Like many artists, navigating the music industry right now as an artist can be tough, but ALIX doesn’t let that stop her. Bay Area based artist, ALIX, let us join in on her livestream of her album “Feel Better” where she brings a California breath of fresh air to online viewers. Being the young artist she is, she gives us an inside feel of what it’s like to be a young artist in this tough industry and just exactly how she’s navigating through it. Besides music, ALIX is heavily involved in “Clear List Organization”, an organization dedicated to helping struggling teachers during Covid-19. ALIX shares with us why she feels teachers are essential workers and so important to the development of society. Please read our exclusive interview below.

Where are you based?
I usually am in California either in the Bay Area or LA but recently I have taken some time to live on the east coast right outside of Philly.

What got you involved in music?
I have been involved in music since I was a young kid. Although my parents weren’t musical they were artistic. They started me playing violin around the age of five and I started singing in a local choir group at around seven. I really began getting involved because of how big of a music fan I was. From a young age, I was obsessed with songs and artists from tons of genres that made me want to sing, write, and be involved in the business of music.

What inspired your new album “Feel Better”?
“Feel Better” was inspired by my move to the east coast. It captures two sides of how I was feeling while living in LA right before the move and after I had begun to settle in across the country. I was feeling like I needed change really badly and that my creativity needed a refresh. I wanted to capture the emotions I had been going through. With “Young”, “Golden” & “Let’s Leave” I wanted to show the frustrations I was feeling while living in LA. With songs like “Easy Living” and “Ice Cold” I wanted to bring some personal nostalgia to how it felt to grow up and feel a part of California. And I wanted to bring balance with songs like “Lucky”, “Dreams” and “Spoiled” to communicated the new peace of mind and refreshed the good mood of my new environment.

How has the songwriting process and album release been for you during COVID?
It hasn’t changed much, to be honest. My producer and I create from our home studio and work on our projects pretty much every day. Sometimes I prefer to be able to stay home. And with everything that has happened this year, there’s plenty to write about. The part that was hard was some of the release content. Because I could not travel as I had hoped, I could not film a lot of the visuals I had envisioned. We managed to finish the music video and visuals for the first single “Good” at the end of 2019 so I was able to successfully release those. I am so happy with how they turned out. But other than that, I had to make quarantine work, I ended up planning and filming my own visuals, hand-making and releasing my own merchandise collection, and doing a live show virtually. I filmed and edited a video myself for my song “Spoiled” feat. Rozee, here at home. My endeavors have gone better than I imagined for releasing during a pandemic so I am very grateful.

Jejune was excited to attend your live stream of “Feel Better”, and loved the intimate feeling it provided, how has it been live streaming for you as an artist?
I am so thankful for the kind words and am so happy you were able to be a part of it. That was our first Livestream, almost a bit of a test to see what we could do. We wanted to give supporters of the album and music a view into our lives as creative artists. I am glad you felt the intimate feeling, we wanted to show you where the music is made and feel like you could get to know us and how we work a little better. For the show, we really learned how to do transfer our songs to the Livestream world and I am very happy with how it went and what it means for the future. Now that we know what went well and what could be improved we can do more shows and get more creative with them.

We love your song “Young”. You mentioned in your live stream how the song was about how hard the music industry can be and the pressure to be successful, especially at such a young age. How has your own personal experience as a young artist in LA been?
There are ups and downs. It’s exciting because there is a lot of creativity and inspiration in young creatives. Many experiences to have and learn from and lots of talented people to get to know and collaborate with. But it can be exhausting because it feels like everyone is trying to be the same thing, everyone wants to get to the top immediately and everyone is trying to get there the same way. It can be hard to keep your focus on building your true self and a career of longevity without someone high up to help you skip steps. Everyone gets different levels of help. As an independent artist, it can be especially grueling. There is such an over-saturation of musicians that putting on live shows can be a nightmare, getting new fans can be exhausting because people are numb to so much. You can get lost in a cycle and forget what makes you different, what makes people want to listen. I learned so much being in different studios, writing in different sessions with different artists and producers, and I learned how important it is to have something special that makes you and your art valuable and irreplaceable. So much of my creativity has been influenced by LA’s character and the people and places in each area. And LA has definitely taught me that in this industry you can never really slow down. Give yourself the time you need to regroup when you need that time, but never stop improving on your work each step of the way, never turn down the heat. If you have the talent, the smarts, and the drive, keep going even when it feels impossible.

In the Livestream you did a shout out and mentioned that proceeds for the stream would go to the “ClearList Organization”, an organization helping struggling teachers during COVID- 19, what inspired you to do this? I saw a tweet from Val Demings that read “Teachers already pay for basic school supplies out of their own pockets. We cannot put them in a position where they also have to buy masks and sanitation supplies. The government has to step in to protect teachers and students.”
This made me immediately think of my high school art teacher. l went to an art school and she didn’t even get the funding she needed there. I responded to the tweet saying I remember how she would beg her students to keep the brushes clean because she paid out of pocket for so many of our supplies. She shared with us how she struggled and I am grateful for that, she was very real with us about life, she was an amazing teacher and deserved better. That was a few years ago. Now with COVID teachers need even more help.

Since I started doing a “Spotlight” on Organizations I wanted to support with my releases, I decided to look for one that helped teachers and by doing so I found ClearTheList.

How did you get involved with “ClearList Organization”?
I found ClearTheList online and looked into their website as well as social media like Twitter and Instagram to find examples of teachers that they had helped and what exactly they stood for. I found examples of teachers submitting their classroom lists and getting them taken care of by ClearTheList. I thought their idea of getting donations to help teachers in need with supplies was exactly what I was looking for. I decided with my live show I would Spotlight the organization, asking for donations and including a donation in the VIP ticket packages. I also wanted to bring up the organization to those watching in case they wanted to check it out or if they had a teacher in their lives that needed some extra help.

Teachers are a fundamental part of growing up and educating our youth, how has a teacher impacted your own life?
I’ve had a number of teachers that have impacted me in different ways. My art teacher Ms. Jones influenced me to be my unique self in art, to not take things so seriously and that maybe some guidelines don’t really matter. I had a Math teacher in 8th Grade, Ms. Yaffee, I used to get tutored by her in SF. When I was there and the lesson was done, she and her wife would play music together. It always felt so happy and free over there. I was impacted by my bass teacher, Clarence Stephens who gave me the freedom to put emotions into music, and by my vocal coach Amber Morris who taught me what it took to be a singer. I also had a history teacher, Mr. Searle, who made learning fun —he taught his own way and you could tell he was a huge fan of the subjects he was speaking about. His teaching made me realize that learning could be amazing and endlessly interesting if you learn about it in a way that excites you and makes you feel involved. Teachers like them made teenage me feel like life was bigger than school but that education was important.

There are a lot of teachers who have been struggling with the new COVID rules set up in schools, either having to teach from home, or in some ways worse, they are fearing for their health as they have to go to work. What are your thoughts on what they are going through and them being considered essential workers?
I definitely think they are essential workers. We can’t just halt the development and education prime years for our youth and those in schools, but we are in a health crisis like which our generations have not seen, so we must adjust and prepare to keep everything going while being safe and cautious. That takes support. COVID aside, I would love to see teachers get the funding and support they so desperately need. Education overall needs to be taken more seriously, and I don’t mean in ways to get kids to go to college, I mean in developmental education. A diversely and efficiently educated population functions better and has a more vast understanding of how to improve with each generation. There needs to be more care put into how we educate children and making sure those who educate have the tools they need to create the best possible future minds. And education happens when people are given the tools and compensation they need. My whole life my schools have been defunded and underfunded, teachers have been paid laughable salaries, classrooms would be overpopulated with kids who all learned completely in different ways, my teachers would pay out of pocket for supplies, and my county did not struggle financially. Now with COVID and the government wanting to send kids and teachers back to school with little to no plan or precaution, teachers are needing help more than ever. I would love to see them get both the proper supplies and effective PPE and cleaning supplies to keep them, students and families, safe. And if that isn’t possible, then give teachers and parents what they need to make online school possible for all income levels. Kids deserve better and so do teachers, the future depends on it.

How would you like to see others make teachers' lives a little bit easier?
Until the government improves on their dedication to giving those in the education system what they need, I would love for people to continue to donate and submit lists to help out teachers and by doing so, also helping the students, and therefore the future of the country.

I hope both students and teachers cut each other some slack and try to understand that everyone is trying to keep it together. I hope people appreciate teachers for putting their students first for the future even when it puts them at risk. And overall I hope people begin to demand more for our school systems and investments into the betterment of our country through education.

COVID has been pretty impacting for many artists. How are you staying positive during a shelter in place?
I am very fortunate for COVID to not have impacted my life very much. I work from home and don’t like going out much already, and I am very lucky and grateful to be financially stable and do not live alone. The thing that has been the hardest is not going home to California. I have been too busy to travel in the less crowded traveling months and now during the holidays, I haven’t felt comfortable traveling home to my parents. Because of this, I haven’t been home to California all year. It is really starting to get to me, I am pretty homesick. I love my new place but I miss my friends and my home. I just worry about the people I love and those who are being affected so terribly by all of this. I wish there was more help to more people.

What is your motto in life?
Try your best to do what makes you and others happy.

Please list any websites/social media you would like Jejune to feature?
Website: www.alixmusic.com
Instagram: @alixfullerton
Twitter: @alixfullerton
Facebook: @alixfullertonofficial
TikTok: @itsalixfullerton
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS-16hs-LwifnyaYRTzymig
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1wuV4qWXsKo26BduCfiXI4?si=GK9f8aGCSLm6Ed2kLeF6pw Apple
Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/alix/1409477317
Bandcamp: https://alixfullerton.bandcamp.com
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/alixfullerton

Feel Better with ALIX