User:Melinda.ledsome/sandbox

Alex Woodard  (born June 27, 1972) from Southern California who is most notable for his story telling abilities. While his style varies, his music can comfortably be classified as Americana, folk rock, country rock, and adult alternative. He is most known for Reno, his duet with Sara Watkins from his 2009 self titled CD. The video for Reno was featured in Country Music Television's 12-pack countdown and was voted on by users keeping it at #1 for 2 weeks.

Personal Bio
Being born in Southern California it's no surprise that Alex grew up as a surfer at heart – a passion he still enjoys today. He had pursued an interest in acting which garnered him a few spots on national TV Series and commercials. He was passed over for a role in a feature film by a then unknown newcomer (who turned out to be Rick Schroder) and decided that he needed to find another creative outlet and turned to music.

Alex attended UCLA and earned a degree in Business Economics. After graduation he moved to Boston to work with a large mutual funds company but quickly tired of the corporate world. Seattle was his next stop where he got a temp job with RealNetworks, then a small Internet Software company, who created the compression technology for streaming media over the internet.

During this time Alex worked with several iterations of bands and released a few EP's while befriending several other musicians. Many of these musicians would collaborate with him on his albums released over the years.

Eventually Alex moved back to Southern California and released several full length solo albums. He currently lives in a little beach house in a small beach town north of the city with his beloved companion, a big black lab named Stella. He continues to write music and is focused on his newest project "For the Sender"]. He still surfs every day, or at least he tries to.

Music
Alex credits his early musical influences to "his older sister, who inaugurated his education with an old cassette tape of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 'Damn the Torpedoes', and Alex filled in the gaps from there with his dad's collection of Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Neil Diamond, and Bob Seger."

His songwriting skills began at an early age by writing and performing silly songs in school talent shows with his neighbor Patrick – with whom he still plays bass with. They used empty plastic water bottles as drums and a homemade guitar made from 2x4's and rubber-bands. Alex taught himself piano and guitar during his high school years and played in a few neighborhood garage bands.

While working at a small music related internet company in Seattle, Alex

Awards
In 2010 Alex submitted his songs "X" to the judges at the Kerrville Folk Festival for their annual New Folk Competition and was chosen as a finalist. In June 2010 he traveled to Kerrville, Tx for the festival and performed a 2-song set, accompanied by [http:\\http://www.ikemarr.com Ike Marr]. The performance was in front of a small group of well-established performing songwriters and a large audience.  While not selected as one of the 6 winners, the show gave exposure of his music to important people inside the singer-songwriter and folk music world.

Acting

 * Murder in Texas (TV movie) (played Glen Kurth) 1981
 * Battlestar Galactica (TV series) (1981 uncredited)
 * The Love Boat (TV series) (played Jerry, the charge of nanny April Lopez (played by Charo) ) 1981
 * April the Ninny/The Loan Arranger/First Voyage, Last Voyage (1981 Season four episode 15)
 * Return of the Ninny/Touchdown Twins/Split Personality (1981 Season four episode 19)

Commercials

 * Jello Pudding (year)
 * Coca Cola (year)
 * McDonalds (year)
 * Skippy Peanut Butter (year)

Albums

 * Nowhere Near Here  (2000)
 * Saturn Returns (2002)
 * Mile High (2005)
 * Up With The Sun (2006)
 * Beautiful Now (single) (2008)
 * Alex Woodard (2008)