Alex Dezen is a platinum-selling songwriter, producer, mixing engineer, solo artist, and the lead singer and songwriter for the American rock and roll band

The Damnwells The Damnwells are an indie rock band originally from the Brooklyn borough of New York City.Leichman, Joseph (24 July 2008). Special to The Record: Damnwells seek proper identity. ''The Record'' (Bergen County, N.J.), p. F6. Lewis, Catherine P. ...

. He holds an MFA degree in English from The University of Iowa's

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

, where he was a Jeffrey G. and Victoria J. Edwards Fellow. As a platinum-selling songwriter, he has written and released songs for artists such as

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

Robin Thicke Robin Alan Thicke (born March 10, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his 2013 single " Blurred Lines" (featuring T.I. and Pharrell Williams), which peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, received ...

JoJo (singer) Joanna Noëlle "JoJo" Levesque (; born December 20, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She began performing in singing competitions and local talent shows as a child. In 2003, record producer Vincent Herbert noticed her aft ...

, Matt Hires,

Court Yard Hounds Court Yard Hounds were an American country music and folk duo, founded by sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer. They, along with Natalie Maines, make up The Chicks, formerly the Dixie Chicks. The sisters decided to record a side project ...

The Veronicas The Veronicas are an Australian pop music, pop duo from Brisbane. The group was formed in 2004 by identical twin sisters Lisa Origliasso, Lisa and Jessica Origliasso. In 2005, the Veronicas released their debut studio album, titled ''The Secr ...

, and others. He has also written for and worked with a number of additional artist such as

The Dixie Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Stra ...

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

Gary Louris Gary Michael Louris (born March 10, 1955) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter of alternative country and pop music. He was a founding member of the Minneapolis-based band the Jayhawks and their principal songwriter and vocalist a ...

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Sara Bareilles Sara Beth Bareilles ( ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. Bareilles has earned various accolades, including ...

Christina Perri Christina Judith Perri (born August 19, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. After her debut single "Jar of Hearts" was featured on the television series ''So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series), So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2010, ...

, Genevieve Schatz of Company of Thieves,

Simple Plan Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band formed in Montreal, Quebec, in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of Pierre Bouvier (lead vocals, studio bass guitar), Chuck Comeau (drums), Jeff Stinco (lead guitar), and Sébastien Lefebvre (rhyt ...

Jesse & Joy Jesse & Joy () is a Mexican Latin pop music, pop Duet (music), duo formed in 2005 by brother and sister Jesse (born December 31, 1982, as Jesse Eduardo Huerta Uecke) and Joy Huerta, Joy (born June 20, 1986, as Tirzah Joy Huerta Uecke), in Mexic ...

Bun E. Carlos Brad M. Carlson (born June 12, 1950), better known by the stage name Bun E. Carlos, is the original drummer for American rock band Cheap Trick. He recorded and performed with the band from 1973 to 2010. Carlos was inducted into the Rock and Roll ...

and many others. He is currently signed to

Warner Chappell Music Warner Chappell Music, Inc. is an American music publishing company and a subsidiary of the Warner Music Group. Warner Chappell Music's catalog consists of over 1.4 million compositions and 150,000 composers, with offices in over 40 countries. ...

Career

A series of 4 solo EPs, known as "The Bedhead EPs," were released throughout 2014. The first one, titled ''1/4'', was released on January 21, 2014. The second, titled ''2/4,'' was released on April 22, 2014, and was accompanied by a video, which premiered on the website for

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

magazine. The 3rd EP, titled ''3/4'', was released on July 22, 2014 The final EP in the series, ''4/4'', was released on December 30, 2014. In 2015, he collaborated with the American dance company

Pilobolus ''Pilobolus'' is a genus of fungi that commonly grows on herbivore dung. Life cycle The life cycle of ''Pilobolus'' begins with a black sporangium that has been discharged onto a plant substrate such as grass. A herbivorous animal such as a h ...

, composing the music for the dance piece ''Wednesday Morning, 11:45 (2015),'' which premiered at The American Dance Festival in Durham, NC, on June 15, 2015.

eponymous fifth studio album, featuring the original four members, was released on April 14, 2015. On November 3, 2015, Dezen announced a

PledgeMusic PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...

project of songs written in early 2015 to be released as his first solo album. The project reached its

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

goal in one week. The self-titled album was released by

Rock Ridge Music Rock Ridge Music is an independent record label and artist management company based in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 2004, it has signed, managed, and/or promoted artists including Reel Big Fish, Sister Hazel, Rachel Platten, Matthew Perryma ...

on February 12, 2016, followed by a 9-hour, free internet concert where Dezen performed acoustic versions of every song he has ever released over his 15-year career either with

or as a solo artist, including a live, full-band performance of the self-titled solo album live at the High Watt in Nashville, TN. The footage is still available online to view Dezen's YouTube channel. On August 23, 2016, Dezen announced another

Pledge Music PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...

campaign for his second solo album, releasing the song and video for "Randolph Tonight" exclusively to Pledgers. In August 2017, Dezen released the first recording by his new band, Broken Baby, a rock group featuring his long-time partner and collaborator Amber Marie Bollinger on lead vocals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dezen, Alex 1978 births Living people Singers from New York City University of Iowa alumni Songwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers American male songwriters