Singer-songwriter Alexa Ray Joel chatted about her latest “Riverside Way” single and music video, as well as her music inspirations.
Helen Keller once said: “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart.” This quote applies to Alexa Ray Joel.
The eldest daughter of bestselling music artist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley, Alexa opened up about her music and songwriting inspirations for “Riverside Way.”
Idea for the concept of ‘Riverside Way’
“The song came about very organically,” she admitted. “It has been in the works for a very long time. This is the first of five songs coming from our new EP called ‘Tales From a Winding Tower’. We are releasing the songs one at a time.”
“I wanted to release a fiery banger, especially after not having released music for a while,” she said. “People have always seen me as a ballad girl, and I wanted to really flip the script and push my own artistic boundaries and ideas.”
“I wanted to push past my own comfort zone as an artist by putting out a super-fast paced, highly rhythmic, retro-soul record with a very hooky banger that is a bassline-rooted song with some funky keyboards on there,” she noted.
“I wrote it in my bathtub late one night after thinking about a couple of fun little nights out that I had, and how I felt liberated by them,” she said. “I am such a homebody and such a good girl but every now and then, it’s just to get out and have a few drinks and let loose.”
Alexa continued, “Nobody has really seen that side of me before up until this point and I wanted to show people a different side of me that could be wild and fun, and it allows me to take risks and challenge people’s previous expectations or ideas of who I am and what I am able to put out there as an artist.”
“It was really natural. I came up with the hook and the beat. I write in order… I write verse-verse and then chorus. I didn’t write it at the piano. I heard it in my head and I had to work out the chords,” she elaborated.
“I pushed for a completely huge departure from anything I had done before. It was a lot of fun and it gave me more confidence,” she acknowledged.
“It allowed me to keep experimenting and playing with different sounds and different genres. As an artist, you are not growing, if you are staying in the same genre and not pushing yourself forward with fresh concepts and fresh sounds,” she explained.
“It was a really challenge and it was really worthwhile,” she added.
Music video for ‘Riverside Way’
The music video was directed by Anne-Sophie Bine (with a story by Bine and Yi Jiang). “They were amazing,” she exclaimed. “Anne-Sophie was very collaborative with me and she had a very strong directorial vision.”
“I like the play on duality, and that’s why it was a challenge,” she said. “We shot all day and pretty much through the night. We wanted to show the duality of good girl vs. bad girl, and good boy vs. bad boy, and how you can be both, and break down that mold.”
Working with Ryan Gleason in the video
Speaking of the video, it features a cameo with her fiance Ryan Gleason. “It was amazing to have him in the video,” she said. “Ryan and I have been together for 12 years, so we’ve had a lot of time to build up that natural chemistry.”
“Ryan really surprised me in the best possible way because I had no idea he is so innately good in acting. He is a really good actor, and it blew me away to shoot with him because he really got into character,” she elaborated.
“Ryan was so immersed in this video, and we really got very deep into those scenes. It was a fun little thrill to do this video. I think we actually bonded even more during that experience,” she added.
Vocally on “Riverside Way,” Alexa Ray Joel is the Kate Bush equivalent of our generation (“Babooshka” meets “Cloudbusting”).
Stage of her life
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she revealed, “Fearless.” “I am working on being more ‘Fearless.’ This is me stepping into my ‘Fearless’ era,” she said.
“I would like to get a little bit bolder artistically, where I don’t care or worry what other people think or what they are going to want or expect. This is the end of my people-pleasing era, and I hope I can stay true to that,” she elaborated.
“I am still going to follow my own instincts, and I am not as concerned as I used to be in terms of how people perceive me,” she noted.
“At the end of the day, please yourself, be kind and supportive to others, but work for you and your own passion. I am always thrilled when my music resonates with other people. First and foremost, you’ve always got to trust your inner voice,” she explained.
Alexa reveals her favorite song she has ever sang as a duet with her father Billy Joel
When asked what is her favorite song to perform with her illustrious father, Billy Joel, she responded, “While I love ‘New York State of Mind’ so much and I’ve sung that with him the most, my favorite is actually ‘Baby Grand’. That was the first song I ever sang with him at my very first appearance at Madison Square Garden many years back. That was such a beautiful duet.”
“I just love how soulful ‘Baby Grand’ is and you can do all sorts of melisma to it,” she said. “It was also a real homage to Ray Charles, and my middle name is ‘Ray’ because of him… my father always said that Ray Charles is the greatest singer ever, and I tend to agree with him there.”
“Ray sang so raw and right from the soul and the gut,” she added.
Alexa on Mike DelGuidice
Alexa had great words about Mike DelGuidice, who plays rhythm guitar and background vocals in Billy Joel’s Live Band, and he fronts the Billy Joel tribute band Big Shot. “I love Mike,” she exclaimed. “Mike is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met, and he is also insanely talented. He doesn’t get the credit that he deserves these days.”
“Mike DelGuidice is perhaps the best live singer I’ve ever met in terms of a flawless tonal delivery and in terms of a technical execution,” she underscored. “There is something in his tone that reminds me of my father, and at the same time, he can be so operatic! He is just incredible.”
Success
On her definition of the word success, she said, “People define success differently. My dad has had a legendary career but he also does his own thing whether people like it or not, artistically. He has also been able to be successful in the larger sense of the word, and that’s really rare for artists, especially in today’s industry.”
“For me, I define success as just being myself and creating art on my own terms,” she noted.
“Knowing that music makes such a positive impact on people’s lives in such a huge motivator. I am thrilled whenever my music resonates with people. That’s the goal for me,” she elaborated.
“Riverside Way” is available on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about singing sensation Alexa Ray Joel and her new music, follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
