CIC Artists:
Hobo Nephews Of Uncle Frank Teague Alexy Broken Billy Ian Thomas Alexy A Gentleman Name ActionSlaveIAN THOMAS ALEXY
Ian Thomas Alexy on Facebook
Ian Thomas Alexy wears a couple of different hats, but is most known for his work with Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank. He also performs solo under his own name and with his band Broken Billy.
Ian Alexy began playing guitar and writing songs when he was thirteen years old. It was in seventh grade that he asked his artist father to get him the instrument. Before even beginning to play, he knew that it was something that he wanted to do for a living. Figuring that would be the ultimate trick and key to happiness. Ian started with classic rock riffs and eventually was taught proper chords by his mother a year later.
In college Ian immersed himself in all kinds of music. He studied jazz guitar and composition, as well as traditional American folk and blues music. His love of these styles also brought him to West Africa where he studied high life guitar and drumming.
After graduating from the liberal arts School Goddard in 2000, Ian moved to Burlington Vermont and began slowly working his way into the music business. He played several gigs as a guitarist including a stint playing flamenco guitar in an Orchestra at The Barre Opera House in central Vermont and as a guitarist and composer for the instrumental jazz funk ensemble Leon Tubbs. All the while Ian was working on his singing and songwriting which he would soon bring to the forefront, forsaking the jazz influenced music that he played during his college years.
In 2003 he released his first CD as a singer songwriter called Rootedness. Recorded in Vermont, Rootedness showcased Alexy's African influenced guitar pieces and visual poetry in a minimalist framework. Ian performed solo shows in the US and Canada in support of the record.
At the end of 2003 Ian moved to Minnesota to pursue a musical project with his brother Teague Alexy. They decided to go in a more traditional American roots direction than their previous projects. This was the beginning of Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank. Hobo Nephews have recorded three full length records, including the recent Traveling Show, and toured coast to coast, from Florida to Washington and all points in between.
Ian has also recorded a full length album with his band Broken Billy in 2006. Ian created Broken Billy to explore the more rock and roll side of his musical vision. To get back to the music that originally inspired him to pick up the guitar in his early teens. Neil Young and Led Zeppelin were of particular interest in his formative years and are still among his most treasured artists.
Ian is currently touring with Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank and working on a new solo record. Ian is also a longtime lover of film and is working on his first screenplay. The screenplay and soundtrack chronicle some of his experiences on the road and what it is like to be an independent artist in the corporate music world. Expect at least one if not two new records from Ian in the next year. The film may take a while longer but he hopes it will see the light of day in the not too distant future.
