#139 Your Man Alex Smith
Your Man Alex Smith is a Brisbane based independent singer songwriter with a theatrical twist. He studied at QUT and is an incredible story teller and performer which comes out in his live performances and his on screen acting with very creative music videos. Heartbreak, disapointment, depression and hardship have been the tools to shape this hard working artist into the man he is today. He says "blood sweat and tears" went into the making of his last album and continues to navigate a new covid world for the performing arts and has seen many friends go on to do amazing things within the industry.
Using catchy hooks to sneak contemplative lyrics to the listener, Alex’s genre-hopping theatrical rock is a story-driven experience with a lot of heart. While Alex is inspired by bands like Queen, Meat Loaf, Pink Floyd and The Protomen, his sound is often compared to the likes of They Might Be Giants and Ben Folds. Alex pays huge thanks to members of his Patreon, a service which greatly strengthens his connection with his audience and boosts the rate of production of his third studio release ‘Slow Burn’ which is set to release June 18th Alex is also the host of podcast My Songs Suck with his close friend James Kehoe. The show is available to stream on Spotify and all podcatchers.
Connect with Alex:
Transcript
Rae Leigh: Welcome to a songwriter tryst with your man, Alex Smith, how you doing?
Your Man Alex Smith: I'm good. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
Rae Leigh: And that is actually your band name. Isn't it? Your man, Alex Smith.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yes. Yes.
Rae Leigh: I it's something that I'll have to like specifically let people know otherwise. They'll just think that I'm telling everyone that you're the man. So we start this podcast by getting you. in your own words.
Tell us who are you and where do you come from?
Your Man Alex Smith: I'm Alex Brisbane, Australia. I'm a musician originally from UK. I moved here when I was 12. I have a history in theater and musical theater and acting, but also I like to make films and yeah.
Rae Leigh: now I am using music video. It makes way more. With the cop-out outfits and everything.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah, a lot more fun than the usual playing in front of a brick wall and then just cutting it.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. I would not. And that's probably what I do, but that's because I'm lazy and I don't know what I'm doing. That's why I get someone else to do it.
So how did you end up from here in the UK? What's that story? Where were you born in the UK? And why did you come to Australia?
Your Man Alex Smith: which is famous for its cider and nothing else really,
Rae Leigh: It's not a bad thing to be famous for.
Your Man Alex Smith: I mean, I'm sure it's probably something, but I don't remember it being much of anything. I lived in Lyme am pretty proud about this way of Mariana was from the, the first female a paleontologist and she was very cool.
And then eventually we moved to Australia because my mom got a job here. And also some big family drama. We were running away from some stuff, probably not my
story to tell, but
Rae Leigh: all right. Run away from the weather. That's enough. I reckon so cold over there. But no, I love, I love England and I could, would consider living there, but
every time I do consider living there, I remember how cold it is and I think, yeah. maybe we'll just go for a holiday.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah. And rainy, relentlessly rainy.
Rae Leigh: Where did the creative bug start for you?
Your Man Alex Smith: I did theater When I was in England there was demon headmaster, and I was like, oh, I love this. This is great. But I was always one of at me, kind of kids. I feel like most kids are, but I think eventually people kind of grow out it. Well, maybe some kids are shy, but I was definitely a getting attention.
I was in a bunch of, am DRAM theater productions, and I loved that. And then when we came to Australia comedy and my high school and I've just always loved performing and entertaining.
Rae Leigh: And stand up comedy. That's another one to add to your bow. That's really cool.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah, it was. I don't even, because Billy Conley and all kind of comedians growing up. I it. Cause it was a competition at the school for class clown. I think just cause my, my drama teacher was like, go for it. And I was like, I will.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. Just have some fun with it. Yeah.
Cool. I think that comedy is a really good skill to have in all arts, whether it's acting or songwriting or performing, it's important to have a good sense of humor. And if you can write that into your story, whatever it is, humor always familiar, Eric and humor, as long as it's placed tastefully and well always makes a good story, even better and enjoyable and can wake the audience up to what's coming next.
So what did you do?
Your Man Alex Smith: well I got the, the book of like the courses you can apply for. And I found the five courses I could apply for, with my Oop
Rae Leigh: Oh, okay. That was only five.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah, it was like, it was like one of your five preferences and only really five I could do. And it was like woodworking, applied theater music course at QUT. and some other, just nothing. Cause I did not want to do. And I actually didn't get accepted into the QUT music course. They, which I think is a bit far. Cause they were like, all right, show us an example of your composition. And I showed them one of my songs that I'd written,
Rae Leigh: yep.
Your Man Alex Smith: So you don't really know like it, it obviously wasn't up again a song like I've been writing.
Oh yeah. I've been writing for a few years of high school for that point because I've been writing songs. But they, they had this vibe of like all this sucks and it's like, I'm going to, you need to learn, man.
If it was good going in,
Rae Leigh: If it was good, I wouldn't need you.
Your Man Alex Smith: yeah.
Rae Leigh: And that's so hard because if I want us, it's probably a blessing because I've seen people going to do music courses. And they come out hating music and it's like, well, why would anyone want to do that.
And the reality is you get judged and to be judged on your art is kind of contradictory to the whole point of art.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah,
Rae Leigh: Like what's the point. Okay. So you didn't do music. What, so what did you end up doing?
Your Man Alex Smith: I ended up getting accepted into the bachelor of arts and applied theater, which I thought was going to be an acting and performance course, but it turns out it's actually, if you've ever had those people come to your high school and be like, oh, you know, they put on a show and it's like, oh, Daryl, I'm going to sniff glue and jump off this bridge.
And it's like, freeze, what do you think Darryl did wrong? It's like those
people, which is employable, it's the more employable of the two kinds of actor. But it wasn't what I wanted
Rae Leigh: Huh. So did you finish that
Your Man Alex Smith: I realized very early on, I was like, oh, I hate this, but I was surrounded by a lot of creative, cool people.
And yeah. all the auditions that were around. And this is where I started doing like six to seven theater shows a year for a few years, which was awesome. Cause I love, I love
theater. I miss theater.
Rae Leigh: What was your
favorite one?
Your Man Alex Smith: Uh it's it's probably a unisex, the musical oh no bad boy. was great. That was a good
one.
Rae Leigh: cool.
Your Man Alex Smith: was a student written musical and it was three hours long and it kind of sucked for everyone who wasn't in it, but it was great fun
to be in.
Rae Leigh: Okay. So it was fun to be in.
but not as great for the
audience.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah. I mean, there was some, some bangers, but the script needed to be shaved down so
hard.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. That's a skill that you have to learn how to do that. Same with writing a song. Like learning how to shave it down a little bit. And yeah, I've heard of some people like their first songs being like nine, 10 minutes long and like, you know, let's condense it to its best three minutes and then go from there.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah. I've, I've definitely been guilty in the early days of like all my ideas are good ideas. I can't cut any of them.
Rae Leigh: yeah. Yes. Crystal Lune learn it's it's just which one's better than the other one. Doesn't then it doesn't mean they're bad. It just is. Which
one's the
best.
Your Man Alex Smith: to the side, not deleting
them.
Rae Leigh: Someone described a songwriting to me the other day. At a songwriting workshop actually about how they write lots and lots and lots of songs.
And each song is like a flower and they got in, but when they go to create an album, it's like going into the garden and picking the most beautiful flowers to create a bouquet, to put, you know, on their kitchen table to display so that everyone can see when they come in. So there's still love they garden and the cuddle, their flowers, but they pick the best ones to display to
the world.
And I I thought that was a really cool thing. It was like not every song you write is going to get recorded and be a number one hit. And that.
can be
possibly a hard thing to hear when you first starting out. But
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: So you did a lot of theater shows you finished your degree, then what did you do
Your Man Alex Smith: Well, I had kind of a B plot happening this whole time where I was writing music. And I was writing songs, which is the same thing. And I was of that mindset of like, oh, you can't make a career out of something. You enjoy, you got to do something you hate.
That's how you make money and what you like is, you know, your hobby. But then
Rae Leigh: mindset.
Your Man Alex Smith: yeah, but it was around this time at university when I moved out of home for the first time and I had my first kind of proper making a wage job, which was as a pasta chef at that piano. The fun things I forget that I did.
And I'm like, oh foster ship.
Rae Leigh: My husband's favorite restaurant in the
city.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah, that's real good.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Your Man Alex Smith: real good.
place.
Rae Leigh: We love that. Piano's little plug. Anyway. Keep
going.
Your Man Alex Smith: But I had what can only be described as, I guess, like an existential breakdown, because, so you know how they have like the little thing of palms and in front of the pasta, and then they like scoop it and put it on top of your pasta when they yeah. So they have that. And then they have like, behind you, when you're doing that, there's a draw, a big container full of pumps and cheese.
And I was like, Hmm, I wonder what happens when we run out of palms and cheese which obviously eventually after working there for like, you know, months, probably two months or weeks, I dunno, time was weird. I was very young. They and cheese.
And then someone just came and brought a new. Tell the palms and cheese. And I was like, oh my God, there's always going to be more cheese. There's always going to be more customers, nothing. I do matters. I'm making money to pay for a roof over my head. So I can have someone to sleep when I'm not at work.
This is what life is. Oh my God. Oh my
God.
Rae Leigh: So you had a bit of a meltdown and a
breakdown.
Your Man Alex Smith: And I think I also, that I really liked, like properly. In high school oh, you know, I have a crush on you. And then you kind of date because you spend eight hours together every day. And I dunno and they're like in your friend break up and it doesn't matter because you're kids and nothing's true.
Nothing's real.
Really liked this person. And I asked her out and she was like, oh no, that's okay. And cause also,
Rae Leigh: like it's okay. like I don't
like you
or
Your Man Alex Smith: oh yeah, yeah. Isn't like, yeah, now we can just be friends. But was like, well, I'll find meaning and romance and love, which is very codependent.
And I've since gotten lots of therapy and realize that's not how you're supposed to be,
but
it
Rae Leigh: glad you got therapy. It's good.
Your Man Alex Smith: but it was just the moment of like, oh, so the thing that I do for the majority of my life sucks I, you don't, it isn't as simple as you tell someone that you really liked them and then they like you back.
Oh my God, what am I doing with my entire life? And so I really, like, I really went back to the drawing board in the sense of like, I got a bit of paper and was like, what do I like, what do I not like, what brings me joy? What do I want to do for my life? And eventually right now, but I like, to do is playing music and writing music.
So Moved back in with my parents, stop antidepressants and.
But, you know, foot forward to music and that was May 5th, nine years ago.
Rae Leigh: Wow.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: Nine years. You've been,
full-time chasing this on
wedding.
Your Man Alex Smith: Well, that's the thing it's like, I think the first two years were like, full-time full-time but you know, then yeah. You get, I mean, I guess
we'll get to that. We'll
get to
Rae Leigh: All right. Okay.
So you moved to new parents, you're like, right. I love songwriting and I've, I've had that. moment. And I, I, I think I'm still in that.
moment of like, Yeah.
I don't think I could see myself doing anything else because you know, we all have the same amount of life, really. If you're lucky and why would you do it feeling cheese on pasta?
Like,
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: unless that's what you really loved. And I, you know, I haven't met anyone that said my dream is to put cheese on pasta. So, I'm proud of you for, for making that, asking those deep questions and having self-awareness around. What is it that you want with your life? So that's, that's a very mature thing to do at such a young age as well.
Your Man Alex Smith: I don't know. I think maybe I did the right things for the wrong reasons. I was a train but I do appreciate these
kind words. Thank you.
Rae Leigh: why why would you.
say you're a train wreck of a child?
Your Man Alex Smith: while I'm glad that I made the choice, I think part of it was like you know, cause I very depressed. And I think it was like than a clever and mindful, I'm going to make incremental changes to my life, to better my life. I think it was like, I want to die and I'm gonna go and try and do music.
And if it doesn't work. If it doesn't work, then I'll just die. And so it was like, I'm not going to get myself a backup plan. I'm just going to throw myself into this, which was a very like irrational and, you know, or just like, not, you know, just petty and young, emotional way to do it. And I wish I could accept the praise of like, you know, making a mindful choice, but I think it was more like everything sucks.
I don't want to do things I didn't want to do. And and that really good Jim Carrey speech where it's like, you can fail at what you don't want to do. So why not try to do what you do want to do? I think mine's like the Aldi brand version of it.
Rae Leigh: I still think that's good. And honestly, I don't feel like my story is that different, like depression and anxiety and stress. And just like, I give up on trying to live in a life in a world that I don't like, you know? And so you create the world and life that you do. Like, and then, you know, I mean the option to kill yourself is always this.
So, you know, you might as well try everything else first,
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah, pretty much.
Rae Leigh: that's the way you want to look at it,
I'm not endorsing that at all, but I've definitely been there in those moments. And I, I think in those moments is when I went to songwriting. Yeah.
absolutely. And I'm actually, I have this one song. It's the one song that I always saying to myself over the last 10, 20 years.
It's the song that I sang at the piano when I was in that moment of like, I can't do this anymore. I give up kind of moments and I would, I would sit at the piano and I would play this song. It was the one song that kind of just helped me get that yucky motion out. And I had it recorded and I'm like, I'm actually kind of scared to actually release that because it's, it's that powerful for me potentially.
Like it's a, it's a vulnerable thing to
do.
Your Man Alex Smith: Have you ever
shown it to anybody?
Rae Leigh: I've shown it Yeah.
I have shown, I did perform it live at one of my shows last year. And they, they liked it. It was just, I think, because it was, it's a vulnerable, it comes from that vulnerable moment of
depression and suicide. And I think there's a lot of shame around mental health and suicidal thoughts,
there's you know, tweak and, you know, you're just giving up and you're not even trying, or like, you know, there's like this mental health thoughts for me that go through my head and like what everyone else is thinking of me for being depressed or having those mental health things like that's really hard.
Your Man Alex Smith: yeah, yeah. Especially in Australia. I mean, it's, it's gotten better, but like for a long time, it was very much like, you know, we don't talk about that stuff and
Rae Leigh: yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, it's, it's not something that you're learning and I'm really glad that you had music that was, you know, you had something that was like, well, if I'm going to do anything, I'm going to do this.
Your Man Alex Smith: Likewise.
Rae Leigh: I think it was the same.
Yeah. Thank God for music. Okay. So what, what did you do then?
Continue your story two years, full time into
music
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah. I graduated uni. I had a, a string of relationships that failed for various reasons, probably all my fault. I, I, blame TV and the media for everything really brainwashed as us as kids and telling us how we're supposed to be, how women are supposed to be, how love is supposed to be.
And. And like, it, it makes, I don't know how I was going to say it's all patriarchal stuff. Like it makes men feel shit about themselves. It makes women feel shit about themselves and it makes guys feel like shit, if they're not acting a certain way and it makes, you know,
it just, you know?
Rae Leigh: I have a theory about that. I think the theory is if we make everyone feel crap about themselves and then tell them if they buy our products, they'll feel better, then they'll spend their money on our stuff. And then we just, keep making them feel terrible and insecure so that they keep buying stuff.
And it's like this consumerism cycle that's just killing us.
But there is no responsibility held against retail departments because we should be strong enough and responsible enough to know?
that that's what they're
doing.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah. Like it's
fucked, like with, like, with, you know, beauty and magazines, but also like the way that they advertise fast food and stuff.
Rae Leigh: Hmm,
Your Man Alex Smith: that's like, it kills you like it straight up kills you and it should be advertised the same way they advertise cigarettes, but they don't. And then as you said, it's like, oh, it's your fault for, you know, buying into this marketing that was designed specifically to appeal to the pleasure centers of your brain.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. Right.
Your Man Alex Smith: tough to be a human in the world.
Rae Leigh: Yeah. Making us not feel great about ourselves so that we, I don't know. Yeah. And then like, that's a, that's a full nother, that's a full, nother topic. How did we even get onto
that? Oh yeah. Okay. So the relationships failed.
and probably because of expectations and all that sort of stuff. So then what did you do after that?
Your Man Alex Smith: I, I hustled hard in my first year. I got a gig at the zoo.
Rae Leigh: Was that?
Your Man Alex Smith: yeah. Right.
Rae Leigh: How was that?
Your Man Alex Smith: Uh, it was the best gig Amar career so far, but also, yeah, I mean, I mean, not so far now, but like at the time, you know, I've been playing for a while and I'm like, this is great. And I've got a live album out of it and got a taste for the stage,
Rae Leigh: How did, how did you end up getting at the zoo? Cause that's a pretty good gig to get in the
valley.
Your Man Alex Smith: then. You could send a, an email and be like, hi, you know, I'm, I'm starting out. I'd really like to, you know, have a shot and can you give me a shot? And they'll be like, yeah, here's your shot Wednesday night. Go for it. You know, the gig economy is.
Not as good as it is, and, you know, a pandemic times and everything. And I think booking agents kind of want a bit more of a show fire shot these days. So being given and unfortunately, a lot of really important venues in the gig ecosystem, like the new globe down because sometimes you need venues that are bigger than a coffee shop, but smaller than the zoo where you could just kind of suck because if you don't suck, you never get better.
And if people don't see you suck, then they don't see you get better. And, you know, if you just have coffee shops and then you know, the Triffid and the zoo, then we're kind of smothering the small act to need to suck on stage, to learn how to not
suck on stage.
Rae Leigh: Hmm. Yeah.
Then it's, I mean, there is a real gap in our local area. I think of the in-between a open mic night to, to, you know, a full live stage production.
Your Man Alex Smith: I won't name any names, but it used to be that all the venues used to be rock up, train, sell tickets, but then it became like, oh, we'll take a, a guarantee. And then a cut of the tickets and a venue that I know is now we'll take a $500 guarantee and a cut of the tickets. And it's like, damn man.
Like what band, what band?
Rae Leigh: yeah. That's like a pay to play scenario. Really? Isn't
it?
Your Man Alex Smith: Obviously, and I think I kinda had the wind knocked out of me for a bit, which considering pain and like hard work was so low considering how hard I've worked on this last album, because all I had to do for that one was asked people for some money and then like sitting in a booth and someone else made it for me.
And I was like, oh man, I worked really hard on this.
I
Rae Leigh: Well done.
Your Man Alex Smith: I guess I worked a lot on like writing it, but like,
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Your Man Alex Smith: I don't know. I mean, it's crazy. They still holds a good place in my heart. I don't think it's the love. It deserves it was a good album, but and yeah, I had all these big plans for like music videos and stuff, but I just didn't have the bucks because these things take books.
Rae Leigh: Hmm.
Your Man Alex Smith: I find a band solo singer song writer and then crazy days came out, which I did entirely, you know, I went to Stewart and was like, here's the song? And we fleshed it out together. And then I think I assembled a band full that launch
Which a lot of Richie and incredible musical theater drama, a.
Bass player, presumably who must've left pretty early. Cause I don't remember who they are. Maybe we didn't have one who went on to be the assistant musical director of mean girls the and is like in New York. Oh, it was in New York and it's just a exceptional superstar.
And I can't believe, I know him let alone that he played in my band. Yeah. Oh man. And Fisher, who is my guitarist now he was the first guitarist I've ever had. The only guitar side I'd ever have. If you have a left, I'd be like right. And quitting music, nothing without Lucas. He's the guitarist And when he tours the world in his Viking metal band and then occasionally plays fucking 30 person gigs with me and I'm like, what the fuck? I'm so lucky. I love yellow guys.
Rae Leigh: Oh, we love you, Lucas. That's awesome.
Your Man Alex Smith: It's just the best boy.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Your Man Alex Smith: So we kinda gigged around with that Set for a while and I was, oh, oh no. So I wasn't entirely happy with crazy days because then I was like, right, is what I'm going to do. I'm going to get a full-time job and I'm going to do the second album entirely off my own back because I'm going to take some risks with it.
And I don't want to crowdfund it because I don't want to make a big change and then have people be like, I gave my money for this. I guess solution to that is just let people hear it before you fund it. You didn't guess. But,
But I was you know, the first one was to get radio play and it didn't explode.
So I'm going to do what I want this time. And I did, Theatrical slightly self-indulgent album. I still love both the EPS. I think crazy days, it's more poppy, I think guilty, you gotta be in the mood. More to the kind of theatrical side of things. Cause I started to bring more theater to it.
And it.
started with automaton, which is like this kind of clanky, robotic dystopian, Disney villain song. People seemed to really and that one got a little bit more traction and crazy days,
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Your Man Alex Smith: but also, okay. So this is where we kind of start to catch up to the modern day.
I, during the, the two years where I was making guilty, I had a very. Important and impactful relationship. Oh actually, can I figure, no one's going to listen to this. I would know it's going to be, it's going to be people who don't know me that will listen because I've been promoting so many podcasts that my friends are
going to be like, ah, oh my God, Alex,
Rae Leigh: another one.
Your Man Alex Smith: another fucking podcast
Rae Leigh: Just say it and I'll make it the
trailer. And then everyone will go.
Your Man Alex Smith: during that time. Went terribly. It terribly and
Rae Leigh: Well, what, what made it so important?
Your Man Alex Smith: I think she was the first person that I genuinely cared about more than myself,
Rae Leigh: Okay.
Your Man Alex Smith: know? And now I've learned empathy and I'm not the fucking worst, but I dunno, I made me laugh and it not many people do consistently make me laugh
and I've.
Rae Leigh: That's a good trait to fall in love
with
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah. And she was very competent at everything she put her mind to.
She was just very good and also just very pretty, is always nice. But she made me laugh and we clicked. Life where she needed autistic Dingus that I am. Terribly, unfortunately. And she, we both had our own traumas and eventually
Rae Leigh: Is it the one that I bought at your show?
Your Man Alex Smith: No, I don't think it was out at that
point.
Rae Leigh: No, cause I'm like tell what was the name of that one? Cause I had it in my car and I listened to
it.
Your Man Alex Smith: Also, thank you very much for coming to my show and everyone listening should know that she did come to my show and it was
Rae Leigh: I love getting into shows when I can, and it was a really fun show I had a lot of fun and Rob got to come with me too. and he never gets to come to shows because he's usually babysitting the kids. I don't know why we didn't have the kids at that stage. I know we blagged it I, this is, we had a neighbor come babysit the kids so that he could come pick me up from the airport.
And and he didn't tell the, the babysitter that he was picking me up from the airport and we're coming straight to your show. So he kind of like did a D to a, nothing. That's why we split early. Cause we were like, we weren't actually supposed to be
there.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah. I just thought he didn't like it. I was like, oh my God, they didn't even say it at the end. I
must've really terrible.
Rae Leigh: We were having so much fun. And actually that, it was like, my husband's saying like mega, like he was, he just felt so at home, he was like, this is it. Cause he's from Cornwall
and he's. And he said, it reminded him of, I mean, he was born in the eighties, but he said it reminded him of like his, the high school bands that were in Cornwall when he was there as a kid.
And like, he just, he was like a kid in a candy shop looking at all this reminiscing of like, he's like, oh, was like this band for, I can't remember the name of it, but like this band that they had when I was in high school and we'd go and watch them and blah, blah, blah. So.
Your Man Alex Smith: as long as it wasn't the worst. Cause my dad loves the whistles. It was like, I
must not be the worst.
Rae Leigh: I can't remember. Anyway. So, so you know, it was a good show, but yet we weren't technically meant to be there because we hadn't told the babysitter that we were going to be longer than going to the airport and back.
So you're producing your own music now, or you got
someone
Your Man Alex Smith: no, I work with the fantastic Nicko Donald for the band 26. He came in on guilty and we, a bit just because it to the way Stewart Stewart done it. And I didn't really. I was very much at the mindset of like, I'm paying you and like, I have a vision.
And like you, this is making me sound like an asshole to clarify. I'd be like, you know, here's my song. And he'd be like, what if we had a 16 bar fucking drum solo here? And I'd be like, Or like, what if we cut this chorus? And I'm like, oh, I like that. And so I would, we would kind of butt heads and I'd be like, why must you continually fuck me.
Why do you do this? I'll give you money.
Why?
Rae Leigh: Well, that's the thing. Sometimes people do pay people to fuck them. So just saying that's the thing. So, but you, you got, you got there in the end. Did, did you collaborate on any of the songs or do you write all your songs? All the songs yourself.
Your Man Alex Smith: them all myself, but now see, the thing is Nick and I did find a good middle ground.
Rae Leigh: Okay.
Your Man Alex Smith: he was like, you know, I'm a producer, you're paying me for my years of experience. And sometimes you need not side to I to tell you when, you know, you've gone a bit too cringe with an idea, or maybe this would be good.
And eventually I was like, yeah, I mean, some, like it made me realize what Hills to die on because to go in thinking I've written this perfect song that doesn't need any adjustments is very egotistical of me. And, you know, I need to work in collaboration. And also, yeah, you know, you can't be too close to an idea.
And often the things he suggests are really good ideas. And it also meant that like, on a line it starts with like the cowboy voice been like, oh, you want a song? Go get your songs. And And on as own, that's a stupid idea. But I really want to fight for this.
And I think it's less about fighting for every idea and realizing which ideas you're like, I don't know why, but I really care about this and this is what I'll fight for.
Rae Leigh: that's
cool.
Your Man Alex Smith: now we have a really good rapport. He and I,
Rae Leigh: That's really good. That's and sometimes the best partners complete opposite to you. Like in a lot of ways. But I,
think that really helps round out ideas as well. And yeah.
I find it the hardest when my husband listens to a song and doesn't like something, or he wants to change something, I find it really challenging.
And I'm like, you're not a songwriter. You have, you know, go away. But at the same time it's, it's good to be able to take feedback and that's how we learn and grow. As damaging as it feels to the ego, the ego also has no value or worth in, in life as an artist, you know, just kill you, go and take all the feedback and you'll grow faster.
Trust me.
Your Man Alex Smith: I've learned that in, in rehearsals and stuff, when someone's like, what if we do this? I'm like, I'm I hear that I'm going to have to come back to it because I recognize in myself that when I hear any idea that is different I get scared of change. then I like stamp out the little fire. So I'm going to walk away.
I'm going to actually think about it. And I will come back with a natural opinion
Rae Leigh: that scared of change. Everyone's scared of change. But if we accept that, that's the way things are, then we can maybe not worry about it as
much.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah. Good advice.
Rae Leigh: Speaking of advice, what is the best and worst advice.
you've ever received?
Your Man Alex Smith: My friend, Matt Newsome told me the thing that his high school teacher told him, which was knowledge waits for no brain. And he was like, I hate that. So that's the only bit of noise I can think of. I don't know if
that's good or bad advice.
Rae Leigh: Knowledge whites for no Brian tree. It's a lot
there.
Your Man Alex Smith: True.
Rae Leigh: Good advice. that's good advice. What about the worst advice.
Can you think of like something that someone said to you that it was just like, Yeah. not or you listen to it and then realize later on it was like, Hmm, that wasn't good
advice.
Your Man Alex Smith: a friend of Mine was telling me about a friend of his, who was like, if you want to get rich, here's what you do. You get someone who's already rich and then you learn from them. It's like, yeah. And he's like, yeah, you know, I got these $2,000 seminars on how to get rich.
And it's like, oh my God, dude, that's just a scam.
That's terrible advice.
Rae Leigh: Oh, Yeah.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: It's a bit of I guess it depends on what you're after and it's like, if you just want money, like my kids ask me, I actually have an eight year old son and the other day he's like, oh, I want to have a million dollars.
And I'm like, well, what would you do with a million dollars? And I was like, well, I, I buy everyone a house and car, and then we wouldn't have to worry about stuff and dad wouldn't have to work anymore. And it's like, okay, well, what, what would you do once we had all that? And he was like, oh, you know, and like, and just asking those questions, like, cause once you have money and once you don't have to stress about it, it's like you actually then have a life to live.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: It was like, well, what would you do if you didn't have any money in the world? And my, like I asked myself that quick. And for me, it's like, well, if I had all the money in the world, I'd continue doing what I'm doing now. I'd probably just do more of it and I'd hire more people to help. Do, you know, the stuff that I don't want to do, like editing you know, whereas like, I think there's a lot of people in the world that would not answer the question that way.
You know, if they, you know, you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you do? You know, quit your job or something. I wouldn't quit my job. I'd just I'd work harder.
Your Man Alex Smith: Hmm.
Rae Leigh: But I think That's
yeah.
Your Man Alex Smith: yeah.
That's definitely a good thing. It's a good launching pad to jump off when you're having to think about it yet. If money was no obstacle,
what would you do?
Rae Leigh: what would you do?
if money was no obstacle?
Your Man Alex Smith: Awesome. Now this this this album and this music video have
been a big financial pressure on me.
Rae Leigh: Yeah.
Your Man Alex Smith: And now that I've paid them and I've graduated I mean, I had the, the void for a bit where I was like, what do I do? But next project is going to to be me. I think I'm going to buy some shoes that didn't have holes in them and get my teeth fixed and go to a psych and get a gym membership and maybe buy a car that can drive and.
Rae Leigh: I like all those
things.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah. Cause like, I, I will still pull and hemorrhage money into your man, Alex Smith, because that's what I do. And I have a bunch of music videos planned, but I think I've, I've spent so many years, like years, this album took four years and then it was, know, two years before that.
And I think I've just spent a lot of time in my life with the blinkers on just trying to like get to the end of it, which kind of ties in nicely to the, where we were at 2017, because I really just buried myself in this album to try and cope with everything and like process everything. And now that it's done, it's kind of like the last thorn to pull out.
And so then I'm like, well, I kind of stalled on living my life. You know, I had this excuse of like, oh, I'm making the album. That's why I'm not, you know, making the incremental trainers necessary to be happy, but it's like, well, now I got to, you know, you got money, you can move out of home and. Make a life become an adult functioning human man
and
like,
Rae Leigh: I have three kids and I, you know, have a house and all that sort of stuff and a husband. And I've realized now that I don't think I'll ever be an adult, I think I've become less than an adult as I've realized how meaningless so many things that the world make us believe is really important is that's depressing.
I love my life. I think what I've realized the most important thing is, is to have
fun and find people to have fun with. And yes, take care of yourself because you know your health. If you don't have that, you don't have a life really. You take care of yourself and have fun and do what you love and spinner spend time with people that make you happy.
Your Man Alex Smith: I think having the time off after the album made me realize that in the quiet moments, it's like, I need to have a life that I can be happy with now, because I can't just be happy because I'm putting out some content, you know, you got to be happy with your body and have a brain that behaves the way you want.
And like have, you know, people that you see regularly and a good relationship with your family. And I think just kind of the stock silence after all this work made me realize that like, oh, we have a lot of work to do at my own life and I haven't been able to afford it, but I can now, so no gotta fix my life.
Rae Leigh: Never is excuses. Really?
If you think about it,
we just make them up. That's what an excuse is. Well, no. Okay.
So I have one more question for you actually,
Your Man Alex Smith: Okay.
Rae Leigh: if you could, co-write a song with anyone in the world, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Your Man Alex Smith: It depends on what's the intention of the song. Is it to just like, be a a banger or is it make societal change or is it to shackle while
people,
Rae Leigh: good question is to create something that you want to create. So, I mean, the who's someone that you would want to create something with.
Your Man Alex Smith: I mean, I'm going to say, I'm going to, I'm going to do a cheeky half on, so I'm going to, I'm going to gently say Freddie mercury only because I actually think that in actuality I would, I would just be like, oh, and I'd not be able to contribute anything. And I would second guess everything. And then I'll say because I think he's credibly talented and he's been very influential to me.
A similar thing. I think I would not feel like I had anything to contribute, but a lot of people have said that there are some And maybe if we just kind of did our own thing, it would end up being something that worked well together anyway.
Yeah.
Rae Leigh: Yeah,
so what's coming up next. You're gonna take care of yourself. Get a gym membership, fix your teeth, go move out of home,
get a car. I love all these things by the way. I'm going to, I'm going to keep you accountable to it. Is there anything else you would like to say before we finish up?
Your Man Alex Smith: Well, I guess, thank you very much for having me. if you haven't check out, slow on all the streaming services. It cost a million dollars and it took four years the animated music video aligned is incredible. It's by the Danish animation house scaled did the tales of a left year on series.
That's on YouTube just such a line. it's like, it's not the animation of, you know, you see it for the cinema. And it's got like the motion graphics. It's like, traditionally frame-by-frame animated is very cool. And one of the coolest things that has ever happened in, you know, in my career.
I think we fetishize the hustle often to the debt. About mental health and our physical health and our relationships. And I think it's just important to remember that, no one is tapping their watch at you to create content and just take care of yourself.
We all like to do the whole tortured artist thing, delay it. There's gotta be a point, right? You gotta, you gotta function. You're no good to anybody. If you can't be alive anymore. So take care of yourselves.
Rae Leigh: I love that. If you take care of yourself, you can be better for everyone else and you can inspire other people to take care of themselves. And if we all take care of ourselves, we don't need someone else to take care of us.
Your Man Alex Smith: Yeah.
Rae Leigh: what I present. Anyway. Just steal. I'm stealing that one from him.
Anyway, I'm going to put your links to your music and your YouTube and your socials and everything on the description of the podcast
And it'll also be a blog on songwriters.com and it'll be a full feature and we'll put your promos and everything like that up on the social. So, Yeah.
I'm looking forward to sharing your music and I, I think you're an amazing entertainer.
And I think you've got skills in all areas that you need to, you.
know, do this business. So don't be so hard on yourself and I'm really glad that you've done what you've done and I look forward to seeing what comes
next.
Your Man Alex Smith: Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.
