‘She Waits’ is a relatively simple song; uplifting, nuanced and meaningful, it encapsulates the essence of Alex Lievanos’ songwriting. Relatable and approachable, the record finds its identity in modern pop with a touch of Folk stylings, while sharing a catchy chorus that we are confident will connect with a large audience out there.
Active for years around his hometown of San Diego, Lievanos can be seen as a visceral singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, a talented creative proficient both with words and musical notes. ‘She Waits’ has been apparently around for years, with Alex now deciding to give it a stable, recorded home.
Intrigued by the project, we caught up with the Californian songster to find out more about his artistry and future goals… Interview below!
Hey Alex, how is it going? some of our readers might not be familiar with your project, how would you describe yourself, in a few words?
I would describe myself as passionate, aspiring, and dramatic.
Your current work is the result of a long journey; What first drew you to making music?
What first drew me into making music was listening to popular songs when I was around four years old. I would then try to learn them by ear on my grandma’s piano. What drew me into doing music full-time was playing my first song at my high school’s talent show and then getting gigs around San Diego. Since then, it’s been a roller coaster of emotions getting to play all these cool shows.
If you had the opportunity to pick any artists in the world for a collaboration, who would be your first choice? (and second choice, perhaps?)
Charlie Puth and Sitting on Stacy (a local band where I’m from in San Diego, California). I feel like my music is a blend of catchy jazz chords and surf rock, and both artists really resonate with me.
You recently released a playful and catchy single, ‘She Waits’. A slice of bright and honest pop, what does the song mean for you?
This song means a lot to me. I first saw the original artist Holes and Hearts at the Hard Rock Cafe in Vegas around 2015. The song resonated with me so much that I decided to make a cover of it. To me, this song is about a partner waiting for the right person to fall in love with, and going through all these obstacles to make the relationship work healthily. I want to shout out Riley and Casey Macek (the masterminds behind Holes and Hearts) for writing such a banger of a tune. They’ve inspired me so much in what I do.
You have been playing the single for many years in live settings. How did you approach the process of recording a studio version? was it unexpectedly difficult? did you have to reframe the song and its arrangement?
The song had been sitting on my hard drive for almost seven years. The difficult part was not really knowing how I was gonna release it until my girlfriend persuaded me to finish it because it was one of her all-time favourite songs. So I went ahead and told myself to just get it done and put the final touches on it. I wanted it to be similar to the original, but I also wanted to add my own flair to it as well.
Do you feel more confident writing music alone, or within a team?
I feel more confident writing music alone, but I will always appreciate and welcome writing a song within a team. I think it would be great for me to start writing music with a team of other songwriters in the future. That would be a good goal for me to help my growth as a songwriter.
Artistically speaking, what challenges have the last two years presented you with?
My biggest challenge within the last two years was trying to put my first show together since the pandemic. I didn’t really know what I was doing when booking a show, and a couple of venues declined last minute to help put on my first show back. But eventually, the Che Cafe up in La Jolla were able to help make it happen, and I will always be grateful to them for helping me.
What are the next steps for your project? Anything exciting on the horizon?
I have a new project I’m fronting right now that I will be releasing new material on called Dusk Drama. We’re on Spotify, Apple Music, TikTok and all that fun stuff. All the new releases of mine will be released under that name for the time being.
