Today we’d like to introduce you to Ian Alexy.
Hi Ian, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started playing the guitar and playing in bands when I was thirteen years old. I grew up in New Jersey on the coast outside of Atlantic City. After high school I went to Berklee College Of Music in Boston for three semesters, studying jazz harmony and jazz guitar. I then finished my college education at Goddard College in central Vermont where I concentrated on music and literature. As soon as I turned twenty one I was out playing music in the night clubs in Burlington Vermont. I was playing guitar in mostly instrumental jazz and funk bands. We performed at parties, clubs , bars and ski lodges throughout the state.
At this time I also began writing songs, which I would perform with just an acoustic guitar and my voice. I regularly performed at the open mic at The Radio Bean cafe in Burlington, and soon had a weekly solo gig at a ski resort.
After a couple of years in Burlington I moved out to Duluth Minnesota where my brother Teague Alexy was regularly performing. We formed indie folk group Hobo Nephews Of Uncle Frank and began a twelve year journey of touring and recording. We produced five records and toured all four corners of the United states. We also had a song called Old Number Four that went viral after CBSSports.com did a story on it. We were a regular presence on Minnesota Public Radio and MN public Television. Hobo Nephews first tour in the western states was supporting Trampled By Turtles for several sold out shows in Montana, Washington, Oregon, California and Colorado.
During this time, I relocated from Duluth to the twin cities and worked as a solo artist while simultaneously touring with Hobo Nephews. I produced three solo albums and played several shows with the band Ian Alexy and The Deserters.
I was drawn back to Duluth during the pandemic where I have mostly been focussed on my career as a solo artist. I recently played a show at Duluth’s West Theater with Grammy winning artist Tinsley Ellis, and am completing my next solo record which will hopefully be out before the end of the year. I am happy to say that music is my professional life. In addition to being a performer I am also a guitar teacher. I have spent many years in music and enjoy sharing the knowledge and stories I have gathered with future generations.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Well there are lots of challenges to being an artist. The challenge of learning to play music, and what has been a bigger challenge for me which is getting the music out into the world. I am not a natural when it comes to marketing and promotion. It’s something I have had to work at. But my dream is to be a musician as my career, and I have been able to have that for most of my adult life, so I am extremely grateful. I had a lot of people tell me when I was young that that would not be possible. I also try to keep in touch with how much fun music is, and how happy it can make people. Getting together with friends and forming a band and making a bunch of noise is about as fun as anything you could ever do.
As I get older staying healthy is the biggest challenge. I recently switched to an anti-inflammatory diet which has reversed some of the issues I was starting to have and greatly raised my energy level.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Well, I am primarily a guitarist. I studied jazz guitar at Berklee College Of Music, so that is where I have the most concentration. However I think my greatest attribute is songwriting. I have gotten a lot of attention for my songs. Some of my songs have gone viral and I have always gotten a lot of attention for songwriting from the music press, my peers, and the audience.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
What I like best about Duluth is that there is a lot of opportunity to perform and work as a musician. Live music is very much a part of this cities economy, from the major artists that play bayfront, to the smaller acts at breweries and pubs and theaters, it’s hard to imagine Duluth without live music. I think the tourists that visit in the summer expect to hear live music when they come to Duluth, and the locals get through the winter on it.
Which brings me to the difficult part. It is incredibly cold on Lake Superior in the winter, spring and fall. I grew up on the Jersey shore, and the winter here is drastically colder. The other difficult thing is that we are fairly isolated from the rest of the country up here. Its two and half hours to Minneapolis if you drive fast, and not much in between or beyond.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ianalexymusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianalexy
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IanAlexyMusic
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ian-alexy-11440785/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@IanAlexyOfficial
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@IanAlexyOfficial
