Getting to know music artist Alexander Yearns

Alexander Yearns is a profesional musical artist and songwriter from Palisades Park, NJ

Why do you love music?

I love music because it takes me from the mundane and everyday pangs that come with life. It fills me with a wonder that I’ve not experienced from any other art form. You can’t hold it. You can’t touch it. Yet you can feel it so profoundly. It brings me closer to God which is where I want to be - as close to God as I can be - I just want to be closer and music does that. To share all of that with others by providing that experience feels like a gift and a responsibility. Personally and more selfishly, it allows me to reinvent myself however I’d like to. That’s always fun. My first exposure to music happened at seven years old when I brought home my Uncle’s Elvis Presley CD boxset. That music - his spirit electrified me. I began impersonating Elvis and would put on shows for my Mom and Dad. I would lip sync to songs and really get into it. I decided then that I wanted to practice music always. The impression it left on my young self still exists within me today. To think that the energy of an artist from the 1950s can permeate through time so powerfully as to have such an effect on a kid born in 1994 blows my mind. That’s the power of music.

What makes you different as a music artist?

The only thing that makes me different as a music artist is that I am who I am. Otherwise, I’m doing what every other artist is doing. I’m picking up an instrument. I’m working through my insecurities. I’m involving myself deeply in the emotionally invasive process of writing a song. This means “facing the music” of your own emotions. Looking at them. Feeling them fully. I’m trying to understand life through music. I’m trying to understand myself just like everyone else.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

At this stage in my career I’m not thinking that far ahead. I’m so in love with the journey. I used to get so caught up in daydreams of the future to the point where I found myself doing things for the wrong reasons. I developed unhealthy thought processes and even felt resentment towards the whole thing. In today’s world of instant gratification, it’s easier than ever to fall into that trap. It’s good to know what you want but it’s too easy to idealize it all and hold yourself to it. I’ve let myself down so many times this way.

What do you want to accomplish in life?

I want to make a living doing music. That’s the root of it all. Come what may. I want to inspire future generations like Elvis did. Pass the baton, you know. I want to be in a position where I can give back. I want to improve the lives of the people around me - family and friends. My heart has always been with the homeless. The underbelly of society that needs to be brought into the light. If I can give back in these areas, then I’ll know I’ve accomplished something. The definition of success is subjective and I think mine is pretty grand but I haven’t sorted out the details. I like to keep a level of self-forgetfulness alive - I feel that it’s necessary to keep moving forward without getting in your own way.

What do you bring to the music world?

Music, of course! I hope listeners can find something they relate to. Something they can heal with. Something they can go through the worst time of their life with. I hope to inspire hope. I intimately know the power of music. I know it can change people’s lives. Every music artist shares the opportunity to do that no matter what level they’re at.

What do you want to be remembered by?

The root of all evil isn’t money, it’s deception. A friend told me this and I’ll never forget it. I think he’s right. I want to live in rebellion to that deception that has everyone pitted against each other. I want to be remembered for being true.