Toronto’s Alex Gage embraces life’s changes with resilience sharing ‘70s rock-inspired single “September, Julia ( feat . Ang) ”
Alex Gage is a Toronto-based multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and composer. Writing primarily under his own name and for his band “Alex Gage’s Flagship”, he’s become known for an exciting, sometimes complex, but easily accessible musical style with a deep debt to the music of the 1970s.
His newest offering, “September, Julia (feat. Ang)”, out on the first day of fall, September 22, 2024, via Quarterdeck Records, is an anthemic rock epic — inspired by greats like Queen and Fleetwood Mac. In a 3-act structure, “September, Julia” opens with a reflective piano introduction, then dives into the full band sound of bass, drums, guitar, and spacious synth over the first verses. The song works itself up over the bridge into collapse, then from out of the void, the song explodes into its final and most epic act.
In addition to performing all of the instruments on the track himself, the production of “September, Julia” reflects Gage’s meticulous attention to detail as the sole songwriter, producer, and recording engineer. The song features the lead vocals of Canadian singer Ang, with Gage’s vocals woven into the mix:
“I did a pass at the vocal line but it didn’t feel right.”, shares Gage “This is when I asked my very old friend Ang to collaborate on the song. We made a weekend of it: we hung out, she learned the song, we watched a masterpiece of Canadian cinema (The 20th Century), and the next day we went into my little home studio for a couple hours. She sang, gave it what she had in the moment, and it was beautiful.”
The song’s genesis dates back a few years to a period of intense emotional upheaval for Gage, during which he grappled with significant life changes along with physical and mental health challenges.
Gage shares,
“September, Julia” is a catharsis about the death of personal pasts and the rebirth that comes with letting go of what is already gone and embracing loss. You find something really powerful left at the bottom of all that.
I originally wrote it at the end of an intense burst of songwriting during a brutal time in my life. I was still fighting my way out of two years of serious, deepening clinical depression, feeling lost at the abrupt end to a 7 1⁄2 year relationship, and confronting the reality of facing a lifetime with physical disability while struggling to get my master’s thesis over the line as my degree dragged out. It all came to a head in this burst of energy, a batch of songs broke the surface that had a different feel about them: intense, unhinged, and claustrophobic, like some kind of bender.
Then, when I thought it was over, in a new voice came that opening line, “If you’re not around, why should I put up with the sound of leaves falling into the breeze?” Matured, seasoned. It sounds a little far-out, but you could almost say that this one was written by my anima. I don’t say that to distance myself from it; it was just clear to me at the time where inside this was coming from, a different voice.”
“September, Julia” is more than just a song; it’s a reflection of Gage’s resilience and the beauty
found in embracing life’s changes — a testament to how we can find strength and renewal in the midst of uncertainty and loss.
First off, care to introduce yourself to our readers? Tell us a bit about your recent release.
Well, I’m a musician based in Toronto; a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer, composer, and (by dint of necessity) producer. I’ve got a degree in musicology – but that has little to do with my songwriting, I’m just fascinated with the study of music, culture, and history. “September, Julia” became a collaboration between myself and a very old friend, which is fitting. Despite some of the song’s surface themes of loss and moving on, it’s really about what (and who) is left after letting go, what you discover or rediscover in that process. I think that’s a pretty fitting theme for old-time friends to explore together. It’s also an outlier for me because it’s the most mainstream, pop-rock thing I’ve ever completed. Even so, it’s still retained its complexities: It’s got this elastic, folky melody; it blends waves of different sonic textures in evolving ways; embraces dynamic range held up by these walls of interwoven vocal harmony; makes use of a simple but effective motific redeployment of the hook; and it even has a pretty bitchin’ little guitar solo in it!
How do you typically go about the songwriting process? Do you have a specific method or creative routine that you follow?
No. There’s little creative hygiene. If I have a main method, it’s to try and be on and attentive in the background at all times. That means solutions to a few existing creative problems are always simmering away in the back of my mind at any given moment, but it also means staying primed to follow my creativity, intuition, and attention (whatever you want to call it) in whatever direction presents itself. Maybe someone utters a piquant turn of phrase, or maybe I’m enjoying some other artwork, or I’m at a show, or on a drive, on a walk, maybe I’m just trying to fall asleep and something grabs my attention… I make practice of pursuing that thing – or at least taking note of it so I can follow it up later. I’m like a cryptozoologist fanatically on the lookout for some miraculous musical specimen that’s never existed; taking down clues and finding proof of it in everyday evidence until I’ve assembled a composite sketch of a creature entirely of my own invention. Once an initial idea takes root, I try just to follow it to what seems like its logical intuitive conclusions. If I get stumped, I’ve got a catalogue of older ideas that have also stumped me as to how to implement them. Often enough, it will turn out that if a new idea doesn’t lead anywhere on its own, if it’s still a worthy idea, it will answer the problem of a previous, still-undeveloped, idea. Music first, lyrics first, feeling first: it doesn’t really matter to me. I take down ideas whenever I can get them however I can get them.
Looking ahead, what are your plans for supporting this new release? Are there any upcoming tours, music videos, or additional content that fans can look forward to in connection with this project?
A PR blitz is all we’ve officially got behind this one. I’ll keep talking about it and trying to convince people to hear it – hopefully, we can get some word-of-mouth moving. The feedback we’ve had so far has been incredibly positive. I don’t tend to perform my “solo” catalogue and Ang chooses not to perform so I wouldn’t be joining her somewhere on tour to do it. A music video would have been a lot of fun. Maybe we’ll do something lo-fi and scrappy if the right concept creeps up quickly enough. Ang and I are both a fan of the raw and dirty aesthetic when there is strong intent behind it, so we could figure something within our means out. What we did do was a little photoshoot to celebrate the release, so we’re sharing some of those. But supporting “content” is 80-95% as boring to create as it is to consume. For us, this was about the song itself and we are content to content ourselves with not losing sight of that.
Looking back on your musical career, is there a particular moment or accomplishment that you consider a turning point or a highlight?
No. It’s always about the next thing. I don’t really experience that kind of sense of accomplishment. I’m relieved when a goal, project, moment, or “accomplishment” has been brought to completion, but then it’s over and you start the next thing back at square one and it’s totally new. Or, because I’ve always got a collection of irons in the fire, it never feels like I’m “done” one thing so much as freed up to devote more energy to something else. A turning point? Last summer my Flagship band and another band that I was also a member of did a short tour. Nothing big, but it was still something I’d always wanted to do. I don’t know if we accomplished anything – but it put a lot in perspective, so perhaps that was a turning point in other ways.
Last but not least, it’s time to pay it forward, what upcoming band or artist would you
recommend your fans check out?
Sunlust: a Toronto-based power trio. Grungy, heavy, rockin’… Steph’s written some great songs and they are a beautiful bunch of people. I saw them recently; they were vamped up with a new drummer and I learned they’re doing a tour in November which, I think, will be in support of a new EP. Definitely check them out live if you get the chance or go listen to their debut LP from a couple of years ago, “Geek Confessions”.
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