Although compared to solo artists Jack Johnson, James Blunt and Damien Rice as well as bands like Keane and Coldplay, Shane Alexander holds his own, with his unique sound- a blend of raw melodies and soft vocals, haunting background harmonies and complex guitar parts.
Alexander, a Los Angeles native, spent years as the lead singer and front man for LA band Damone until their break up in 2003. Alexander immediately thereafter launched his solo career with his first album, 2005’s The Middle Way. Produced and distributed independently, The Middle Way received more critical praise than many commercial projects. Soon after followed his next record, the recently released Stargazer, produced by Heroes and Villians, and has been described by the Los Angeles Times as, “a touching collection of rootsy pop.”
These hits were among his eight song set at the Roxy last night. Performing at nine thirty, after two other bands, Alexander drew a crowd of one hundred thirty people on a school night to the Sunset Strip, which isn’t bad. He opened the show with “The Open Road” which satisfied many waiting audience members and soon followed with my personal favorite, “The Moore Hotel” a sad love song about returning to ‘The Moore Hotel’ after saying goodbye and bringing a girl to the airport. It conjures up images of sleepless nights, city lights, and speaks to a fellowship of lost souls. A line in the song, “I never felt so alive or so alone” really sums it up, and as I looked around to the audience I could see his fans mouthing these words- in fact they knew most words to most of Alexander’s songs and didn’t hesitate to show it. Shane Alexander closed his set with the aptly titled as well as beautiful “Feels Like the End”.
His band was right on point and Alexander said afterwards “I thought the show went really well. The band played together as one and the sound was fantastic.” I agree. He also went on to note, “The Roxy is a great venue and they took good care of us.”
For more information or to hear or purchase Shane Alexander’s music, go to https://www.shanealexandermusic.com/