We were lucky to catch up with Alex Mondine recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex , thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

When I was 3 years old I told my mom I wanted to play guitar so the girls would chase me like a rock star. 20 years later that’s yet to happen, however, I fell in love with the instrument when I got my first guitar at the age of 5 and have felt a calling instilled on me to be a professional musician ever since then.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I grew up playing guitar in my local church, and from there played everywhere I could. In high school I formed a band that played everything from Rush and Dream Theater to Harry Styles. This band played talent shows and festival gigs throughout Kentucky, however, the most memorable gig was being the house band for a roller derby through the summer months. From there I studied 4 years at Belmont University where I did a lot of studio work, played in multiple ensembles across all genres, and sharpened my skills. I graduated with a degree in Commercial Music and from there have played at The Exit Inn, 3rd and Linsley, and, (keeping with the spirit I’ve always had), anywhere else that would have me including Elm Hill RV Park, Clarksville Farmers Market, and the smokiest dive bars you can think of. I am currently mainly playing, writing, and recording with Mikki Zip, a super talented country artist based out of Nashville, as well as Bits Of Goodness; a jazz fusion band influenced by video game music and Snarky Puppy. I’ve also been hired on for many gigs including traveling ones, and more projects are potentially coming soon because I love playing with anybody and everybody I can.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When Covid-19 hit, I was almost finished with my sophomore year of college. As you can imagine, being a performance major, (and being away from Nashville as a music community), was very difficult. During this time however, I sharpened my at home recording skills. I talked to a lot of audio engineering friends about tips, as well as studied arrangement of songs using Rick Beato’s series: “What Makes This Song Great.” I learned how to use Logic and Reaper as ways to not only record myself, but understand what makes a great mix and what role each instrument plays. It went as far as sending tracks to a producer friend of mine to create a cover song across 4 different states. I also composed an original instrumental piece while in a mentorship with a professional fiddle player in which I played and recorded guitar, bass, drums, and keys and sent it to him to lay down some fiddle tracks. I then mixed, and mastered everything. When everything opened back up, my studio knowledge tremendously improved, giving me more work as a session player for audio engineering majors, as well as helping me become more of a band leader in arrangement and studio situations.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, being a creative is all about serving. Rather that be my parts serving a song to make an artist’s vision come to life, or my parts or words making somebody in the audience forget about reality for a few minutes. I do what I do to express myself, but I also do it to unite and serve people with the gift that has been given to me. I have just started playing with local pop artist Scarlet O’ Hara, and writing and recording a lot with country artist Brendan Krake as well, along with getting hired on for road gigs by various artists.” Before the last sentence of that section (which is: I love playing with anyone and everyone I can).

Contact Info:

• Website: AlexMondine.com
• Instagram: @alex.mondinemusic

Image Credits
Eli Silva