Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alex G-Smith. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Alex thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Out of all the things artists beat themselves up about, the most gnawing yet unproductive one is ‘I’d be so far along if I’d started earlier.’ On the other hand, though equally annoying and unproductive is ‘I’ll do it tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll be ready.’ For me, I’ve learned to accept that time travel will not be a viable option in my lifetime. Of course I’m human and I sometimes kick myself for not being more disciplined when I was younger, but in hindsight, I wasn’t ready; it’s not who I was.
I was having a blast making little movies, putting on plays and making my little sisters act in them. I did talent competitions, and choir and school plays and it was something I enjoyed more than anything. When I discovered ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway’ and ‘American Idol,’ any dreams I had of becoming a veterinarian were obliterated.
My family will be the first to tell you that they weren’t ‘stage parents,’ but they were very supportive. My dad took me to an American Idol audition when I turned 16. My stepdad got me a gorgeous keyboard to learn how to play piano. And my mom… My mom sat through a looooot of childhood talent shows. She also took me to meet my first agent in the bustling film scene of… San Diego. My very first audition? A Michelle Phifer film.
I must have been 7 or 8, and surprisingly, all the ‘variety shows’ I had recorded in my grandmas backyard did not prepare me for a dramatic cold-read . I was holding the sides to a major film in my hands, my dreams were about to come true; but I had never cold-read a script in my life. My agent hit the record button, and my mouth bumbled and stuttered through the text. While this was going on, I had a thought that I’d never had before- ‘This… is going really badly. My bodies tense, I sound nervous, and I feel no emotion about these words coming out of my mouth.’ I knew I had atrociously bombed the audition, it wasn’t a secret. I thought maybe I had been wrong about this whole ‘acting and performing’ thing. My mom must have picked up on my sudden malaise because she was very matter-of-fact. She told me, ‘Well, you need to practice reading out loud.’ I didn’t know it then, but that audition and subsequent advice were stepping stones to the body of work I’m building on now. Life is short, but it’s also long; profound, I know. While the cold-read was shameful, it was the first moment I crossed over from hobbyist to professional. It would take many years of training and classes and auditioning to really understand what I was doing. It would take even longer to become union, and it would take even longer to make any money. I wasn’t ready for a career when I first auditioned for that film, I had a lot of growing up to do,
But I’ve found that as long as you’re seeking out opportunities to cultivate your creative side, then the question of starting earlier or later is less important. Because in between those times, you can look back and appreciate what you’ve done and look to forward to what is still possible. As far as for the role I had auditioned for, I can’t remember the movie, but I think either Mae Whitman or Alexa Vega got the part. They are both wonderful performers, and they were ready for that opportunity. Now, I am looking forward to the work to come, and this time I’m ready.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

For all of those who have no idea who I am, or that I even exist, I am a proud member of SAG/ AFTRA and ASCAP, which is a flashy way of saying I am an actress and singer/songwriter.

Like most performing artists who weren’t born to royalty, I have had many moments of second-guessing my career path. I think a lot of people get exhausted at even the thought of a career in performing arts, because the pathway is less defined. Sometimes it’s more like stumbling blindfolded through a Mud-Run in nothing but ballet slippers.
But even that isn’t a deterrent. The lows can be very low, and trying to identify if you’re having any success is really personal. I’ll find myself trying to explain to someone why something I did was valuable to my career, and am usually met with a smile and a blank face. And even that hasn’t deterred me. Creating music isn’t something I do for money or praise, cause starting out you usually get neither. I believe that creating is a fundamental part of identity, so when you recognize that in yourself, you can’t imagine doing anything else.

My songs and the projects I’ve done are basically diary entries, and my life is the diary.
I don’t remember what I was doing five or ten years ago, but when I read the lyrics to a song I wrote, it immediately transports me back to that moment and I feel everything that fifteen -year-old Alex was feeling.
Because my songs are extensions of me and usually written during vulnerable moments, it took me a long time to feel confident enough to share them. I spent a lot of time solitarily writing, and had no problem belting out some Whitney at karaoke. I didn’t know it then, but I know now that I was putting off my aspirations.

If I never left the house, or only sang songs someone else wrote, then no one could ever tell me my material was bad. After all, my material is my diary, it’s my life experiences. If people don’t like it, they don’t like me.
But if you’re serious about actually sharing your work with the world, you can’t do it in a vacuum.

The last few years, I’ve had peer reviews of my work, and what struck me is how divisive music can actually be- one person would love it and give it a 10/10. Another person hated it and claimed they couldn’t even get through it. There was also a disturbing amount of ‘peers’ who claimed they just didn’t like female songwriters, period; I felt comfortable discounting them, but gave a lot of thought to the people who had genuine criticism.

Having my peers review what I do gave me some answers to questions I didn’t know I had. Why do I do this? Why should you care? Why does it matter? Does it even matter?
I do it because it’s who I am, it brings me joy in everyway a person can experience joy, and it effects people.
Crunch the numbers, and you’ll find millions of people who use the same chords, the same rhymes, the same tempos, but Fred Rogers said it best: “You are a very special person. There is only one like you in the whole world. There’s never been anyone exactly like you before, and there will never be again. Only you. And people can like you exactly as you are.”
When you listen to my music, regardless of if it’s your style or not, you can at least know it comes from the only place I know how to write from; my heart.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

My favorite part of performing is the real-time effect it has on people. When you’re on stage, you can feel the vibrations of the audience; it’s like a soundless hum that everyone’s caught up in.
In my experience, whether its music or theater, there’s this moment before you even open your mouth where you have to earn your audience.
These people came to see you, but they have a million things running through their minds. Maybe they had trouble finding parking, maybe a family members sick, or maybe they’re there because their friend dragged them along and they can’t wait to leave.
I’ve been on both sides of that coin, as an audience member and a performer. And I can recall those performers who, just by being present, captivated me before they even did anything. Suddenly, everyone’s been lured in and we’re all along for this flash in the pan, and then it’s over.
That web of connection is such a unique and euphoric feeling, and the more you get it, the more you want it again.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I think when someone claims they ‘aren’t creative,’ what they mean is the way they are creative isn’t generally acknowledge as creative. The other part is making a life as a creative; making something from literally nothing but your imagination and gumption. You don’t clock out and hit a happy hour; It is you, and it goes everywhere you go.

I think the biggest misnomer about people in the arts is that we’re lackadaisical, or trying to avoid a life of doing ‘real work.’ When you dive into this career, you’re constantly jumping from your creative-self to your bill-paying-self, all while trying to make time for family and friends and errands.

You wish you made enough to put some savings away or pay off your student loans. Or, let’s be honest, even make one payment towards your student loans.
Every extra bit of cash you have goes towards subscriptions to post the music you’ve so proudly released, while being painfully aware that no one has even visited your site in over a month.

There’s no end in sight, and you wonder if you’ll ever be able to afford getting those car repairs you need;
But then you can’t be too mad about the car repairs, because when it broke down, you wrote a really great song while you were waiting for AAA… The same AAA membership your mom got you for Christmas because she knows ‘moneys tight.’

You pay for headshots and ink, and you suddenly recognize that this dream you had when you were five was maybe a hallucination.
That right there is the moment you will know that you are no longer following a dream- you are actually running a business. It sounds a lot less romantic and inspired, but I believe that this is the biggest misconception people have about what we do, both for artists and non-artists alike.
We aren’t all sitting around smoking, playing bongos, or cutting out photos from People Magazine for our vision boards while rewatching LaLa Land… Although I do like vision boards.

We are handcrafting a life in hopes of making some contribution the only way we know how. We’re fueled by passion and ramen, and whatever leftovers we took from moms house.
And simultaneously, we are CEOS of a start-up, in which the product is us, funded by birthday money and spare change we find in the couch. And we do this, all while fulfilling life’s many other joys and obligations.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://alexgsmith.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dramaramasmith/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100010635318178
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzhlP94bPcJtyrkLSXBUUIA
• Other: Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/alexgsmith IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6880798/

Image Credits
Bjoern Kommerell