Tastes Like Rock Magazine

Alexis Brown - Down to Earth and Awesome Frontwoman
of Straight Line Stitch

Interviewed by Michael Meade on 7/12/15

Posted 7/30/15 - 5:56 PM ET

Tastes Like Rock's editor had the opportunity to talk with Straight Line Stitch frontwoman, Alexis Brown, about the bands current tour and new EP, Transparency.



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Straight Line Stitch, Alexis Brown pictured at center - courtesy Pavement Music



TLR: Hi Alexis, thank you for taking the time while tour to talk with me. I appreciate it, and I appreciate understanding the delay on my side, I wanted to set this up before you started the tour.



Alexis Brown: No worries. Please forgive my delay as well it's been non stop here out on the road, but thank you for having me.



TLR: I was late first, so apologies are on me [laughs]. Speaking of touring, let's jump right in; you're on the road in support of your new EP, Transparency, which dropped a few weeks ago on June 30. What can those that haven't listened to it yet expect?



Alexis: A brutal emotional roller coaster. Seriously, we jump from one extreme to the next.



TLR: Nice, I like when music does that all in one package. How does the creative process breakdown for you and your band mates, Alexis?



Alexis: All of us write collectively together as well as on our own through computer programs and such. We pretty much just send ideas back & forth to each other and build from there.



TLR: After the remaining dates of the tour conclude, what's the plan for the rest of the summer? Break time? Local shows? Broader touring? Or back in the studio?



Alexis: We officially wrap up our summer tour around August 9th (we've been out since late May) Our goal is definitely to get back over to the UK... so we are working on making that happen. Gotta stay busy.



TLR: I hear that, staying still too loing can make you feel stagnate. While we're talking about future jaunts, let's cover into the studio specifically, what would you like to, or have planned to, release next? Another EP or a full album?



Alexis: Personally, I would like to make another EP because I feel with making a EP there is no room for fillers... it's just the best of the best! With an album you have to come up with a bunch of material to fill up the album and sometimes that just leads to throwing songs together just for the sake of filling up the track listing.



TLR: I like that, and I agree; it is better to have your best material front and center rather than caving to the pressure of rushing just to fill a track list quota. How do you plan out your albums and EPS? Create from songs that are already written or write new songs for each release? I've known artists that favor a combo of both approaches and others that stick to one or the other.



Alexis: I don't feel as if we've ever really sat down and planned out an album. When it comes to us needing to put out music we usually just write new material, and occasionally pull from older ideas. So, yeah, it's kind of a combo deal.



TLR: With so many metal and hard rock bands fronted by women, also being some of the most popular bands out there, right now (which I love and am a big fan of many of the bands with badass ladies on point), do you find for Straight Line Stitch that there is still a glass ceiling to break through in the music industry? Granted we all know there is despite the decades of awesome frontwomen and solo artists kicking ass, but has it personally affected your career and the trajectory of Straight Line Stitch?



Alexis: Speaking for myself and my band I definitely feel like there is still a glass ceiling to break for us as a band. SLS has been a band for over a decade and we've continued to push and work hard but yet we are still relatively underground because we're not a band that is focused on selling a gimmick or focused on trying to sell just me as some sort of sex symbol. And I'm sure this is not only our struggle but lots of other bands with females in them that just want their bands to be recognized for who they truly are as musicians as a whole.



TLR: Hear, hear! Back to the current tour for a moment, have there been any especially high points that stand out?



Alexis: We have definitely gotten to do more exploring on this tour from playing Sunset Strip to hanging out in Reno for Fourth of July.



TLR: Any out of the ordinary tour craziness?



Alexis: On our last night with Spades and Blades, a couple of the guys had a few drinks, sang karaoke, and raged with them till dawn.



TLR: Sounds like good times. Is there anywhere you'd love to tour that Straight Line Stitch hasn't played yet? Venue, state, country, continent or all of the above.



Alexis: Hawaii, Asia, Australia, South America...



TLR: Ah, Australia... he said wistfully as though he had been there... And finally, though I'm sure you've been asked this a ton of times, what got you into music? Both as a music lover and as a performer.



Alexis: I was just born into it. My family are all involved with music in some way. My mom sings in church, my dad plays saxophone, and my brother plays guitar. My brother ultimately is the one that got me into metal. I've always dreamed to be a performer and I've been singing since I can remember.



TLR: Thank you once more, Alexis, it was great chatting with you!



Alexis: Thank you.



For more from Straight Line Stitch visit www.facebook.com/straightlinestitch.