Upcoming singer/songwriter, Alexz Johnson took the time to answer a few questions we had for her concerning her upcoming album, life, and much more! Alexz also answered your fan submitted questionss, which we will post in the next couple days with our full interview!

Alexz has been working vigorously these past several months on her debut album, “Voodoo” which is expected to drop in March 2010. The efforts of “Voodoo” have been in the works for years, reviving classics like “Taker” and introducing several new songs. “The title was brought to life when [we] wrote the last song for the album – ‘Voodoo’. To me, it captures the essence of the album.” [Alexz and her brother, Brendan Johnson] wrote the 11 track album together.

A surprising fact about Alexz? “I don’t care much about convention.”

“This song came already written.” says Alexz as she begins to talk about her debut single, “Trip Around the World”. “It rolled off our sleeves like water. We wrote it in just over an hour… some songs just seem to come that way.”

When asked why she chose Micheal Maxxis to direct her music video for “Trip Around the World”mdash;which will begin shooting in New Orleans soon&mdahs;, she responded: “I like his simplicity. It’s hard to do simple well.. I’m a fan of his videos and think he will offer a darker shade to an already light song.”

Alexz continued on talking about “Voodoo”, giving us a deeper insight to unheard songs. “It’s up beat and it’s fun! It kind of makes fun of itself.” says Johnson about the “classic Coca-Cola commercial” seeming song. “‘Look At Those Eyes’ is a special song to me…this one was a tough one to create. But, I feel like songs like this have to wait to be understood..”

Towards the end of this summer Alexz launched her official website, where she has a message area for visitors to leave comments. Alexz feels that her website is really helping her connect with her fans and says “I’m enjoying the website process.” A few months before she started a twitter account, where she actually responds to fans tweets when she has time. “It’s fun. I hope to get into the habit of using it more”

Around the same time she launched her website, Alexz announced that she was dropped from Epic Records. “The biggest struggle was putting my last record with Epic to bed. I had to clear my thoughts and start fresh. Pull from my recent experiences and what I love about music now in my life.” While putting her “last record with Epic to bed”, Alexz left behind a lot of songs that she is unable to release. “I promise you, you’ll hear those songs eventually!” promises Alexz about songs like “Saving the Train”..

When asked about the songs she’s worked on with Toby Gad, Alexz says that “it would be cool to hear other great artists performing them.” Alexz has written other songs for other artists/groups before. “Stop The World” was used by Funn Club, which you can buy on iTunes—don’t expect the same essence or talent from Funn Club’s version though.

Alexz’s song, “Hurricane Girl” describes her as a person. Strong, yet sensitive, —not sure about the exploding part though.

She’s been unfortunately dropped from two major record labels and had nearly an entire album leaked. In 2008, Alexz’s then record label leaked 5 tracks onto her myspace and soon later a fan leaked several more songs, all demos, but album demos. Alexz says that “at the time, I didn’t quite understand.” Though as a musician she sees the music industry change first hand continues with “myspace seems to help many artists. I was open to trusting my label’s decision.”

If Alexz is unable to release the Epic songs, then why was she allowed to post a mastered version of “Shout” (which you can hear on Alexz’ site)? “It was unintended.” she explains, “My brother’s e-mail was hacked a while ago and demo recordings that weren’t supposed to be leaked, were. It was really upsetting.”

Still, Alexz feels that what she’s been through with Epic and even Capital has made her a stronger musician. She even feels more in control of her music as an independent artist now.

When she’s not recording, she’s going to movies or restaurants, “I love tapas” says Alexz. Or she likes to do yoga or even read. “Sometimes I try to just not move at all..”

If you’re asking yourself what a tapa is, like I did, it’s a wide variety of snacks or appetizers in Spanish cuisine, served cold or warm. I’ll have to try some one day!

So many fans are anticipating Alexz’s debut album and she realizes how long all of us have waited. “I want to let you know how appreciative I am to have you with me on this journey and through this process. I’m desperately excited to give back all of your passion in everything I do and always will.”

I can say honestly that this has really been an exciting journey and it’ll pay off in a few months when Alexz drops “Voodoo” for all of her fans to hear.

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