Lex Land

Lex Land
Background information
Born (1986-12-25) December 25, 1986
Origin Orange County, California, US
Genres jazz, alternative rock, pop rock, folk
Occupation(s) Singer, musician, songwriter
Instruments Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, Bass
Years active 2003–present
Associated acts Gavin Castleton, Happy Body Slow Brain, Rebecca Loebe, Joshua James, Nakia, Meiko
Website www.lexland.net

Alexa Holland (born December 25, 1986), better known by the stage name Lex Land, is an American singer-songwriter and jazz vocalist from Los Angeles, CA, currently residing in Austin, Texas.[1] She was a contestant on the second season of NBC's singing competition The Voice. Land is also the artist behind electro-pop collaborative effort, Moorhaunter.

She is the daughter of Dexter Holland, lead singer of the American punk rock band The Offspring.[2]

Independent label Intelligent Noise Records (Joshua James, Alvin Band, Roll the Tanks), released her first two albums: Orange Days on Lemon Street in 2008, and Were My Sweetheart to Go... in 2011. INR's founder, Shannon Edgar, who also produced the records, discovered Land's demo recordings on MySpace in the Fall of 2006. These bedroom recordings were created in her Lemon Street apartment in Orange, CA on Garageband during her stint at Chapman University studying classical voice. Land dropped out and relocated to Los Angeles in 2007, after several months of train rides between Orange and Burbank to record and produce Orange Days on Lemon Street.

Orange Days on Lemon Street, released on March 25, 2008, received much critical acclaim and immediately rose to #1 on the iTunes (then-)Folk Chart. Songs from the album were featured on several TV soundtracks, including Private Practice,[3] Castle,One Tree Hill, and Pretty Little Liars.[4] Orange Days features musicians Craig Macintyre, Frank Coglitore, Peter Adams, Lance Konnerth, and a guest appearance by guitarist Del Casher. A US tour ensued in support of the album with fellow singer-songwriters Joshua James,[5] Justin Townes Earle, Will Dailey, and Amber Rubarth.

In 2009, she performed as the last live in-studio guest for NBC's Last Call With Carson Daly. She has performed live twice on Los Angeles station KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic: once in 2009[6] and again in 2011.[7] The 2011 performance showcased Land fronting the Gavin Castleton Trio (as her backing band), with guest guitarist Isaac Bolivar (Happy Body Slow Brain, Taking Back Sunday, Seal).[8]

After relocating to Austin, TX in 2009, Land pursued vocal jazz, playing events regularly with pianist Kevin Lovejoy and other Austin jazz greats. During this time she continued working with Intelligent Noise in Los Angeles to record and finish her second release. In 2010, she began participating more regularly in other bands in the Austin area, especially fellow singer-songwriters Jordan Moser and Danny Malone, as a backing vocalist and auxiliary instrumentalist. She is often a musical guest of Texas-famous Bob Schneider. Land performed at the SXSW Festival in 2009, 2010, and in 2012 - the 2012 performance taking place only a few days after the airing of her The Voice elimination episode.

Her sophomore release, Were My Sweetheart to Go..., was less successful and was reviewed by many as too eclectic.[9][10] However, songs from this album have also been featured on television, including ABC's Castle and FOX's Bones. Sweetheart features several of the musicians from her debut as well as Sean Hurley, Billy Mohler, Aaron Sterling, and singer-songwriter Gavin Castleton on background vocals for Pas de Deux. Castleton, Land, and Happy Body Slow Brain toured together in support of their respective albums released in 2011- Lex's Sweetheart, Gavin's Won Over Frequency (both appearing on each others'), and HBSB's Dreams of Water. In support of Sweetheart, she and touring bandmates Javier Torres and Gray Robertson, and local pianist Joshua Piper, performed live at Austin's KUT Studio 1a in 2011.

After her stint as a member of Team Blake Shelton on Season 2 of The Voice, Land began recording her third as-yet-unreleased album, It Will Reveal Itself. It is slated for independent release in Spring 2017.

“She’s a great songwriter. She makes herself very vulnerable and her lyrics are revealing about relationships and all those universal themes we love. She really separates herself from the pack with her demeanor and her lyrics. She’s got attitude, she’s cool.” - Jason Bentley [11]

Discography

Background Vocal Album Credits

The Voice

Round Order Song Original Artist Notes
Blind Auditions 6 "I Can't Make You Love Me" Bonnie Raitt Adam Levine, CeeLo Green, and Blake Shelton turned their chairs,
Joined Team Blake
Battle Rounds 2 "Pumped Up Kicks" Foster the People Eliminated
Lost to Charlotte Sometimes

References

  1. ↑ Evan C. Jones (March 15, 2010). "Lex Land Interview: SXSW 2010". Spinner. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Reality TV Run Over For Offspring's Offspring". Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  3. ↑ Naycircuitsweet (May 25, 2011). "Lex Land Readies sophomore release "Were My Sweetheart to go"". AltSounds. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  4. ↑ Lara Martin (March 3, 2012). "The Voice's Lex Land: 'Getting new fan base is rewarding, validating'". Digital Spy. Retrieved April 28, 2012.
  5. ↑ http://www.spinner.com/2010/03/15/lex-land-interview-sxsw-2010/
  6. ↑ http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb/mb090407lex_land
  7. ↑ http://www.kcrw.com/music/programs/mb/mb110913lex_land
  8. ↑ http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=2621052
  9. ↑ http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2011-08-12/lex-land-were-my-sweetheart-to-go/
  10. ↑ http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/146422-lex-land-were-my-sweetheart-to-go/
  11. ↑ http://blogs.kcrw.com/musicnews/2011/06/lex-land-artist-you-should-know/
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