Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex Edwards.
Hi Alex, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
So when I was a kid, I grew up playing the viola in the school orchestra. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. When I was 11, my family moved to the suburbs of Atlanta and they didn’t have an orchestra program in school. I played in an orchestra called the Ludwig Symphony Orchestra to continue playing, but still didn’t feel like it was my true passion. I learned a lot about music and how to play well with other musicians but knew I didn’t want to be a viola player full-time.
In high school, my best friends were starting a band and needed another guitar player. I figured why not try it out and the rest is history! I loved making music with my friends and writing songs. I couldn’t put music down so I went to college in Nashville at Belmont.
When I moved to Nashville, I was exposed to so many new people to play with. I hardly payed attention in classes because I just wanted to play guitar with anyone and everyone.
I started touring while still in college and it became full-time for me as soon as I finished. I’ve been lucky to make touring and recording with artists my full-time job for the last ten years.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road, there’s a lot of dry seasons when being a self-employed hired gun. There’s always lulls in between tours and gigs. It’s tough when you have an empty schedule. It takes a lot of planning and self-motivation to sustain yourself through the dry seasons and it can be really hard mentally when nothing is going on.
Covid was a huge setback. I didn’t play a show for basically a year and a half, and not very many people were recording in person either. I know many people who do what I do give up and change careers. I stuck through it though and am so much more thankful to be back in full swing again.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a touring and studio musician. I travel around the world playing guitar for artists on tours and shows and recording on songs and making samples as well. People will mostly know me for my work with the pop rock band called Parachute and singer-songwriter Ingrid Andress and my guitar loop and sample packs (more coming soon).
There’s a million guitar players who do what I do. But no one can do what I do the way that I do it. Being unique is tough and also risky as a hired gun. So many people want to fit a mold and sound and look the same so they can be hired, but I never cared about that. The older I get, the more I’ve accepted that people will come to me and hire me for my specific vibe.
I’ve found a sound and style that’s unique to me and thankfully the people I work with love it!
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Well, covid really showed us how quickly the live music industry can just come to a halt. It was scary to see everything get completely taken away overnight. I think there’s so much changing in music always, it’s hard to really predict what’s going to happen. People will always have the need for recorded and live music, it’s just going to keep changing to figure out how to be profitable from it in the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: alexdeanedwards.com
- Instagram: alexdeanedwards
Image Credits
Photo: Acacia Evans
