|
 In addition, there are
big things ahead this Friday in Lincoln as fans can get a hard copy
of her debut CD entitled “Right Time” at a special CD Release Party
from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
at the VFW located at 915 Fifth Street.
For $10 fans can pay the entry fee to the release party that
includes a free copy of the CD. Or fans can pay a $5 general
admission fee. Or, if you are a student at LCHS just flash that
student ID and you get in for FREE.
Alexa will be performing many of the songs from her new album and
it’s going to be a treat to see this girl put on a show in front of
her hometown fans.
Redd's debut CD features an intro and nine songs. The CD will
continue to be sold after the May 4th release party. This is just
the beginning of great things to come. Stay tuned.
In the meantime take a moment and process all this. Alexa Redd. In
concert. In Lincoln. Her voice will give you goosebumps. This girl
is amazing. Upon meeting her, it takes just seconds to realize she
radiates positivity. She is so focused and mature at 16 years old.
Her talent will blow you away.
As a sophomore at Lincoln Community High School, who has been
leading a bit of a double life lately, she is one busy girl. She
goes to high school by day and by night her evenings are filled with
the same homework all typical teenagers tackle. But many of those
nights she hops in a car to Bloomington’s Eclipse Studios to work on
her music. She has a God-given music and writing talent and she’s
been chasing after her dream for a solid year-and-a-half.
That pursuit of her passion has driven her to this day. It is the
right time to tell the world about Alexa Redd. And Lincoln, you
should be very proud of this young woman.
She already has a music video for the debut single off the debut CD
of the same name. The video “Right Time” is available now on
YouTube.
If you haven’t already seen the video, please join the nearly 35,000
people who have. The song and the video will give you chills. In
just a couple weeks the YouTube views on the song have soared. It
happened so quickly and maybe seemingly so easy, or did it?
Sitting down recently at Guest House Coffee and Pastries on the
square in Lincoln, Alexa with her mom, Sandy Mapes, and her manager,
David Daringer, listening in and occasionally chiming in, spoke
candidly about her music and shared her story.
“Since it’s only been a year-and-a-half it feels like it’s been so
much longer than that because for as long as I can remember I’ve
been wanting to work with music,” the young artist began. “Like I
didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do but I knew it had to be in
music. Like I couldn’t imagine myself going anywhere else. My family
on my mom’s side wasn’t really that into music, but my dad was. And
my ex-step dad was always into music and he had a studio in the back
room and I just watched him do it and I was so impressed.”
A simple life-changing moment happened by chance when Alexa was 12
years old. “My mom got me a piano from the dumpster and didn’t
really think anything of it. She was like “Okay, you know,
whatever,” said Alexa. “And I started playing it the next day. I
just learned a few songs,” she says nonchalantly. “Then my mom was
like, “Oh…okay,” Alexa laughs.
The girl not only took to the piano quickly, but also the guitar.
“And then she got me a guitar and I taught myself that, too. Then
for my eighth grade graduation she got me a ukulele and I taught
myself that. So I just always was practicing. I really didn’t do
anything music-wise. I didn’t really put myself out there. I had
maybe a Facebook page and I posted videos and on one of my videos,
Deezy saw it,” said Alexa.
David "Deezy"
Daringer and Alexa Redd
Sitting nearby is a
grinning and nodding David Daringer, also known as Deezy. He
hails from Lincoln and he is Alexa’s manager. He is an artist
and producer himself who goes by the name Deezy Da Paperboy
professionally. Deezy, for short, is a four-time award winner,
he’s won several music competitions in his own right, he’s won
many cash competitions, he’s been flown coast-to-coast LA to
Miami for his music and he’s had interactions with Warner
Brothers and Def Jam. He’s also toured all over the country as a
supporting act. He brings a lot to the table and with his love
and enthusiasm for music, Deezy entered Alexa’s life at the
right time if you will.
Alexa smiles at Deezy and says of those early days posting
videos, “I’ve improved a lot since then, but I guess he saw
something in me, so he invited me to go and do this show where I
would open for this act called “Crime Mob.” I did it and I mean
he’s been helping and he’s been by my side ever since.”
Deezy can’t stop smiling and he’s more than ready to talk about
that first impression of Alexa. “You know I thought it was a lot
of unguided talent,” he said of seeing her for the first time.
“Like, I could hear the pieces and the potential in it, she just
needed a little molding and someone to work with her and really
kind of open her eyes about what she was doing. And I figured I
could hopefully do that.” Deezy himself does a lot of hip hop
and R & B and he says he writes all the time, from poems to
music, he’s admits he’s always writing.
For Alexa, who wrote “Right Time,” this opportunity with Deezy
is a perfect fit.
Explaining how the song came to be, Alexa said, “This was just
whenever Deezy and I started getting serious about making music
and producing my own stuff. It was at a time in my life where I
was really confused, you know, stressed out with school, just
being a teenager I guess. After I started writing a lot more,
everything just became so much more clear. I feel like I didn’t
know what I wanted to write this song about, and a lot of people
always think, “Oh is this topic about so and so, is it about
Deezy, or like the music?”
Alexa answers her own question and says, “It was just about
everything, and I guess that’s why so many people can relate to
it, I feel like, is because it’s not about one thing.”
Upon seeing the video, it’s easy to get how the song and video
are very relatable to anyone and everyone. “Right Time” is just
that good. It sends a very powerful message of how kindness can
come back around tenfold.
Alexa has included family members in the video. Mom Sandy is in
the opening shot and again later in the video, her brother
Steven has a role, her cousin Andrew Cook makes an appearance,
and family friend Andrew Newman plays a homeless guy. The video
also includes a shot of Alexa staring at a pamphlet from her
father’s funeral. Her dad, Caymon Redd, died on March 19, 2011,
when Alexa was just nine years old.
“I felt like I had to pay tribute to him because he was one of
the people that had the most influence in my life with music
growing up,” she said of her father. “So I had to have him in my
first video of course.”
The video was shot in Lincoln and Bloomington. She is seen
walking the streets of downtown Bloomington near the McClean
County Courthouse and also around Lake Bloomington.
While Alexa penned the song, she did need help with putting it
to music. That’s where Deezy and his connections also came in
handy. “We messed around and tampered with the beat that was
already there, to just increase it,” said Alexa.
“We actually connected with a producer online for the production
and then we just wrote everything and mixed and matched
everything ourselves,” jumps in Deezy.
The collaboration between Alexa and Deezy is indeed a winning
combination.
Touching on the personal aspect of how a songwriter shares his
or her own story, it takes a lot of courage for one to open up
and share their vulnerabilities with an audience in the form of
a song. For Alexa, she admitted, “I’ve always had trouble
opening up to people about how I am feeling and my stories and
what I’ve been through. It’s a work in progress. But music? It
was never a question. I’d always write about how I felt. That
was, I guess, the way that I expressed how I was feeling. So
with music it’s helped me open up a lot better. Am I there yet?
No. But I am getting there.”
This young lady is leaps and bounds ahead already in figuring
out this game of life.
Alexa kind of reminds one of another young artist. A likeness to
the young singer/songwriter named Alessia Cara is there. Both
standout because of their young age, down to earth beauty and
above all, their brilliant way of putting words down on paper.
As for the comparison, Alexa said, “I get that a lot. Yea, I do.
I love her.”
As for her own musical influences, Alexa says, “I listen to many
genres of music. So I guess if you gave me a genre I could give
you my influences. Whenever it comes to influences I don’t look
at how they sound or the way their music is. I like the way that
they write. So certain songs influence me, not certain artists.
But I mean if I were to throw some names out there, I like
Twenty-One Pilots, Billie Eilish, and there’s this person named
Sabrina Claudio. I also like Chance the Rapper and Tyler, the
Creator. Just people with lyrics that are out there.
I guess “Right Time” is a lot more of a radio-oriented song, but
some of my songs on my album their lyrics are kind of, you know,
not what you’d expect from “Right Time.” They are kind of set
different, but it still works together.”
So after Friday night at the VFW in Lincoln, are there any other
dates lined up?
“It’s so hard to work around school,” Alexa answered quickly.
[to top of second column] |
“We will be doing a small promotional tour during the summer,” chimed in Deezy.
“We don’t have the dates locked in yet, but we know we are going to do it from
June to July. We need to let her finish school up. We are still in contact with
the booking coordinators. We definitely will be doing some shows this summer.”
Deezy added that Alexa is still doing outstanding in her schoolwork. “I just
want to point out that with all the work we’ve been doing, she’s still been
tiptop with her grades and stuff. Her academic performance has not slacked at
all considering all the music we’ve been doing.”
As for Alexa’s mom, well she’s kind'a been hiding this one. Alexa has three
older brothers, all of whom were involved in sports. Not Alexa. As the youngest
and the only girl in the bunch, she just wasn’t feeling the sports. Thank
goodness her mom picked up that old piano from the dumpster.
“I am glad that she’s following her passion and….she’s good,” said Sandy. “And
she amazes me. Whenever I see it I am just speechless. Wow.”
“My brothers were always into sports and for the longest time my mom couldn’t
realize like why didn’t I do sports,” said Alexa, smiling. “She even said,
“Listen let’s compromise and you can do volleyball or track.” And I tried
basketball, and I mean I guess I did okay eighth grade year for never playing it
before and I was a starter, but it just didn’t make me happy. I just wanted to
do music. So I guess she’s always understood, but it was just then, I was like,
“Mom…stop.”"
Sandy sits there grinning as the two lock eyes. “I tried,” laughed Sandy, in
reference to trying to make Alexa be like her brothers.
Jordan, Steven and Austin are Alexa’s older and athletic brothers. Then along
came Alexa who dared to be different.
“Music is a sport for me I guess,” says the youngest of Sandy’s children. “It’s
time consuming. You don’t just take 5-10 minutes and write down what you’re
feeling and then just do it. It takes so much time and effort. I am really happy
to have Deezy to show me how to take what I have, he adds to it and then puts it
to good use.”
Deezy isn’t the only one who has helped Alexa in this journey toward a musical
career. She and Deezy both speak very highly of Eric Nelson, the production
engineer on “Right Time” and the owner of Eclipse Studios in Bloomington. “He is
so amazing. I can’t work with anyone else,” said Alexa.
Early on when Deezy had to be out of town for a while and Alexa was just getting
started in studio, Nelson was there to help. Alexa said she literally had no
idea what to do in the studio and it was Nelson who put in the extra time and
effort for months and even helped her finish the album. “It’s hard in the music
industry to find people who genuinely have your best interests at heart and he
genuinely did. You could tell. He’s such a great engineer. He really is.”
Alexa just lights up talking about Nelson and even Deezy puts his two cents in.
“He’s really nice, he’s really kind, he’s just so knowledgeable about what’s
going on.”
Nelson’s prior history includes working with big name artists like JoJo, Boyz II
Men and Mudvayne.
“He’s very diversified,” said Deezy, as Alexa tosses out the Disney name as
being part of Nelson’s resume. “When it comes to genres in music he knows how to
engineer and produce. He’s just so open and very nice. He was always giving her
tips and really keeping us in tiptop shape. He did the same thing for me when I
started recording there. I knew it was going to be the best spot for her,” he
added.
Deezy spotted Alexa’s talent early on and hooking her up with Eclipse Studios
has been a fabulous situation for her, but she’s also found ways to help her
manager.
“I feel like as he’s helping me I’m also helping him (Deezy),” she says.
Deezy quickly nods his head in agreement and says, “Yea.”
“He’s a rapper, but his new album “Rhythm and Poetry” it’s.…pretty good stuff,”
Alexa brings to light. “The lyrics are so diverse. He’s such an excellent
writer,” she says of Deezy. “I feel I’ve really made him get out of his box with
his lyrics. I’ve changed his perspective on things I guess. I mean we are both
helping each other. It’s beneficial.”
Deezy has a mutual respect for the young artist. “She helps me re-phrase what I
want to say, kinda more poetic, as opposed to so blunt and just out there, as
I’m used to as a rapper,” he says. “She kinda helps me dial it down and add the
mystery to it. Like I said, to be more poetic within my lyrics. I really get
more conscious about what I am saying now when I am writing. Considering the
work we’ve done and the people that we can influence, I really want to be more
aware of what I am putting out there and the type of message I put off."
For now Deezy is looking forward to helping Alexa spread her message on Friday
night at the CD release party with family, friends and fans in the crowd. And
you better believe it, Alexa is ready to start spreading the word and performing
it in front of a live audience, too.
“We’ve started, continued and finished performance practices. We’re on top of
it. Trust us,” laughed Alexa.
Deezy agreed Alexa is ready and he’s excited for the fans, too. ”I think May 4th
is going to be a really great experience for the fans to see Alexa Redd in
action and not just hear her, but really see her and visually feel the passion
that she shares with her music.”
Alexa gets more excited as the conversation goes on. “We’ve put so much effort
into everything from the setlist to the lighting to the snacks.” Everyone
laughs. The snacks thing is an inside joke, but not really, there will be
snacks. And Alexa takes the topic of snacks very serious. This girl wants all
her bases covered and as an avid fan of French fries, she admits, “You could
wake me up and be like, “Alexa, do you want fries? And I’d be like “Yes, of
course, that’s it.”
Deezy teases, “We will have a buffet of local fries.”
“My kinda party,” says Alexa.
What else can fans expect Friday night at the show? “I feel like they can expect
just a genuine good time. There’s going to be a lot of smiling faces, a lot of
friends, a lot of family” says Deezy. “We’re going to have a lot of
entertainment. Snacks. Just come, mingle and hang out.” A live DJ will also be
on hand.
The CD release party is open to all ages. Again $10 gets you in the door and a
free hard copy of the CD “Right Time.” For $5 you can come in and just enjoy the
music and get an autograph, a picture or a poster. And oh, FREE snacks. The
snacks are indeed free. LCHS students get in free with a student ID. It’s a
win-win all the way around. The bar will be open for the older crowd and kids
can enjoy free juice and soda.
Because Alexa has been so busy lately this will be a great opportunity for
people to stop in and say hello and wish her well and hear her new music. In
fact, two other songs Alexa is excited to debut in front of a live audience
Friday night are “Losing Game” and “Colors.” Her favorite song on the new album
she says is “Losing Game.”
Alexa Redd, the little girl who now has four pianos, three guitars, a ukulele
and a photographic memory when it comes to music, also used to play the trumpet
until a music teacher discouraged her. “I used to play the trumpet….don’t have
one anymore because my music teacher told me in about the fourth grade, during
one music lesson, she told me, “If I were you, I’d just quit.”
Alexa admitted, “It broke my heart. I went to my mom and said I don’t want to
play trumpet anymore.”
Alexa is self-taught on all of her musical instruments. Although she said Eric
(Nelson) is trying to teach her to play the bass. “I am going to make him teach
me the bass,” she laughed. She primarily plays music by ear. “I can’t read sheet
music,” said Alexa.
But she loves to read books and has one in her car she has yet to finish. She
admits to obsessing over the movie and music of “The Greatest Showman.”
She also laughs and says, “If you take anything from this interview, I am very
opinionated and very stubborn.” One could just interpret that as focused and
determined. No need to change for anyone else. Being true to herself and her
passion has gotten her this far. Kudos again to her mom for encouraging Alexa to
pursue her passion.
One more little fact about Alexa and her mom. Her mom was originally going to
name her “Alexis” but since there were so many girls with that name born around
that same time, she settled on Alexa. It honestly has a nice ring to it with
Redd. And it will look good on the cover of a CD or as her fans scroll through
iTunes or Spotify.
But currently Alexa is a very popular name. Almost to the point of being
annoying if you think of a certain commercial. Our girl from Lincoln is well
aware. ”And then there’s that Amazon Echo, don’t even get me started,” she
jokes. “Don’t get me started. It’s so bad.” The teen flashes a gorgeous smile
over her flawless skin and laughs.
That other Alexa is Amazon’s digital assistant built into devices such as the
Amazon Echo. Say the word “Alexa” to Echo followed by a simple voice command,
and the device could play music, allow you to shop on Amazon, search the
Internet, set reminders for yourself and the list goes on and on.
So for the little girl who knew at a very young age that she wanted to pursue
music, yet likes to remain quiet until a project is complete before she releases
it and lets the world know what she’s been doing, it is without a doubt the
right time to say, “Hey, Alexa, let’s hear that CD “Right Time” by Alexa Redd.”
[Teena Lowrey] |
