The Sound & The Sea continues to exceed expectations. As if getting mentions from CMT and Vintage Guitar Magazine in recent months wasn’t enough, I’m proud to say I’ve just licensed my entire record to MTV and E! for use in their television programming with more good things on the way- hopefully you’ll be hearing me on your favorite T.V. show soon!

I’m also excited to be heading down to Austin, Texas this week to showcase at Red Gorilla Music Fest during SXSW on Friday March 16th at Touche’ on 6th street. This is the industry’s biggest week with nearly everyone in the biz attending- happy to be a part of the madness.

On Saturday April 28th I’m playing Rockwood Music Hall in New York, NY. I’m honored to be playing such a cool room. If you’re in the New York area, come out and hang with us, it will undoubtedly be a very special evening. The tour will unfold into a northeastern leg with stops currently in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and more dates being scheduled as we speak. Keep an eye out for a show near you, and come out for some sweet tunes and a high five (or) handshake, your choice (*limit one per person). Hugs however, are limitless.

In other news, I’ve been writing a lot of new music lately and I plan to release The Sound & The Sea on iTunes in the coming weeks. I’ve got some special things planned that will require some audience participation (that’s you) during this process. Otherwise, I’m shooting a music video in April for the first track from The Sound & The Sea, ”Mississippi Water”.

New merch on its way and a brand new store at Facebook.com/GriffenAlexanderMusic. Hey! Do you like me over there? I like you.

I do I do I do.

Happy Spring.

You can purchase The Sound & The Sea here. Thank you for supporting my career and the cause below.

———-

A few years ago, I heard a gentleman speak about the terrors regarding the lack of access to  clean water for millions of people. Shortly after, on Christmas day 2010, I found myself in a position of having been blessed by strangers and friends alike from all over the world with a $10,000 budget to make a new record. I went from feeling enormously grateful to enormously guilty realizing that all of this money was going toward my music when it seemed there were so many other more deserving causes. What began as an unlikely mission to raise $10,000 to make a record became a surprising and overwhelming accomplishment in my little world. I knew that I was going to use this blessing to bless others. Now that the record has been released, I’m so humbled to be able to donate a portion of every album sold to World Vision to provide clean water for our global communities in need.

The facts are astonishing and almost too heavy to comprehend, but they speak for themselves nonetheless.

-894 MILLION people do not have access to safe water needed for drinking, bathing, cooking, etc.. That’s equivalent to the entire population of Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Central America, South America, & the continent of Australia- combined.

-1.6 MILLION children under the age of 5 die each year due to a lack of clean water & sanitation

-3.57 MILLION people die each year from water-related disease, equivalent to the 2nd biggest U.S. city, L.A.

-For every $1 invested in water and sanitation, $8 is returned.

- It’s estimated that a donation of just $25 can provide 1 person with a LIFETIME of water.

*Facts pulled from World Health Organization www.who.int,  UN Works www.un.org, www.Water.org

Why World Vision? Let’s look at these independently verified facts:

-64.6 out of 70  & 4/4 stars overall rating in accountability & transparency

-Over a trillion dollars raised a year

-Nearly 90% goes directly to cause, 7.5% to fundraising expenses (investment), 4% to administrative costs

-One of the highest rated charities in the world

*Facts pulled from www.CharityNavigator.com

While a significant portion from the modest album sales (not famous yet!) of The Sound & The Sea  go toward this cause, perhaps more importantly is that I can help give it another voice, as can you. Please consider donating to one of World Vision’s many wonderful causes at www.WorldVision.org and share this informational post with your friends. The good news is that these facts were difficult to verify because things are improving and the number of people suffering is smaller than it once was, but as you can see, there’s still a very long way to go. If an optimist sees the glass half full, I’d like to see this one overflowing; and take it from me, it can. The power of people coming together is remarkable. World Water Day is March 22nd. Mark your calendars, we can do this.

-Griffen Alexander

The Sound & The Sea has done really well since its release going beyond my expectations in both the press and on the road.  It’s humbling to have my music show up in press alongside artists I have deep respect for. CMT (Country Music Television) included my record in their “Cool Album Cuts”.  Vintage Guitar Magazine said, “… instead of a minimalist DIY project, the album sounds as polished as any major label release….” Some other nice people said:

“Lyrically, The Sound & the Sea by Griffen Alexander is so heartfelt- it’s about a man coming to grips with the next reality of his life, surrendering to the future. One of the best albums of the year.”—JSI Top 21

“….the kid deserves credit for doing the pop/rock thing better than most of his contemporaries.”—The Daily News

There have been a lot of reviews and a very positive reception to the record from critics. I’ve also for the first time in my career been receiving international attention in foreign press in Europe and South America.

Every show on The Sound & The Sea Tour since the record came out has either been sold-out or at capacity (if the show was non-ticketed). These have been the best shows I’ve ever played. If you were at any of these nights I thank you for being a part of the energy that made them so special. Meeting you all face-to-face and then melting your faces in that intimate, live setting is the best part of what I do.

2012 will include many more nights like these as I’m looking to do the most touring I’ve ever done in one year. Some of the tour dates are posted and many more will be throughout the coming months.

Finally, I was honored to have been recognized by the Kansas City Arts Council as a recipient of their Inspiration Grant, awarded to just a handful of select artists and I will be using this award to make my first ever professional music video to be shot and released sometime in late Spring. In addition, I’ve been writing new music over the past month that I’m really excited about and I plan to release it sometime in 2012.

A bevy of new music, videos, pictures, updates and tour dates are on their way and a few extra special bits of news are in the works as well. If you haven’t already, name your own price and pick up the record, a little goes a long way toward my career. Thanks for sticking with me; I believe this year will exceed expectations in every way and I’m excited to have you along for the journey.

CMT (Country Music Television) is giving love to “By Your Side”, a tune from Griffen’s new record The Sound & The Sea. The feature entitled, “Cool Album Cuts” mentions Griffen along side music giants Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams, George Strait, Patty Griffin, and others.

Of the song Griffen says it was the fastest to record and the technique was unconventional. “I wanted to go in and do it with the same sing-me-to-sleep feeling the song has, no headphones, no click, just sit and capture the emotion. I think we got the whole song in two takes, so it embodies the same organic feeling it had that night I wrote it in a Texas hotel room.”

Have a listen:

You can view the entire article here:

http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1674862/cool-album-cuts-george-strait-toby-keith-and-more.jhtml

To support indie music & and hear more tunes, download the album at:

GriffenAlexander.BandCamp.com

I knew right away that this was the perfect fit for the album, and as if to reaffirm this, a flood of ideas on how to package these songs came. It was important that the packaging reflect the same D.I.Y spirit as its story and author, something hand-made, not homemade, and for the packaging itself to be artwork. I went into this project striving for an experience, not just the typical process of opening a plastic wrapped plastic case that holds a piece of plastic with some music on it. The following is the result of an idea becoming a tangible work of art.

The Record Bar

1020 Westport Rd

Kansas City, MO

641110

Doors- 9:30 p.m.

Show- 10:00 p.m.

The New Album From Griffen Alexander

1. Mississippi Water
2. Back To Good
3. Nervous Hands
4. When I Start Giving In
5. I Will
6. Hold My Hand
7. Feels So Right
8. If You Want Me
9. By Your Side
10. Riley
11. Science & Religion

You can support this album and pay what you like at:

http://griffenalexander.bandcamp.com/album/the-sound-the-sea