Video: NOCTURNE Debut Performance

Hey Team,

A few weeks ago I was asked to perform an original composition at Lockeland Strings, a concert series for composers in East Nashville.  One of the reasons I love living in Nashville right now is the abundance of creative, unconventional concert series being presented all over town, for many different styles of music.  I guess when you fill a town with musicians and artists they will make their own opportunities to express themselves!  

I decided to perform "Nocturne" from my upcoming album (for the first time in public!) and I wanted to share a video of the evening with you guys.  

It was really interesting for me to perform original instrumental music in front of an audience and experience how it felt to be "heard" that way, sharing a piece of myself without using words.  It really inspired me to work on more... wondering, would you guys be interested in an album of instrumental music?

As always, thank you so much for being here.  More very soon...

Much love,

A

Shows with Vienna Teng, NewSong Finalist, New Videos

Played the Troubadour with Megan Slankard! Photo by Karen Shih

Happy December, friends!

Wow, what a blur the last few months have been… I got back to Nashville on Thanksgiving day after being gone for almost two months… starting with the High Coast Songwriting Camp in Sweden and then jumping into 7 weeks of touring with Megan Slankard (and Charlotte)… through the Midwest, Canada, East and West Coasts. I had an amazing time... it was also amazing to collapse face first onto my own bed at the end of tour.  

I wanted to say a special THANK YOU to everyone who signed up on the mailing list at a show over the last couple months, as well as to everyone who has been with us for a while.  Your support here is what makes it possible for us to travel around and share our music with all of you.  Somewhere along the way, Megan and I started performing a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "America." It was comforting to sing lyrics that so brilliantly articulate the mixture of hope and confusion we were feeling as we experienced our home country in 2018.  We recorded a little performance video in Megan’s apartment in SF as a little thank you gift to all of you subscribers. 

I am always grateful for the chance to travel around this beautiful and complicated country and to be surprised, humbled, and inspired by people we meet and places we explore. These days especially, it's been healing to see first hand how much common humanity still thrives around the country, despite so much noise to the contrary.  I created a little photo diary of our tour and posted it on my Patreon page. 

OK… lots of news to share with you, so here goes…

2018 NEWSONG COMPETITION FINALIST

A couple weeks ago I found out that I was selected as one of 8 finalists in the NewSong Performing Songwriter competition!  This is one of the best-known songwriting competitions in the country and I’m honestly quite shocked and humbled to have been selected as a finalist.  I will be traveling to Asheville NC to play for the judges on 12/15 at Isis Music Hall.  If anyone is in the area and would like to attend the concert, you can purchase tickets here.  The other finalists are amazing and definitely worth checking out. Being selected for this is especially meaningful because the only song I submitted was The Quiet Voice video, created entirely by my amazing Patreon supporters.  Speaking of which…

THE QUIET VOICE - 40K+ VIEWS, 700 SHARES

I released my first single in 6 years last month, called “The Quiet Voice,” along with a video created entirely by my Patreon subscribers.  My intention for the video was to let people define true power for themselves rather than accept our culture’s broken definition… and to help empower people to the polls for the midterm elections on 11/6.  Since its release on 11/2 the video has been viewed over 40K times and shared over 700 times on FB/Youtube!  I believe a huge reason why it connected with people is the authentic and honest way in which you all showed up in the video, allowing yourselves to be truly seen.  Thank you so much for being a part of this with me, I’ll never forget creating this with you all.  

Click here to watch the video for "The Quiet Voice."

If you’d like to be involved in future collaborations like this video, and dive deeper into my creative process, please consider joining my Patreon page.  It is hands-down the best way to support my ability to create the art that I believe in without compromise.

DUO SHOWS WITH VIENNA TENG

I’m excited to announce I’ll be playing two bay area shows opening for the always brilliant Vienna Teng, Jan 3 and 4 at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley CA.  I adore playing with Vienna - we have played music together for so many years and have such a musical shorthand that it’s easy for spontaneous, unexpected things to happen during our live shows.  We will play both sets as a duo… Vienna will accompany me on my songs and then I will play/sing with her for her set.  These shows will likely sell out so be sure to get your tickets in advance if you are able to join us!  

UPCOMING PROJECTS

For the next few months, I will be preparing for the release of my album (which you  helped create) and will be taking you inside this next phase of an album’s life cycle on my Patreon page. I will be sharing my experiences, hopes and fears as I navigate the “business” side of the music business and lay out a plan for the release and support of the new record.  I will also be producing several albums for other artists as well, starting with a double album for one of my very favorite bands, Delta Rae, and followed by albums for two other very special artists, Megan Slankard and Paul Freeman!  

I am excited to open a window into the studio from a record producer’s standpoint (hint: more cowbell is just the beginning). It’s a mysterious job to many (including myself sometimes) so I look forward to taking you behind the scenes and sharing how I make records these days!  If you’re interested in learning more about my record-making process, please consider becoming a patron. 

OK, that’s it for now.  Thanks again for listening and reading all the way to the bottom.  Wishing all of you a beautiful, compassionate, relaxing and/or and adventurous holiday season, whatever brings you joy.  

Much love,

Alex Wong 

Album Listening Party on Tuesday 11/13

Yo team!

Currently driving out of LA back to SF (technically I am sitting while Megan drives).  We had such a great time this past weekend playing some of the most beautiful rooms on this tour... the lovely Swedish American Hall in SF and The Troubadour in LA.  We were humbled and heartened to see so many people come out to enjoy themselves despite the stressful fire situation all around.

I wanted to give you guys the details for tomorrow's patron-only listening party for my new album!  I will be online from 12-2pm PST (PLEASE NOTE TIME CHANGE FROM ORIGINAL TIME OF 3PM, TO ACCOMMODATE OUR INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS) and broadcasting on FB live via my Artist Page.  At 12pm PST I will post a private SoundCloud link where you can hear the entire album at your own pace.  I decided to do it this way to avoid any potential streaming issues and to allow people to listen to the album at their own pace and go back and listen to songs if they want during the 2 hour window.  It's much easier to pretend you are working at your desk this way as well :)

The link will be active for 2 hours.  During that time, I will be available to chat about anything you want!  Ask me questions about the album, the recording process, the special guests (spoiler alert!), or anything else on your mind.  The chat will be available to the public, but only patrons will get the link to listen to the album.  

I can't wait to hang out with all of you tomorrow!

Much love,

A

Headlining SF Show, New Music Video

Cellar Sessions at City Winery in NYC with Vienna Teng, Melissa Tong, and Megan Slankard

Dear Music Family,

Greetings from the lovely Comfort Inn in Arlington VA!

Writing from a rare moment of stillness… it has been an extraordinarily jam-packed month.  October began on an island in the north of Sweden and has taken me to Chicago to Ottawa to NYC to Washington DC, where I write you now.  In the past month I have: glimpsed the Northern lights, written songs with people from Taiwan, Ireland and South Africa, stayed up for 48 hrs to finish mixes for my upcoming album (90 minutes before leaving for tour), tried fried cheese curds for the first time, released my first single in six years, made a music video from the car, played in a wine cellar with some favorite friends (see pic), played 22 shows, driven 4000 miles, and celebrated Charlotte the dog’s birthday by buying her a lottery ticket (she won $2) and an argyle sweater.

Although there is so much more to share, right now I really want to tell you about two big things.

CO-HEADLINING SWEDISH AMERICAN HALL IN SF ON 11/9

I’m playing my biggest show yet as a solo artist on November 9 at Swedish American Hall in San Francisco CA.  I’ll be co-headlining with my tour-partner and fellow musical warrior, the absolutely brilliant Megan Slankard.  We’ve been touring together this past month and have many new songs, new arrangements and stories to share with you.  Maybe even some dance moves.  Here are the details for the show:

FRIDAY NOVEMBER 9, 8PM (7PM DOORS)

SWEDISH AMERICAN HALL, SAN FRANCISCO CA

GET TICKETS HERE. 

I’ve been fortunate to play some nice venues all over the world supporting other artists, but this is the first time I’ll be playing a venue of this size as a co-headliner.  If you live in the Bay Area, it would mean the world to me if you could join us.  And if you don’t live in the area, please please please tell your friends in the area about the show!  This is a gorgeous venue with incredible sound, and I’m honored and excited to get to share my music with you there.

We are about to start the West Coast leg of our tour.  Here are our remaining shows on the West coast… I’d love to see you out there!

FRI 11/9 8PM SAN FRANCISCO CA - SWEDISH AMERICAN HALL** 

SAT 11/10 7PM LOS ANGELES CA - THE TROUBADOUR** O/F ANDERS OSBORNE 

SUN 11/11 8PM SAN DIEGO CA - LESTATS W/ KING TAYLOR PROJECT 

WED 11/14 8PM REDDING CA - VINTAGE WINE BAR 

THU 11/15 7PM CORVALLIS OR - HOUSE CONCERT 

FRI 11/16 7PM PORTLAND OR - HOUSE CONCERT 

NEW SINGLE “THE QUIET VOICE” AND VIDEO OUT NOW!!

I released a brand new single and video yesterday!  It’s my first solo release in six years and the first one ever under my own name.  Check it out here.  You can stream the song on all digital music platforms, including Spotify.

Here’s a little background about the song:

Surprise! I just released my first single in 6 years, called “The Quiet Voice.” It was written with my good buddy Elise Hayes and the video was created entirely by my amazing Patreon family!

This song was born from being sick and tired of power in this culture being falsely associated with brute force, aggression and bullying. In 100% of my life experience, when someone has resorted to anger, yelling or violence, they actually wield very little true power… They have become reactive, they have let the other side get under their skin... they have already lost the interaction.

Two weeks ago, I had no plans to release this song to the public and the video was not even an idea in my head... but in light of the immeasurably important election coming up I decided I needed to do something. I asked my Patreon supporters to send me clips of themselves defining what true power means to them, and was completely blown away by how many amazing responses I received. I mixed the song in the car between Toronto and Ottawa, and edited the video between New Jersey and Virginia so we could release it in time to encourage people to exercise their true power at the polls on November 6.

HUGE THANKS to my Patreon community who have given me the power to create art I believe in. I am so beyond humbled and grateful that so many people showed up to make this idea happen on such short notice. I hope you enjoy the song and video, and I hope you’ll share if it resonates with you. 

Since I posted the song 24 hours ago, it has been viewed 12K times and shared over 300 times!  I’m totally blown away by the support this message has received so far.  Please share the video if it resonates with you, get your ass to the polls next week, and let’s all redefine true power on our own terms from now on!!

Thank you for being here.

Much love,

A

Album Listening Party on Oct. 7!

SHORT VERSION: PATRON-ONLY ONLINE LISTENING PARTY FOR NEW ALBUM OCT 7 3 PM CST

LONG VERSION:

Hey team,

Writing to you from Reykjavik, Iceland where I’m currently on a trip with my wonderful family! I finished the first round of mixes for the album right before I left, so I’ve been able to check the mixes while staring out at majestic waterfalls, glacial valleys and magnificent vistas (I hear it’s what the pros do). This is the first time I’ve been able to absorb all the songs together in one place… and I gotta say, although they’re not perfect yet, it definitely feels like there’s a record in there somewhere... and I'm getting excited!

To me, mixing is about making sure a song takes you on the best emotional ride it can. Every move you make during the mixing process… whether it’s making a vocal louder, a drum hit stand out, or a violin sound darker… helps to bring home the emotional intention of the song. Listening to a song should feel like a ride from beginning to end… and when it’s over you should feel like that ride dropped you off somewhere cool.

After the mixing is finalized, the record will be mastered.  Mastering has always been sort of a dark art, even to musicians, who will often struggle to tell you exactly what it is:) Basically mastering is the final process the songs go through before they're ready for the public… where we adjust the overall impact/volume/frequencies so all the songs sound like a unified piece of music when played together… in other words, so it all sounds like an album rather than a bunch of separate tracks. I hope to master the record by late September… and then, gods willing, this album will be in the can (more pro lingo right there)!

Between now and then, I’ll be posting the rest of the songs with their accompanying ‘making of’ videos. I’d love to hear what kind of ride the songs are taking you on… and if you have any comments on anything you’ve heard thus far, I’m all ears… you might just catch something I missed!

Even though the album isn’t officially coming out until early next year, there’s no way I can wait until then to share the final product with you… so we’ll be having a Patron-only, online listening party on Oct 7 at 3 pm CST. I will stream the entire album from top to bottom in CD-quality audio (via an awesome tool called SourceLive) while I chat with all of you in real time! Anyone who is an active patron by 10/7 will be able to join us. For those of you who can’t attend the listening party, I will also have a pre-release version of the album with me on tour this Fall.  

I know I’ve said this before, but your support here has been a vital part of this creation process… not only did it allow me to pour my time and energy into these songs, but knowing you were listening really kept me focused and motivated throughout the process, even during those times I was pulling my hair out and wanting to quit music (true story). I honestly feel we made this thing together, and I can’t wait to virtually high-five all of you at the listening party!!

Much love,

Alex Wong