I recently saw The Damnwells in Austin during SXSW with my husband. As we were waiting for an acoustic appearance by Alex on an upper deck at a small venue called Cheers, we caught sight of him standing on the lower level, texting on his iPhone. Well, I started acting about half my age (currently 42), jumping up and down, excited to see the “real” Alex Dezen, standing a mere ten feet away from me. How could he not look up to see my ridiculous behavior? Anyway, he smiled. Of course, I practically raced down the stairs, with my husband following, filled w/ anxiety and anticipation of giving him a great BIG hug. Needless to say, I did make a fool of myself, but it was worth it….. I met Alex Dezen!

My husband and I talked to him for a few minutes. We mentioned that we LOVE their new album and we were super happy to pledge/support it. I went on to tell him how GREAT he is…… Yes, he’s just a super nice guy… It happened, right then and there, I “fell in love” with Alex Dezen. There’s something about him that had a serious impact on me…. left me in “awe!” Be it a “crush” (as my husband pointed out to me on our drive home) or maybe the fact that he’s genuine, someone who cares and believes in what the band is doing and realizes how hard it is to make it, but determined to keep his fans happy. Just can’t really pinpoint what it is about him, but after reading your blog, it seems as though you can relate.

He never did play the acoustic show at Cheers that night. He had told us while we were talking that he wasn’t thrilled with competing with music in the surrounding blocks. He didn’t think his voice would hold up to the other bands (which were crazy loud) and didn’t have enough time (he tried) to get the band members to the venue. Here’s the cool thing…. when he realized that the acoustic set wasn’t happening, he signaled us to come down to the lower level. He told us he was pretty sure he was going to bail and asked us for our names (our names were in his iPhone!), so he could put us on the guest list for his show (w/ the band – wristband only) later that night. No promises, but he would try. Honestly, how many other musicians out there would do this? How many other musicians out there would post on FB “the names of the fans who waited for my acoustic show earlier today are at the door of The Tap Room” for the 10pm show.” He took care of us… he really took care of us…. so nice, just unbelievably nice.

Well, I saw Alex again that night inside The Tap Room about a hour before The Damnwells performed…. My heart was racing and I felt like I was jumping up and down underneath my skin. I didn’t approach him a second time, but I’m sure he saw me wiggling with excitement from a distance. Of course, I had to stand in front, center stage, gazing up at him throughout their twenty minute set….. he probably thinks I’m one of those CRAZY fans. He never did make eye contact with me while he was on stage, and I can’t say I blame him. That’s alright. I met Alex Dezen that day and saw an awesome set that night. Luckily, we did see him after the show briefly and thank him for putting us on the guest list…. So, I did get one more hug from Alex…. made my night!

I was certainly in a daze all weekend, pure happiness. I couldn’t get Alex off my mind for days. It’s been almost a week since we saw him…. been listening to the record every chance I get and EXCITED to and anxious to see them play at a small venue downtown on April 7th. I think I’ll be sure to make less of a fool of myself… maybe I’ll get lucky and get to talk to him again. He’s just amazing. He’s downright amazing. Sure hope he reaches the kind of stardom that he deserves someday soon… Like I said, he’s amazing. And, for those who don’t know of The Damnwells, they’re truly missin’ out!

Just thought I would share my love of Alex Dezen with you. Thank you for listening.:-)

Angela Rose

You can link my site, it’s ok, I check the bandwidth so it doesn’t ever go over ;)