Through The Looking PLEXXAGLASS
Non-binary alt-pop artist based in Los Angeles, Alexxa Joan Rae aka PLEXXAGLASS, celebrates 6 years of releasing music. Everything that you wanted to know about the origin story of this incredibly talented artist is just a scroll away! We sit down with Alexxa find out how their music career came to be and many more.
With theater, choir, and a performing background, they were set for a path to Broadway after moving straight to New York after high school. Then dancing came into the picture...and that was the deal breaker!!! So moving to LA was the next step and acting became their next adventure.
“I really fucking hate going to auditions...I hate having to like express someone else’s artistic creation.”
TOTALLY valid. Fast forward to 2014, they tried their hand at writing their own music to gain the artistic fulfillment they were always looking for. Though that didn’t go as planned, it wasn’t until Alexxa took a step back to re-invent themself.
An awesome producer by the name of Kevin Billingslea crossed paths with Alexxa, and next thing you know, he became their producer! Finally, 2016 came around and the name “PLEXXAGLASS” was deemed Alexxa’s official stage name. At the same time, their very first song came out.
The PLEXXAGLASS name origin story:
“It's funny. So one of my boys in high school, his dad nicknames me ‘plexiglass.’ For whatever reason, this was still in the age of AIM and shit. So I actually took that and sort of repurpose it. So the origin is an old, awkward username. I added the “x” and the “a” in the middle to be closer to my name...It really just started sticking when I started performing under that name. I realized that it was weird enough to be really memorable. And people at work used to just called me like ‘Plexxa’ because it went from an AOL username to my Instagram handle just arbitrarily.”
PLEXXAGLASS on the creation of the latest song “Tall”:
“I probably still have the original voice note of that opening line...I wrote that probably during my break at work. I think I do have a really vivid memory of sitting in my car and recording those first few lines. But yeah, all in all, when I sat down at my piano to finish it, it probably took me like 10 to 15 minutes, because it really is just coming to me in that one. It was something that I just needed to get out of me. I was dealing with a lot of rehashing of some of my old trauma within my workplace, unfortunately, and so I really needed somewhere to put all of that emotion that I was feeling. I've been so pleased that there has been such a strong response to that one of people who really just feel very connected and seen by that song it's really really cool.”
Songwriting has really been the best outlet for Alexxa to store their emotions when going through the not so great moments in life. It’s also an activity that allows them to receive the affirmations they need to get through anything WHILE doing the thing they love most.
When it comes to writing music, Alexxa’s car is the go-to place! They even set a shortcut on their phone to make it easier for recording voice memos of song ideas on the road. Everything that you hear from PLEXXAGLASS is written all by Alexxa and then passed to Kevin to bring their vision to life such as soundscapes and arranging music.
PLEXXAGLASS on goals for their music and any upcoming projects.
“I would love to tour hopefully the near future once COVID chills the fuck out. A huge dream of mine is to be synced in a television show to get an opening title track on a series or to get hired. Similar to labyrinth with Euphoria to just do the entire soundtrack for a series is like a huge dream...that's definitely endgame goals. I could quit, you know, tomorrow if I found out that I was able to do that. I’m a big nerd, so I love fantasy, science fiction kind of stuff. But I love dark dramedy kind of stuff that Netflix puts out. Hacked on HBO show, that's a great show. Yeah, I would love to be on anything like that.”
“I'm releasing debut first full record coming out on the 28th. I'm going to pair a virtual release show, really fancy streaming show with multi-cameras. We're gonna shoot it on a soundstage and stuff. And then just probably honestly take a bit of a break because I've been releasing singles non stop since March of this year. I do have songs that are written and ready to go to be recorded hopefully. We're releasing those in the spring of next year. So, take a little bit of a break and then come right back.”
Follow PLEXXAGLASS:
Others featured on Finessed Media Artist Interviews:
