Alex Dezen is a guitar player, producer, mixing engineer, solo artist, and the lead singer and songwriter for the now defunct American rock and roll band

The Damnwells The Damnwells were an indie rock band originally from the Brooklyn, Brooklyn borough of New York City.Leichman, Joseph (24 July 2008). Special to The Record: Damnwells seek proper identity. ''The Record'' (Bergen County, N.J.), p. F6. Lewis, Cat ...

. He holds an MFA degree in English from The University of Iowa's

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...

, where he was a Jeffrey G. and Victoria J. Edwards Fellow. As a platinum-selling songwriter, he has written and released songs for artists such as

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 hit single " Blurred Lines", which is one of the best-selling singles of all time. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, h ...

JoJo (singer) Joanna Noëlle Levesque (born December 20, 1990), known professionally as JoJo, is an American singer and actress. She began performing in singing competitions and local talent shows as a child. In 2003, record producer Vincent Herbert notic ...

Matt Hires Matt Hires (born August 5, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter from Tampa, Florida. Drawing inspiration from influences as disparate as The Band, Sufjan Stevens, Wilco and Ryan Adams, Hires became the first artist to sign with F-Stop Musi ...

Court Yard Hounds Court Yard Hounds were an American country music and folk duo, founded by sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison. They, along with Natalie Maines, make up The Chicks, formerly the Dixie Chicks. The sisters decided to record a side project under ...

The Veronicas The Veronicas is an Australian pop duo from Brisbane. The group was formed in 2004 by identical twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso. In 2005, the Veronicas released their debut studio album, titled '' The Secret Life of...'', which peak ...

, and others. He has also written for and worked with a number of additional artist such as

The Dixie Chicks The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and E ...

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

Gary Louris Gary Louris (born March 10, 1955) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter of alternative country and pop music. He was a founding member of the Minneapolis-based band the Jayhawks and their principal songwriter and vocalist after the ...

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Sara Bareilles Sara Beth Bareilles (, ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. She has earned various awards and nominations including nin ...

Christina Perri Christina Judith Perri (born August 19, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. After her debut single "Jar of Hearts" was featured on the television series ''So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2010, Perri signed with Atlantic Records and releas ...

, Genevieve Schatz of Company of Thieves,

Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 1999. The band's lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhythm guita ...

Jesse & Joy Jesse & Joy () is a Mexican pop duo formed in 2005 by brother and sister Jesse (born December 31, 1982, as Jesse Eduardo Huerta Uecke) and Joy (born June 20, 1986, as Tirzah Joy Huerta Uecke), in Mexico City. The duo have released five studio ...

Bun E. Carlos Brad M. Carlson, better known by the stage name Bun E. Carlos, is the original drummer for American rock band Cheap Trick. He recorded and performed with the band from 1973 to 2010. Carlos was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 ...

and many others. He is currently signed to

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalogue consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 65,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

Career

A series of 4 solo EPs, known as "The Bedhead EPs," were released throughout 2014. The first one, titled ''1/4'', was released on January 21, 2014. The second, titled ''2/4,'' was released on April 22, 2014, and was accompanied by a video, which premiered on the website for

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

magazine. The 3rd EP, titled ''3/4'', was released on July 22, 2014 The final EP in the series, ''4/4'', was released on December 30, 2014. In 2015, he collaborated with the American dance company

Pilobolus ''Pilobolus'' is a genus of fungi that commonly grows on herbivore dung. Life cycle The life cycle of ''Pilobolus'' begins with a black sporangium that has been discharged onto a plant substrate such as grass. A herbivorous animal such as a ho ...

, composing the music for the dance piece ''Wednesday Morning, 11:45 (2015),'' which premiered at The American Dance Festival in Durham, NC, on June 15, 2015.

eponymous fifth studio album, featuring the original four members, was released on April 14, 2015. On November 3, 2015, Dezen announced a

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

project of songs written in early 2015 to be released as his first solo album. The project reached its

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

goal in one week. The self-titled album was released by

Rock Ridge Music Rock Ridge Music is an independent record label and artist management company based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2004, it has signed, managed, and/or promoted artists including Reel Big Fish, Sister Hazel, Rachel Platten, Matthew Perryman ...

on February 12, 2016, followed by a 9-hour, free internet concert where Dezen performed acoustic versions of every song he has ever released over his 15-year career either with

or as a solo artist, including a live, full-band performance of the self-titled solo album live at the High Watt in Nashville, TN. The footage is still available online to view Dezen's YouTube channel. On August 23, 2016, Dezen announced another

Pledge Music PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects; such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist p ...

campaign for his second solo album, releasing the song and video for "Randolph Tonight" exclusively to Pledgers. In August 2017, Dezen released the first recording by his new band, Broken Baby, a rock group featuring his long-time partner and collaborator Amber Marie Bollinger on lead vocals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dezen, Alex 1978 births Living people Singers from New York City University of Iowa alumni Songwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers American male songwriters