Alex Dezen

Alex Dezen (born June 26, 1978) is a solo artist and the lead singer and songwriter for the American rock and roll band The Damnwells.^[1] He is also a multi-platinum selling songwriter.^[2] He holds an MFA degree in English from The University of Iowa's Iowa Writers' Workshop, which he attended from 2008-2010 as a Jeffrey G. and Victoria J. Edwards Fellow.^[3] As a songwriter, he has written and released songs for artists such as Justin Bieber, Matt Hires, Court Yard Hounds, The Veronicas, and others. He has also written for and worked with a number of additional artist such as The Dixie Chicks, Dave Grohl, Gary Louris of The Jayhawks, Sara Bareilles, Christina Perri, Genevieve Schatz of Company of Thieves, Simple Plan, Jesse & Joy, Bun E. Carlos and many others. He is currently signed to Warner Chappell Music Publishing.^[4]

Career

A series of 4 solo EPs, known as "The Bedhead EPs," were released throughout 2014. The first one, titled 1/4, was released on January 21, 2014.^[5][6] The second, titled 2/4, was released on April 22, 2014, and was accompanied by a video, which premiered on the website for American Songwriter magazine.^[7] The 3rd EP, titled 3/4, was released on July 22, 2014^[8] The final EP in the series, 4/4, was released on December 30, 2014.^[9]

In 2015, he collaborated with the American dance company Pilobolus, composing the music for the dance piece Wednesday Morning, 11:45 (2015), which premiered at The American Dance Festival in Durham, NC, on June 15, 2015.^[10][11]

The Damnwells eponymous fifth studio album, featuring the original four members, was released on April 14, 2015.^[12]

On November 3, 2015, Dezen announced a PledgeMusic project of songs written in early 2015 to be released as his first solo album.^[13] The project reached its crowdfunding goal in one week. The self-titled album was released by Rock Ridge Music on February 12, 2016, followed by a 9-hour, free internet concert where Dezen performed acoustic versions of every song he has ever released over his 15-year career either with The Damnwells or as a solo artist, including a live, full-band performance of the self-titled solo album live at the High Watt in Nashville, TN.^[14] The footage is still available online view Dezen's YouTube channel.^[15]

On August 23, 2016, Dezen announced another Pledge Music campaign for his second solo album, releasing the song and video for "Randolph Tonight" exclusively to Pledgers.^[16]

Notable song credits

References