Alex Amen has gotten a lot of mileage from his brief time on the planet. Although he wasn’t born until 1999, Amen has already lived on both of America’s coasts, and explored much of its rugged natural beauty. He has spent time living in a commune, made his home on an island, and even scaled some of the west coast’s most intimidating mountains as a free climber. Amen has packed all of this life and more into the 9 years since he first left his Gulf Coast hometown in Texas in the hopes of finding a brighter, and bigger world than he could in Sugarland.
Having garnered all of these life experiences before the age of 30 gives Amen the vibe of an old soul. Alex brings this same timeless approach and attitude to his debut album, Sun of Amen, out now on ATO Records. The album’s ten songs play like a lost folk-country classic that hangs like a ghost freed from time. There are nods to Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, and John Denver, but Amen never loses the power and purpose of his own voice.
During our discussion, Amen shares what a powerful influence John Denver’s songs were as a kid travelling to the Colorado Rocky Mountains with his family. We cover the limitations of his hometown and the pathway that he found to a bigger world. There are stories of climbing the Sierra Nevadas, forays in film school, and even finding a commune in the middle of Anaheim, California in 2017. This is a fascinating conversation with a young artist who is wise beyond his years, and who has lived more life in 27 years than most folks do in a lifetime.
Let’s get into it.
Cheers,
Matty C
