Thursday, April 16, 1998
You can lead a horse to water, but this band wants some sun
MUSIC: Woodard focuses on getting songs heard, finding success
in the biz
By Mike Prevatt
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Upon hearing about the rainy weather Los Angeles has been
experiencing, 25-year-old singer and songwriter Alex Woodard groans
as he laments his upcoming trip to play in Hollywood.
"I don’t need to be comin’ into any chilly weather!" Woodard
says in his best Angeleno accent. "I need some sun! I’m here in
Seattle and, well, y’know, we don’t see the sun much here!"
It seems El Nino is one of the few things standing in the way of
this animated, aspiring rock ‘n’ roller. Upon the completion of
their recently pressed EP, "Horse to Water," and tonight’s
Hollywood Moguls show, Alex Woodard seems poised to conquer the
battlefield that is the L.A. club scene and find outlets ready to
embrace his band’s straightforward rock sound.
A 1994 UCLA grad, Woodard moved to Seattle in 1995 to, as he
says, "do some damage in music." The young musician ended up
founding the band that shares his last name, a band that, without
the support of a record label or professional publicity firm, has
already garnered radio airplay and the up-and-coming reputation.
Seattle radio stations have sung their own praise of Woodard, and
The Rocket, a Northwestern music magazine, describes the young
vocalist as "exploring the vocal territory between (Eddie) Vedder
and (Bruce) Springsteen."
Wow. With that said, it’s hard to believe that a few years ago,
Alex Woodard was just learning how to sing and write songs.
"I didn’t start playing guitar ’til really I was at UCLA,"
Woodard says, "probably at 19 or 20. I think I wrote my first song
across from campus in a house. I was a sophomore. I had always
written lyrics, but I had never put it to music because I couldn’t.
I mean, I could play the piano growing up, but who doesn’t (if)
there’s one in the house?"
All Woodard needed was that spark that would eventually make him
a serious musician.
"I remember hearing a song by Toad (the Wet Sprocket) called
"Come Back Down" and for some reason, it just touched a chord with
me, especially the guitar. Somebody showed it to me, like, ‘put
your fingers here!’ and I did that. I figured it out, and that’s
the basis for the first song I wrote … that’s how it
started."
But despite the excitement of creating his first song, Woodard
had other issues to deal with, like school.
"I wasn’t really on the music track when I came to school,"
Woodard admits. "I come from a real conservative family. My plan,
according to (them), was to go to school, get the business
economics degree, get out and work for two to three years and get
my MBA, because that’s what everyone in my family had done. When I
left (UCLA), I decided to get out of L.A."
Woodard didn’t really start playing seriously until he was
encouraged by others in Boston, where he was working to save some
money. After picking up the guitar and playing some solo sets in
coffeehouses, he looked to Seattle for opportunity.
"Seattle kind of beckoned," Woodard says. "This was after the
big grunge thing … but that wasn’t the basis for moving. I just
wanted a better quality of life."
Once in the rainy city, Woodard started auditioning band members
and writing songs. After checking out several musicians and even
going through newspaper ads, he gathered lead guitarist Abel Ames,
bassist Turtle McClory and drummer Doug Stevens together, and
formed Woodard, the band. Within weeks of Ames’ joining, Woodard
was touring, had a CD out and was on the radio.
"This was my first band, for the most part," Woodard reveals. "I
had never done this before. We were just tryin’ to get gigs, get
airplay. I quit my job last June once this started pickin’ up and
I’ve kinda devoted all my efforts since then."
During all this, Woodard had to fine tune both his
guitar-playing skills (he plays rhythm guitar) and his vocals.
While solo, he began to find a niche in music that would later aid
the band in getting recognition. Knowing he had to give the songs
force with just his voice and his guitar, Woodard took the more
aggressive route with his rhythms and approached the vocals in a
more passionate fashion.
"That’s one of the things that got (us) attention early on,"
Woodard says. "On a lot of our acoustic stuff, the rhythmic
strumming is pretty aggressive, and that caught some
attention."
Woodard also owes its simple rock styles to influences who
approach their music in very similar ways.
"I listen to a lot of Counting Crows," Woodard admits. "I think
Adam Durwitz has a great voice, and I like a lot of what they do. I
listened to Springsteen all my life. The thing I like about him is
he revolves a lot around hope. I also like Tom Petty."
Woodard also lists passionate bands like U2, Live and Soul
Asylum as influences, as well as bands he just loves listening to.
He has latched onto such current radio staples as the Wallflowers
and Matchbox 20, bands that both prefer to attract listeners with
catchy songwriting rather than adapting the genre-of-the-moment,
and have wide appeal, which Woodard himself looks for in his own
band.
"When it comes down to it, you need to be able to hear a song on
the radio and connect to it somehow. The great thing about ska is
the energy. But I think that brings in a lot of younger people. I’m
not sure that brings in the Counting Crows or Wallflowers crowd,
which is really key … for us," Woodard states.
The vocalist knows all the important aspects for making good
music. His first realization of making his music accessible
involved the need for money. He funded the production of the demo
CDs himself, using the money he had saved working after college. He
also knew he had to hire professionals to put quality on those
demos.
"You got to take the bull by the horns when it comes to the
money thing, y’know," Woodard proclaims. "I don’t want to say money
makes a difference, but in order to get quality product out … for
example, you need to find a good studio and good engineers."
As a result of wise investments, "important" people have shown
curiosity in Woodard’s music. "There’s a couple of managers with
some serious interest that I’d love to hook up with," Woodard says.
"I probably sent out 60 faxes … told them we’re playing in L.A.
on this date, for a preview copy of the EP, give me a call.
Surprisingly, a good number of people called me and a surprising
good number got the EP and said, ‘Whoa, this is good – we’ll be
there.’"
"We had interest from MCA," Woodard continues, "but that’s
probably not something we’re going after. I’d really like to be on
an indie label distributed by a major (label), like Matchbox 20.
This is not a climate where people come to you and say, ‘We want
you.’ You gotta make yourself available and very well known."
In the search for a label and hopeful success, musicians must
mull over the whole "creative control" issue. Does the artist feel
comfortable working for a money machine that hires style
consultants for image improvement? When a band’s good enough,
should it take the money and record whatever it wants or should it
listen to the A&R people and record music that’s more
accessible? Woodard is hardly shy or hesitant of what other artists
sometimes see as integrity infringement.
"Our band has to find a label to go along with us, as far as the
music goes," Woodard says. "But we feel comfortable giving them the
creative control stake. I’m not stupid. I’ll go along … with a
lot of what a record company wants to do if it meant getting my
songs out, my band on the road … I mean, there’s certain things
you’re not willing to compromise – no question about that. But if
someone’s like, ‘Wear this shirt instead of that one,’ I’ll be,
‘all right,’ whatever. We’ll be fine."
Woodard’s confidence in what his band needs and wants – and what
it takes to get exposure – displays a maturity and awareness that
many naive, young bands simply don’t possess, or ignore. Their
savvy might just bring them the success they’re looking for.
"The band has a good understanding of what we want to be,"
Woodard says. "We understand the role. We’re not that cool or
arrogant to assume we have all the answers."
MUSIC: Woodard plays tonight at 10 p.m. at Hollywood Moguls,
located at 1650 Schrader Blvd., off of Hollywood Boulevard.
UCLA-based jam-band Pod opens for them at 9 p.m. For more
information, call (213) 465-7449.
Photo courtesy of Woodard
"Horse to Water" exemplifies Woodard’s straightforward rock
sound.