsive guitar riffs, textured synths and a bold rhythm section.
What makes your band or music stand out from the others?
Our brand of neo-psychedelia includes big guitar harmonies, stacked vocals, layered synths and booming drums. We like big our recording to have a huge sound to them and this helps them to stand out. Derek Impens who mixed the record made all that happen sonically. These elements give us a unique live show that’ll guarantee your entertainment.
What do you like to do outside of music that contributes to your music?
Reading and watching good television and documentaries. Some of the songs on our debut records are directly inspired by stories we’ve read. “Shiram” follows the story of a Greek slave who eventually worked her way up into the Ottoman sultan’s inner circle during the mid-1500’s.
We’ve got several guys with a lot of history classes under their belts in the band so we’ve had fun writing about stories we may have read throughout university.
Name your two biggest musical influences, and why?
The Beatles – we derive a lot of our style through The Beatles, whether it be a love of melody and hooky guitar riffs or the spaced-out sounds of within without you. The revolutionary album production innovations that the band pioneered in the late 60s with George Martin also give us inspiration when experimenting in the studio.
Led Zeppelin – they’ve got it all, they’re a mainstay band that anyone learning an instrument in the rock genre generally loves getting into. We love the heavy drums and vocals, unreal guitar solos and not to mention John Paul Jones’ virtuoso bass and keyboard playing. WE ARE BIG FANS!
Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs?
Alex Dick our lead singer wrote the majority of the songs on our debut record over the last 10 years. Since our formation it’s become more of a collaboration between Alex Dan who have demo’d a lot of the newer songs alone before bringing them to the band and further developing them.
The main themes on this record include looking for a deeper meaning in everyday life.
What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
With being together in one way or another for over 10 years, the hardest part of it all has been the ability to keep going after losing crucial members. We lost our rhythm section during the pandemic and that was a tall order to reconstruct after that.
Luckily Robbie Cervi and Zack Vivier from the band HUTTCH were willing to join us and we’re having a grand ol’ time with those fellas.
What current projects are you working on at the moment?
Right now, we’re working on promoting our debut effort through booking shows and getting into festivals for the summer. We’re hoping to tour Europe and the US eventually on this album cycle, so increasing our socials and streams are a top priority.
We’ve got some live videos that are still set to release from a pandemic concert at the Empire Theatre in Belleville and another to be filmed in the coming weeks.
We’re trying to keep busy and keep up the momentum.
Alex Dick – vocals, guitar
Dan Dick- keyboards, backup vocals
Sean Shepard – lead guitar
Robbie Cervi – drums, backup vocals
Zack Vivier – bass, backup vocals
Web: thebrandyalexanders.com
Instagram: @thebrandyalexanders
Facebook: /thebrandyalexanders
Spotify: The Brandy Alexanders
Apple Music: 1580384042
