I AM SO EXCITED!

Midnight Driving is officially released...you can now purchase it by going to my "store" tab! 

This is the first single off my upcoming album Pure Unadulterated Me. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to have it out in the world. I also cannot tell you how scary that is! Eek! 

Thank you thank you THANK YOU to all of you for helping make amazing things happen for me.

Xoxoxo,
Alex

Sooo, guess where I spent the weekend? Hah, if you have looked at Facebook or Twitter, then I suppose you know the answer to that! Oklahoma! I went to Cimarron Sound Lab in Tahlequah, OK to record my album. 
Hee hee hee hee hee!!!

As many of you know, this was my first studio experience. It could NOT have been better!!! It's hard to even exclaim how amazing it was for me. There is so much to say! So much to show!

First of all, there was the atmosphere. The studio is set up to look like a cabin. It is full of rustic touches and beautiful native artwork. I was able to stay at the studio as a travelling artist, and being surrounded in the feel of the place was amazing. Every morning I would sit with my coffee watching flock of Cardinals, Blue Jays, and other beautiful birds dance around the yard. It was so relaxing, joyful, and inspiring. I made quite a dent in the notebook I had with me! 

Next, Jeff, my producer/engineer, was absolutely fantastic. We dug into the songs and every one took on a life of its own. Once we got into a song, ideas would start flying and the creativity was just bouncing off the walls. He showed me everything he was doing and explained all the intricacies of how the recording process works. I learned so much from him and it made me want to stay there forever!   

My drummer was fantastic also. Jeff had brought him in, and I am so glad he did. The man is a machine on the drums. He brought individual flavor to each track and was able to understand exactly what I wanted, even though I didn't know the proper terms to describe it (I learned a lot of terms this weekend too, lol). He was also just a fun guy to be around. That is so important. It kills me that he's the only session musician I got to meet. We have a couple other musicians coming in to lay down some auxiliary instruments and I really wish I could go back down to be there!!! 

Still, the amount we accomplished in a single weekend is mind-blowing. We worked over 12 hours a day and it seemed to pass so quickly, yet at the same time, I feel like I lived an entire life in three days. I never could have imagined the songs sounding as good as they did this weekend, and I know it's just going to get better. It makes me so happy I could cry.  

One last note...Meet Geo. He's the studio mascot. He doesn't like having his picture taken. Poor puppy.

Wow...looking back at the last year, I am just amazed at how things have gone.
2011 did not start out as a very good year for me. I was sad, I had health issues, and it often times seemed like the world was working against me. I decided to take control. I'm amazed at the results.

At the beginning of the year I started on a mission to eat nutritiously and work out. I tracked all of my food and exercise on a free website. It was a major eye opener for me and as a result I am down 90 pounds and counting. As often happens with these things, not only did it help some of the health issues, but it made me happier and more confident as well.

Around March I had a major turning point where I realized that I was under a very bizarre assumption that I needed to temper myself to not annoy people. The moment the realization hit me, it was like a switch being flipped. Suddenly I was able to let myself be me...fully me. This had a HUGE impact not only on my personal life, but my aspirations as well.  I started writing more music...better music in my opinion. I started networking with my music online. I was meeting other people in the music business.

The next big turning point came in June. I had two separate instances of being asked to play for an event. I love to perform, but there isn't much around locally, and therefore only did gigs once in a great while. I realized I was so happy to have two shows in a two month period and decided to dig around to see if there was more I could be doing. Amazingly, after I set my mind to it, I started doing regular gigs. Some are closer than others, and all are amazing experiences.

Everything has snowballed since then. Not only am I planning a tour next summer through 7 states in the midwest, but thanks to the amazing support you all give me, I will be releasing an album next year as well. Who'd a thunk it?

There really is no amount of thanks that I could give that would ever truly express how grateful I am to every one of you. I could never have had the snowball success I've had without the support I've received. I love all y'all so so so much.

So...here's to ending a year with all the groundwork for an even more amazing new year. Never forget that no matter where your life is at the moment, incredible opportunities are always around the corner. All you have to do is grab them.

Xoxoxo,
Alex

Today is the launch of my Kickstarter campaign to fund my studio album! I have had such great support from y'all and I am hoping you will choose to be a part of my debut studio album. I can't wait to see your faces smiling at me from the album insert!

Wait what?

It's all in the REWARDS darling! You didn't think I wouldn't want to give anything back to you for your support did you?

You can check out the Kickstarter campaign, all it's rewards, and progress HERE:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/alexcartwright/alex-cartwright-fan-funded-studio-album

I hope you enjoy the video as much as I enjoyed making it. :-)

Xoxoxo
~Alex

I am hoping you are able to click on that to see it larger, because there is so much fine detail in it. I was blown away. How freaking COOL is that? He made this picture, by hand, while listening to my music, for me. I can't even tell you how much I love it and how happy it makes me. Now that I've safely scanned the image and saved it electonically, it is going into a frame and hanging in my music studio. <3<3<3

Love love love love love it!

Hey y'all!I just had such a fantastic weekend. I started things off with a show out at Coffee Rules in Hays, KS. There was one gentleman there who had been walking by, saw live music going on, and came in to listen. When I took my break, I went and hung out with him. I love meeting people! He was so fun to talk to...I hope he'll come to more of my shows.

Saturday hubby man and I packed up our son and went to Hutchinson for the Kansas State Fair. I also happened to be playing a gig in Hutchinson at Metropolitan Coffee that evening. I am never one to pass up an opportunity for attention, so I made a shirt stating "Alex Cartwright Live Tonight @ Metropolitan Coffee" and handed out flyers to anyone that would let me stuff a piece of paper into their hand. I don't know how many actually came to the show, but it was fun anyway.

It was not, however, as fun as the concert itself! There were several things about the evening that were awesome. First up, I adore the owners of Metropolitan Coffee, so it's always great to see them. I feel like I've known them forever instead of just a few weeks. You should definitely check them out if you are ever in the area (www.metrocoffeehutch.com). It was also a full house. There were lots of people packed into that coffee shop, which is always good to see.

...and lastly...I got asked out of the blue to do an interview with an online radio station! How FUN is that? I was so flattered and they were so nice! In fact...they turned out to be BEYOND nice!

CHECK IT OUT: http://lydia-lowe.blogspot.com/2011/09/alex-cartwright.html

They sent me a link this morning...I went from being groggy to bouncing in about point two milliseconds.

SOOOOO...lots of fun, as you can see. I will be posting a few photos from the gig a little later this week.

Xoxoxo,
Alex

I had the most amazing experience last night. I was performing at The Wilmore Saturday Nite Live. I played my song "Searchin," which as many of you know, is a song about my Father-in-law passing away from cancer. After the show, a woman came up to me asking me about where she could find the song online to listen to it more. She said that her husband passed away from cancer five months ago and then started crying. I hugged her and she told me that he had been her whole life.

To have a complete stranger not only connect with my song like that, but to share it with me, is just such an amazing blessing. I am so lucky to be able to do what I do.

I just love people so so so much. <3<3<3

It is Sunday, so for my featured video this week, I have put up a live performance of Searching. Click the media tab to watch.

Xoxoxo,
Alex

Hey y'all!

SO much has been happening lately. I am so incredibly blessed. My son Nicholas and I took a trip up to my home turf (MN)  for a little over a week. I had an awesome gig at Beaner's while I was up there. Minnesotans are awesome audiences.  I got to see lots of family too which is always so nice.

My godmother, baby bro, and I took Nicholas camping for the first time. He was a natural. I could not believe how much he loved it and how good he was with it. He even had a fairly natural stroke with the paddle in the canoe. That kid constantly blows my mind.

Speaking of my boy-o...he is going to be FOUR on Tuesday. We had a birthday party for him yesterday and he had the best time. He wanted a Cars theme, which was a lot of fun to put together. Here is a picture of his birthday cake/cupcake spread. It was so much fun to decorate everything.
 

Last night I played at Cafe Semolino in Hays, KS for the first time. If you've never been there...go! They have the most delicious espresso I've ever tasted. The beans were so so so yummy, I think I may have to buy stock in the roasting company. I am a self-professed coffee snob and I was completely blown away by the quality of that coffee. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Thanks to all of you for your continuing support!

Xoxoxo,
Alex

This has been the longest weekend...and it's been FUN! I don't care what "they" say; sometimes having fun makes time seem to last forever because you KNOW it is the type of fun that affects you forever.

I played at The Well in McPherson, KS on Friday night. The staff, the customers, heck everyone...was/were just wonderful. One customer in particular was making me smile so much. He got up in the middle of this bookstore/coffee shop and was dancing his heart away. I love people like that. I really cannot wait to play there again.

Check out The Well at http://www.inthewell.com or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/inthewell and tell them I sent you.

Last night I played at Coffee Rules in Hays, KS. Much smaller crowd, but we still had fun. The guy and gal working there were super super nice. I really enjoyed talking with them. Sometimes the really small shows can be the best too because you can goof off. At one point I put my guitar down, stepped outside, and shouted to a group in the yard of a house across the street, "HEY WE'VE GOT AC AND LIVE MUSIC! GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE!"

They didn't, but it was fun anyway :-D

Today seems like a bonus because feel like this weekend has lasted forever. That sometimes happens when you are busy making amazing memories. I'm going to try to get some work done in my little recording room today. I'm slowly learning about how to do home recordings. Sloooowly. It is a fun 

I love Sundays. There is something just so relaxed about a Sunday. I've usually settled into my weekend by the time Sunday rolls around. I might have some things to do around the house, but usually I get all of the craziness taken care of on Saturday. One of my favorite things is curling up in big comfy armchair with a latte watching my son and hubby man goof around. Picture perfect. :-)

This is going to be a REALLY fun week. There is a new featured video of the week up on the media page, so definitely check that out (and every week check back!). I have gigs at two venues I've never played before this weekend, so I'm super excited about them. If all that wasn't enough I even have NEW SONGS to debut at these gigs! I love love love the excitement I get sharing a new song with people. I live for it.

I hope you all have fantastic weeks ahead of you as well