About his history:

Sweetwater made three albums for Warner Bros/Reprise Records, played every major venue in North America  including most colleges, and all of the largest Music Festivals during the “Golden Age of Pop Festivals”, including Atlanta Pop, Newport ’69, Texas International Pop Fest, Miami Pop, Detroit Pop, Palm Beach Music & Art Festival (w/the Rolling Stones), and of course, Woodstock.  They had broad AM & FM radio airplay (worldwide), and were featured on American Bandstand, The Hollywood Palace, the Steve Allen, Merv Griffin, and Red Skelton Shows, Playboy After Dark, and New Sound as well as numerous regional TV shows of the era.

In 1999, VH1 chose his band as the subject of their first film, called “Sweetwater, A True Rock Story.”  During the promotion period for the  movie, VH1 made a video of one of Alex’s earliest Sweetwater songs, “In A Rainbow.”    Following interest from fans, they continued to run it in rotation on both VH1 and MTV for several months.  The song was 30 years old.

Alex has also played and/or recorded with The Beach Boys, Eric Burdon, Gene Clark of the Byrds,  Donovan,  John Beland of the Flying Burrito Brothers, Chi Coltrane, Patrice (Candy) Zappa, Barry Goldberg,Johnny Tillotson and Severin Browne.   He continues to play & record with a multitude of contemporary acts.

As a current singer-songwriter, Alex has a quirky, diversely-blended alt-rock/pop style, often weaving threads of folk, blues, jazz, gospel, classical, Latin and Reggae into the mix. 

He wrote and produced music for (and played a singing role) in Alan Rudolph’s feature film “Premonition.”

Wishing to escape the rigors of the road in the 80s, Alex concentrated on creating music for “industrial” video/multi-media shows including:

*The 1984 Olympics(International  Olympic Committee) – encompassing multiple shows, each in over 50 languages.

*The J. Paul Getty Museum (Malibu  - Permanent orientation show)

*Dreamworks’ Ballona Creek (Hughes Aircraft) architectural project

*Herman Miller Furniture (in association with Charles Eames design office)

*The International Food, Wine & Culinary Expo

*Daimaru Department Stores, (Australia, Japan)

*Central Department Stores (Thailand)

*Association of International Graphic Artists convention

*California Plaza building complex (for McGuire Partners)

*The Los Angeles Central Public Library re-opening ceremonies.

Through the years, he has continually advanced his songwriting education, studying at UCLA and privately, extensively with Jai Josefs, Harriet Schock, Pamela Phillips Oland, John Braheny and several others.  Song deconstruction and analysis was the basis of Jai’s exclusive (invitation-only) “Monday Night Group” which Alex remained a member of for 10 years.

Current ventures:

He has critiqued and judged for UNISONG International Song Contest for the past several years, encompassing thousands of songs per year.

He currently hosts the L. A. Songwriter’s Co-Op , a drop-in meeting for songwriters to find out “what’s working and what’s not” about their songs.  There are always “industry guests” who, along with Alex, will give their insights on aspects of songs presented by the attendees.

Meetings are monthly in Hollywood on each THIRD THURSDAY at the Pig & Whistle, 6714 Hollywood Blvd.(at the corner of McCadden - one block East of the Kodak Theatre/Hollywood-Highland Complex, between the world famous Egyptian Theatre and Musician’s Institute.

 

In 2003, he founded Tuneworks, an intuitive approach to learning songwriting requiring little previous knowledge, or proficiency on an instrument.  Focusing on each student’s individual capability, with an emphasis on personal creativity, ear training, and audio-to-hand coordination, this curriculum is unique in the field of songwriting study.

He frequently plays keyboards on other’s recording sessions and currently remains available for recording sessions in Los Angeles and adjacent regions.  Prices are reasonable and vary according to preparation difficulty.

Alex offers private lessons in songwriting, keyboard technique, and ear- training.  He also teaches songwriting workshops, including classes for NSAI and the Perfect Angels private school.

As an outside songwriter, he has domestic and foreign cuts, and is currently a member of  musion, a collective creating music and songs for TV and film.

His publishing company, ALAGRAM MUSIC is a BMI affiliate.