Alex Vile is an alternative rock band in Seattle.
Seattle Refined: How long have you been writing/performing?
Vile: I’ve been writing as long as I can remember, mostly scribbled song lyrics in my journal that I look back on from the second grade or questionable voice memos. I picked up the ukulele when I was 14. I started playing guitar summer of 2020 when I was almost 18, and then played my first show on November 11, 2021, at Real Art Tacoma!
Tell us about the artistic process and the different stages that work into it.
At the start of Alex Vile, I’d write all the songs on my acoustic in my bedroom and then bring them to the band and we would add to the song. Although we still do that, we also do a lot of writing at practice. Leo will play a riff that we’ll build on, or Kaelyn will play a sick bass line that Evan will hop on the drums for and it’ll build from there! Unless we’re running the set for a show, we’ll spend hours in our sweaty Seattle practice space writing together every week. It’s so fun.
Where does your inspiration come from? What artists have influenced you?
I pull a lot of inspiration from the music scene that we’re in. Playing with such high-energy rock and grunge bands pushed me out of my shell of only writing very soft indie. Some bands that I take inspo from are Pretty Sick, Cage the Elephant and Modern Baseball. Our bassist, Kaelyn, has also gotten me into some of my favorite emo bands, such as Aren’t We Amphibians.
What kind of genre is your music? What kinds of things do you write about?
Labeling yourself as one genre can be hard because people will always disagree. I like to call ourselves alternative rock. It’s a nice umbrella term. I tend to write a lot about heartbreak, my mental health struggles, becoming an “adult” but not feeling like one and not being able to get over things in the past but moving forward. I like to put some optimism in our lyrics, too, where it’s fitting. Leo (our lead guitarist) is a phenomenal songwriter and brings in perspectives on these topics that I wouldn’t have thought of.
Do you have one song that means more to you or is extremely special to you?
They all mean a lot to me for different reasons and are nostalgic because I tend to write about exactly what I’m feeling/going through that day. But “Color Me Cold” will stick with me always. It’s the most emotional one for me to sing live. History does repeat itself and so do your ongoing struggles. It’s interesting to see how the lyrics still hold true today even though I wrote them years ago.
What experiences in your life have shaped your music?
I’ve always worn my heart on my sleeve, and it’s resulted in some pretty heavy heartbreaks. Something I feel like I could write about forever. Also getting jump-started into “adulthood” when COVID hit my junior year of high school. I went really quickly from being a kid to working full-time and having to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Music became and is the only option for me. Learning who I am and growing while being in a band is another story I can write about forever.
If we want to hear more of your work, where should we go to find it? What about upcoming shows?
We’re @alexvile_ on Instagram. That’s where I post all our upcoming shows and releases. Alex Vile on all streaming platforms + we have a handful of music videos out on YouTube as well! Our next single, “Lucky Number,” comes out July 19 alongside a music video! Our next show is July 20 at Bite of Seattle! We’re also playing the Five Iron Golf Bar in Seattle on August 11 with Aren’t We Amphibians & Excuse Me, Who Are You ?
What is next for you? Anything you’re working on right now that you’re really excited about?
We’re planning on touring this fall, which I’m insanely excited about. We also recently recorded a handful of new songs with our wonderful producer Jim Kaufman and are working on having an album out and getting vinyl pressed! Physical media, yay!
Lastly, how do you take your coffee? We ask everyone!
Iced vanilla oat milk latte, always!!!
About ‘Artist of the Week’: This city is packed with artists we love to feature weekly on Seattle Refined! If you have a local artist in mind that you would like to see featured, let us know at hello@seattlerefined.com. And if you’re wondering just what constitutes art, that’s the beauty of it; it’s up to you! See all of our past Artists of the Week in our dedicated section.
