Rediscovering Alex Band~ Former Lead Singer/Song writer/Performer of The Calling!

Although this blog is about a Band, it is not about a Band that’s an actual Band! Confused? OK then~ this ought to clear things up: The Band that I'm referring to is actually a person!  Currently, give or take a record or two, 30-year-old Alex Max Band, (a/k/a Alex Band) has sold over 8 million records.  Moreover, the chances are pretty good that you either own one of Band’s songs right now, or else you have recently sang along with one while listening to the radio! While you may or may not be familiar with or recognize the name Alex Band, the fact of the matter here is that unless you are a baby; was just born yesterday; or have been living on some other planet up until now, the odds are very good that you are quite familiar with the sound of the voice. Born June 8th, 1981 in Los Angeles, California, Alex Band is the former lead vocalist, songwriter, and performer from a California-based rock group known throughout the world since 2001 as The Calling!  Band's latest biography informs us of the fact that the inspiring sound of his powerful, emotionally charged voice is often instantly recognizable to millions of music lovers, thanks to The Calling’s modern-day classics like Adrienne, Our Lives and their chart-topping Mega-hit song, Wherever You Will Go!  At the end of 2009, Billboard Magazine, a popular weekly music publication that has been in existence for 109 years, named Wherever You Will Go as “The #1 Song of the Decade” on its Adult Pop Chart. (Billboard is a music trade publication that Record label executives, recording artists, musicians, record producers etc. often refer to as being “The Bible of the Music Industry.”) The popularity of Wherever You Will Go and the impact that it has had on people totally amazes Alex Band. Perhaps it all has something to do with the song’s meaning? Band, who was just 16 when he wrote the song explains its origin: “It was written at a time when my friends Grandmother’s best friend had passed away. She had left behind a husband of fifty or more years and I was at the funeral and afterwards, I just started thinking of what it would be like to be him and have your whole life change so dramatically and not for the best in a matter of moments… Somebody that you live and grow with and are one with, just to be gone, is crazy and I figured all he ever thinks about probably is finding a way to get back to her or be with her or make sure she’s alright or something like that. That was the sentiment behind that song.” After parting ways with The Calling 6 years ago and opting to go solo, Alex had been in Musical Exile for the most part. However, between trying to have some sort of a private life; doing an occasional small tour here and there; charity work; writing songs; sorting out legal issues pertaining to his relationships with the Recording Industry; and doing his best to maintain his sanity, he certainly had had an awful lot on his plate to keep himself busy while being out of the limelight! From the moment when you first meet Alex, it becomes quite obvious that Alex Band is a person of class, and that he’s also someone who treasures true friendships and has the deepest of respect for others. To sum up his persona in a nutshell, people that meet him might likely be very much inclined to say this: "Alex Max Band is an extremely polite, charming, charismatic, caring, and down-to-earth but yet professional, easily and very likable individual.” With all of that being the case, it’s no wonder then that millions of his dedicated fans often attest to his loyalty; to the tight bond that exists between them. Numerous world-wide Fan Club board postings, Chat Room discussions, MySpace blogs, Facebook comments, and Twitter Tweets all display an almost countless number of positive testimonies and other good things to say from fans everywhere. The artist/fan love relationship that Band and his fans share and enjoy seems incredible in itself; especially when one takes it into consideration that he managed to maintain and even add to his undeniably huge world-wide fan base regardless of the fact that he had been out of the mainstream media for 5 years.  Regardless of the fact that he's no longer a teen, Alex has managed to maintain his youthful boyish good looks; but after growing tired of going through the salon ordeal just to dye his hair blond, he chose to allow it to grow back to his natural chestnut brown color. It’s evident too, that he has matured somewhat, both musically and personally; and this adult maturity seems to suit him well. Evidence of this is perfectly demonstrated through his meaningful song lyrics, and also by the deep compassion that he has for mankind’s well-being. Throughout most of his career, Band has worked with several charities. However, because of an illness that his ex-wife dealt with, Alex has zeroed himself in on one in particular, and has became a huge supporter of educating the public to become more aware of the importance of organ donation, working closely with the charity, Donate Life America. In October of 2007, the singer performed at his first Alex Band's Donate Life Rocks Concert to raise money and awareness for the cause, and he has continued to do so annually ever since. Each year Debbie Hagerman, who runs his official fan site, organizes a birthday charity project in Band's name asking in lieu of gifts that fans donate to his favorite charity instead. In addition, a calendar is produced each year too; one showcasing Alex in concert and all proceeds from its sales go to The Alex Band Education Fund for Donate Life. To date, these projects have raised over $30,000 in honor of the singer. Recently, Donate Life Hollywood proudly awarded Alex Band the #2 spot in its 2010 Hollywood Person of the Year Award!  Band’s first full-length Solo CD entitled, We’ve All Been There, was released in the USA on June 29th, 2010, and then world-wide soon thereafter. The14 song CD was co-produced by Band, along with Matt Serletic (Rob Thomas, Collective Soul); John Fields (Switchfoot, Jonas Brothers); and Tal Herzberg (Black Eyes Peas, Christina Aguilera). After leaving RCA/BMG 5 years ago, Alex signed with Ron Fair at Interscope/Geffen Records as a solo artist. However, due to a rapidly changing music business, he decided to leave Geffen and major labels in general and instead, to release his music here in the United States on his very own label called AMB Records. According to Band’s official Bio, International Releases of the CD will be on the EMI Records Label because of their excellent marketing capabilities. In addition, EMI will also solely be in charge of the handling of the CD’s distribution world-wide. Alex is currently touring with some awesome new musicians; performing old favorites from The Calling days and many of his great recently released songs as well. If you wish to check to see if Alex will be touring in your area, you can do that by logging onto Alex’s website at alexband.net.   In addition to touring, Alex also continues to do some occasional acoustic radio promotions in order to help promote his awesome new songs. As for the recently released album, the songs & the musicianship are all of excellent quality; outstanding! Playing alongside Band, who plays guitars and several of the bass lines, were some of the best musicians on the planet, including drummers Abe Laboriel Jr., Dorian Crozier and Kenny Aronoff, keyboard player Jamie Muhoberac and guitarist Tim Pierce. The renowned Paul Buckmaster (Elton John’s ’70s classics) contributed string arrangements to several tracks, and Chris Lord-Alge mixed the album, as he’d done with The Calling. Several singles from We've All Been There & Videos associated with them have officially been released to radio and to the media, and like the album, they too are also available for purchase on iTunes, at most FYE Music Stores, and on Alex's website. For additional information about Alex Band, visit his official website at www.alexband.net.  You can also view his videos there, listen to many of his songs, check out the merchandise that's available for purchase through his on-line store, and be informed as to his latest career updates.   In addition to that, you can also follow him on Twitter, on Facebook, and on MySpace too! 

     From my personal experiences with Alex Band, I can truly tell you that he is an amazing human being; one that's extremely talented, and one that also has an awesome future ahead of him.  Moreover, the story has only just begun, so keep an eye out for my future blogs on Alex right here on Patch!:)