We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Winters and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Being in a band or making music was pretty far off of my radar when I first started writing songs, but after realizing that it was in my blood I decided to push myself to try to make it full time. The most pivital moment for me was when I saw William Shatner speak as part of his “It’s His World We Just Live In It” tour. He talked about all of the awesome projects he’d been a part of and that he only ever said yes to things that he thought would be fun to do, not whether he thought they would make money or not. That really spoke to me. And after years of battling with extreme stage fright I realized that if I wanted to do awesome things with my music then I had to start saying yes to things. Which at first meant saying yes to ANYTHING and then everything, and over time I have begun to be more selective in the stuff I say yes to. My stage fright is very much under control now and I couldn’t imagine a me that didn’t make music.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Most of my life has been an exercise in overcoming intense stage fright. It’s only been in the past few years that I can say I’ve been able to move past it. It wasn’t all that long ago that if you and I were sitting in a room and you asked me to play a song for you I would have frozen solid with fear and immediately said no. You may have said “pretty please,” you may have even begged a little, but the response was the same. There was no way in HELL I was going to sing for you because I was so scared that you wouldn’t like it, and I couldn’t bear the thought of rejection. Sure, I had been in a few bands over the years but being in a band is like being in a gang. You always have people surrounding you – pushing you forward, building you up. It’s different when you’re by yourself. You have to overcome, well, YOU. And I don’t know about y’all but my internal dialogue is not typically very positive. I had to start saying yes to things just so I could get over that fear. And slowly but surely through continued perseverance, I have been able to overcome it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh gosh, well first we’d have to go to the Oasis and have dinner at sunset on Lake Travis. That’s always a must for a first-time visitor. Then I’d take them to the Georgetown Square so they could see my stomping grounds. I always say the square is like a little town in and of itself. It’s like a little bar where everyone knows your name. It’s so fun to walk around with your beer/wine from Grape Creek, do some shopping, see some live music at Roots or Barrels and Amps, then stop and have some lavender ice cream at All Things Kids. If we’re lucky we’ll bump into my photographer Rudy Ximenez walking around the square taking pics of the nightlife. I typically gig on the weekend so one of those days we’d probably drag them to a show somewhere, have some food, etc. For the outdoorsey types we might take a hike up Enchanted Rock, it’s so beautiful out there (so long as it’s not a million degrees outside). The rest of the time would probably be spent at our little ranch out in East Georgetown sitting on the porch listening to the neighbor’s cows.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have to give a shoutout to the members of my first band Eleven 69. All of them were so supportive when I was just starting out. I was absolutely terrified of singing in front of people, but they encouraged me to do it more and more and if it weren’t for them I’d still probably be a bedroom songwriter. Also, to my partner Kell who my biggest fan, and who has made it possible for me to pursue music as a full-time career.

Website: https://alexwintersmusic.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/alexwinters

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexwintersrock

Facebook: https://facebook.com/alexwintersmusic

Youtube: https://youtube.com/alexwintersofficial

Image Credits
Kelly McWain, Rudy Ximenez

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