Q: Which artist or bands currently working today would you like to collaborate with?“I’ve already had the pleasure of working with two great artists already, Julia Volkova who is just about the biggest female in rock music at the moment was a total blast to work with and definitely brought a lot of attitude to the recording sessions for a track that we did together a couple of months ago, you know, she’s a little crazy. I also had the opportunity to work alongside Maddie Urie on a track from her album and that was a fun experience and the opportunity to become friends with somebody in a similar situation as myself, there’s a bond between us already and that’s a great thing. Coming into the music industry at the same time and sharing similar influences, ideas and beliefs actually gave us both this sort of, well we’re in this together sort of feeling, it was a case of us against them to begin with.”
Q: Who would you least like to work with?“I think there’s quite a few people living off of the back of label money without actually do anything worthwhile to warrant such an easy lifestyle. You know? I find that pretty frustrating, I’ve been on the other side of the fence. I’ve been the guy struggling to get a record deal when there’s some annoying little popstar getting millions of dollars for not doing anything worthwhile. If you’re in such a privileged position then take advantage of your opportunities, but hey what do I know, I’ve only been doing this for five minutes.”
Q: How would you describe your music to anyone who is unfamiliar with it?“It’s somewhere between pop-punk and alternative rock, I guess would be the line. But I dunno, I like to think that music has become a lot more universal and that genre’s and labels don’t really apply so much anymore, or at least they shouldn’t. But I think I’d describe my music as empowering, maybe. Ya know, I like to think that when people listen to them, that they sort of think, f*ck what people think of me, I’m gonna be myself and real and so long as I’m happy with the person that I am then I don’t really give a damn about your opinion on me. That’s the way I live my life and I think that has come across in some of my songs anyway.”
Q: How did signing to ‘Songs to Love and Die By’ actually come about?“I had heard mumblings of interest towards the end of 2012. I believe that Amy and a couple of her friends saw a show that I did in New York last winter and that Amy enjoyed it. I guess she was a little unsure because there was no contact or interest for a couple months. But I continued hearing things about this label being interested. It wasn’t until I guess March when she came to a show at the Pacha in New York, it was a surprise to me because it wasn’t the sort of place that I usually play, but apparently I had done enough to impress her and so she got in touch and asked me to meet her.”
Q: And what did Amy Meyer say that was enough to convince you to sign a deal with her record label?“I don’t think I needed too much convincing to sign to the label. They were still new and sort of starting to build, but I was pretty sure that this would be a great label to sign with. It’s run by a young woman that seems very ambitious and she’s already proven that if she wants to achieve something then she probably will achieve it. Ya know? We just sort of chatted for an hour or two, talked about music, bands that we both loved and our philosophies on music and life in general, she was a very easy person to speak to and I think I left that building feeling like I could achieve anything pretty much. She has this effect that when she talks to you, she talks with so much passion that it just gives you such belief. She’s definitely been a huge influence on my life and career already and the weird thing is that it doesn’t feel like she’s my boss, I mean, we’re pretty much great friends, we’ve hung out a lot and if Amy and the guys are in town, she’ll call and invite me, she’s very much became a great friend.”
Q: Did you ever feel under pressure to replicate the sort of success that her own band has had in the past few years?“I’m not gonna sit here and be humble, I know I haven’t become the biggest star in the industry, not even slightly close to that. But I couldn’t be more proud of what I’ve already achieved in such a short space of time. In terms of replicating the success of Riot!, I don’t think that’s really possible, it’s a unique thing, it’s like a very unusual rise that just seems to keep on going and going. It’s happened before, the rise isn’t the surprising thing, you look at ‘Misery Loves Company’, ‘Mind’ or even ‘Infinite’, they all made a huge meteoric rise in the industry, but it ended after a couple of years, I think MLC are different, they stopped it, they could have kept it going easily but then ya know, Ryan Williams went in a different direction with PURE and they’re killin’ it right now. But to answer the question, no I don’t feel any pressure to replicate what Riot! have done.”
Q: What is the most important element to your music?“I don’t know, I think lyrics and vocals play the biggest part for me. I don’t play instruments onstage, I have a touring band for that because I prefer to put full effort and focus into the vocals and delivering the lyrics with as much passion as I possibly can. I also think it’s a lot easier for me to interact with the crowd, but I don’t know. I’m not sure what the most important element is, I guess that’s up to the fans and the critics to decide, I just go with my heart and hope that is enough to make what I do worthwhile”
Q: How surprised were you at the positive reaction that people had to your album and single?“I was surprised at how well they did, definitely surprising. I think, this year in particular has been a better year for rock music in general. I think there’s been a lot more positive things from the rock scene, so maybe it’s making a big rise back above pop and all of the commercial stuff that you hear. I’ve put out three singles already and the reaction has been great for all of them, I was also really surprised at how well my debut album did too! I mean, I knew that the songs were good but for people to take to the album so positively was a nice surprise, I didn’t expect to be this far forward in my career in such a short amount of time.
Q: Your previous single ‘Dirty Little Heart’ is about a break-up, were you worried about people making assumptions about the song before hearing it?“You know, you can get put into a certain category very easily in the industry. I like to think that more than anything, it’s just seen as an Alex Simms song, I like to think that people enjoy the song and it’s got a f*ck you sort of attitude to it which I think again is an important thing, nobody wants to be a doormat, just going along with things because you’re told to. I think that the song can go beyond being just a break up song, I’ve had people come up to me after shows and say that Dirty Little Heart changed their life, it made them realize that it’s better to be yourself instead of being who somebody else wants you to be, if I’m not good enough for someone then I think f*ck em’, they ain’t worth knowin’ and that’s how I felt about when I wrote that song.”
Q: Where do you see yourself within three years?“Ideally I’d be continuing to work hard, I’d like to think that I’d be in a place where I can take my time with my music and touring plans. My debut album was a little rushed, I will admit that. I’m delighted with how it turned out, but I certainly think that having a little more time for things like that would be for the best. I’d like to think that I’d be headlining tours, maybe even headlining my own world tour. As a person that enjoys travelling, I would hope that I’ll have visited most of the iconic places that I’m yet to visit. But I don’t think planning things is the best way to do it, I would just prefer to do it.”
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS;Q: Heartbreak or fairytale ending?“Heartbreak, it gives us something to sing about, besides, who wants the perfect fairytale life?”
Q: Studio60 or Chaos Records?“Chaos Records, they’ve had some great rock acts at their label”
Q: Los Angeles or New York?“New York, you just cannot beat that City”
Q: YouTube or Live Performance?“Live performance, every single time, there’s no way you can replicate it”
Q: Coffee or Alcohol?“Alcohol, it helps you forget. We all like to forget sometimes.”
Q: Weekday performance or weekend performance?“Always prefer a weekend performance, people let loose more. It’s all about the weekend”
Q: A night on the dance-floor or quiet drinks with friends?“A night on the dance-floor, I got moves”
