Alexander James Adams
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Alexander James Adams (formerly Heather Alexander; born November 8, 1962) is an American singer, musician and songwriter in the
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
and world music genres who blends mythical, fantasy, and
traditional A tradition is a system of beliefs or behaviors (folk custom) passed down within a group of people or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examp ...
themes in performances, switching between
instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
fiddle A fiddle is a Bow (music), bowed String instrument, string musical instrument, most often a violin or a bass. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including European classical music, classical music. Althou ...
and
song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
s accompanied by
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
,
bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A Goatskin (material), goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or ot ...
, and fiddle-playing. Adams has also been an artist in the field of
filk music Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to Science fiction fandom, science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-197 ...
and won multiple Pegasus awards. Adams performed for 25 years before his
gender transition Gender transition is the process of affirming and expressing one's internal sense of gender, rather than the sex assigned to them at birth. It is a recommended course of treatment for individuals experiencing gender dysphoria, providing impro ...
. Adams discusses his transition and career in this interview. His website refers to him as the "heir" to Heather Alexander, and continues to credit songs originally released as Heather Alexander under that name.


Career


1980s–2006

A native of
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, Adams began performing original music in the mid-eighties for friends,
Renaissance fair A Renaissance Festival (medieval fair or ren faire) is an outdoor gathering that aims to entertain its guests by recreating a historical setting, most often the English Renaissance. Renaissance festivals generally include costumed entertainers ...
s, and
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
conventions. Off Centaur Publications was recording performances at one convention and asked to include Adams. This began an association where he recorded for Off Centaur and later Firebird Arts and Music, primarily
work for hire In copyright law, a work made for hire (work for hire or WFH) is a work whose copyright is initially owned by an entity other than the actual creator as a result of an employment relationship or, in some cases, a commission. It is an exception to t ...
. In the late 1980s, Adams co-founded the Celtic fusion rock band Phoenyx, which released one album, ''Keepers of the Flame''. The band disbanded in 1991 after achieving a high degree of local fame. Their album was reprinted by Prometheus Music in 2025.For more information see th
Heatherlands.com page on the album
, including information from the album's press kit

; ttp://www.moremoose.com/discography.htm Mark Ungar's discography
Cat Taylor Discography

Keepers of the Flame — Phoenyx , Prometheus Music
.
Adams returned to a solo career. Firebird Arts & Music produced a live album which did well enough to inspire Adams to create a label, Sea Fire Productions, Inc., for his album release ''Wanderlust''. Two live concert albums and several studio albums have followed.
Adams also moved to the Pacific Northwest, settling in Banks, Oregon in 2002. In 2001, Adams founded a new band, Uffington Horse, together with Andrew Hare and Dan Ochipinti and continued to perform solo gigs between band appearances. In 2004, a limited run of the Uffington Horse promotional CD was offered to fans to help finance recording their first studio album, ''Enchantment'', published in 2004. In 2002, he told ''
Strange Horizons ''Strange Horizons'' is an online magazine, online speculative fiction magazine. It also features speculative poetry and non-fiction in every issue, including reviews, essays, interviews, and roundtables. History and profile It was launched in S ...
'' that "I tend to think of myself as a 'musical entertainer.' I sing, play, compose, and tell stories."


2007–present

In early 2007, Adams transitioned to male and since April 2007 has performed in many of the venues that he had formerly played as Heather Alexander. He has played with Uffington Horse and has also formed a new band, Tricky Pixie, with S.J. Tucker and Betsy Tinney. In summer 2007, the band released a recording of their first concert, ''Live!'', which is the earliest released recording of Adams' post-transition voice. The last public performance under his previous name was at
OryCon Orycon is Portland, Oregon's annual science fiction/fantasy convention, held in November since 1979. Event history {, class="wikitable" width="100%" , - ! Event !! Dates !! Guests !! Attendance !! Notes , - , OryCon 0 , Nov 11, 1978 , No GOH ...
2006. His debut under his current name was at Seattle's Norwescon 30, on April 6, 2007. Adams' first post-transition solo album, ''Cat & The Fiddle'', was entirely instrumental. ''Balance of Nature'', released in fall 2007, mixed a few of his older works (such as "Creature of the Wood") with new songs. In November 2007, Adams released the
Yule Yule is a winter festival historically observed by the Germanic peoples that was incorporated into Christmas during the Christianisation of the Germanic peoples. In present times adherents of some new religious movements (such as Modern ...
album ''Wintertide'', featuring duets between Adams' and Heather Alexander's voices. As noted in Adams' interview in '' Just Out'', ''Wintertide'' is the first album with a series of these duets. ''A Familiar Promise'', released in July 2008, also includes duets between the voices.


Literary collaborations and references

Several of the Firebird Arts and Music albums include collaborations with
Mercedes Lackey Mercedes Ritchie Lackey (born June 24, 1950) is an American writer of Fantasy literature, fantasy novels. Many of her novels and trilogies are interlinked and set in the world of Velgarth, mostly in and around the country of Valdemar (fictional co ...
and inspired by the works of
Andre Norton Andre Alice Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 – March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, who also wrote works of historical and contemporary fiction. She wrote primarily under the pen na ...
. (See the discography below for more information.) The 2002 album ''Insh'Allah'' was inspired by
Steven Barnes Steven Barnes (born March 1, 1952) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer. He has written novels, short fiction, screen plays for television, scripts for comic books, animation, newspaper copy, and magazine articles. Earl ...
's novel '' Lion's Blood''. The songs and the book were written concurrently, and several of the songs are quoted in the book and its sequel. In a similar vein, the 2006 album ''Merlin's Descendants'' is based on the fiction of Irene Radford.Irene Radford's site
.
S.M. Stirling quotes Adams's song lyrics in his ''Island in the Sea of Time'' trilogy. His
Emberverse The Emberverse series—or Change World—is a series of post-apocalyptic alternate history novels written by S. M. Stirling. The novels depict the events following a mysterious—yet sudden—worldwide event called "The Change" that occurs at ...
series features a red-haired musician who plays guitar, fiddle, and bodhran named Juniper Mackenzie. Adams' song lyrics are used as Mackenzie's songs in the book. (
Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...
and heather are both plants.)This been commented on i
reviews
and convention programs.
John Ringo John Ringo (born March 22, 1963) is an American science fiction and military fiction author. He has had several ''New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York ...
quotes Adams' song " March of Cambreadth" in his Council Wars series (for the Centurions' battle song) as well as in the Paladin of Shadows series.Per th
Midsummer page on the official website, www.heatherlands.com
, and BAEN books site.
"March of Cambreadth" and "Black Unicorn" are also quoted in the Looking Glass series. Mike Shepherd used the song "March of Cambreadth" in his book ''Defiant''. ''Defiant'' also has a character named Heather Alexander. Several of Adams' songs have been parodied, most notably "March of Cambreadth".


Awards

Heather Alexander Alexander James Adams


Discography

The albums listed through ''Everafter'' are billed as Heather Alexander. Later are billed as Alexander James Adams. Despite the transition, all lyrics, music, and recordings originally
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
Heather Alexander retain the copyright of Heather Alexander.


Solo albums

Unless otherwise noted, albums feature a mix of traditional & original Celtic music. * ''Freedom, Flight and Fantasy'' 1990 (Firebird Arts and Music). Lyrics: Mercedes Lackey. Music:
Leslie Fish Leslie Fish is an American folk musician, author, and anarchist political activist. Music Along with The DeHorn Crew, Fish created the first commercial filk recording in 1976, ''Folk Songs for Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet''. Her second recordin ...
. Arrangements: Cecilia Eng. * ''Heather Alexander, Live'' 1992 (Firebird Arts and Music). Alexander sings and plays guitar, bodhran, and fiddle. * ''Songsmith'', 1993 (Firebird Arts and Music). Songs based on the book ''Songsmith'' by Andre Norton and A.C. Crispin. * ''Wanderlust'' 1994 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) First studio recording on Alexander's own label with backing musicians. * ''Shadow Stalker'' 1994 (Firebird Arts and Music). Lyrics: Mercedes Lackey & D.F. Sanders. Music: Heather Alexander & Cecilia Eng. Arrangements: Heather Alexander. * ''Life's Flame'' 1996 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Second live album. Alexander sings and plays guitar, bodhran, and fiddle. * ''Midsummer'' 1997 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Second studio recording on Alexander's own label with backing musicians. * ''A Gypsy's Home'' 2001 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Third studio recording on Alexander's own label with backing musicians. * ''Insh'Allah—Music of Lion's Blood'' 2002 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Songs based in the world of Steven Barnes' book ''Lion's Blood''. The book and album were written concurrently; Barnes quotes song lyrics in the book. * ''Festival Wind'' 2003 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Third live album. Alexander sings and plays guitar, bodhran, and fiddle. * ''Album of Secrets'' 2003 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Primarily
bloopers A blooper, or gag reel, is short clip from a film, television program or video production, usually a deleted scene, containing a mistake made by a member of the cast or crew. It also refers to an error made during a live radio or TV broadcast o ...
and outtakes from the recording of ''Festival Wind''. * ''Merlin's Descendants'' 2006 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Songs based on the ''Merlin's Descendants'' series by Irene Radford. * ''Arms of the Sea'' 2006 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Traditional and original sea shanties. * ''Everafter'' 2007 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Final Heather Alexander solo album, this is a studio recording with backing musicians. (Despite having the same name as the DVD, the album is not DVD soundtrack.) * ''Cat & The Fiddle'' 2007 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)
Instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...
fiddle tunes. * ''Balance of Nature'' 2007 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Mostly new songs, a few re-recorded old songs ("Creature of the Wood"), and a few songs that blend old and new (such as " He of the Sidhe"). * ''Wintertide'' 2007 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Yule album featuring traditional and original songs by Heather Alexander & Alexander James Adams, featuring duets between both voices. * ''A Familiar Promise'' 2008 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Studio album featuring new and old songs. * ''Harvest Season: Second Cutting'' 2010 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Studio album featuring new and old songs.See Alexander James Adams albums o
http://www.faerietaleminstrel.com
* ''UnSeelie Self'' 2010 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Studio album featuring new and old songs. * ''AJA Summer Releases'' 2013 * ''The Clockwork Collection'' 2014


Band albums

* ''Keepers of the Flame'', Phoenyx 1990 (Phoenyx and Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Issued by the band in 1990. Reprinted 2025 by Prometheus Music. * ''Uffington Horse Promotional Album'', Uffington Horse, 2004 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Created for promotional purposes; a limited run was offered to fans in 2004.For more information see the archive

.
* ''Enchantment'', Uffington Horse 2004 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Uffington's studio album.For more information, see th

* ''Live!'', Tricky Pixie 2007. Contains songs written and performed by Alexander James Adams, S.J. Tucker and Betsy Tinney. No longer in print.For more information see th
Tricky Pixie website
* ''Mythcreants'', Tricky Pixie 2009. Contains songs written and performed by Alexander James Adams, S.J. Tucker and Betsy Tinney.


DVD

* ''Everafter'' February 2007 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Recording of Heather Alexander's final public concert in November 2006 at Orycon. Alexander sang and played guitar, bodhran, and fiddle. Bonus materials include a few performances at a pub and an interview. * ''Yule Concert'' December 2009 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.) Recording of Alexander James Adams's December 2009 concert at the Lucky Lab Pub. * ''Ember Days Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (Pixiehouse Productions)


Books

* ''Everafter'' booklet February 2007. A short faerie tale. * ''The Heather Alexander Songbook'' was published in late 2007. It includes lyrics and music for the Sea Fire Productions albums from ''Wanderlust'' through ''Everafter''.


Guest appearances

This includes compilations and backing appearances for other artists. * '' Southwind: Traditional Celtic Music '' by Glenn Morgan, 1987. Played fiddle on most of the tracks. * ''Firestorm: Songs of the Third World War'',
Leslie Fish Leslie Fish is an American folk musician, author, and anarchist political activist. Music Along with The DeHorn Crew, Fish created the first commercial filk recording in 1976, ''Folk Songs for Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet''. Her second recordin ...
, 1989. Sings on the track "Better than Who". * ''Gaia Circles'', Gaia Consort, 2000. Played fiddle on most of the tracks. * ''Roundworm'', various artists, 2000. (Song parodies by Bob Kanefsky.) Sings "December of Cambreadth", a parody of "March of Cambreadth", and "Something's Under The Bed", a parody of "Up In The Loft". * ''The Constellation'', Hank Cramer, 2003. * ''Thirteen'', Vixy & Tony, 2008. Played fiddle and percussion on the track "Apprentice". * ''Come Find Me'', Fox Amoore, 2014. Appeared on the track "Kellashee".


See also

* "Faerie Queen" (song) * "
The Stolen Child "The Stolen Child" is an 1889 poem by William Butler Yeats, published in ''The Wanderings of Oisin and Other Poems''. Overview The poem was written in 1886 and is considered to be one of Yeats's more notable early poems. The poem is based on I ...
"


References


External links


Official website of Alexander James Adams

Tricky Pixie Official website
* ''The Disappearance of Heather Alexander'' in '' Just Out'', March 7, 2008, p
24

25
(PDFs). Adams discusses his transition and career in this interview.
Firebird Arts and Music



Strange Horizons Interview, 29 July 2002

Strange Horizons Review of ''Insh'Allah'', 29 July 2002



S.M. Stirling's website, including sample chapters of the ''Dies the Fire'' series.

Irene Radford's site
featuring the ''Merlin's Descendants'' series.
Last.fm page


(BAEN publishes the John Ringo books that reference Heather Alexander) {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Alexander 1962 births Living people 21st-century American LGBTQ people Bodhrán players Celtic fusion musicians Filkers American LGBTQ singers American transgender musicians American transgender men LGBTQ people from California People from Banks, Oregon Renaissance fair performers Singers from California Transgender male singers