A FUN INTERVIEW WITH ALEX FEDER, Enrique's band member(guitarist) & wishing him a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! 20/11/2011 + FAN VIDEO for his birthday :) -Updated

Hey guys!! I'm gonna try and put a few exciting stuff in one topic here ;)

Actually, our resident madre- Hildeke has already made a birthday topic for Alex too but I had to add all these exciting surprises & video here, hence this topic. Hope you don't mind, madre :)

Firstly, its Alex Feder's birthday today YAAAYYYY I'm a massive Alex fan...most of you know the story behind it so I'm not gonna bore you with the same thing but, in case you are inquisitive and you wanna know more, I'll be more than glad to share it with you again...its a SUPER AWESOME story- something he did to meet us in Miami after the concert and otherwise too he's been extremely generous and way beyond cool with fans, always! 

To show him our gratitude for everything he does for his fans, we made a special fan video and he loved it and gave us a shout out on facebook too :D Intro Alex-Jimmy Neutron video mixed by Ines haha loved it, its so funny & Alex does actually resemble Jimmy so much! Also a huge shout out to Sana, Rita, Linda, Ines, Shraddha, Tina & Abeera for all the help, couldn't have done without you!! <3 BIG THANKS to all the fans who participated, it was one of the fun-nest things to make!

Hope you guys enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX FEDER! YOUR EI FANS LOVE YOU!! from Smriti on Vimeo.

Secondly: AN INTERVIEW WITH ALEX FEDER!!!

OMG this one's exciting!! I thought of this fun idea one day that how amazing would it be if we got to know the band a bit better too..I mean, we see Enrique's interviews & news all the time but I would actually love to know a bit more about the band as well as they're an integral part of what Enrique is today. And Alex being my favourite, I approached him 1st with the idea and he happily obliged!! This interview was done around 10 days ago but I wanted to post it on his birthday to make it a special one for the fans too :)

I was so excited!! So, I got my questions ready(which was a task in itself lol). I deliberately kept the interview questions mainly about Alex himself and not Enrique coz its about him as an individual band member... BIG shout out to SS(Shraddha) for brainstorming the questions with me...we had a crazy mad time giggling while putting it together haha THANKS HEAPS Shrads!!

Enjoy my tete-a-tete with Alex Feder!

Let's talk some "Serious Music" coz we are all "Adults" & I can be your  "Mrs Friend"  till  "The year I die"...

(In case you didn't know- "Serious Music", "Adults", "Mrs. Friend" & "The year I die" are all names of his songs. He's an excellent singer himself!)

- Tell us about yourself and how did you decide that musician is what you wanted to be?

AF: I started playing music when I was 13, just classic rock cover bands with friends.  The first time I ever performed was a disaster. The second time I performed was an incredible feeling that I had never felt.  I've never wanted to do anything else since then.

- When did you start working with Enrique Iglesias & how did it happen? Is this your dream job?

AF: This is definitely an amazing opportunity for which I'm very grateful. I was recommended through a friend and I did two auditions for Van Romaine, EI's drummer and bandleader.  I was fortunate enough to get chosen!

- If you weren’t a guitarist, what would you be?

AF: Interestingly I don't consider myself a guitarist so much as a  musician whose primary instrument is guitar. If I weren't a guitarist I'd probably have focused on some other instrument.  If I weren't a musician I have no idea what I'd be.  From time to time I ponder opening an ice cream shop.  Maybe when I'm older.

- Who’s your inspiration and who has influenced you the most?

AF: Michael Jackson. No question.  The people in music whom I admire are the ones who work the hardest, practice the hardest, and are never content to stay where they are.  Michael embodied that: the perfect pop performer through and through, yet still constantly working to improve himself.

- EI fans find you pretty cool & love you as an individual artist as much as a band member, how do you feel about that?

AF: It's really flattering! I'm very grateful for all the support the EI fans have shown, and hope they continue to stick with me for a long time.

- How do you relax your nerves before hitting the stage?

AF: Fortunately, I don't get nerves before hitting the stage.  I dance to build up my energy before performing.

- We love your awesome dance moves on the stage, are you a trained dancer or a natural?

AF:  I have an amazing teacher, friend, and collaborator  in NYC named Pavan Thimmaiah.  We've worked hard for the last few years to develop a specific style and vocabulary that works with what I do.  I'm obsessed with dancing. It's so expressive and physical.  A year ago I tore my knee and was unable to dance for many months, which included the first half of this year's tour. 

Being onstage and being unable to dance made me incredibly sad and frustrated. The video shoot for my first Leonard Friend music video for "Serious Music," which I haven't released yet, was literally the first time I had danced since the injury.  There was so much pent up frustration and emotion in me that was finally getting released, and I'd like to think you can tell in the performance.  Watch when I stand up from the chair in the second half of the video. You can see that I mean it.  I may not be the most gifted or versatile dancer, but I always mean it.  

- Can you shed some light on your private project, “Leonard Friend”? Any story behind that alias?

AF: Leonard Friend is my maternal grandfather's name.  He passed away 3 years ago.  His lifeline dream was to be a saxophonist, but he didn't grow up in a time when one could chase one's dreams like we can today, so he ended up entering his family's traveling salesman business and playing as a hobby.  There are two reasons I decide to adopt the name.  The first is that I hope that in the end, through me, people will always associate the name Leonard Friend with music. The second is that I liked the juxtaposition of an old white man's name with a dancing, Jimmy Neutron-esque, white R&B singer.

- We know you love your dog, what’s her name & do you talk to her?

AF: Her name is Tobee, she's a huge standard poodle. I see her when I go home!  She's really old now, but still amazing.

- According to you, what’s the best thing since sliced bread?

AF: Have you seen my pink shoes?  I had them specially made.

- Which hair product do you use to make your hair look like a “work of art”?

AF: There's no one particular brand or product, it's more about the process. I won't delve too far into it, but it takes two minutes, a blow dryer, some pomade, and some hair spray.

-Are you getting used to the huge female following? Flattering or Annoying?

AF: Totally flattering. Everybody's been very respectful and kind.  I'm very thankful.

-What is your favorite song at the moment? Also, the music scene has changed so much in the past decade, your opinion?

AF: I have three albums that I've been listening to a ton lately: "Let It Be" by The Replacements, "Watch The Throne" by Kanye West and Jay-Z, and "1999" by Prince. There is a lot of great music out today and a lot of music that doesn't speak to me. The good part of music in the modern world is that you have access to EVERYTHING, new and old, so easily. So you can find new things you like, you can discover old records you never knew about, and you can ignore music that isn't for you.

-What song makes you drop everything and shake it?

AF: The song that makes me want to dance every time I hear it is "Dangerous" by Michael Jackson. I'm not sure why. I don't even think it's his best song, but I just love it.

- How often and for how long do you practice?

AF: I don't necessarily practice guitar every day, but I work on various elements of music every day -- songwriting, singing, dancing, guitar, lyrics, etc. For hours. It's really all I do.

- Complete the following, Alex’s EI fans are____________.

AF: Wonderful!  Generous.  Kind. Supportive.

- Ok, an easy one now: Is it makeup or are you naturally this gorgeous?

AF: Ha! I'm not sure how to answer this.  But I don't wear makeup!  I don't even wash my face!

- Any message for your fans?

AF: Thank you! And stay tuned…

Thank you so much for taking out your precious time to do this for your fans, Alex. We Love you & truly appreciate everything you do for the fans, time and again! 

Hope you enjoyed this one guys :) I had an amazing time putting the questions together and arranging this whole thing with Alex.. He's an abosolute sweetheart to do this for his EI fans! Love him for that! <3

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ONCE AGAIN, ALEX! We wish you the entire world's happiness, today and always! & a lot of success in all your future endeavors!!

I have another surprise to share with y'all, its about something I arranged for Alex but looks like I'll have to update it tomorrow as its past 3am again and it'll be a really good idea to sleep just about now specially coz I haven't slept a wink since 2 days haha. 

Updated

Thirdly: Birthday present :)

I won't go into too much details on this one to protect the privacy of all parties concerned but, in short- Alex likes fun t-shirts so I arranged with this particular brand to deliver a couple of tees to Alex as a birthday present from myself & the Aussie fans. Those guys were very moved by the gesture & decided to actually throw in another tee as a present from their side too. Everything went smoothly just as I had planned and he got the gift on 19th which was 20th for Aussies anyway. He was extremely touched by the thought and loved the surprise :)

This was specially to say thank you to Alex who went really out of his way to meet us in Miami even though it was very chaotic there after the concert. We had gone that far from Australia for E's concerts and not being able to meet Enrique was a major disappintment but Alex cheered us up. He made sure he met us before we left which was extremely kind and sweet of him...So, Thank you once again, Alex!! You're awesome!

P.S. Let's just say, I like to make sure the person who made you feel special also gets to feel special himself. It's the least I could do :)

P.P.S Every one who's been asking me for Alex's number & details- dude I have none of those and even if I did, I wouldn't share such sensitive details so hard luck lol

Sorry for the long post :P but hope you guys enjoy reading this :)

xoxo

~Smriti