Alexandra Starlight

Musical Style

Alexandra's music has been described as having "rock and roll roots" and a "soul influenced style" that creates an "uncompromising" and "modernized spin" on classic American music.

Her raspy yet soulful vocal style and emotional delivery has been compared to the "gritty intensity" of Queen of Rock 'n' Roll Tina Turner the "blues-drenched raw power" of Janis Joplin, rocker Joan Jett, and contemporaries Amy Winehouse. Critics have called her an "indie-soul diva" with "the swagger of a thousand men."

She is influenced by the classic American sounds of rock & roll, soul music, with nods to gospel, Motown, R&B and blues, vocalists such as Otis Redding, and contemporary British female neo-soul singers.

Fashion

Alexandra embodies rocker chic style, combining vintage and retro pieces with custom designs in collaboration with artists and young designers. She appeared in Smithsonian Channel syndicated program about retro couture, "LA Frock Stars" alongside Dita von Teese and Macy Grey, espousing her love of unique vintage in the episode "If This Dress Could Talk: Sequins and Sparkles for Alexandra Starlight."

Early history

Alexandra began her musical training at the age of 5 on violin, though quit classical training to form various punk bands when she moved to Los Angeles at age 17, then going by the stage name Sasha Baby.

The Holograms

She was briefly the lead vocalist with Los Angeles-based Teenacide Records' all-girl punk band, The Holograms, replacing former vocalist Tammy Ahn in support of their release, "Night of 1000 Ex Boyfriends," produced by Blag Dahlia (The Dwarves) and Bradley Cook (Foo Fighters/The Ataris). At the time, their single "Are You Ready for It" had a top 10 Billboard Magazine garage rock chart hit, named one of the Coolest Garage Songs by Little Steven's Underground Garage column. She then quit the band, with Sisely Treasure stepping in as the new lead singer.

The Hollywood Harlots

She then formed The Hollywood Harlots, her spin on The New York Dolls moniker. Sonically, the project was called the "gritty spawn of The New York Dolls" blended with the "dirty girl appeal of Kim Fowley’s young swagger street chicks-The Runaways."

The Hollywood Harlots caught the attention of producer Jeff Saltzman, who also produced The Killers and The Sounds, at a raucous show at a French restaurant for Alexandra's "Iggy Pop-type" stage antics of pouring whiskey on her face, jumping onto diners' tables, eating their steaks and drinking their wine. She then recorded a demo EP with Jeff Saltzman, though never officially released it as the band quickly imploded shortly after recording it.

Recording

Alexandra recently finished recording a debut EP at Henson Recording Studios (former A&M Records) with Grammy-winning producer Bob Cutarella (Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Michael Jackson, Slash, Madonna) engineer Paul LaMalfa (Brian Wilson, Colbie Caillat, Sheryl Crow, Loretta Lynn, Mariah Carey), Kevin Mills (Michael Bublé, Tom Morello, Céline Dion, No Doubt, Bruce Springsteen, Velvet Revolver, Gwen Stefani) and collaborated with composer Lou Forestieri, who was the one time band leader of Lena Horne.

Format

She released the S/T EP on CD and a rare limited edition, collectable 7" featuring clear vinyl and rainbow glitter on June 21, 2012. The record, limited to 250 pieces, is a custom project, with each piece being made by hand.

College Radio

The EP has impacted college radio, charting as high as #2, ahead of other artists with label support, such as Yeasayer, Dirty Projectors, Buffalo Killers and Redd Kross amongst others.

Live Performance

The Starlight Band has been called a "powerhouse" band for their live performance. She has performed with bands/musicians such as Dick Dale, Semi-Precious Weapons, Kate Nash, Trixie Whitley, Intronaut, Jhené Aiko, Vanaprasta, Harriet & Black Math Horseman, at notable LA venues such as The Troubadour, Hotel Café & The Satellite.

In 2012, she performed at SXSW for a showcase curated by the Miles Davis family, and in 2013 she was an official SXSW showcasing artist, performing at the "50 years of the Beatles" showcase hosted by the GRAMMYs. She also performed at & spoke as a panelist at CMJ 2012, SXSW 2013 and CMJ 2013 on the topics of touring and the success of her limited edition vinyl and creative merchandising ideas.

Film/TV Performance

On September 27, 2012, She performed on the Fox News Channel program Good Day L.A. hosted by Steve Edwards and Mar Yvette in support of the release, performing the tracks "Without My Sunshine" and "T.T.M.F." on air. She performed on San Diego 6 San Diego Living on February 1, 2013 performing acoustically in support of her San Diego performance debut. She also performed on KATU, Portland's news channel, on the morning entertainment program AM Northwest. She is featured in the Smithsonian Channel syndicated program L.A. Frock Stars, which chronicles the Los Angeles high end vintage clothing store The Way We Wore. Her episode premiered Thursday, March 29, 2013 entitled "If this Dress Could Talk: Sequins and Sparkles for Alexandra Starlight." She had a cameo in the Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary Tour documentary intro, alongside Elton John, Iggy Pop, The Black Keys, Nick Cave, Johnny Depp and Gary Clark Jr.

Other musical projects

Alexandra also co-writes with Zachary James of Zachary James & The All Seeing Eyes, lending keyboards & backing vocals to the recording project.