Pheaturing Alexis Thompson From Oh, Alexis!

PHIRST OF

Yep, Kelly Clarkson wants me. Welcome to the Phile, the web's most updated blog. So, last Saturday I sat in the hot burning sun for 12 hours at Universal Studios to see Kelly Clarkson in concert. Part of the day I thought, "What am I doing? I am 40 years old and I am camping out with a bunch of teeny boppers waiting to see an American Idol who I am almost twice her age." But... there were people who flew in from Boston and New York for one day just to see her, so I didn't feel that bad. Anyway, I was front row and and pretty much center stage and when she came out on stage I was... shall we say excited. Her first song was "Walk Away", and I thought, walk away? I am sunburnt and tired, and you want me to walk away? Anyway, she glanced at me a few times and I know she wanted me. So, I kept on telling myself.  

Look, she's almost glancing at me. So, what's the deal with this Lady GaGa? Did you see her on "American Idol"? She gave me nightmares with her piano playing and dancing and that zipper thing on her eye. It freaked me out. Barack Obama said that he is using his own money to redecorate the White House, and he is using taxpayers’ money to decorate the houses of the AIG executives. MTV is putting actual music videos back on their network. If it works, Fox News is going to do actual news again. The hospital where Octo-Mom Nadya Suleman’s litter was born has fired 15 medical staffers for looking into her private medical records. Say what you want about her, she’s helping the economy. She just created 15 job openings. It's tax time, kids. Some people get stressed out at tax time. I don’t. I have a manager, Ernie Madoff, who I leave these matters to. Did you see when Obama met the Queen of England? It was kind of awkward when she referred him as a spade and thought Michelle was one of her servants. There’s a brouhaha over in England. Michelle Obama touched the Queen. It’s thrown Buckingham Palace into a tizzy. There’s a brouhaha and a tizzy. The Queen’s like a stripper — you can look, but you can’t touch. Unless you take her to the champagne room. Here in Clermont where I live a guy escaped from the local Corrections Facility. They say he is not dangerous and was only in jail for robbery, even though he was locked up for twenty or so years. Jen doesn't know, but I am keeping him in the closet. Man, that actually sounded gay. Never mind. So, did that computer virus on April Fool's Day get you? I am lucky, I have a Mac, so I was protected. Now my old computer got every virus known to man. You could sneeze on it and it would get a virus. Anyway, I have a pretty decent entry for you today. There's a phamous person who died, April 3rd in History, a review of Monsters Vs. Aliens and an interview with a very talented singer named Alexis Thompson who heads up her band Oh, Alexis! 

Lou Saban: Football coach - from when the footballs and helmets were made out of the same stuff.


1882
Notorious outlaw Jesse James is shot and killed in his own home for a $5,000 reward. The assailants are Charles and Robert Ford, both members of the James gang.
1924
Brilliant actor and total loon Marlon Brando is born.
1936
Bruno Hauptmann executed via Electric Chair, for the kidnap and murder of the Lindbergh baby.
1996
US Commerce Secretary Ron Brown's plane goes down in Dubrovnik (Croatia), killing 35. Although many who view Brown's body comment that he appeared to have been shot in the head, this is never fully investigated.
1996
The Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski is arrested in his Lincoln, Montana cabin. It takes the FBI months to search the tiny 8 x 10 foot dwelling.
1999
Bad news for Egyptian rapists! Egypt repeals a 1904 law granting rapists the right to escape punishment if they marry their victims. It seems that this was encouraging the abundant practice of rape, rather than discouraging it.

Monsters Vs. Aliens
A young bride is hit by a meteorite and grows to be 50 feet tall, only to find herself kidnapped by the government and taken to a hidden facility designed to indefinitely imprison monsters, whether they're guilty of much monstering or not. Meanwhile, evil aliens have their sights set on the destruction of Earth and will do anything it takes to invade. And that's where all metaphors for recent terrorism-based events come to an end. The monsters have to battle a lot of huge space robots and save the Earth. That sort of thing takes priority over making political statements. I've got a list of grievances against contemporary animation. I've already resigned myself to the fact that we live in an era where digital is the law, so while I'd love to see more contemporary stuff like Lilo & Stitch take the time to make it all look beautiful and watercolored, I know it's just not going to happen. But I despise and will not accept any more snarky, sarcastic animals, heroes' journeys, characters tailored to the celebrity voice, pop culture references that will make the movie irrelevant and stale in two year's time and nonstop jabber in place of great visuals. Somebody in charge was, thankfully, as tired of that shit as I am because this movie glides over all those potholes with ease. It has the fast-paced spirit of an old Looney Tunes short and it pays tribute to classic vintage monster movies like Attack of the 50 Ft Woman, Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Blob and all sorts of men-from-Mars films while still pushing forward with a fresh perspective. It nods to that stuff but doesn't rely on it for cheap gags. The solution to that Seth Rogen ubiquity problem is you can't blame the man for taking jobs as they're offered, but it does sort of seem that he's in something new every week lately. Happily, his presence here as "B.O.B.," an idiotic blob of blue goo, feels just like just the right way to have him be funny in a movie without feeling like you can't escape. From 1 to 10, I give it a 9. 

Today's interview is with the very sweet, charming and talented singer from Pennsylvania. Please welcome to the Phile... Alexis Thompson.

Me: Hello, Alexis, welcome to the Phile. First things first, don't ever grow your hair! It's perfect the way it looks. So, how are you?

Alexis: Thank you! I've actually considered growing it longer, but I really enjoy how the short hair requires practically no fuss. So, you can probably count on it staying short!

Me: You're originally from Pennsylvania, right? What part?

Alexis: Yes, I am originally from Punxsutawny, PA. It's about an hour or two (driving) away from Pittsburgh.

Me: Have you heard of the band justmegan? They are from there as well.

Alexis: Of course I've heard of justmegan. They're from my hometown! When we were 15/16, Megan and I played music together. I'm pretty sure we were the only gals with guitars in that town at the time!

Me: Where do you live now?

Alexis: I live in Bell Buckle, TN. This is about a two-hour drive to Nashville. It's beautiful farmland and my front porch is perfect for writing a song in complete peace and quiet! I love it.

Me: I love your music, but wish you were on iTunes. Who is the song "Strugglin'" about? Me? LOL.

Alexis: My 'first' two self-produced albums are on iTunes. They are "I Hate Money" and "Some of Us are Crazy". I didn't digitally distribute "Reasons & Ways" because I wanted to make the buying-selling experience more personal. My next album, which will be released this summer, will definitely be on iTunes. "Strugglin'" will probably be on that album. I wrote "Strugglin'" about my boyfriend, actually, when we first started dating. But I see no problem in you pretending it was written for you!

Me: Okay, let's talk about your band name. How did the name Oh, Alexis! come about?

Alexis: Well, long story short (hopefully), I thought about changing my stage name for a while to differentiate myself from all the other Alexis Thompsons out there. Then one day I was thinking about my name and nicknames, etc. and I remembered my family always saying "Oh, Alexis!" when I would spill something or break something as a child... or say something I shouldn't have said when I was a teenager. And I realized that my songs will have just about the same effect on people. Either they will think I've created a mess or said something I shouldn't have said and they will say "Oh, Alexis!" or they will think it is amazing and they'll say "Oh, Alexis!" And I really like that it is playful and fun. "Alexis Thompson" always sounded too boring and serious to me.

Me: Have you heard the band Oh, Hush! You guys should tour together as the Oh Tour!

Alexis: Oh, no I didn't! But I'm going to look them up now. What a great name! hahaha The Oh Tour would be amazing, I'm sure.

Me: You mentioned Brooke Waggoner on your Myspace page, Alexis. I am going to interview her soon. What should I ask her?

Alexis: Really? That's great! Wow. I really don't know what you should ask her! Her songs are so elaborate in musical composition and lyrically. I suppose you might ask her something about her writing process. Would she ever sign with a major label? Her favorite things? Why Nashville? OK now I'm just throwing things out there...

Me: Tell the readers how you describe yourself. You are a mixture of...

Alexis: Johnny Cash and Judy Garland, baby.

Me: You also draw and do photography a lot. My wife is into photography as well. What type of camera do you use? And what kind of drawing do you do?

Alexis: Really? I'd love to see your wife's work. I am almost a photography fanatic. I use a Canon AE-1 right now. It's old and borrowed. I'm looking to get some more lenses and filters for it soon. I really prefer film photography. I've used this Kodak Easyshare for quite some time just to take quick digital shots and I've tried out the new digital Nikons and Canons. But I'll probably sell that Kodak soon enough and buy some film equipment in its place. You can manipulate so much easier with a film camera AND that's what I learned on. So it makes it that much easier for me to stick to it! I've also been playing around with TTV photography, which I'm going to utilize in a series of lithographs this spring. I sketch a lot for ideas. I draw scenes and images from my head. Usually I=2 0use pencils or ink. My forte is actually printmaking (woodcut to be more specific). So, I normally draw out ideas for my prints and then make them happen with a piece of wood, some Flex Cuts, ink, a roller, and the press!

Me: Do you have a Facebook page?

Alexis: Yes, I do. I have a personal page and a musician page. The musician page is still Alexis Thompson. I can't get it changed to Oh, Alexis! for some reason. I'll work on that, though. Until then, look me up as Alexis Thompson.

Me: Okay, what's with you and vinyl? No one has record players anymore.

Alexis: Yes, we do! There are 3 of them in our house. I firmly believe that vinyl is making a comeback. AND the people who enjoy my music 9 times out of 10 also enjoy good vinyls and still have their favorite turn table. I'm getting quite a few orders already! You could never convince me that anything sounds better than the sound of music on vinyl. It's so warm and fuzzy... ah! I guess it's just an obsession. It's what I grew up listening to and I feel that if I was influenced by music on vinyl, I should make music on vinyl. Don't worry, I'll offer it in CD and MP3 form, too. ;-)

Me: You make a few cute videos of you singing, Alexis. Is that fun to do?

Alexis: It is! I never thought I'd like doing that, but quite a few people had asked for videos of me singing so I figured I'd try out the whole YouTbe thing. I've always loved old films, too. So, I guess it's right up my alley.

Me: Congrats on being voted a Hot Rockabilly Woman! Who voted for you, and were you thrilled?

Alexis: Thank you! It was the guy who runs the Nashville Local website (not sure if he gives out his name to the public). I was definitely thrilled. I've never thought of myself as 'hot' really. So, it was flattering, to say the least!

Me: Wanna plug Vintage Threads? How often do you come to Florida?

Alexis: Of course!! Vintage Threads Emporium is run by a sweet maven, RetroSandy. She's working on getting her store online and I can't wait. I'm sure I'll shop there constantly. She's got great style and a huge heart. Anyone in the area should definitely stop into her store. The pleasure will be yours! I absolutely love everything I've got from TVE so far. Look Threads Vintage Emporium up on Myspace. Do it! :-)

Me: Mention your website and give the readers some Alexis wisdom if you would like.

Alexis: My website is www.OhAlexis.com. It's just my music for now, but I plan on getting some artwork on it (or a separate site) this summer. Wisdom? Hmm... I'd say: Always do what feels right to you. Don't overanalyze. Just do. Don't let people drag you down (even when they put you down). Don't try too hard, but by all means, always give 110 percent. Do everything with passion and don't be afraid to be yourself. If you have a dream, get your guts and go make it come true.

Me: Take care and I cannot wait to get your CD!

Alexis: Certainly! All the best, darling. And give me your address so I can send you a CD. :-)

PHINALLY

That was one of m favorite interviews so far. I hope to interview Alexis again when her next CD comes out. Thanks to Alexis and Wikipedia, and you all for reading. The Phile will be back next Phriday with Megan from justmegan. How's that for timing, Alexis? Feel free to e-mail me at Thepeverettphile@gmail.com and have a good weeekend. Until next Phriday, spread the word, not the turd.

JAY-PEA PRODUCTIONS