Alexandra Lioness

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4DdMzN4g9P2nrk3Drhkfih?si=56407e3d65ba4e83

https://www.alexandralioness.com/

A lot of musicians say they’d drop everything to chase music full-time. Alexandra Lioness actually did it and she’s honest about the price, the payoff, and the messy middle. From Belgrade, Serbia, she built Jenner from the ground up, shifted from bass to guitar, stepped into vocals, and learned how to carry a heavy metal band when you’re also the songwriter, band manager, booking brain, and the one doing the social media.

We dig into the practical side of a modern metal career: how to balance multiple bands with different commitment levels, how home recording and reamping can keep releases sounding pro, and why “every two years like clockwork” isn’t realistic for most independent artists. Alexandra also breaks down how her social media growth started during COVID, why consistency matters more than one viral clip, and what it really takes to earn brand attention as a guitarist.

Then it gets real. She talks burnout, self-criticism, and the pressure of being the person responsible for everything. We also get the unforgettable touring stories: first shows with in-ear monitors and click tracks, volume disasters, silent mixes, and the kind of onstage chaos that tests whether you can stay calm and keep the crowd with you.

Finally, Alexandra opens up about identity and reinvention, including graduating medical school, realizing it wasn’t her path, and channeling that transition into a deeply personal solo project that stretches beyond thrash and heavy metal into progressive and piano-driven emotion.

If you care about heavy metal, female guitarists, touring life, songwriting, or building a sustainable music career, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a musician friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

Band Jenner- tune- Eye for an Eye

Tom`s pedals
A great show which features effect pedals.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

Transcript

Welcome And Guest Introduction

Rob 0:31

Dude, what's going on, man? Can you believe can you believe this is our 29th episode? We're currently in fifty-three countries and have an audience over a hundred thousand.

Dana 0:43

That was exciting too. Yeah, a few days ago.

Rob 0:46

Thank you very much, loyal listeners. We really appreciate it. And dude, you've got to check this out. We've got to check this out. That's a bad call to Janet.

Dana 1:25

No, you got this channel. Okay, well, with us today, we happen to have the guitarist and vocalists from that band. Alexandra Linus, how are you doing today?

Speaker 3 1:35

Hello. I'm great. Thanks for having me.

Dana 1:38

Thanks for being here. Thank you for joining us.

Alexandra 1:41

Yeah, it's a pleasure also for me. Yeah, I can't wait to talk.

Starting Out And Finding Metal

Dana 1:46

So tell us a little bit about yourself and you know you're from Belgrade, Serbia. And you know, tell us a little bit about your your background and and you know musically what you've done so far.

Alexandra 2:01

Oh well, it's a hard question. I don't know where to start. No, let's let's start from the beginning. There you go. Good place. Alexandra, I'm from Belgrade. And uh I started playing bass guitar as uh when I was uh around 15 years old. I had my first band uh with my sister that played glam metal hard rock music. But uh, you know, I wasn't very happy at that uh uh situation, so uh I switched to electric guitar and formed my own band.

Dana 2:35

Nice. I'm sorry. Were you you're not happy with the music you guys are playing, or that you're involved with uh the sister?

Alexandra 2:45

No, no, no. Uh actually I kept uh playing with my sister in my own band, so it wasn't the issue. Yeah, uh actually the maybe the the music genre was um a little issue. I mean, of course I love uh hard rock and glam metal and everything, but I was uh more like a heavy metal lover, and then I started listening to sprash metals, speed metal, and you know my influences uh were I don't know, anthrax, megadet, and some kind of uh and those kind of bands. So I decided to form my own band and my sister stayed in the band, but uh yeah, in this one in January, I was like the founder and the leader of the band, and later we started composing our own music, and uh yeah, the story began around uh 20 uh 30. 2013.

Rob 3:38

Okay.

Alexandra 3:39

Yeah, and of end of that year, we formed a band and started playing our favorite covers. Uh, of course, uh later we uh had to go a little uh higher with the quality with the music, and we started uh writing our own songs. So the first album was released in 2017. Yeah. And uh, you know, band was uh usually like a hobby for us since uh I was uh in a medical faculty during that period, uh especially that period when we worked on our first album. So yeah, it kept uh being like a hobby, but for me uh it was like a huge passion. And I simply had to continue working on the new music, um to continue improving on the instrument, and later I started uh singing. I mean, that wasn't my original plan, but I'm not uh I'm not um uh sad about it. I'm very happy because right now I can do almost everything by myself. Right. That's very useful. Yeah, that's very useful. Also, uh with drums, I'm not a drummer, but uh when I compose music, I can program the drums, I can play guitar, bass, I can sing. So yeah, it helps me a lot with with composing music. But you know, when you have a band, you have to have uh different people to play instruments. Yeah, so my band uh switched from being uh a quartet to being uh a trio because uh the singer left the band and uh I didn't want to find another, I just started singing, and yeah, right now we are the three girls band, and we are playing heavy metal, thrash metal. Yeah, so after that first album we released the uh the EP. So the first album is called uh Too Live is to suffer. The EP is called The Test of Time, and the most recent release was Prove Them Wrong in released in 2024.

Rob 5:37

Very nice, very nice. Now, does uh since you and your sister both play, does that run in the family? I mean, are your parents musically inclined as well?

Alexandra 5:45

Or uh actually none of our uh relatives are involved in music. We are the first ones, but you know, our parents are always uh always um were uh they loved rock and metal music, especially mom. We always yeah, we always uh mention mom during these conversations, yeah, because she she started um influencing us as as kids, listening to uh Motherhead, uh ACDC, uh Europe and those, yeah, those kind of bands. So yeah, we simply started listening to those bands, and uh later, at some point, at the same time, my sister is three years uh older than me. At the same point, we we reached the the point where we wanted to play the instrument. I wanted the bass and she wanted the drums. So we started practicing at the same uh period, and we immediately formed a band. And uh while we were in the band, we practiced and improved, so yeah, it was like from from zero, zero musical knowledge, zero um experience, zero anything, and we still kept doing it, and I am still doing it. I mean, now music is uh basically my my job, yeah.

Dana 7:03

Cool. Does your sister still does she still play at all?

Rob 7:07

Yes, she is.

Alexandra 7:08

Yeah, actually, she made a couple of breaks because uh of her pregnancies. Yeah, she has uh three kids, and uh her third kid uh is now six months old, so yeah, we are on a little break due to uh her maternity leave, and also during uh because of my other projects and other bands in which I'm involved now. So we had to put a little break uh on Jenner, but we are planning to come back with new stuff in the future. I'm not sure when, but yeah, it's still going on. All right.

Juggling Three Bands And Recording

Dana 7:41

So so you mentioned other bands. I I know you're involved with you know two other bands besides Jenner. How do how do you arrange all the different practices and rehearsals and studio time and shows and gigs and everything with with the three bands? That's that's gotta be that's gotta be a challenge.

Alexandra 8:01

Yeah, actually that's a very interesting question. You know, you everything you do in in life you have to make a priorities, and that's also happening here with those bands, because uh my second band is uh Sigma Epsilon, which is the band that uh I joined after it was formed, and we are all friends there, and it's mostly like a hobby, and we just write and release stuff when we feel like it. We schedule the shows when we want, usually here in in the local clubs and and stuff. So it doesn't take much time, but then we have a second level, let's say, which is Jenner, uh, that started as a hobby but then grew. So now it's not uh uh absolutely a hobby, it's all it is also part-time job for me, let's say, because you know when you are involved with the recordings and with the geeks, it starts to become like a second job or something like that.

Rob 8:58

Yeah, yeah, very time contained.

Alexandra 8:59

Yeah, but we also yeah, but we had some uh breaks and we had to um, I don't know, organize our time for the schedules for uh the recordings. Most of the recordings we are doing at our wrong place, except for the drums and vocals, and the guitars are mostly recorded uh on my computer, and then I just do the reamps with the with our producer in the real studio. So it's not uh like uh I don't know, a big deal regarding to recordings, especially because we are not um very professional and can't release those albums uh like in every two years. We had have to make a little longer break to to have enough time to prepare the material to uh uh do everything the right way. So usually uh releases for for Jenner happened in around four years, which is I don't know, big amount of time, but that is simply the the way the band can work can work. Yeah, and then we have the third level, which is uh the band I joined last year, uh, and that is frozen ground. That band is uh already a professional band, 100%. So we have the uh most busy schedule with them. Yeah, and I don't know, I just have to to mix and to uh choose which event is the priority, which uh task is the priority. So so far I I think I'm doing okay because uh of those levels. Right. I mean, if I I if I was in two big professional bands, I don't know if I would be able to do to do it like this. So, yeah, for example, we are uh when we are working on a new album on recording stuff, uh recording videos, of course you have to focus on that. So it's just the logic.

Rob 11:22

Well, speaking of which, uh we're gonna include your socials links to our episodes, and please do check them out because you have some incredible uh clips and reels on there. In fact, yesterday I just watched on Instagram your uh when you're recording your video. So like behind the scenes on recording a video. Can you tell us a little bit about that band and that process you went through with frozen frozen crown, correct?

Alexandra 11:47

Uh you mean about uh the recording uh music videos, official ones, or those for the social media?

Rob 11:54

Uh well no, what you had on social media was it looks like it was like a behind the scenes of recording your video.

Alexandra 12:01

Which is really I I don't know when did you see the that video. But yeah, I mean I usually uh do uh those videos for uh for my social media, and I started doing it uh during the COVID pandemic. Uh and somehow from that period my social media grew a lot, and that brought me a lot of connections and a lot of uh I don't know, recognition amongst uh brands and among other musicians, also frozen crown. And uh yeah, the the news is that we are now uh finishing our work for uh the sixth album, which is going to be the first album uh including me uh in the booklet but also in the composing uh of the songs. So yeah, this April last month, we I went to Italy to record a couple of music videos, but I still can't share uh a lot of information about that. But you know, uh next couple of months are going to be very exciting for uh Frozen Crown for that new album, new stuff, new music videos. So everything is going to be revealed uh slowly. And uh unfortunately I can't share it. Come on, come on, give me a little bit.

Big Tours And First US Shows

Dana 13:18

Yeah, we see that you've got a yeah, yeah, we see that you've got a big tour coming up um with Frozen Crown, where you're you know, obviously overseas and you come into the States too. Um tell us a little bit about that. How is this your first time coming to the US touring with you know doing a major tour like that?

Alexandra 13:38

Yeah, actually uh that tour was a little unexpected for me, but also for other band members because the invitation was kind of unexpected. Yeah, before uh the US tour, we already had a scheduled tour uh around Europe with Beast in Black and Sonata Artica. And uh I was already a little bit scared because uh I haven't been on a major tour. So my first tour in Frozen Crown was in Japan last September, but you know, that was just a couple of days, so it was three shows during one week, let's say something like that. And uh, I didn't feel the tour vibes, I felt like we were um visiting Japan and like tourists, and we just played a couple of days. So the first uh yeah, the first big uh experience was supposed to be with the Beast in Black in November, and that would be like the big tour with the tour buses and the arenas and stuff, and I was like very excited, but we're also very scared. And then suddenly, suddenly, another invitation to join Camelot and Vision of Atlantis for the American tour appeared, and you know, when you get that kind of uh opportunity, you just have to say yes. I also had I also had some thoughts and uh had to see if that is possible. Uh and in the end I decided, yeah, let's do it. Let's go. I never I've never been to America. I have a lot of uh fans and friends in the US. So yeah, I would love to experience also that.

Rob 15:14

Very cool.

Alexandra 15:15

The tour starts in the end of August and will last uh until the end of September. I think yeah, it's it's uh one month long.

Rob 15:23

Wow.

Alexandra 15:24

So yeah, I hope to see you guys there if we are playing close. I I don't know if we are near you.

Rob 15:31

You've got a couple dates that are pretty close to us and a couple hundred miles away, but doable. And some of those venues you're playing at, I've been a bunch of those venues, but a couple of them you're playing are really, really cool. I used to live right around the corner from the one you're doing in Phoenix, Arizona, so yeah, there's some very cool venues you're gonna be at.

Speaker 3 15:49

So I really hope you will be able to come up with it.

Rob 15:52

Yeah, we would love. In fact, that's our kind of our future what goals for this podcast is we want to be able to like bring this podcast remotely to shows, to like green rooms while you know when you're playing at a show and you know things like that. So that's kind of our goal in the future, but yeah, that would be outstanding. So of the three bands that you play in uh it's kind of a tough question because I mean do you have a preference of which one you uh put the most effort into? I'm not quite sure how to ask. But I mean, what's your preference of the three bands?

Burnout And Wearing Every Hat

Alexandra 16:25

Yeah, I mean uh uh I mean uh my band, the band I uh founded with Jenner, and of course I I have to to put more effort and energy in that band when something is happening and we have some plans actually. But you know, right now um some people or some person uh they were uh even complaining that I started promoting uh frozen crown more than my own work and my own uh band. But that is not true. I mean, maybe it is right now because something big is happening in that band. My band is on break, and I simply don't have uh anything to promote except the last album, which was great, and I really love it. And those songs are really meaningful to me. But you know, some things are happening behind the scenes. For example, I also started composing my own album, like it is going to be a solo project, and uh I'm uh very much involved in that kind of uh thing, and it's going to be a little different than everything I've I've done so far. So I'm doing things, but I can't talk about them. That is the the happening behind the scenes, yeah. So when when we have some something uh actual happening, we will share, we we will promote.

Rob 17:46

Yeah, and I'll definitely be following your that is normal. Yeah, yeah.

Teaching Guitar And Mentoring Writers

Alexandra 17:50

But speaking about the effort, uh, you know, last couple of years were with Jenner were very exhausting for me, you know, because uh in Frozen Ground, I'm just I'm a member with some kind of uh obligations and tasks, but I'm not the let's say band manager or uh boss or something uh that important. In my band, I am everything. The composer, the the guitarist, the vocalist, the band manager, the booking agent, um graphic designer, marketing uh agent. I don't know, everything, social media. Yeah, I do everything by myself. So the last couple of day of years before and during the the release date of the album were like very exhausting for me. I went through uh a burnout phase, so you know, I always uh try to do the best as I can. And we uh also had to organize by ourselves the promotional gig in our city in Belgrade, and that was also exhausting, but you know, everything uh pays off in the end because uh your heart is full. I do these things for for um passion, for love, and yeah, of course, if you are going to uh climb the steps to to get bigger, to become a bigger band, you have to invest a lot of money, a lot of time, everything becomes more serious. So it took me a lot of uh effort to to reach this level with my band, and now I don't know what to do. I have to make a little break to maybe to to learn something uh from Frozen Crown uh crew from from their management to get some connections to see if the the band is uh supposed to be uh better and bigger or to stay in this level. I mean, I would also uh be able to live with that fact. So not all the bands are supposed to be like uh Iron Maiden. Yeah, especially because you know from the beginning we already had an agreement to to take it uh low-key, not to play some major tours with Jenner because you know family was the most important for our members, and we just have to had to accept it. I mean, we are girls, every kind of uh change in the families for like pregnancy or something like that is uh is making some um how can I say not a problems but some changes in the band. And we also have to respect people's uh uh I don't know priorities, actually. Yeah. So yeah, so I'm trying to to deal with everything. Also, I'm I'm I started uh two years ago, I started teaching uh guitar lessons, and now I'm combining a lot of different stuff, but they are all related to music. So uh doing uh things on social media with other with a lot of uh brands and collaborations, playing in those bands, uh teaching guitar lessons, but I I also started um online mentorship for people who who want to uh uh compose their own music but they are stuck. So I don't know how to uh how to clarify that kind of a job because uh I started it without a plan. I just uh helped a couple of friends to to finish some songs, and then I realized a lot of people have the same problems, they need someone to guide them during the the composing process. Also, I help one help them with the drums, with bass, with other instruments they are not uh able to play. And I see a lot of people uh are very satisfied and very happy with the with the results, and I think that that kind of uh job, let's say, that kind of work with people when you uh have that connection with someone, like real connection, not uh it's not like a pre-recorded course where you just say something and play this, play that. No, uh this is more intimate, and uh yeah, yeah, and sometimes I even get uh emotional. I mean, I'm very emotional person uh person, and when I do with uh with people one one-on-one, especially on their own music, it could be like very, very beautiful experience, but also teaching lessons one-on-one is is very special, even if they are doing some exercises or or playing a song. Uh, whenever you are uh spending your time to help someone achieve their special goals, goals that is like very meaningful for me because all my students are um different and I have a different approach with everyone, and I think they they love that and they feel that, and everybody's uh feeling special, and I also feel special because they chose me to be their guitar teacher.

Women In Metal And Sexism Reality

Dana 22:58

That's amazing, that's a amazing attitude. Oh my god, it's a very good idea. You'll look at your picture and you'll be like, well, just you really play or if you really compose or just a lot of people. Until they hear you play, obviously very amazing. Do you get any uh backlash about uh with the music you play, the style that you play very heavy, speed metal, death metal, whatever whatever genre people are calling it now? Uh, ten years ago there weren't too many females in that uh area doing what you do. Uh did you find it hard to break into it being a being not only beautiful, but uh female guitarist breaking into what was usually a male-dominated area? Good question, buddy.

Alexandra 24:09

Well, first of all, thank you. Thank you a lot of well a lot for your compliments. Yeah, uh recently I started getting a lot of comments that I look like Shakira.

Rob 24:18

Oh, okay.

Alexandra 24:20

And I really love that. I love that. Yeah, because I love Shakira and her style. Nice. Uh yeah, speaking about uh 10 years ago when I started with I mean that now it's even more than 10 years, but let's say around 10 years ago, um here in my local area, there weren't much many girls involved in in music in general, I mean in metal music and rock music. So when my band appeared, it was like uh attraction, especially uh the first band was also uh girl band, but at some point became uh mixed with the guys. Uh but when we first appeared, it was like wow, girls are playing. But you know, at that point we weren't that uh good of a players, but we we tried and we just uh kept uh improving, yeah. So when I started my band, I started playing uh harder, heavier, and uh some people already noticed that. And you know, some situations, uh bad situations with the guys uh have happened eventually, but those are not something that that uh were stuck in my mind. I just uh try to think about all the good experiences that I got from uh any kind of uh people involved in music, also not just the musicians, but also the sound guys, the technicians, the producers. I mean, a lot of guys actually helped me reach this uh level. Uh my boyfriend, my producer, my friends, they are all like male people who who are uh who saw the potential in me and my band and and helped me in some ways to to reach this uh this level. So I try to focus on good things. Of course, sexism is uh always uh there, especially nowadays, but I see that nowadays there are a lot of girls uh involved in metal, and I really like that. And uh, you know, I saw a trend of mixing male bands with the female vocals, especially now. I heard a lot of news uh with Alisa joining Dragon Force and some other bands join forces with some other female uh singers. So yeah, it's it's really cool because the expansion is happening. And the the most uh how can I say the most intriguing uh thing is that I was influenced by some metal singers or I don't know, musicians like Lita Ford, like Doropesh, and um many of many of other girls from from 80s, 90s, and now I reach the level when where some girls are inspired by me. Like I'm 30, almost 30 years old, and I inspired some girls who are now 15. So that is very true. That's that's that's yeah, but the expansion is happening. The girls are uh all all around the metal scene, and that is very, very uh I think that is a very good thing also for the metal commu community and for the females in general.

Onstage Disasters And In Ear Chaos

Rob 27:41

Cool. Well, there's one thing we always do. We we ask all these bands this, and I anybody that's been a musician for any length of time, us included. We've always had a moment that's called Oh shit. When something's happened either in stage or or rehearsal or recording where something's just gone terribly wrong or embarrassing. Can you tell us one of those moments of your experience?

Alexandra 28:06

Yeah, actually, there are a lot of uh situations with uh oh shit live. But but the one thing I uh will probably talk about for the rest of my life is my first show with Frozen Crown. So last year in this period, it was uh May 10th, yeah. Uh I was um invited to play the tour, but uh some things uh just were too complicated to uh solve in that period, so I decided not to. We decided it's better for me to join for the summer festivals, and then suddenly they uh got one date in May and the end of the tour, um, which was like the great opportunity for me to have like a little rehearsal with them and to see if we are fitting well and stuff. And I said, Okay, but how are we going to make it with no rehearsals, not anything? I just have to learn the songs, which are very hard to play, and then to show up and like hey, I'm playing. Yeah, we believe in you. Yeah, they totally believed in me that I would be able to do it, especially we have because we have uh the the project with uh click and some backing tracks like uh keyboards and stuff, and I uh have to have I have to have in-ear monitors uh that I've never used before. With Jenner, we always play like uh very uh raw live with no in-ear with no click. And I simply was used to that kind of live. When we play, we play like and when I joined Bresent Crown, I got the project with the click and with the stuff, and I was literally frozen. Yeah, and I uh learned the songs and was like, if I do this thing uh very well, I would be forever proud of myself. And then I traveled to Italy. We had a little rehearsal, which was not like a conventional rehearsal, it was the three of us, the three uh guitars, with uh everything inside our ears with the program and the click and stuff, and that was the only kind of rehearsal we had. Uh of course we practiced we practice without the amps, like on the guitars, uh, but that's not the same. No. So the first the first uh full band performance was actually on stage, and uh we just met. Uh I just came out of nowhere, yeah. And uh I was already very scared because uh I've never used the in-ear monitors, and the sound was very strange, it was like uh too dry. I when I play my guitar, I hear uh what I hear is like I suck badly at playing guitar. Like, why is this sounding so bad? But the problem was um that you have to lower the gain so everything could be uh audible in uh those uh earphones, and uh I had to get used to this to the the environment, and I remember I had a at least three oh shit situations on stage. So the first one the first one was during the sec first or second song. So uh I just uh I had this uh I don't know how how we call that part of the monitors. I forgot the name, it doesn't matter. So I uh accidentally uh turned the volume uh too too much too high, and I was like blown, my ear ears exploded, and I simpl I just uh adjusted the volume at a couple of seconds uh later I accidentally turned it too low, so I heard nothing. Oh man, so yeah, during the song, I heard nothing, and uh I was like, What? What should I do? And I uh I stopped panicking. Yeah, I I calm calm down and I just uh turned it up a little bit and said, Oh, I hear it okay, everything's fine. And uh we are playing, we are playing, I'm focusing. Yeah, if you saw the some videos, you can see that my face during that concert was like I was like very grumpy because I was focusing uh not to mess up everything, and I did uh I made a couple of mistakes, but they're they weren't very uh audible. So uh we continued playing, and um at some point again, I don't hear anything. I'm not I'm uh trying to switch the buttons to turn off volume, I don't hear anything. So I see the bassist, Aikki, and he was like uh showing some uh expressions to me, and then I realized that he accidentally uh uh stepped on my pedal and turned off my inner system. What? This we are on the third song song or fourth, and we had a huge set like uh one hour and a half and I already had uh a couple of breakdowns. Um so we are playing and everything is okay. At some point, um, the song uh Steel and Gold, there is a little part where I have to play the riff, and then everybody joins with the drums and with other guitars. Uh something uh strange happened and I missed the click. I didn't hear it well because something uh was changing constantly was changing inside my ears. I simply wasn't used to that sound, especially because the drums are live uh behind me, and also I hear some echoes in the uh in my ears, and I missed the click, and uh the whole song went to the wrong direction because of course we we didn't uh want to stop the song, but we uh we had to play it with uh the wrong click, and yeah, we managed to to play it until the end, but that was the the moment I knew I messed up, and uh the good thing is that we all uh were there to I don't know to just continue with the song, yeah, yeah, without uh stopping it. And uh something else happened, I'm not sure what. Uh and uh yeah, the first concert was like very traumatic, but you know, when it when it when it uh was finished, I was I don't know, uh happy and sad at the same time because you know I did a huge job, and they were like, This is our best concert ever. So no, I was I sucked. No, what you heard in your earn ears are not the sound that the audience heard, because you know what uh what comes outside for the people in the audience is very mixed and leveled, and we hear um mostly ourselves and our mistakes if we made them. So uh so yeah, that's that was uh a new thing for me, and later I had to to get used to it. The second gig was uh in Czech Republic, I think, uh, where my E-near was attached to my uh strap in the back, and for some reason it kept slipping away and falling down. And my earphones got uh yeah, it happened like three times, and during that time I have to stop playing to to go to pick up that from the ground to make that uh on the strap. Yeah, I also have a couple of videos with me having uh those kind of issues on stage. Uh I don't know that that's like the most memorable traumatic situations with frozen crown for for Jenner. There was uh on our concert in Ljubljana in Slovenia in 2024. We were playing as uh opening act for SkyEye, and you know, we we just started playing the first song, and there was uh the app that was only for me. I only I used the amp. And we started the song, and during the I don't know, first chorus or something, nothing, just I don't hear the guitar, nobody hears the guitar. The amp was broken. So that special app that brought just for me happened to be uh broken, something was off, so we had to you know stop and say sorry, blah blah blah, find something uh uh else to adjust on stage, and you know that kind of that kind of situations um people usually do understand, but it lowers uh the energy a lot, yeah. Especially since I uh was very um I don't know, I got pissed a little bit. I know it's not nobody's fault, but you know why always everything bad has to happen to me. And I was like very stressed, and then my throat got um dry and stiff, and I couldn't sing very well because of the stress, and um I couldn't share my energy with the people because I was pissed. So that kind of situations are something that you can't control, but in a way you have to control, I mean, yourself, because you are not just a performer, you have to entertain those the people in the audience, and if you come on the stage and just stand and don't talk anything or just play something that's n that's like even if it's technical, if it's not interesting, it's boring, and people will get bored. So yeah, but shit situations happen happens all the time. We have to to learn something from that and to keep going. That is the point.

Rob 38:27

And plus, we're all our worst own, you know, we're all worst on critics. Oh yeah. So we're musicians like that too, you just you just pick on yourself. You think you have a work uh you know terrible concert, and then everybody's saying, Oh, it's great. I've experienced that so many times. I know you have as well. You think you're having a bad night, but the crowd really got into it. So it's like that's just part that's just part of the life.

Solo Album And Identity Shift

Alexandra 38:52

Yeah, sometimes sometimes you you make a lot of mess and a lot of mistakes, but you make uh uh great energy and people are loving it. Oh yeah, they came to have fun. So yeah, I totally I totally uh understand. I'm a little bit um I mean this is maybe off topic, but uh my new album is not going to be very funny because it's like a progressive uh heavy metal stuff, and I do think, but it's very personal and and it's not it's not that funny. Maybe it's it's uh cool to relate with with it if you had uh some kind of uh same situations, but you know, uh I think I might not be able to even play that album live at all. And now when you mentioned the the concerts and the energy and stuff, I'm not even sure um how the people would react to it. I mean, I can't wait to to share it and to see the reactions, but I am very aware of the fact that people love fun music and they want to dance and to jump, not to cry on the concerts. I mean, of course you you have to share a tear here and there if there is an emotional moment, but when everything is related, uh oriented uh around uh those kind of uh I don't know emotions or struggles, you know. It's it's very personal. You have to dig in in music before you you go to the concert. So we'll see. I'm I'm very excited about uh everything.

Rob 40:30

Cool. Have you put a name to your new uh solo project yet? Or I mean as far as uh album name.

Alexandra 40:38

Uh no, I uh didn't uh come up with uh these kind of details, but it's going to be uh like a little concept, conceptual album. But I try to make uh all the songs um if you listen to the album uh together from the first to the last song, it makes sense. But I would also love each song to have their own sense in a way. So it's a little it's a little tricky, yeah. Um especially because I went to through that uh new a new stage in life, and uh that kind of period was very uh hard for me. You know, when I uh I told you that I was uh in a medical school, medical faculty. I graduated actually from the fa faculty of medicine. And uh later, yeah, later I just decided that's not for me, and I would love to pursue music as a career. And you know, that moment when you have to let the old you go is very painful and very hard, and also I uh had a lot of major changes in life after that. When I joined Frozen Ground, my life changed a lot because everything started to be more serious. I reached some goals that I was trying to achieve some for for some years. Uh for I don't know, a couple of years, I was trying to make my my uh music my career, and when I reached that level, I was like, okay, what's what now? What should I do? I don't know, I'm lost. Is this what I wanted? But it's very strange. I don't know. So I had I passed through very difficult uh mental, how can I say period when I was yeah, when I was uh I had to to let go of my old self and to embrace the new version and new um new job, new life, everything uh is new. So that period is mostly portrayed portrayed in my solo album. And you know, now since a lot of time, not a lot, but quite some time past, uh, I don't uh even feel all those things anymore at 100%, but I still can remember those feelings when I had it. They were very um very, I don't know. I literally felt those uh those things that I think about in in the the solo album. And this is the first time that I'm going to be the only one involved uh in everything, except um I I even made the drums, but I think I will have to um find a drummer who will um adjust the programs, drums, or even record. I love uh live recorded drums.

Dana 43:40

And there were some great drummer right here.

Alexandra 43:45

Yeah, so um I'm not sure. I'm still not sure if it's going to be one way or another. And also there are going to be some piano parts. I even wrote the the ballad on the piano, which is very uh emotional, and that is also very strange for me to share with the world because you know I was always like a lioness, the strong one, the someone who is fighting, we are playing hard, aggressive, we are strong, independent women. And now I'm at the state of um my life where I'm uh feeling everything, uh feeling all my emotions actually, and let them um let myself express through through music, and that is very valuable for me. So I even wrote the the piano ballad that is very meaningful for me, and uh you know that is going to be like one big change in my career. I'm going through uh from uh I don't know, never say die or prove them wrong, which are very aggressive songs to the song that is very melancholic. So I try to to not uh limit myself with the genres, I try to just do what I feel. So it's going to be interesting.

Goals Patreon Community And Legacy

Dana 45:00

Yeah. That's amazing. I mean, you're very insightful and passionate about sounds like everything that you do. What what's your next goal? I mean, you've accomplished being the rock star now with Frozen Crown and doing the big tours. Do you have any long-term goal that you'd like to satisfy beyond that?

Alexandra 45:22

That is a hard question because until a couple of years ago, I think I was too afraid to to have some big goals. I don't know why. That's simply maybe because I'm from the small town here in Serbia, and we are not even in uh I don't know, we are somehow outside of the Europe. And being yeah, being a person who is uh uh standing um in Serbia and going uh out there in the world playing shows is very meaningful for me. And now I don't have a very strict plan what should happen in my life, but yeah, now uh I have plans to uh do the tours with Frozen Ground to work on my solo project and to possibly work on some new songs for Jenner. But that is like not uh a highest priority. I would love to to finish that uh solo album and to release it, you know, because you said I accomplished a lot of things and I'm a rock star and stuff. I don't feel like that, especially uh because you know my social media are very are doing very very well. I have uh some fan base, but when you see when you write my name in I don't know, Spotify, Google or something, there is no music related to my name. There is a music related to my band, but a lot of people don't even know that I have a band and that I'm the main composer and that I'm actually the mastermind of that band. So uh at some point I had to change members too frequently for the band. And even though I accepted the fact that I am the band, uh I just uh wanted to have something that is personal for me and related to my name, my stage stage name, Alexandra Lenis. And I think it's very important at least to have that one album out. I'm not I don't care about the stream numbers, uh if it's going to be like the most popular album in the world. I don't care about that. I just care about the the the expression, the the music, the the meaning of everything. I know that those songs would mean to to some people. I have also uh small um not not quite a small I have a very nice uh uh community on Patreon with those people who are following me and uh supporting me for a couple of years. They're like true uh true supporters, and here I share some uh backstage moments, uh early access, exclusive um I don't know, footage or audio previews, or maybe some my views or on something that I don't usually share on social media that's personal kind of uh stuff. So I already know that they are uh they like uh what I'm doing with my solo project, but uh you know, if if they like it, I guess some other people will like it too. And I will try to to do it uh the most professional way I can in the terms of releasing. You know, it's going to be the full album. I plan to record music videos and to do the regular promotion, but I can't promise about the the concerts and tours uh with my solo project. But yeah, I always play with Frozen Crown live, so I don't I will not have that kind of gap that I'm missing a stage. I mean, right now I do miss a stage because I haven't been playing since December. And the first concert, uh the only headlining concert with Frozen Crown is going to be on uh 13th of June in Germany. So yeah, the only concert for this year is headlining, and after that we have those tours. So it's going to be full of playing live and full of experiences. And yeah, and your monitors at work? So no, no big goals for now. I'm just going with the flow.

Rob 49:43

There you go. So uh I know the show is all about you, but do you have any names you want to throw out there as far as you know, musicians you've played with that you just want to get them exposed on the podcaster?

Alexandra 49:57

Do you mean the bands I played with uh share the stage? I'm happy that we are going to share the stage with uh those bands on the tours with the Vision of Atlantis Camelot, also with uh Sonat Artica and and uh Beast in Black. Yeah. And I can't wait to play uh next year. We announced the the festival for next year, and we're going to play with Lordi. I love Lordi. Yeah, so I love I would love to share stage with them. Also, I missed the opportunity uh because uh we were playing at the same festivals, but not on the same day. So I couldn't see King Diamond, which is one of my favorite bands and uh musicians and artists. And I really hope to share stage with him someday. Yeah, that would be great.

Advice For New Musicians And Closing

Dana 50:54

Very cool. Well, with our our podcast, I mean, when we first started this, it was it was all about helping other musicians, you know, that are maybe just starting out going from their their bedroom. Yeah, it still is uh from going from basically their bedroom to you know being on stage for the first time. Um any advice that you have for new musicians, maybe especially female musicians that are just uh starting to break into into music and and trying to get out there and try to form a band or do whatever. What what kind of advice would you give to an aspiring musician to make it to where you're at?

Alexandra 51:32

Yeah, actually I get that question uh not a lot, but uh from time to time, and mostly from girls, because they uh see what they saw what I did, but somehow, you know, a lot of things happened behind the scenes. And my advice and the thing that I did and keep doing is that uh you have to uh make the approach uh to music like that is the one thing that you really really really love do to do, and you you'll be doing that no matter what. So if I'm in music to earn money, to become famous, and to I don't know what, you probably would will not get that like that, you know. I did everything because I felt it here and I just wanted to do it no matter what. I did it for free, I did it uh in the terrible circumstances, I did it um in the garages, in the bad uh studios, bad uh I don't know, rehearsal rooms, uh bad uh I don't know, those local clubs that are small. So everything you you do around music should be uh something you are very devoted to. Uh if you are passionate about it. If you just want to do it for fun, then you have to find your own way. I can help you. I was always driven by by passion and by love for music. And uh I don't regret anything. Everything I did. I think it's brought me something good on a long run. So in the short run, you don't see any benefits. Um maybe, I don't know. For example, uh, people are usually asking questions uh about social media and posting uh I don't know, covers and videos and stuff. You won't get uh a great collaboration deal with some huge brand if you just post one real once. No, you just have to do it a lot of times. A lot of times you have to invest your time. You have to invest a little bit in your gear, for example, the lights, the setting. Uh, if you want it to look cool, yeah, of course, you have to uh sacrifice something. For example, I spent a lot of days uh creating my own home studio and uh working on that. Uh I don't know, um how I behave in front of camera, how I play, how I uh act in in front of the camera while I'm playing. Uh also learning a lot about uh graphic design, about marketing, about uh so it's not about it's not only about love and passion and playing. You have to to be involved in a lot of different branches there are uh around the music if you want to succeed. Yeah, so uh I just uh I think I today replied to to a girl uh who asked me the same kind of question. Yeah, you just have to be uh everywhere in a way, and to to have contacts and to be good with uh people who are doing the similar thing, and uh to support each other, that's very important, uh especially nowadays. So, yeah, always uh invest in yourself, always improve, always practice, uh learn. That is my advice. You can succeed if you're not doing those.

Rob 55:03

Wow, excellent advice, excellent advice.

Alexandra 55:06

Well, Alexander, but it's it's like that.

Rob 55:10

Alexander, this has been an absolute pleasure speaking to you and everybody listening. Please uh do follow her uh her socials, and I will include we will include our links and her links as well on all our episodes. So please do check her out. In closing, Alexander, is there anything you'd like to uh say in closing?

Alexandra 55:31

Yeah, I would like to say that I really had a great time with you guys. And uh I would also love to to say hi to all the listeners uh of your podcast. It was very, very nice and very cute and very intimate. Yeah, so uh a message for your listeners is to um stay heavy and to listen to listen to the great music to never stop listening to to great uh heavy metal. And uh yeah, that's it, basically. Well we are going to Thank you so much for everything.

Dana 56:08

We're gonna we're gonna make sure that everybody knows who you are. We are going to blast you out to the to the masses. We will do our best.

Alexandra 56:16

Thank you so much. I appreciate it very much.