“…you’re with someone but you’re alone.” — Alex Runions’ “On an Island”
Photo Credit: Dustin Veitch
Grew up in Kipling, a small town in Southeastern Saskatchewan. Your favorite artist, Vince Gill and his ballads. What makes his ballads so special for you?
I have always been a hopeless romantic. Even from a young age, Vince’s songs spoke to me. I could hear the heartbreak and the romance in his ballads. One thing that always drew me to his ballads and his music in general is his voice. It’s unique to its time and still is today. Most male country singers are more baritone, so Vince’s vocal chops set him apart from the others. I like to try and emulate his voice somewhat. I used to always want to sing in a lower register but I’m now proud of how my voice sounds.
Your 2020 single, “Take It Out On Me.” You were drawn to the unique feel of the song, which has the female in the power position — separating it from most male country songs. Which female artists do you feel are creating a new future for the genre?
I have to give props to Jess Moskaluke and Tenille Arts from Saskatchewan. They’ve been consistently showing the world how to do it in a once-male dominated genre. I feel like they are putting out quality songs and people resonate with them.
I come from an older generation, so it’s tough for me to pinpoint the ones blazing a trail right now. I hear a lot about Lainey Wilson these days. I think just before this new era, it was people like Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, and The Chicks. I like Sasha Alex Sloan and Maisie Peters personally, although they are not really a part of the country music genre.
Since releasing your last single “I’ll Do the Driving” in 2022, you have refined your sound towards a more singer-songwriter direction. “My music has always been a reflection of my place in life as an artist and a human. With where I am today, expressing my journey the only way I know how — as a singer-songwriter — is more important than hitting any commercial milestones. “On an Island” is the first example of this new mindset and I couldn’t be prouder to share it.”
How has marriage and becoming a father impacted this change?
My outlook on life and my focus have changed. I can look back and see that I was writing music that I thought others would find to be cool or help me to gain followers. That’s all that seemed to matter. Now, with a family, I realize more what I originally set out to do when I was much younger and that was to make music. Just like the Vince Gill songs I listened to back then, I want my music to speak to someone and have a lasting impact not for just the moment but to keep you thinking and wanting to listen again.
“On an Island,” co-written with producer Chris Burke-Gaffney, examines loneliness in a fading relationship. You shared about your new single, “Relationships can start off being beautiful and fulfilling, before evolving into growing emotional distance despite the semblance of intimacy. As co-writers, Chris and I wanted to look at what that sense of isolation feels like when — despite your best intentions — you’re floating further away from the person you love. It was important for the production to match the vulnerability of the lyrics, so Chris used his expertise to make the music deliberately understated and moody.” How is the use of steel guitar, bass, and drums the key to having the sound match the vulnerability of the lyrics?
If you listen to the instrumentation, you’ll hear some subtleties throughout.
The steel guitar is important in these songs for two reasons; it pulls the song back into walking the line of country/Americana and it follows the vocals in certain places, mainly the falsetto in the chorus. It gives us that lonely, longing sound. The bass, of course, is key. Chris (co-writer) is a bass player first and he knows the key moments for a bass slide to create an impact into the chorus or when to drop out. Along with the bass, the drums keep the song driving. They’re not overpowering but they change the song from being a ballad to being a mid-tempo song while not compromising the feel of the song.
Originally, I envisioned this as a very stripped-down song with only piano, vocal and maybe a cello but Chris sent me this and, in all honesty, it took me a few listens to be okay with it and a few more to fall in love with it. During the bridge section of this song, the band played right through and into the chorus but I felt like it needed to be more dynamic, so I asked Chris to drop the band out in that final chorus, make it bare in that section and bring the song back to life at the end.
The new music is off your upcoming album (due out in 2025). What can fans look forward to hearing on your third album, one that blends country, Americana and roots influences?
That mix is exactly what Chris and I were going for in the studio. I wanted him to have fun with these songs, even though the lyrical content is predominantly sad. There are a lot of songs about heartbreak, sobriety, reflecting on my past and personal growth. I have a song about my dog who passed away in 2022 and another more personal one called “My Backyard” which talks about my family and our favorite place…our backyard! You’ll find a couple of love songs as well. We wanted to take some risks with the vocals and Chris wanted to make sure that he was very involved with the vocals and the performance. I’m glad he was, he had some amazing ideas and direction.
A three-year side project, Restless Texas, pays homage to the Country acts of the ’90s, dedicated to nostalgic moments that take listeners on a drive down memory lane. The name is a combination of the groups Restless Heart and Little Texas, both of whom had most of their success in the ’90s. Which other groups will the country band pay tribute to?
We will be playing Gill, Charlie Major, Collin Raye, Brooks & Dunn, BlackHawk, John Anderson, Tracy Lawrence, Radney Foster, Alabama and George Strait (to name a few). We will also be including female acts to join us on stage so we can do some Carlene Carter, Trisha Yearwood, Pam Tillis, and Patty Loveless. All the greats will be covered. It’s been an enjoyable project so far!
What else is ahead in 2025?
Along with a couple more single releases, I plan to release the album and have a small tour in conjunction with my trio act. It should be a fun year of getting back to performing live more.
For more about Runions, follow him on social media: