Straight Line Stitch
An interview with singer Alexis Brown
by Tina Hall
February 2011
Straight Line Stitch
The rock band Straight Line Stitch has come a long way from their homes in Knoxville, Tennessee. Recently touring with Hatebreed, they will also be taking the road with 36 Crazyfists and Taking Dawn. Following that tour, they will be opening for Soulfly and Incite. The members include Alexis Brown for vocals, Seth Thacker and Pat Pattison on guitar, Jason White on bass, and Kanky Lora on drums. Their latest album is now available, from E1/Raging Nation Records and is named The Fight of Our Lives .
Maximum Ink: Knoxville, TN isn’t far from where I am located. Do you all still reside there? There doesn’t seem to be much of a music scene in East TN. Do you ever play Knoxville? What is it like to come from there and end up touring all over the U.S and Canada?
Alexis Brown: We all hail from different places but TN is the band’s home base. Only our guitarist Seth and I actually live in Knoxville. My drummer Kanky stays in Chicago and our bassist Jason lives in Georgia. But Knoxville has definitely become home to me. It has grown on me that’s for sure. As for the music scene there, it’s actually not too shabby. There have been really big bands that have come out of East TN such as 10 Years, Whitechapel, and The Showdown. We try to play our hometown as much as possible, but our routing never seems to take us there. To travel all over and then come home is a blessing because it makes you appreciate everything, especially friends, family, and loved ones.
MI: Do you have any advice to offer other musicians in the area who would like to get their music out to the world and beyond TN?
AB: My advice to any musician who wants to get their music out and beyond where they are located is to never stop pounding the pavement. Never quit, and never lose hope. Keep moving in any way you can and definitely network.
MI: What do you love most about East TN? How did coming from there affect your musical ambitions?
AB: What I love most about East TN is where I stay. I’m right in the middle of everything. I’m four hours away from my family and that’s always great. Another thing I love about East TN is Nama Sushi. It is the best sushi ever. I’ve been around and nobody does sushi the way they do. I’ve always just known at a young age that I wanted to be an entertainer. I’ve always just had that ambition regardless of where I have lived. Living in TN surprisingly gave me the opportunity.
MI: Who are some of your influences and why?
AB: As far as singers, Stevie Nicks is a huge influence on me. I just love her voice, and I think I’m really attracted to singers with unique vocals because I also love Brock of 36Crazyfist and the singer of GlassJaw. Their voices are Amazing.
MI: When did you first know you wanted to be a musician? What do you think you would have done if not that?
AB: I always knew from the time I was a little girl that I wanted to be a singer. If I wasn’t working on what I am doing now, I’d definitely try to be a model or a student.
MI: Can you tell us a little about the new album?
AB: The new album is called The Fight of Our Lives and it’s a tribute to everything we’ve been through as a band. Naturally, anything worth fighting for is hard, and this is not a record whining about that. It’s more of a record saying we’re here, we fought to get here, and we’re not going anywhere. It’s a statement letting everybody know that we as a band will fight for what’s ours.
MI: What can fans expect from a live show?
AB: Fans can expect to get what they pay for. It’s our job to give 100 percent, and I feel we do just that. Fans can expect to be entertained.
MI: What other genres of music are you into?
AB: My music tastes are definitely eclectic. I love anything from the 40s to the 60s, from Classical to Jazz, to R&B to Rock ‘n’ Roll. I just love good music regardless of the genre.
MI: Can you tell us a little about how Straight Line Stitch was formed? How have they evolved since the early days?
AB: To be honest, Straight Line Stitch was a band that formed in 1999 before I was even thought of. I got into the band around 2003. How the current rendition formed was when I was in my band back home in Clarksville, we would sometimes do shows with Straight Line Stitch. Through shows, we became friends. When my band started to fall apart, and they needed a singer, they called me. I made the jump from Clarksville to Knoxville. We have been going ever since.
MI: What do you like to do in your spare time?
AB: In my spare time I love to watch old horror movies and read Harlequin Romance novels. I also love to sleep a lot.
MI: Where can your fans go for the latest on your career? What projects is the band working on for the future?
AB: The fans can keep directly in touch with us through our Facebook and MySpace. Hit us up anytime. Any future plans we may have definitely involve heavy touring, touring, touring.
• Facebook Record Label: E1 Metal