Just Alex – DREAM TOUR

In this Dream Tour segment, the singer-songwriter, Just Alex, lets you know who he would like on his ultimate tour lineup. You can check out the feature, after the break.

Blink-182
What can I say, I’m a Blink-182 guy! This band represents the first half of my life. Tom DeLonge was my first guitar hero, so much so that I wanted my parents to call me Tom when I was young! Their ’01 concert in Quebec City for the EdgeFest tour was the first concert that I ever saw. Fun fact: the ticket said that the show started at 7:00, and Good Charlotte played at 6:00. It was before they became really big – goes to show how long ago it was. It was right before 6th grade! So yeah, even though I haven’t listened to them for more than 10 years, I hold them close to my heart and would love to have them on the lineup.

John Mayer
John Mayer represents the second half of my musical life, I would say. (So far.) Not that he had a tremendous impact on my songwriting, but he did open new avenues for my guitar playing. It’s cool that he got to re-introduce that side of the instrument to a younger generation, it had been a bit forgotten by the pop world. I remember my Mom telling me “you should do solos in your songs!” back in the day when I listened to Blink-182, and I was like “yuck, no!”

It would, however, be unfair to John Frusciante and Doyle Bramhall II to say that he had the biggest impact on my guitar playing, but I did listen to his Continuum album countless of times, so… Plus, he always brings a tremendous group of musicians with him on tour. J.J. Johnson, for example, is one of my favorite drummers. He also played with Doyle Bramhall II, with whom he did some of his best work, in my opinion. I haven’t listened to him consistently for a few years either now, but he definitely makes the list!

Kendrick Lamar
That list wouldn’t be complete without Kendrick. All I’ve been listening to recently is his “To Pimp a Butterfly” album, along with “2014 Forest Hills Drive” by J. Cole. Needless to say how thrilled I was when I found out that Kendrick had some real musicians to play with him live. Unless the style absolutely requires it, I’m allergic to playback. But to electronic music’s defense, Kendrick has a lot of live drums, bass, and guitar on his album. Still, seeing that bunch of musicians make the entire stage shake on “King Kunta” and “The Blacker the Berry” made me discover those songs again. (Even if it’s just on YouTube!)

Alright, so here’s to one of the most disparate lineups ever seen! That’s a bit selfish of me, though – who would like that?

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