ALEX WALL
MEET ALEX WALL
Alex Wall is a 39 year old songwriter and recording artist from the Portland, Maine area.
Recording and performing since the mid 1980's, Alex was part of the first wave of alternative artists to sweep across the Portland music scene in the early 1990's.
Alex is know for playing all the instruments and performing all the vocals in his recorded music. However, occassionally guests do make appearances [ie. his father, Alec Wall plays guitar on Slow Down--you can hear this tune in the music section].
ALEX WALL
DISCOGRAPHY
Early Band Recordings
1985 EP - HIDE AWAY / ILLEGAL JAM (1984-1986)
Words by Dan Connor. Music by Alex (Chuck) Wall, Jeff Goddard, Jim Landry, and Bernard Willimann.
1. Def-Con 4
2. Mystery Face
3. City Sirens
4. Hide
5. The Cat's Blues
1985 LP - MAINE ROCKS! / ILLEGAL JAM (POLYGRAM--Maine Musicians Association)
Words by Dan Connor. Music by Alex (Chuck) Wall, Jeff Goddard, Jim Landry and Bernard Willimann.
Single: DefCon 4
1986 EP - FROSTBITE / ICE (1986-1992)
Words by Alex Wall. Music by Alex (Chuck) Wall, Jeff Goddard, Jim Landry and Bernard Willimann. Performed by Alex (Chuck) Wall, Scott Blackstone and Chris Kyle.
1. Dead Silence
2. Before We Met
3. Ice
1987 Single - WSGD / ICE
Words by Alex Wall. Music by Alex (Chuck) Wall, Scott Blackstone and Chris Kyle.
1988 Single - FREE / ICE
Words by Alex Wall. Music by Alex (Chuck) Wall, Scott Blackstone and Chris Kyle.
SOLO AMBIENT ALBUMS
1990 - WINTERFALL
1. November Snow
2. Prelude
3. Moon on Sea Fantasy
4. Dreams of Asia
5. Blue Window
1993 - MONSTERS OF LIGHT
1. Land of Light
2. Okeanos
3. Youth Requiem
4. Hesper the Evening Star
5. Conquerer of Men
2002 - PSYCHOAMBIENCE
1. Aether
2. Broken Wave
3. Luminescence
4. Pollination
5. Sample Salad
6. Euphoria
2005 - NOVAVOX
1. Nova Vox
2. A New Leaf
3. Resolving
4. Shadow Club
5. Tuning In
6. Edge Of Autumn
SOLO VOCAL ALBUMS
1984-1988 - ALTERED SOUL / VOLUME 1
1. Crystal Waters (1984)
2. Goodbye 1 (1984)
3. Kristiane (1986)
4. Forever 1 (1986)
5. Untitled (1988)
6. Wooden Nails 1 (1988)
7. Blue Skies (1988)
8. Goodbye 2 (1988)
9. Forever 2 (1988)
10. Gates of Avalon (1988)
11. A War of Roses (1988)
12. White Sands (1988)
13. Windy Child (1988)
1989-1994 - ALTERED SOUL / VOLUME 2
1. Wooden Nails 2 (1989)
2. In the Son (1989)
3. Once Below a Time (1989)
4. Rain (1989)
5. The Ones Who Knew (1989)
6. In the Sea (1990)
7. I Am (1990)
8. Can't Fool My Love (1990)
9. Come Alive (1993)
10. To Swim Against the Tide (1994)
1993 - A COLLECTION OF SIMPLE SONGS
1. Waiting for Morning
2. Indian Sunrise
3. Goodbye 3
4. Ashes and Dust
5. Guns and Clocks
6. Spring Has Come
9. Wooden Nails
7. Aria
8. Gen X
1996 - CALL OF THE RETURN (UNPUBLISHED)
1. Autumn's Question
2. Winter Evening Song
3. Asia
4. Zoroaster 1
5. Only One
6. Salt Dance
7. Call of the Return
8. Blue Dawn Flower
9. Son of Man
10. Infiniternity (Instrumental)
1998 - MOONFLOWER
1. Sky Blue
2. Moonflower / Prophecy
3. Passing Away
4. Sera
5. Angel Sap
6. Mo Mourning
7. Time, It Flys
8. Stitch
9. Youth Requiem
2000 - WAKE TO DREAM
1. Harmony
2. Mary Mag
3. The End of Days
4. Noah
5. Wake to Dream
6. Funky Star
7. America's World
8. Wild Iris
9. Three Circles
10. Pink Mountain View
2001 - KNOWMAD
1. Katydid
2. Overwaiting
3. Practice
4. The River
2002 - BLUE AGE
1. Revolution #7
2. Stutter Fog
3. Mighty Men of Old
4. Angel Falls
5. Mighty Men of New
6. Timothy's Wilderness
7. Salvia divinorum
8. Knowmad
9. ViaKing / PsyAttic
2003 - B SIDES...
1. President Dick
2. Blood Tide
3. Beyond Today
4. Morning Star
5. Market Girl
2006 - LET'S SLOW DOWN
1. Daydreaming
2. Dark World
3. Slow Down
4. Windows
2006 - TANTRUM
1. Light Of The Sun
2. Candle After Dawn
3. Mourning Song
4. Violet Wave
5. Daydreaming
6. Dark World
7. Slow Down
8. Windows
9. I Won't Cry
10. Chosen One
11. Life Carrier
12. Firefly
13. Follow Me
2007 - LEXICON (STILL BEING RECORDED)
1. Sexy Love
2. The Cost
3. Make Love
4. Unrequited May
5. Very Well
6. Secret Place
Statistics
[04-07-07] Currently there are 111 songs, recorded on 12 albums, and 22 instrumental pieces, recorded on 4 albums, making 16 separate albums, consisting of 133 seperate tracks, or well over 600 minutes of music.
I've been singing, writing songs, playing bass, guitar, keyboards and have been recording for about 25 years (as of 2007).
My recorders have been...
1984 Mom and Dad bought me a Ross 4x4 4-track cassette recorder (sold 1992).
1989 I bought Tascam 1644 4-track cassette recorder (lost in 1991 house fire).
1991 I bought a Tascam PortaStudio 488 8-track cassette recorder (sold in 1996).
1997 I bought a Vestax HDR 8-track digital hard disk recorder (still own).
2002 I bought a Fostex VF80 8-track digital hard disk recorder (still own).
2005 I bought a Korg D32XD 32-track digital hard disk recorder (still own).
I have played with...
Alec Wall (Dad), Jeff Goddard, Thomas Snow, Pat Sellick, Jim Landry, Dan Connor, Todd Coffin, Greg Johnson, Bernard Willimann, David Brooks, Scott Blackstone, Chris Kyle, Jeff Brown, Dawna Marden, Nick Marden, Sam Elowich, Gene Bukatub, Dan Boyce, Alex Nyan, Mark Waldron, Amy Locke, Steve Marquis, Gary Wright, Glen Philbrick, Erica Russell, Rich DiCaprio, Lou Morin, Lew Wall, Rick Erwin, Nancy Wall-Loving, Alan Frey...and many, many others.
Thanks for Financial Assistance and/or Advice from...
Barbara Coyne (Mom), Alec Wall (Dad), Deb Wall-Hamilton (Sissa), Helena* and Sid Sprague, Helen Erwin, Sandy and Betty Wall, Lissi Erwin, Nate Erwin, Lew Wall, Lynn Clark, Nancy Wall-Loving, Ginny Martin, Rick Erwin, Gini and Tom Erwin, David Loving, Rick Hamilton, Pam Loving, Jay Coyne, Heather Duram, Cailin Duram, and Cheryle Gioud.
* TANTRUM (the album) and "Mourning Song" (the song), are both dedicated to the memory of HELENA SPRAGUE (1917-2004), my grandmother, mentor and friend. Without her generous gifts TANTRUM and all the albums that follow it, would not have been possible.
ALEX WALL
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
My full name is Alexander Charles Wall. I was born July 28, 1968.
I grew up in Yarmouth, Maine and graduated from Yarmouth High School in 1987. This might give you some idea which era’s affected my growth as a musician and songwriter—blues, jazz, folk, classic rock, punk, new wave, progressive, alternative, art rock, eclectic, experimental, space music, electronica, ambient, etc., from the 1970’s to now.
In 1980 John Lennon was shot. I woke up on that December morning not even knowing who he was and went to bed that night resolving to become a musician like him and to write and record songs. I simply couldn’t believe (at 12 years old) that an artist or musician could be so intensely and internationally mourned. I’d seen what happened when Elvis died some years before, but the influence of Lennon’s death and constant, periodic resurgences of Beatles music—as I’m sure I don’t have to tell you—is still affecting music to this day.
Though I started off by playing trumpet, over the winter of 1980 to 1981 my dad taught me the basics of bass guitar and then six-string electric guitar. He would later teach me what makes chords major, minor, diminished, augmented, etc. We (my dad and I) played blues, jazz, and rock, even wrote a few songs. Looking back, he was the best teacher I could have had at the beginning.
Over the next seven years my mom (and dad) taught me some piano and I taught myself how to read and write music. I had extensive theory training in school from three great jazz/rock teachers, and then also at Maine Jazz Camp (three summers), learning from the crème de la crème of great Maine Jazz artists and teachers. I loved and still love jazz, but folk and rock were always more appealing to me. Yet, blues, jazz, and even country do contribute to my music as well.
In the spring of 1981 I formed my first rock group, what would become “The Wizzards” (1981-1984—pictures available on my site), playing bass and then guitar. It was the first rock band to ever play at the Yarmouth Intermediate School. We got better over the summer, and I had begun learning guitar. The music director (“Mr. Ham”) of the high school let us use the school’s PA system and music room to practice.
Immediately he let us play after school band concerts. The first time we played after one of these concerts, the crowd went insane, flooding off the bleachers and swarming all over us when we finished. This reaction affirmed my belief that music was my future.
Other bands began to form at the school and we merged and divided into different combinations, until finally settling on “Illegal Jam” (1984-1986—pictures available on my site). That band swept through the Maine Rock-Off, winning it in 1985. We won recording time and new instruments.
We were the only high school band at that time to be playing bars and clubs all over Maine. When we were playing back then, no high school bands did original songs. Our original song, “DefCon4”, was included on Polygram’s “Maine Rocks!” album. I got my first 4-track cassette recorder.
Despite what many people might think about Maine being remote or back assed, Maine had (and still has) a very progressive and cosmopolitan culture that highly values art, music and writing. Frankly, I’m glad that this is not common knowledge, because we have also preserved our rural and coastal heritage along with the most beautiful land in the world, if everyone knew this we would become Massachusetts!
Illegal Jam broke up in 1986 and “Ice” (1986-1991—pictures available on my site) was begun. We mostly played school dances, bars and clubs. We recorded several songs. It was around this time that I began recording myself independently. I recorded every chance I got. I recorded Ice as well. We won the Maine Rock Off in 1986.
In 1991 I rejoined some of the Illegal Jam guys again, as “The Sense”. I played keyboards. We were very popular all over New England, touring extensively from Maine to New Jersey. The Sense won numerous awards before I joined and also after I left in 1994 to finish college. Eventually they turned into “Goud’s Thumb” signed by Critique and BMG. I graduated from the University of Southern Maine with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ancient Near East and East Asian History that same year.
I am also a non-fiction writer (published “The Omega Diagrams”, available from The Morning Star Foundation), graphic artist, and amateur physical theorist; I’m developing a theory linking physics to metaphysics through mathematics, called “Metaphorics: A Unified Reality Theory”. My interest in history, religion, philosophy, and science, plus the other subjects mentioned might help to explain why I never considered (until recently) permanently giving my life over to music.
From 1994 to 2001 I wrote, recorded and built up a recording studio (with recorders and equipment described on my site). In 1998, with my first eight track digital recorder I completed “Moonflower” (9 songs, available to hear on my site, as are all 50 of my songs from 1998 forward). Though there were many recordings before 1998, most of their master tapes were lost in a 1991 house fire. Moonflower was also my first real album, though it was not distributed (digitally or otherwise) until 2006.
Since 2000 I’ve been working as a Direct Care Professional with about 20 mentally disabled people, for The Pine Tree Society of Maine. Before that I was a banker (1998-2000), shipping specialist (1996-1999), owned a desktop publishing business (1993-1997), and mobile recording studio (1994-1996), and a newspaper of Maine art and music (called, “Cradle”, from 1996-1997). Since 1998 I have owned “Omega Art and Music”, the company that publishes my work.
My other albums are as follows…In 2000 I finished “Wake To Dream” (10 songs), in 2001 “Knowmad” (4 songs), in 2002 “Blue Age” (9 songs), in 2004 “BSides…” (5 songs), and now in 2006 “Tantrum” (13 songs).
Tantrum was almost not completed because about halfway through, on February 27th, 2006, I almost died from a sudden, freak heart attack. Surviving this little setback, and then actually finishing the recording process, moved this album’s song meanings beyond coincidence and irony, and in to premonition and prophecy. For me it was a revelation and a “commandment” to make music the biggest part of my life. I finally realized that music had been the one steady thing in my life since I was a child.
Now, in 2007, I am working on my next album, LEXICON. I feel the overwhelming need to try as hard as I can to have my music heard by as many people as possible. – ALEX WALL