tag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:/blogs/pieces-of-you?p=2Pieces of Me2019-01-01T07:00:43-06:00Alex Wintersfalsetag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/55739852019-01-01T07:00:00-06:002024-01-22T02:14:24-06:00My Tried and True Hangover Remedies<p>According to Chinese astrology, 2019 is a great year to make money and a good year to invest! 2019 is going to be full of joy, a year of friendship and love for all the zodiac signs; an auspicious year because the Pig attracts success in all the spheres of life.</p>
<p>That being said, you may not be feeling like 2019 is off to a very good start right at this moment, so I offer you my tried and true hangover remedies. If you're anything like me, the usual suggestions just don't work, so I hope these help you cope with your post New Years celebration feels. </p>
<p>1) Drink a Milk Shake. My best friend's dad recommended this to me years ago and I have to say it's my absolute favorite! The cold shocks your stomach so it kills the nausea AND the liquid rehydrates you a the same time. I know it hurts, but if you can safely drive (or even better have someone drive you!) get in your car and head to the nearest place where you can get a REAL ice cream milkshake - or grab some ice cream and milk from the store and make your own at home. You might want to wear ear plugs before you hit that button on the blender though, otherwise you might send yourself into a head spin...</p>
<p>2) Vitamin B shots or tabs. You can get this at your local vitamin store. Look for the one that has all the B vitamins + folate. That works well for me. I've also had the tabs or melts that you melt on your tongue and those work pretty well too, so just go with your preference. </p>
<p>That's it! Both are pretty inexpensive and actually work. Not like "have another beer" or "eat a big breakfast". If I've been drinking to the point that I have a hangover, ain't no food going in my stomach for a while.</p>
<p>Do you have a tried and true hangover remedy? Share it with me in the comments below!</p>
<p> </p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/55555542018-12-15T14:06:33-06:002024-01-22T02:15:35-06:00My Top 10 Favorite Accomplishments of 2018!<p>The end of 2018 is upon us, and it's that time of year where I like to reflect on the past year and start to build my vision for the next. I'd like to share some of those reflections with you because YOU are a pretty big part of what keeps me motivated to continue to keep putting my music out there. </p>
<p>I accomplished quite a lot this past year both project wise and financially. Since there are 10 days until Christmas, I present to you my Top 10 Favorite Accomplishments of 2018! </p>
<p>1) As of March, I am now a full time musician. This is scary for me because pretty much ever since I left home at 15, I've never NOT had a steady paycheck. This is both liberating and terrifying at the same time. Wheeeee!! </p>
<p>2) I completed a successful radio campaign. My music played on over 88 radio terrestrial stations this year. I also met some awesome new fans because of it, including one special fan whose offspring's wedding I'll be performing at this June, in my home state nonetheless. </p>
<p>3) There are almost 100 more of you subscribing this newsletter than there were at the beginning of the year. Thank you for being here! Your inbox is a precious sacred place and I'm so happy that you've chosen to share it with me. :D </p>
<p>4) I launched <a contents="my Patreon page" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/alexwinters" target="_blank">my Patreon page</a>! This was waaaay harder than I thought it would be to get up and running, but for those of you who have stuck with me this year, <em>you hold a special place in my heart</em>. Your monthly contributions are helping me save up for studio time, which is my most favoritest thing int he whole world, and I know you all are dying for some new music! (You can help me release new music faster by joining us here: <a contents="https://www.patreon.com/alexwinters" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.patreon.com/alexwinters" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/alexwinters</a>) </p>
<p>5) My song "Alone" was played 525 times on Pandora (start a station or add me to your favorite here: https://www.pandora.com/artist/alex-winters/ARfJw4x2m7zvhdw). This is crazy because this is the one song that I've not promoted AT ALL, and yet this is the one that's killing it on Pandora.</p>
<p>6) I played 69 live shows, did at least 5 live radio broadcasts (I should have kept track, shame on me!), and one YouTube Vlog interview. </p>
<p>7) I went on an honest to goodness vacation with my love to Hawaii and got to visit some of my dearest friends (our first real vacation in almost a decade).</p>
<p>8) My music was streamed in 88 countries world wide on <a contents="Spotify" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/3OtYW9SZGLNgCKn6EfO73p" target="_blank">Spotify</a> (Follow or add me to your favorite station here: <a contents="https://open.spotify.com/artist/3OtYW9SZGLNgCKn6EfO73p" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/3OtYW9SZGLNgCKn6EfO73p" target="_blank">https://open.spotify.com/artist/3OtYW9SZGLNgCKn6EfO73p</a>). </p>
<p>9) I paid off a big home remodeling loan (my BEAUTIFUL kitchen that you've seen in my cooking videos, if you're in the Frans Group. (Join us here: https://www.facebook.com/fransofalexwinters). I’ve been debt free several times in my life now (with the exception of my mortgage and car payment) and every time I do it, it feels absolutely amazing. I’m not quite there yet again, but this was a big one to get out of the way. </p>
<p>10) I signed 10 contracts for licensing opportunities for TV and Film including the Discovery Network, as well as shows like Bill Nye Saves the World and The Real World. </p>
<p>Thanks to you, 2018 was a huge success in my book, and I can’t wait to see what 2019 will bring!</p>
<p>What gave you the strongest feelings of accomplishment/happiness in 2018?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/53629992018-07-26T15:13:49-05:002024-01-22T02:21:11-06:00Perspective<p>My very first solo performance EVER was at Grape Creek Winery in Georgetown about four years ago, after they had just opened. They'd had a cancellation and I was lucky enough to have some friends moonlighting there who really wanted to help me along my journey. At this point, I had performed many times with a band and a duo, and I had gotten pretty comfortable doing those types of gigs, but never had I done a show all by myself. I was fucking terrified! But I had just seen "William Shatner - It's His World, We Just Live In It," so I was saying YES no matter what. You can read that blog post here. </p>
<p>At one point in the show I had completely failed at getting a song going (I don't remember what song) so I made a joke that if I couldn't get through a song I was gonna start telling jokes. The audience then chimed in that they wanted to hear a joke, so I obliged. I gave them a warm-up: A sandwich walks into a bar, he walks up to the bartender and says, "Bartender give me a beer, please" and the bartender says, "I'm sorry we don't serve food here." They laughed. I gave them another one: A mushroom walks into a bar and says, "Bartender give me a beer!" the bartender replies, "I can't serve you!" and the mushroom says, "Why not, I'm a fun-gi!" They laughed again... At that point we were all pretty loosened up and I was able to get through the song. After the show, I was mortified about my performance, but proud of myself for getting through it. The venue even asked me to come back! After that I made sure to always have a few dumb jokes on hand, and suddenly it was a thing. People started sharing their dumb jokes with me, I started putting them in the newsletter, etc. I even had one guy who would request a specific joke every time he came to a show. </p>
<p>For a long time, my perspective on that gig was THANK GOD THAT WAS OVER. Then something changed. I was playing at Grape Creek just a few months ago and a couple flags me over while I was on a break. They asked if I'd played there before and I said yes, and then they said they'd thought that they had seen me before and proceeded to describe that very first show and then told me WHAT A GOOD TIME THEY HAD! Now, what now? I didn't even know how to respond to that. I was in shock. I had filed that show way in the back of my mental filing cabinet under "traumatic events," and here these people were telling me that they they remembered having a great experience and were really excited to be seeing me again after all this time. </p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/53148022018-06-24T13:15:00-05:002024-01-22T02:23:16-06:0011 Things You Should Know About Me<ol> <li>I grew up in Washington State and spent equal amounts of time on the West side and the East side of the Cascade Mountains. </li> <li>My favorite subjects in school were English, Creative Writing, and Religious Studies. </li> <li>I wish I knew more about Quantum Physics and Space </li> <li>I am usually tired from stressing myself out about absolutely everything and nothing </li> <li>My favorite dessert is Tiramisu </li> <li>My most used app is probably Facebook Messenger or Evernote </li> <li>Instruments I play: Guitar, sing, write my own songs, I’ve been known to also pick up the bass guitar on occasion, and I got a ukulele for Christmas so I’ve been having fun playing around with that. I can also whistle and play the microwave (it’s all in the timing). </li> <li>I started making music when I was 12. I was already writing poetry pretty heavily by then and when my grandmother gave me my first guitar, it seemed natural to try and put my prose to music. </li> <li>My biggest musical influences are Sarah McLachlan, Fleetwood Mac, Heart, Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch, Incubus, Tool, Eve 6, and loads of 80s and 90s artists/bands. </li> <li>People should listen to my music because it will make them feel less alone. I’ve been through a lot in my life, and in my music I try to write myself out of the bad situations I’ve been through. I hope that people can find the lyrics relatable, and the music listenable. </li> <li>What should you listen to first? I would suggest <a contents="You Rescued Me" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnwmq_QaNXU" target="_blank">You Rescued Me</a> as your first taste, then I would listen to <a contents="Stay" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://youtu.be/rKxiX4ND7bQ" target="_blank">Stay</a>. After that you choose your own adventure. :)</li>
</ol>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47908352017-12-15T06:30:00-06:002024-01-22T02:23:58-06:00Strange But True<p>If you’ve signed up for my mailing list then you’ve already heard this one: I’ve always had a strange connection to the song Broken Wings by Mr. Mister. For many years, every time I heard the song played in public it signaled that a huge change was coming to my life. A breakup, a move, a new job, could be good or could be bad, but it always signified something BIG was coming. For this reason I never purchased the song. It was too valuable to me otherwise. You don’t really hear that song on the radio much these days except maybe at the grocery store where they are playing a radio station to appeal to their particular demographic, so it doesn’t have the same effect as it once did. But that’s still one of the weirder things I’ve experienced in my life. </p>
<p>Another thing I do is collect people with certain names. When I was a teenager living in Federal Way, Washington, I knew 31 Dans. It was like everyone I met was named Dan or Daniel, or Danny. Even when I ventured to Oregon on a family trip, the guy at the convenience store by the hotel that I flirted with's name was Dan. It was so strange, but it sure was easy to remember everyone's name!! I also collect Virgos. August/September is loaded with happy birthdays, including celebrating my own on September 4th. Lately it seems like I’m starting a collection of drummers named Mike/Michael. I’m up to five so far. </p>
<p>What is something weird or unsettling that happens to you on a regular basis?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/49581872017-12-01T12:38:37-06:002024-01-22T02:24:49-06:00My Favorite Holiday Treat Recipe - Peanut Butter Fudge<p>Several years ago I was looking for a recipe to make fudge because that is one of my favorite holiday treats, and I found this amazing peanut butter fudge recipe. If you're an <a contents="allrecipes.com" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://allrecipes.com" target="_blank">allrecipes.com</a> user, you can find and save the recipe to your cardbox <a contents="here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/19160/worlds-best-peanut-butter-fudge/?internalSource=hub%20recipe&referringContentType=search%20results&clickId=cardslot%201" target="_blank">here</a>. This is now a staple for me every Christmas. It's so yummy! If you decide to make it, don't forget to come back here and let me know how it turned out!</p>
<p><span class="font_large"><strong>World's Best Peanut Butter Fudge </strong></span></p>
<p>Prep 5 minutes<br>Cook Time 20 minutes<br>Ready In 1 h 25 minutes</p>
<p>Ingredients: </p>
<p>4 cups white sugar <br>1 cup milk <br>1/2 cup butter <br>1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme <br>12 ounces peanut butter <br>2/3 cup all-purpose flour </p>
<p>Directions:</p>
<p>Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish, set aside. <br>In a saucepan, combine sugar, milk, and butter. Bring to a boil, and cook 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the marshmallow creme and peanut butter. Gradually stir in the flour. Spread into the prepared pan, and let cool</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47904502017-12-01T06:30:00-06:002023-12-10T11:01:39-06:00What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last 6 months?<p>For me, I’d have to say the book "Tools of Titans" by Tim Ferris, though I didn’t actually purchase it. I checked it out at the library. I already talked about that in a previous blog post, but this book has some seriously good nuggets in it. Just open it to a page and BLAM, you’re smarter, better, faster… There is so much awesomeness in this book I don’t actually want to share it because you might become more awesome than I am. ?</p>
<p>What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last 6 months?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47908012017-11-15T06:30:00-06:002024-01-22T02:27:31-06:00Words To Live By<p>My all time favorite quote is from the movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula. In the movie, Jonathan is on the train heading to Transylvania to meet with the Count, and he's writing to his beloved Mina and he says, “It’s as if I have a part to play in a story that is not yet known to me.” I love this quote because it speaks to that part of me that wants to know my purpose in life, which I'm not sure we can ever really know. I’ve struggled with that question all of my life and I still don’t have an answer. Will I finally find out when my life in this form ends? Will I be reincarnated and start the cycle over again? What happens if I never figure it out? What if I’m doing it wrong? These questions sometimes plague me. Sometimes even paralyze me. Whenever I get going down this path I tell myself that the only thing I can do is be true to myself and do my best. If I do those things then how can I possibly go wrong? </p>
<p>Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often? If so, what is it and why is it important to you?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47904042017-11-01T06:30:00-05:002024-01-22T02:28:59-06:00What is your favorite documentary or movie?<p>My all time favorite movie is shared by two films: Office Space and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The first because I have lived the life of Peter Gibbons. When I got my first office job I worked as a file clerk for a convenience store chain. The owners were brothers, who were also both lawyers, who were constantly at odds with each other. One minute you’d have one standing at your desk asking you to do one thing, and then an hour later you’d have the other one standing there telling you to do something else. It was crazy. The one brother always liked to leave these mass voice messages to everyone. And every single one started out with “yeah, uh...”. After seeing Office Space, I always filled in the next part with “we’re going to need you to come in on Saturday…” *shudder* Bram Stoker’s Dracula is on a whole other spectrum. I’ve always been a huge vampire buff and that movie speaks to everything I love about vampires. One of my favorite quotes is from that movie. It’s when Jonathan is going to meet “D” for the first time in Transelvania and he’s writing to his beloved Mina. He says, “I sometimes feel like I have a part to play in a story that is not yet known to me.” This is pretty much how I feel about my entire life. </p>
<p> My favorite documentary has to be The Cosmos by Carl Sagan. I also love the remake by Neil Degrasse Tyson, but the original will always hold a special place in my heart, as I’m sure it does for Neil as well. The way Carl talks about the cosmos and our place in it makes me think about how insignificant and significant we are at the same time. Sure we’re all just floating around on a on a "mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam,” but we also have control over the experience we have on that mote of dust. We make this world what it is. We have the ability to define our own significance. That’s pretty fucking powerful. </p>
<p>What’s your favorite documentary or movie (or both)?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47908002017-10-15T06:30:00-05:002022-01-12T17:57:07-06:00If I were to give a TED talk<p>I love TED talks. I've watched some really great ones. If I were to give a TED talk about something that were outside of my main area of expertise, it might be about the importance of taking time out for yourself. Or it might be how writing can keep you from going insane. Or perhaps simply how to crochet a scarf. I’ve crocheted enough scarves to feel like I could give a TED Talk on the subject. Bullet points could include how to pick the right yarn for your project, what stitches to use, and how to embellish. I once watched a TED talk on how to tie your shoes, which if I wore shoes that I had to tie would have been life changing. </p>
<p>What topic would you speak about if you were asked to give a TED talk on something outside of your main area of expertise? If you wouldn't give one, is there a particular TED Talk that inspired you or really got you thinking? </p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47903992017-10-02T06:30:00-05:002017-10-02T06:30:20-05:00What is the book (or books) you've gifted or recommended the most?<p>I recommend books based on the readers need, but lately it’s been The Dark Tower series by Stephen King simply because the movie is about to come out. I read the series in my 20s and it gave me a lot to think about outside of the story. The main character, Roland, is the last gunslinger and his drive to find the tower is unmeasurable. He has a way of letting things go and leaving things to “ka” that I constantly need to be reminded of. Sometimes things are put in our paths for a reason and it’s our job to figure out why they are there. This series helped me to understand that. Plus it’s just a kick ass story, and it’s nothing like any of Mr. Kings other works which is partly why I love it so much. </p>
<p>I love to read and even though I’ve taken a hiatus from it these past few years I have recently been inspired to pick it back up again. I’m currently re-reading "The Dark Tower" series, manically flipping through Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss, skimming through The Way of the Wizard by Deepak Chopra, and thoughtfully absorbing The Secret of Letting Go by Guy Finley. I also have started a list of further reading which is mostly being fed by the Tools of Titans book at the moment. What’s your most gifted or recommended book?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/48335512017-10-01T08:00:00-05:002022-05-24T07:01:03-05:00Radio Spot on Wimberley Valley Radio, KWVH 94.1 FM<p>Wimberley friends and beyond!</p>
<p>I'll be doing a special radio spot on Wimberly Valley Radio on Tuesday October 17th at 9am. If you're local, you can tune in to 94.1 on your FM dial to listen, and if you're not local, you can tune in live on their Facebook page here: <a contents="https://www.facebook.com/OverEasyWithCoach" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.facebook.com/OverEasyWithCoach" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/OverEasyWithCoach</a> or listen afterwords on their SoundCloud channel here: <a contents="https://soundcloud.com/wimberleyvalleyradio" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://soundcloud.com/wimberleyvalleyradio" target="_blank">https://soundcloud.com/wimberleyvalleyradio</a>. You can also visit their website <a contents="WimberleyValleyRadio.org" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.WimberleyValleyRadio.org">WimberleyValleyRadio.org</a> and get to all of the links from there.</p>
<p>Coach has interviewed over 130 artists in the past year and I am pleased to be added to his amazing list of performers. Several of them are Austin area favorites such as Betty Soo, Bonnie Bishop, Shelly King, Ali Holder, Treble Soul. </p>
<p>Mark your calendars and tune in if you can, it's sure to be a hoot. </p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47907522017-09-15T06:30:00-05:002022-03-04T00:49:39-06:00What I Like To Do In My Spare Time<p>My work is typically very event driven, so it’s hard to explore in the evenings or weekends when I might be gigging Thursday - Sunday. But when I do have some time I love to do and try different things. Mix it up, if you will. One of my favorites is to escape into a good video game. I especially love games from Bethesda like Elder Scrolls and Fallout where you can explore endlessly and you don’t have to worry so much about completing any particular thing in any particular order. Tomb Raider is another of my absolute favorites. Laura Croft is hottie with a British accent, and a total bad ass to boot. What’s not to like? I’m currently playing Elder Scrolls Online when my internet connection will allow (I live in BFE so it’s not always good enough for me to play online games) and when it doesn’t, I have been going through the Uncharted series, which is a lot like Tomb Raider minus the strong female lead. Although Elena can certainly hold her own in a fight. Sometimes, I dive into learning something new. Like when I taught myself Photoshop. That took two years worth of my spare time, but now I can pretty much do anything I need. Definitely worth the time investment. I have also been known to indulge in the occasional Netflix/DVR binge. My last binge was Vampire Diaries. A series I started watching from the beginning but then got bored with the format so I put it aside. Once the series wrapped up I decided to go back and finish it. Next will be the Originals. When the weather is juuust right, I’ll take my Victory Vegas 8 Ball out and give her a spin. There’s just something about being on a motorcycle that can clear your head like nothing else in existence. It’s fun and scary and very liberating. Sometimes I sew or crochet, sometimes I try a new craft such as making home made books or bath bombs. Lately, I’ve on a quest of self discovery to answer the question: what the eff am I doing with my life? I think it’s good that we ask ourselves questions like that every now and again to make sure we’re spending our time and energy in a way that makes us feel satisfied with our time on this Earth. </p>
<p>What about you? What obsessions do you explore in your free time?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47903882017-09-01T06:30:00-05:002017-09-01T06:30:24-05:00What is something you believe that other people think is insane?<p>I believe that we can manifest our desires if we truly want them bad enough. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished for something really hard and had it come true. If you focus enough energy into something, it will attract the thing you’re focusing on. Energy is like a magnet. What you put out attracts more of that same energy. Notice how when you feel bad it seems like more bad things keep happening and you feel worse - same thing happens when you feel good. Have you ever noticed how maybe a friend of yours who’s always happy and grateful seems to attract more of the same? Or another friend who seems to have chronic bad luck. A lot of this is how we react to certain situations too - which all boils down to energy. Are you putting out the kind of energy you want to get back? Do you tend to attract negative people or positive people? What would your day be like if you adopted the opposite?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47907082017-08-15T06:30:00-05:002017-08-15T06:30:23-05:00My Morning Ritual<p>A typical weekday morning for me goes as follows: </p>
<p>After I hit the snooze about 4 or 5 times I usually drag myself out of bed between 9 and 9:30 and head straight for the coffee pot. Once I get my coffee, I head straight back to bed. After I’ve had my first sip or two of coffee, I scan the notifications on my phone for anything that “can’t wait”, then I commence to play a game on my phone (usually FarmVille Country Story) until the guilt of not being productive consumes me and I feel obligated to get up and do some work, which is usually between 10 and 10:30 am. On the weekend I turn off the alarm and get up when I get up, which coincidentally is about the same time that I get up on weekdays, only without all of the anxiety. Which is lovely. </p>
<p>This week I’m trying something different. I’m waking up and doing a brain dump first thing (borrowed from the book “The Artists Way” by Julia Cameron). I’ve done this two days in a row so far. Sunday it took me five minutes to get all the monkeys out. Today it took almost 30. I’m curious to see where I’m at with this by the end of a week or two. </p>
<p>What are your morning rituals? What do the first 60 minutes of your day look like?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47903762017-08-01T06:30:00-05:002022-05-26T22:41:09-05:00When you think of the word "successful," who's the first person who comes to mind and why?<p>I could list 100 famous people, but I think that would be missing the point of this question. Famous doesn’t equal successful in my opinion. Success for me is having the financial freedom to explore whatever it is you want to explore. The most successful people I know are my aunt and uncle. They built careers out of their passions and make the most of their time together within their extremely busy schedules. Recently retired now, they plan to “go out at zero,” which I think is pretty awesome. They have many adventures planned for their retirement and they aren’t going to waste any time getting going on them. I’m the closest thing they ever had to having a child (they had me when I was 17) and they have always been my heros. They work hard, play hard, and nap hard, and I love them dearly for it.</p>
<p>What about you? Who comes to your mind and why?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47903352017-07-24T13:10:00-05:002022-02-26T08:41:02-06:00Tim Ferriss Is My Spirit Animal<p>You probably know Tim Ferriss for his book <a contents='"The 4 Hour Workweek"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://fourhourworkweek.com/" target="_blank">"The 4 Hour Workweek"</a>. I read his book many years ago and thought well isn't that special (in the Church Lady's voice, of course). I loved the idea of what he was talking about. I also loved how he talked about it. After I read the book I started thinking about how I could implement some of the strategies. Some of them I already did - like not watching the news - if it's important enough, someone will tell you about it. True dat. I have always had a hard time watching the news because basically the news is an hour long seminar of what's wrong with this world. I've always been an empath and sitting there watching an hours worth of murders and stealing and missing children and whatever else is wrong with humankind hurts my soul. It makes me want to crawl into a hole and never come out. Then on top of that I would feel shame/guilt when I would say no to someone would ask me if I had heard about x disaster or whatever the big story was on the news that week. Tim gave me permission to not feel bad about that. Hey, I'm saving myself valuable time and energy by not watching the news. If it's important, someone will fill me in! Well that's a huge load off my shoulders, for sure. After reading that book I decided to set a new goal for my life. I wanted to work less and make more $. At the time I was working 40-50 hours a week at a corporate job which also included an on call rotation. Btw, I FUCKING HATE being on call. PLUS spending every spare moment on my music. It was too much.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Fast forward a few years and I'm still maintaining some of those things I plucked out of that book. I'm working less and maintaining pretty much the same quality of life. So I decided to hit the local library up for some self-help books that might give me some new perspective and inspire me to make more adjustments to better my life. Here's how I shop for books to read: I go find the self-help section and grab any title on the shelf that looks relevant to the problem I'm trying to solve and put it in a pile. I'll go through the entire section and when I've picked out all the books I see that I think I might need I sit down on the floor, spread them out and start flipping to random pages. If l like what I read I'll put it in the yes pile, if I don't, it goes into the no pile and those go back on the shelf. The first book I pulled was <a contents='"Tools of Titans"' data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://toolsoftitans.com/" target="_blank">"Tools of Titans"</a>. I didn't even pay attention to who the author was. I opened it to page 161. A chapter called "COACH SOMMER - THE SINGLE DECISION". The chapter talks about the perceived failure we place upon ourselves because we haven't made as much progress as we might have liked by a certain time frame. What he says is this: "This impatience in dealing with frustration is the primary reason that most people fail to achieve their goals. Unreasonable expectations timewise, resulting in unnecessary frustration, due to a perceived feeling of failure." Tears welled up in my eyes when I read this. It rang true through my bones. When I changed careers back at the beginning of the year I thought - this is it! I'm going to kick ass and book all these shows and I'm going to have so much time for all the things! But that's not really been the case. It's still just as slow going as ever and I feel like I've actually made LESS progress than I have in previous years towards my goal of paying my bills with my music. So, I grabbed the book, tucked it under my arm and headed toward the used books section, feeling already very accomplished in my mission. I found a few more books that also rang true for me, we'll save those for another journal entry though. </p>
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<p>Tim (I hope he doesn't mind that we're on a first name basis) is a straight shooter kind of guy. He also has a fabulous way of painting new perspectives. Plus his sense of humor is on point. My favorite parts about this book (besides the section on Scott Adams, who is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world) are the "grey" chapters. The ones where Tim talks about his own routines and what works well for him. I don't necessarily connect with every single one of them, but there are so many things about Tim that are parallels of my own self that I find it comforting and maybe just a little bit creepy, but also extremely inspiring. For example, I love that Tim is a chronic journaler and list maker. Before smart phones, I ALWAYS carried one of those thick 5 subject spiral notebooks around with me. Every time I was still would write down my thoughts, feelings, experiences, poems, doodles, pretty much whatever came to my mind. I'm not much of an experimenter though like he is, which is one of the things I admire so much about him. I like to start things, but not necessarily finish them.. I love to learn just enough about something that I can have a semi-intelligent conversation about it, and then I move on to the next thing. I've been that way my whole life. 2 weeks of piano lessons, 2 weeks of ballet, 2 weeks of gymnastics.. My time limit with any particular theme seems to be about 2 weeks, then I've gotta move on to something else. The one constant thing throughout is my writing - whether it's songs, stories, journals, poems, the writing has always been there. I wonder Tim would have to say about that? Reading this book has ultra-inspired me to really get writing. I've started a fresh journal and have been re-inspired to pick up my "what did I love about today" journal and get back to making daily entries again (see the chapter on the "Jar of Awesome").</p>
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<p>I also love that Tim likes to keep things simple. In the chapter about his podcast equipment he talks about how he just used Garage Band for a long time because it was simple to learn and it got the job done. A few years back I decided that I needed to stop letting myself get distracted by musical gear and equipment and get back to actually making music (surely I need THAT gadget/software to make my songwriting even better!). Sure, I could spend entire days playing with sounds and learning every DAW software on the market, but I decided that wasn't really necessary. I did a little research, bought what I needed and now I have a very simple and great sounding setup so I can do decent quality demos and voice overs at home, which is all I want to be doing anyway. I don't want to be a producer (but I did spend a couple of weeks trying to be one once), I want to write songs and be able to get them recorded so that I can come back to them when it's time to go into the studio to record an album.</p>
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<p>There are SO many great things in this book. One of which is that Tim decided he wanted to have some illustrations and so he went around asking everyone what their spirit animal is. He didn't realize it at the time, but this is a pretty serious question that he found many people were quite thoughtful in answering. I didn't even notice this until I caught it out of the corner of my eye in the footer of one of the chapters. I must have subconsciously picked it up because before I noticed that, I was already thinking that Tim was my spirit animal from all of our similarities. Funny how those things creep up on you like that. What I haven't found yet was what TIM's spirit animal is. Interesting that he asked over 100 people what theirs was, but didn't address this for himself? Maybe it's in here somewhere but I have yet to find it. Do you know what your spirit animal is? I would love to know! </p>
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<p> </p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/47695542017-07-08T15:50:33-05:002017-07-08T15:50:33-05:00It's The Little Things<p>I stopped today to let a car into traffic as I often do, and I was thinking about how little acts of kindness can really make a big impact on the kind of day I have. If you’ve ever been driving around Hawaii, you probably noticed that a lot of drivers do this - even when there are no other cars on the road. They just stop and let you through. It’s like a thing. I loved that, and so I started to try and make an effort to let people in whenever I could. Not like on the continent where you typically have to scratch and claw your way into traffic. This line of thinking lead me back to the first time I bought groceries after I moved here to TX. I was walking up to the cash register and the person in front of me looked back, saw me coming, and put the little separator on the conveyor belt out for me. I remember thinking that was so thoughtful! Such a little thing, but it made me feel good, special even, and I immediately started doing that from that day forward. Now it’s just something that I do. I didn’t know that was a thing here, I just thought how nice it was for someone to do that for me. That thought led me to wonder if there were other types of these small gestures other places in the states and even in the world. I would love to adopt more of these things into my life so that I can maybe help make someone else feel a little special during the course of their day. </p>
<p>If you’re reading this, I would love to know if there’s some little gesture of kindness that you do or that you’ve had done to you that made you feel nice. Please tell us all about it in the comments!</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/45182022016-12-20T00:25:46-06:002022-10-06T16:47:13-05:00My thoughts on Madonna's Woman of the Year Speech<p>As a woman trying to find her way in the music business, I found Madonna’s Billboard Woman of the Year award acceptance speech extremely moving. She said a lot of things throughout the speech that rang true for me. It made me think about how I’ve been treated by men and women throughout my life. You can watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Xgbh2E0NM. </p>
<p>When she talked about moving to New York and being raped and robbed, and it made me think back to my late teens when I was “couch surfing" and of how men would try to take advantage of me because I was a young pretty girl. It reminded me of why I never had very many female friends, because I was always “one of the guys”, so they were jealous of the friendships I had with their boyfriends. Women can be especially cruel, you know. I thought about living in my first apartment in Yakima, WA where every day I would wonder if today was the day I was going to walk out of my apartment and see my window smashed and what would they have taken this time? One time someone took the knobs off of my stock stereo (in a Mazda 323) and the cassette that was in the deck, and then they put something through the windshield like a screwdriver or an ice pick. I remember thinking, “this seems a bit personal.” At the time, I was dating a man who was the roommate of another man who was also dating a girl my age. We were friends at first, but it didn’t take long before the jealousy kicked in. Jealous of what I have no idea since I had no interest whatsoever in her man. Her shenanigans soon got her tossed out on her ass, and it wasn’t long after that the ice pick incident occurred. There were no witnesses of course, but I’ve always wondered if that was her. </p>
<p>After divulging the horrors she endured her first year in New York, Madonna said that all of that made her realize “In life there is no real safety except self-belief.” I have always considered myself a survivor, but I’ve also had a hard time believing in big things for myself. To even be entertaining the idea of a career in music is something that just seems so ridiculous to me, and yet here I am. I have to believe in myself harder than anyone else that I can do this. Some days this is easier than others, but I have to keep trying. </p>
<p>Then she mentioned David Bowie being her biggest inspiration. She said that she looked up to him because he "embodied male and female spirit, and that suited her just fine." That it made her think that there were no rules - but she soon found out she was wrong. “There are no rules, if you’re a boy.” she said. I nodded in silent agreement. She went on to say, “If you’re a girl you have to play the game, what is that game? You are allowed to be pretty and cute and sexy, but don’t act too smart. Don’t have an opinion. Don’t have an opinion that is out line with the status quo at least. You are allowed to be objectified by men and dress like a slut, but don’t own your sluttiness, and do not, I repeat, do not share your own sexual fantasies with the world. Be what men want you to be, but more importantly, be what women feel comfortable with you being around other men.” I think about this a lot. I have always been a very open person. I usually say what’s on my mind and I don’t have much of a filter, which sometimes gets me into trouble. I think it’s fun to make with innuendos and be flirty. You have to be careful not to be too flirty or look too pretty when you go out with friends because the next thing you know you're being called a homewrecker and you don’t even know why. If we’re being honest, though, chances are good the relationship was already in the shitter. They're just looking for a scapegoat and it might as well be me. But still. </p>
<p>In the end she talked about how she wished that she would have had a female peer that she could look to for support. She encouraged women to start appreciating our own worth and to seek out strong women to befriend. I’ve always looked for strong women to support and align myself with, and am always looking for more. We’ve got to find each other and lift each other up! So if you’re a strong woman and you’ve found this speech as moving as I did, let me know you're out there! And if you’re a dude in favor of this plan, hit me up too, we all need to band together to make this change we want to see in the world. A place where women and men are free to express themselves in the manner they see fit, and not be ridiculed or shamed, or held to some bullshit double-standard.</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/44767032016-11-20T22:12:33-06:002023-12-10T11:19:12-06:00Songwriters Across Texas Radio Show<p>Got a spot on the November 7th edition of the Songwriters Across Texas Radio Show! <a contents="Listen to the replay here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://www.songwritersacrosstexas.com/radioshow">Listen to the replay here</a>.</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/44186682016-10-13T21:52:00-05:002016-10-13T21:52:00-05:00My songs placed in a songwriting contest!<p>I've been a supporting member of the Austin Songwriters Group (ASG) off an on for the past 9 years, but I have never had the courage to submit any songs for their contests. This year I threw caution to the wind and decided to throw a few songs in the ring and see what happened. And guess what? I actually placed in a couple of categories! <br><br>Here are the two categories and songs that placed:</p>
<p>SINGER/SONGWRITER </p>
<p>1st – Claudia Gibson “Step By Step” </p>
<p>2nd – Troy Tucker and Brian Cassidy “Calling You Love” </p>
<p>3rd – Barbara Bergin (Tie) “Whistlin' Train” </p>
<p><strong>3rd – Alex Winters (Tie) “Until You Come Aroiund” </strong></p>
<p>Honorable Mentions - </p>
<p> Troy Tucker and Brian Cassidy “Be Here For Me” </p>
<p> Wayne Gathright “Coming Home” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>ROCK </p>
<p>1st – Jeff Ellis “A Heart Divided” </p>
<p>2nd – Brandon Bentley “Up And Down” </p>
<p><strong>3rd – Alex Winters “You Rescued Me” </strong><br><br><br>There were many more categories and winners, so if you want to see the full list <a contents="go here" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://austinsongwritersgroup.com/?p=2645" target="_blank">go here</a>.</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/43019962016-07-29T23:41:44-05:002016-07-29T23:41:44-05:00The Story Behind The Song "Black Roses"<p>While adventuring on the Twitter one day, Kyle Walz and I found each other exchanging conversation about music and he graciously offered to feature one of my songs on his website. You can read the article <a contents="HERE" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://kylewalz.com/2016/07/14/alex-winters-black-roses/" target="_blank">here</a> and get a little backstory on how the song "Black Roses" was born. <br><br>Kyle is also a songwriter and musician in his own right, so after you read the story on "Black Roses" you should definitely pop over to the <a contents="music page" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="http://kylewalz.com/music/" target="_blank">music page</a> and check it out. To quote his website, "The songs generally fit the rock genre and all the songs have a storytelling vibe." <br><br>Thanks for reading!<br><br>~Alex</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/39955902016-01-18T22:02:20-06:002017-01-14T14:43:37-06:002015 Year In ReviewI think it's important that as we begin the new year that we also take some time to reflect back on the past year and take stock in all of the things that were good. To take notes on what worked and what didn't, and rearrange your goals for the coming year. <br><br>So as I take stock in 2015, here are some of the highlights:<ul> <li>Went to the ASG Symposium where I got to meet songwriter and performer Hal Ketchum, Floyd Domino from Asleep At The Wheel, and got to meet and hang out with a whole bunch of other cool songwriters.</li> <li>I sold people VD, and they liked it.</li> <li>Performed with two of my GoGirls and in a Ladybeast Trifecta during SXSW.</li> <li>So-Called Someone came to visit from New Orleans and we got to play two shows together, one of which was also with my favorite local band Bad Marmot.</li> <li>Had a kick ass birthday party @ Grape Creek Winery where the ladies there decorated the patio in pink and black and had pumpkin cheesecake made for me from my favorite local restaurant, Eats on 8th, and ALL of my friends came out to help me celebrate!</li> <li>Released a new EP "Black Roses", and found an awesome charity to give back to.</li> <li>Got to perform with many awesome musicians all year round and work with an amazing producer.</li> <li>Was chosen for a second year in a row out of 200 contestants to perform in the Dripping Springs Songwriters Festival.</li> <li>Took two awesome courses to propel my music career forward.</li> <li>Put on a total of 69 shows.</li> <li>Made a whole bunch of really awesome new frans (that's YOU)!</li>
</ul><br>None of this would have been possible if it weren't for all of you out there showing up at my shows in person and online, liking and sharing posts social media, and being my cheerleaders day in and day out. Y'all are awesome and I am grateful for each and every one of you. <br><br><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180691/5b36673e9430c9a8a139443b31d437800e87be1b/original/2015-year-in-review-copy-2.jpg?1453179828" class="size_l justify_center border_" /><br> Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/39697442016-01-03T23:40:48-06:002021-04-17T00:38:59-05:00A Decline in Empathy<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180691/3b1692ff704249fb953efd35d45f9dfb6e82dd8c/medium/apathy-quotes-einstein.jpg?1451885801" class="size_m justify_left border_" />I read an article the other day in Fortune Magazine that talked about how employers are looking for new hires with empathy because this is apparently a decreasing skill that children are not being taught or are not learning. </p>
<p>This is something I've been thinking about a lot lately. If only people had just a little more empathy this world would be a hugely different place. Like the not one but two jerks this morning who caused me to slam on my brakes on the freeway because they didn't want to get stuck behind a truck going 55 when they were merging onto the freeway. I was going 70 in the middle lane minding my own business about to pass said truck, and they both cut me off at the same time. Had I not slammed on my breaks the 2nd guy totally would have hit me. Had either one of them had any empathy at all for the folks around him instead of just thinking about themselves, things might have gone very differently. Chances are good that if he had hit me, he also would have blamed ME for the accident when it was he who would have run into me. It's just a good thing that I paying attention when this happened, otherwise I might have been spending my morning on the side of the freeway instead of heading into the office like normal. </p>
<p>People not having empathy is a real problem. Some of the things I've read blame cubicle life and some blame our mobile devices which cause us to disconnect from the world directly in front of us. And I think there is a lot of truth to that. We are more connected than ever, yet more disconnected from each other. We choose to spend hours upon ours on social networks instead of calling up our friends and meeting for coffee or going out for drinks. I know we all get busy. I'm guilty of it too. I spend waaaay too much time trying to manage Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and responding to endless messages and emails, than I do actually hanging out with real flesh and blood. </p>
<p>So how do we fix this? A lot of biz articles these days are talking about creating "experiences" for their customers. What this means in it's simplest form is that businesses need to come up with a way to make people FEEL something about their product. This is not a new concept but it does seem like it's increasingly harder to break through nowadays. We are so bombarded with ads and notifications and ways to distract ourselves, it's harder and harder for companies to connect with their audience, and it's harder and harder for us to connect with each other. </p>
<p>As an artist, it's all about making people feel something. People love art because it transports them to a special place - that first kiss, a bad breakup, or that special moment they had with a parent or a mentor. It's about feeling something inside and making that visible to others so they can feel it in their own way. I want to connect with YOU, and not just through my music, but in a personal way.I already have my monthly Concert Window broadcast on the third Saturday of the month (follow me here for updates and reminders about shows), but I want to know who you are. What are your favorite movies? How do you spend your Friday nights? Are you a poet? Do you play guitar? Would you be interested in a more interactive experience such as a Skype chat or perhaps a "fan club" type deal where you get special treatment and a place to hangout with me and other Alex frans? Let me know what you think about this. I'm game if you are.</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/39649252015-12-22T08:00:00-06:002017-01-14T14:43:37-06:00We Need An Escape goat<p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180691/3612ff774e6d0f8bd81001de3a2358824e287daf/medium/escape-goat.png?1450238980" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br>I've been thinking about all the violence that's surrounding us a LOT lately, as I'm sure you have too. The other day I had a thought that maybe all this violence was resulting from our innate need for space. Said a different way, I’ve been wondering if a lot of the "crazy" we're experiencing around us is a kind of survival mechanism or instinct that's kicking in due to overcrowding. People are being crammed into smaller and smaller spaces and there is a pressure to live with less these days that can’t be ignored. With the rise in popularity of subdivisions with houses crammed into the most efficient patterns possible, new apartment complexes popping up everywhere and now there’s this whole tiny house thing. The fact is, the world has a finite amount of space, and humans are multiplying at an exponential rate. </p>
<p>Have you ever had a roommate? How long did you live with them before you just didn’t want to go home because you just simply didn’t want to be around that other person? Sure it’s all fun and games in the beginning but eventually your need for space and alone time wins out and you find yourself staying later at work, or going to the bar more often just so you didn’t have to go home. I would bet there are a lot of people out there who are feeling this pressure that just don’t know how to deal with it. </p>
<p>A hundred years ago there was lots and lots of space in between people's homes. People went to town to get supplies and to socialize but for the most part, people lived apart from one another. Now it’s the opposite. More and more people are cramming into smaller and smaller spaces. Add in the constant noise from the street, the neighbors, and our own technology - our brains literally never get a chance to decompress until we sleep, and most people don’t get enough of that either. We are constantly being interrupted and hijacked by the world around us and we never get the time to just be alone with our thoughts. </p>
<p>I recently read this article that talks about the latest coloring craze and how repetitive actions like coloring can put you into a trance-like state. The act of focusing on one singular thing for even just 10 whole minutes a day can work wonders for our mental health. I thought this was a great idea! What was really amazing was that the very next day I was given a coloring book. Coincidence? I think not. I also came across this TED Talk about 10 Mindful Minutes which again emphasizes the need for us to just be in the moment. This seems to be a consistent message that’s coming across my desk these days. One of my favorite past times is to crochet, which I’ve been craving to do lately. I have an entire dresser filled with yarn, but I hardly ever crochet anymore because I’m always trying to stay focused on the next step in my music career, and I feel guilty if I am not working on something that’s moving me forward. But what if I’m hurting myself more by not taking time out than I am by always trying to push onward? </p>
<p>So how do you cope with the never ending distractions? Where or what do you escape into?</p>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/39405282015-12-08T08:00:00-06:002022-09-03T02:59:18-05:00Today's Trash<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180691/84ca4f9016ded511110e407c17084509983b38fc/medium/11899551-984318071632146-224512321-n.jpg?1448856499" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br>Some of you have asked me about my trash pictures that I post on <a contents="Instagram" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://www.instagram.com/alexwinters" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, so I thought I would take a minute and give you the back story.<br><br>Many years ago I started a tradition. It’s not as glamorous as brushing your teeth every day or showering regularly or anything like that, but when I was a teenager wandering the streets I was disgusted by the amount of trash that littered the streets. So I made a decision. I was going to pick up one piece of trash every day. Big or small, didn’t matter. Just one piece. Back then I was also a smoker, and one of the things that I thought was the worst was all the cigarette butts. Sometimes I’d be walking through a parking lot and would find where someone just dumped their entire ashtray out on the pavement. It made me sad. It made me sick to my stomach. It made me angry.<br> <br>It made me sad because I couldn’t comprehend why someone would want to just leave their trash in a pile on the street. Did they not care about how that looks? It made me sick to my stomach because that action told me that they took zero responsibility for their own actions. It made me angry because it’s ABSOLUTE LAZINESS. Seriously. You can’t just do that when you get home into your own trash can? Or how about you walk the 20 feet to the public can? SERIOUSLY. But hey, someone else will clean it up right? WRONG. I won’t go into all of the environmental hazards here, the hazards to our drinking water, to wildlife, to our future. You know it’s bad, I know it’s bad. Why do people keep doing it?<br><br>I mentioned before I was a smoker. I smoked a lot. I made it my mission to not throw my butts in the street. I would keep ziplock bags in my pocket to collect the butts and throw the bag away later. I used old water bottles on my porch and in my car. I also picked up my friends butts and tried to encourage them to not litter. Some of them would try to stop me, but as soon as they realized that I would not be dissuaded, many of them stopped littering around me, or would make use of my butt-vessels (insert Bevis and Butthead laugh here). <br><br>The coolest thing about this is that a few years back a friend of mine from way back then came to visit and he was <i>still not throwing his butts out</i>! After all those years he was carrying on the tradition. I have no idea how many people I inspired by doing this, but finding out that at least one person was still making the effort was a special moment for me. By now we’ve both quit smoking, which of course is even better, but it made me wonder if there were any other people from my past still carrying on. <br><br>If you’re interested in learning a few litter facts, check out <a href="http://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/about/litter-facts/">http://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/about/litter-facts/</a><br>My favorite one is #8: If every person in Texas picked up just two pieces of trash every month, our highways would be completely litter-free in just one year. Two pieces a month? We can totally do that! <br><br>Are you ready to commit to picking up one piece of trash per day? If you’d like to join me in making our world a more beautiful place, post a pic of YOUR trash pickup on Instagram and use the hashtag #todaystrash. I would love to see if we can make our streets litter free!Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/39236612015-11-10T23:05:16-06:002020-04-02T13:11:00-05:00Black Roses EP Release Party<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody> <tr> <td valign="top"> <p><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180691/75953cf697ac311040256e5dd3fb87736ad65f6a/medium/alex-winters-black-roses-low-res.jpg?1447218301" class="size_m justify_left border_none" alt="Black Roses EP Artwork" />I would like to personally invite you to join me in celebrating the release of my brand new EP, Black Roses - Saturday, November 21st at Two Rivers Tavern. It's been five years since I've released any professionally recorded music and I can't wait to share it with you. The house will be rockin' as I play songs from the record, plus your usual Alex Winters favorites with a full band. It's also your chance to give back a little and help support <a href="http://alexwintersmusic.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=3ca1707f70deb89106626b861&id=91b26ae248&e=a46673a484">The Georgetown Project</a>. $3 from each ticket sold will be donated directly back to the charity.<br> <br> Tickets are $10 in advance AND come with a copy of the new record. Price will be $15 at the door. </p>
<p>You can purchase advanced tickets here: <a href="http://alexwintersmusic.us3.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=3ca1707f70deb89106626b861&id=6df2b92483&e=a46673a484">http://blackrosesep.bpt.me</a></p>
<p>The Georgetown Project identifies needs and develops resources and relationships and services so that our youth become caring, capable and resilient individuals. The initiative was started 19 years ago to monitor the health and well-being of area children through positive relationship building between youth and adults. Community programs developed by the Georgetown Project include Kid City, the After School Action Program, NEST, and the Youth Summit.</p>
<p>So come hang out at one of the coolest venues in Georgetown - Two Rivers Tavern on Saturday, November 21st to hear some killer music and support a fantastic local cause.</p>
<p>~Alex</p> </td> </tr>
</tbody></table>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/39037392015-10-21T15:14:09-05:002017-01-14T14:43:36-06:00Pieces of You<!--?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?--><span style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue';font-size:14px;"><img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180691/f7ddf3e8cb0c3381b2f591f20e31313d28daecc3/medium/grunge-girls.jpg?1448840926" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br>"The colors are black and gold/The dawn is asking for more/She wants to be treated whole/she wants to be loved like sunshine" </span>
<div style="font-family:'Helvetica Neue';font-size:14px;"> ~Carrie Akre of Hammerbox<div> </div>
<div>The other day I was listening to a new release by one of my all time favorite artists, and it just wasn't doing it for me. What happened to the edge? What happened to the sadness? Where's the hurt? The empathy? What am I supposed to relate to exactly? And like a lightning bolt in the darkness, I remembered one of my favorite female fronted rock bands - Hammerbox. I immediately did a search on Spotify to see if they had something to fulfill my craving, and they did not disappoint. I hit play and was instantly teleported back to Seattle in the 90s. I could feel the flannel against my skin, the breeze blowing through the holes in my jeans, and the stubble from my freshly manicured mohawk. The grunge scene was exploding. Bands like Mudhoney, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Hammerbox were igniting a fire that no one had felt in a long time. </div>
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<div>Back then I wasn't afraid of anything; I was invincible. I had a large network of friends who were of similar mindset and place in life, and we were unstoppable. We were the lost, the forgotten, the misfits. We took care of each other. We were each others family. As a 15 year old girl, I spent countless nights wandering the streets with my trusty notebook moving from diner to diner for shelter. Sometimes taking refuge with strangers I met there, not know where I would end up in the morning or what my next move would be. I probably should have been found on the side of the road dead at some point, but I wasn't. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>That was a hundred years ago now, a lifetime away from where I'm at nowadays. I've repaired many of the bridges I'd burned. I have a stable job, reliable transportation, and a roof over my head, which were the three things I wanted for myself back then. I remember so many names and faces of the people who helped me, whom I am grateful for every day. I have even reconnected with some of them online. You may be one of those people reading this right now, and if you are, I want to thank you. Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for making sure I had a place to crash, a meal to eat, a ride, a shoulder, whatever I needed at that time. </div>
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<div>I also want to thank you for supporting me in my music endeavors, for in every song I write is a little piece of you. </div>
</div>Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/39404582015-05-15T21:25:00-05:002017-01-14T14:43:37-06:00William Shatner - It's His World We Just Live In It<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180691/59b26ea5faf343b08552d5313ad2f68ff5264469/medium/shatnersworld.jpg?1448853742" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br>A couple of years ago I got to attend a performance from one of my heroes, William Shatner. The show was called "Shatner's World: We Just Live In It". Aside from just being an amazingly entertaining walk-through of his life, one message resonated with me through out the entire performance: SAY YES TO THINGS! about half way through the performance the light bulb came on. He's had a pretty fun and amazing career doing pretty much whatever because he DIDN'T SAY NO. He wasn't afraid to jump into a project, regardless of the outcome. He wasn't ever doing things because it was going to take him somewhere. He just did them because he thought it sounded like fun. And how can you go wrong if you're just going through your life having fun? I wish I would have seen this performance ages ago. After that, I stopped saying no. Even if I felt I wasn't ready. Even if I was scared out of my mind, I said yes, and then I got prepared to do the thing. And then I did the thing, and it was AWESOME! <br><br>I've had such a long hard battle with stage fright that it's taken me until just in the past couple of years to really come out of my shell. It wasn't 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 instantly become terrified and immediately said no. You may have said "pretty please," you may have even begged a little, but the response was still the same. There was no way in HELL I was going to sing for you because I was absolutely terrified. What's funny about this is that before I moved to Texas I was in a band for several years - you would think that I would have gotten over that, but performing by myself was so scary that I let my fear overcome me. Well, NO MORE! No longer will I let my fear stand in my way! I'm ready to tackle the next thing so bring it!<br><br>Many of you have been following my journey for a long time now, and a good portion of you have played a major role in the continuation of my musical pursuits and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Had it not been for all of your kind words and encouragement I would not be where I am today. <br> Alex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/39404212014-05-12T17:15:00-05:002017-01-14T14:43:36-06:00General Tomfoolery<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180691/1e843ad815dc852d36339351da8c00cef0b84d90/medium/cocktaildidntmakeitself.jpg?1448853015" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br>Last night’s gig at Grape Creek Vineyard in Georgetown was awesome, started out a little warm and muggy, but it cooled off nicely. My friend Victor Bustos joined me for most of the show as well, which is always a welcome treat for me.<br><br>It was a little rough at first vocally due to the humidity, but I got into a groove after a bit. It’s like it cuts off all of my lower range - but once I figured that out, I just tried to raise the songs up a bit and then I was ok. If anyone reading this has any tips for that, I would love to hear them. I tried water, wine, more water, more wine, nothing seemed to do the trick. ;)<br><br>At the beginning of my second set, a couple on their hog came and parked in the alley off to the side of the stage. I waved at them and asked if they were there to hear me play, and they said they were so I played a song to them. After the song ended, I gave them a proper rock star jump ending, they started up their bike and rode off into the sunset. I thought that was pretty bad ass!<br><br>I also got to break out my joke book and share a few new jokes with the audience. The new material seemed to go pretty well. For example: Why did the strawberry need a lawyer? Because it was in a jam! Which was followed by the entire crowd “aw” ing me. Silly, silly fun.<br><br>After the show I got to head over to see Victor play in his band Rotel and The Hot Tomatoes. They’re kind of a big deal around Austin - they play some pretty big events like at the Spurs games. They have a horn section, and the three ladies that sing dress up in full consumes and have amazing voices and fun choreography. The picture is of us during one of their breaks. We just had to have a tequila shot (I take mine chilled and dressed, with lemon)...<br><br>In other news, I was interviewed by one of my fellow GoGirls, Solveig Whittle, about my recent Concert Window performance. You can read about that <a href="http://buff.ly/1q51N6v">here</a>. If you’re a musician and are thinking about doing this, DO IT. It’s so easy, and the best part is you don’t have to haul your gear anywhere! Just set up in your house and go! Here’s the link to get you started: <a href="http://www.concertwindow.com/create-a-show/65rzif224ba">http://www.concertwindow.com/create-a-show/65rzif224ba</a><a href="http://alexwinters.section101.com/%20http:/www.concertwindow.com/create-a-show/65rzif224ba.">.</a> Also, if you were one of the attendees and I haven’t touched base with you yet, I would love to hear your thoughts! It was my first time doing something like that so I appreciate any feedback you have for me.<br><br>Lady Indie Music Blog also did a really nice artist feature write-up on me this month, you can check that out <a href="http://www.ladyindie.com/2014/05/alex-winters-one.html">here</a>.<br><br>Well that’s all for now, folks! Until next time… Keep your hat close and your mustache closer!<br><br>~AlexAlex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/39404222014-03-30T21:20:00-05:002017-01-14T14:43:36-06:00Chasing the White Rabbit March 30, 2014<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180691/1d01adf4921773e2306e4485aaccb462548a85ef/small/alice-white-rabbit.jpg?1448853294" class="size_s justify_left border_" /><br>On any given day, if you ask me how I am I will typically answer one of two ways: Fabulous or Busy. Both really mean the same thing for me. See, I am a superhero by day (I save people from themselves when they make bad accounting/inventory mistakes) and a musicpraneueur, musicpreneuer, musicpreneur, whatever, indie artist by night. What this means is, I get up in the morning, go to work rescuing the poor souls from themselves, then I come home and work at being a rock star. <br><br>Being an indie artist is hard. I don’t mean that in a negative way, it just is. If you’re going to make any money at all, or gain any sort of popularity it is a long slow road to get there. Especially when you aren’t a fan of living out of your car and work a day job like me. For the past several months I have been working on developing this lovely new web site with the peeps from Section101. It took a lot longer than I was hoping it would, but that’s typical when you have a schedule like mine. Anyways, it’s done now, and it should serve me well going forward. I hope y’all enjoy it!<br><br>A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of working side by side with some amazingly hard working people for the Invasion of the GoGirls showcase during SXSW. Madalyn Sklar, the GoGirls fearless leader let me stage manage for the entire showcase, and I loved every minute of it. It was such a great opportunity to get to work the showcase, and the best part was that I got to meet every single artist. I understand if you’re jealous. I would be. :)<br><br>So now that SXSW is over and the web site is published, I’m trying to figure out what’s next. Back to marketing and writing I suppose. Always gotta be working on that. <br><br>Well that’s all for now, until next time!<br><br>~AlexAlex Winterstag:alexwintersmusic.com,2005:Post/39404522011-03-28T21:25:00-05:002022-09-03T04:08:55-05:00June Bug Season<img src="//d10j3mvrs1suex.cloudfront.net/u/180691/10b896e3cc21c98b11e6c462e9631dea86efc381/medium/anatomy-of-a-june-bug.jpg?1448853609" class="size_m justify_left border_" /><br>So this weekend continued a long bought of incidents that have caused me to regress further into my depression. It seems like every fucking time I try to do something around the house, I come out of it scathed and feeling defeated. This weekend was no exception.<br><br>Friday evening, I thought I would come home, take the dog to the dog park so she could get out some of that pent up energy from being cooped up in the backyard all day. Everything went fine there, we had plenty of dogs to wrestle with and lots of daylight. Got back to the house and decided to water the lawn. Instead of my usual routine of turning on the water, going inside, and completely forgetting about it, I decided to take a different approach. I got out a lawn chair, positioned the sprinkler in the first position, pulled out my two-week old iPad 2 and started playing a game. After 5 or 10 minutes, I moved the sprinkler, sat back down, resumed playing my game. After a couple rounds of that, the sun started going down. If you live in TX, then you know we have "bug seasons". Right now, it's June Bug season. Right at dusk, giant June Bugs come out of nowhere and begin dive-bombing anything that remotely resembles light. Completely engrossed in my game, my concentration was broken when something giant attempted to fling itself down my shirt. I jumped to my feet and My iPad was suddenly air-born. Seemed like entire world stood still for the 1.5 seconds between launch and landing.<br><br>I held my breath while I walked over and picked up the iPad. For a brief moment I thought it was ok. Then I saw the screen. Shattered. My heart sank.<br><br>I took the iPad into the Apple store the following week to see if they could replace the screen, before I tried to take it to one of those aftermarket places. I made my appointment for the Genius Bar and waited… When I got up to the counter, I told the woman my entire story. She listened intently and told me how sorry she was that this happened and didn’t know if there was anything they could do for me, but she went to talk to a manager anyway. I was shocked to find that when she came back they said they could REPLACE the iPad! They just gave me another one at no charge! I couldn’t believe it. I was so upset and feeling so down, and then this. I really didn’t expect them to do anything, just thought maybe I could pay for the glass replacement. Such a better ending than I had anticipated.Alex Winters