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Alexa Ray Joel is backstage at NYC's Hammerstein Ballroom, minutes away from taking the stage with her father, legendary singer/songwriter/pianist Billy Joel. While the night's event is a fundraiser for soon to be President-elect Barack Obama (with Bruce Springsteen sharing the bill) and there's been very little time to rehearse, Alexa is excited and confident. "I've only performed with my dad twice," she offers, "but I'm more comfortable performing with him than I am getting up there on my own." She says this despite having more than one hundred shows of her own under her belt. "People might think it's the other way around, but there's a real comfort in being on stage with him." That evening, father and daughter perform "Baby Grand," a song Billy wrote about his love for the piano. Alexa has lovingly rearranged the song as a vocal duet that she and her father can perform together. The capacity crowd loves it.

"People told me afterward that I held my own," she relates. "To hear that I held my own with my father and Bruce Springsteen, to be able to be a part of that, is just amazing. To be received as an artist in the same light is very confidence-building to say the least. I felt very lucky to be able to be up there." Moral support from her father aside, Alexa has never been one to ride on anyone's coattails. Since self-releasing her first EP in 2006, Alexa Ray Joel has embraced a DIY ethic and an almost old-fashioned musical aesthetic where everything flows from a well-written song, backed by a pitch-perfect and powerful voice. Without any label support or team of handlers, Alexa writes all of her own music, books her own shows and takes charge of any decisions affecting her career. She is an authentic artist with a distinct vision who is dedicated to being a live performer as well as having as much interaction with her fans as possible. Alexa Ray Joel is coming up fast, and she's doing things her own way.

Alexa was raised in the New York seaport village of Sag Harbor, Long Island, where her musical sensibilities were informed by what she refers to as, "extremely classic influences. I grew up listening to artists like my father, The Beatles, Randy Newman, Burt Bacharach and Carol King: all songwriters that have an ability to project their own style, while writing songs that have a classic, timeless kind of feel." Her parents were always playing records in the house when she was growing up, but more importantly, she adds, "my dad was just always playing. He'd sit down at the piano and say to me, "What do you want to sing?" So I was always the one standing next to him, emoting and singing while he was the one playing the piano. The two of us would put on little shows and my mom would videotape it. I think that's a part of why singing and performing came very naturally to me."

Though Alexa admits that her father "didn't want to push" her into studying piano, her mother, supermodel Christie Brinkley, encouraged her to pursue classical training on the instrument from ages 11 to 15, which would become a foundation for Alexa's budding songwriting. At 17, she attended the Berklee College of Music's five week Music-Fest, where she began to develop her skills as a performer. Next, Alexa was accepted into New York University (NYU)'s Musical Theatre Program. "I was one of the few students who got into the program by auditioning without having any previous theater experience," she reveals. It wasn't long, however, before she very became frustrated at NYU. "I was holed up in the piano practice room and just not really comfortable yet with the classes and the whole school dynamic. It just all seemed so prosaic to me: working and drinking and the college routine — it just wasn't for me. I just wanted to get out of there." Alexa left NYU after her freshman year, resolute in her decision to pursue a career writing and performing her own music.

When Alexa sought to take voice lessons from vocal coach Gordon Grody, the meeting turned out to be an unexpectedly pivotal moment in her career. "Gordon told me, "You don't need voice lessons, you need to work with a band."" Alexa credits Grody with helping her put together her first band, composed of Jimmy Riot (bass), Scott Garapolo (drums) and Demian Sims (guitar). "They were such pros, and also became my good friends," Alexa offers. When Garapolo and Sims left to pursue other interests, Jimmy Riot effectively became her musical director, bringing in prolific session drummer Marc Slutsky (ex-Splender) and keyboardist Dim Gurevich (misUniverse), and guitarist Ryan Bull, all of whom are still playing live with her today.

With her band in place, Alexa began to develop her distinctive sound. "For my own music," she states, "I want a sound that's unique but accessible, because that's what I grew up with. For the most part, I call what I'm doing "Pop/Soul Blues" with a little bit of jazz. It's a classic pop style very influenced by my father, Ray Charles, Norah Jones and Billie Holiday. I think that my dad has more of that Rock & Roll sensibility and somehow I've got a lot more jazz/blues and a touch of gospel in me. It is an eclectic conglomerate of influences, because I still listen to a ton of classic rock as much as I listen to Billie and Etta James." Her songwriting process is also very organic. "Some of my strongest material comes from hearing it all in my head first, and then working it out at the piano," says Alexa. "It's never about, "e;this riff came out of nowhere" or "listen to this groove." It's always coming from a very deep, emotional place and it's really important to me that the melodies be memorable."

In late summer 2006, Alexa self-released the six-song EP Sketches: an eclectic selection of five original songs plus a vibrant, pop/rock cover of Neil Young's "Don't Let it Bring You Down." On her studio debut, Alexa received invaluable input and assistance from Jimmy Riot. "Jimmy co-produced Sketches and really helped out with the instrumental arrangement on each track, as well as helping to edit my vocal compositions," Alexa explains." He's a real pro who really believed in my music and, as a result, got me to believe in it, too. Jimmy was really my musical counterpart for two years." In an effort to give the EP as personal a feel as possible, she completely designed and illustrated the CD cover, packaging and inserts that included her handwritten lyrics. Recorded at Mission Studios in Brooklyn, Sketches was released on Alexa's own A.R.J Music Co label.

Like the songwriters she admires, Alexa penned lyrics about what she knew, filling the EP with songs about personal experiences that contained a universal message. Alexa offers some insight to the stories behind the songs: "I wrote "The Revolution Song" about the experience of being very frustrated as a student at NYU, and just wanting to break out and do my own thing. "Song of Yesterday" — which I call my "Ray Charles song" — is about being more inspired by the music of my father's generation as opposed to my own. "Now It's Gone" is a very angry song I wrote about my ex-stepfather, once I found out he had cheated on my mom. That song actually got a lot of press. "The Heart of Me" is just about how I reveal myself in my songs and my dependency on music. I was shyer then, so it was harder for me to communicate naturally. It was almost as if I needed music even more, because now I'm able to communicate in other ways as well. "Resistance," was written when I was 18, at a time when I was a very shy, awkward girl. I hadn't even had a boyfriend or much experience with boys at all. I was so mystified by the whole thing, and I was craving a passionate, intimate connection with a man! I wrote that song when I was very into theater, so it's almost theater rock."

Alexa sold her EP online via Myspace and on iTunes. Sketches was also available exclusively at Target department stores, where she was the very first independent artist to have exclusive rights to distribute an EP through the chain. Sketches received a flood of positive press in high-profile outlets such as Rolling Stone, People, Entertainment Weekly and Billboard, helping to establish Alexa as an emerging artist with a unique voice and a viable career outside of her father's shadow. Arizona's West Valley View, called Alexa, "Cooler than Norah Jones with as much soul as Aretha Franklin, but in the peppy spirit of Nelly Furtado." About the EP," they continued," Sketches shows all of this off across six delicately crafted, rock-infused soul songs that dance openly with pop aesthetics — catchy hooks, superb piano arrangements, full choruses, guitar teasing melodies. And those pipes — Joel can sing."

"When I was recording Sketches, just going into a studio and working out songs with other musicians was new to me. I didn't have people around me making decisions; I really did it myself. So, Sketches is really the baby, the egg that hatched. It took a lot of guts for me to put myself out there, because I knew people would expect me to be this prodigy child, and that I would be held to a high standard. But people really took to it and accepted it for what it was. It sold well and got good reviews. Having that initial support was a big part of the confidence I gained and what I feel I accomplished with Sketches. I'm very proud of it."

Alexa's amazing poise, confidence and inherent knack for artist-audience rapport make each of her shows a uniquely engaging experience. "Singing a song is different than performing and emoting a song," she offers. "I take lot of pride in my voice and in having a good sense of pitch. I'm very comfortable vocally. As a performer, people sometimes ask if I've done any acting, because it's natural for me to be very expressive in my face and my body language when I'm up on stage. I think that comes from growing up loving Les Miserable and Carousel and all of the great musicals."

Alexa has a passion to perform that has earned her appearances on television shows like The Today Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and most recently the Wendy Williams Show. She and her band have played every conceivable type of gig from a series of headlining slots at Hard Rock Cafes, at regional venues such as NYC's Bowery Ballroom and New Jersey's Stone Pony, to festivals such as Bonaroo and New Orleans' Jazzfest. "I've played at teeny little bars where I'm trying to sing over the TV," she laughs. "I've played for my hometown and I've played where no one knows me. Because I've done so many different types of shows, I have a good idea of what the vibe will be in a certain venue. I think that really helps me as a performer." Alexa also loves performing for causes and has appeared at high-end fundraisers like the Rainforest benefit (with Sting and wife Trudy) as well as benefits for Breast Cancer Awareness and The Girl Scouts of Suffolk County (Long Island, New York). But what she's most proud of is becoming the poster girl for "Save Sag Harbor," a community-based effort to prevent the commercial over-development of her beloved hometown, and to make sure that family-and locally-owned businesses can continue to thrive here. Alexa often performs in Sag Harbor to help raise money for the cause that is very near and dear to her heart.

In addition to drummer Marc Slutsky, and keyboardist Dim Gurevich, Alexa's band includes bassist Crista Russo, and Cass Dillon on guitar. All are top-notch professional players from the New York area. "My live shows dabble in genres ranging from pop and jazz to blues and even country," Alexa explains. "That requires the people who play with me to be very diverse. Marc has to play a variety of feels and move from using sticks to brushes and back again. Dim plays both organ and keyboards, and John plays both electric and upright bass. I give my band a lot of credit because they never know what I'm going to throw at them. I like to think that every song is distinct, and they really keep up." To bolster her harmony-rich compositions, Alexa also recently added backup singers Nadia Ackerman and Tanesha Gary-Stickney to the band, for whom she arranges all the vocal parts. Alexa credits Tanesha and Nadia for "bringing a feeling of female empowerment & dynamic energy to the stage," adding that, "on a personal note, it's just so refreshing to finally have some girls around!"

Drummer Marc Slutsky also has high praise for Alexa. "What makes Alexa incredibly unique, and also makes playing with her challenging and rewarding," he offers, "is that her musical style, palette and tastes are so wide that within one show we cover a variety of styles representing some of the cornerstones of American music. That's what she's about as an artist, and she's extremely open minded about it. She's not trying to follow any trends and I think what's really special about Alexa is that she's not about conforming to anything. She just writes what comes natural to her. I believe in what she's doing and I think everyone in the band really respects the way she goes about things and the fact that she's very pure in her art."

While fans and admirers flood her Myspace page with requests for new recordings and inquiries about when she'll be hitting the studio again, when it comes to producing her next album, Alexa would rather do it right than do it quickly. "I'm a perfectionist about recording," she admits. "Right now I have over twenty songs worked out with my band. We have regular rehearsals and doing all of these gigs lets me really get the songs ready to record. I want to make my next album a warm, beautiful recording with the vocals in the forefront. To me, it's a very gradual process. Sometimes I think I'm too careful about how I'm choosing to build my career, but I feel like I have to be. I don't have a team of managers and assistants around me because it's very important to feel like I can do this on my own especially considering who my father is. It's amazing to do the occasional gig where I get to play with his band, but when it comes to my shows, it's all me."

Now in 2009, Alexa Ray Joel has debuted a new song titled "Invisible," which she wrote, and met with Billy Joel's long time guitarist and musical director, Tommy Byrnes, to produce the track. “Invisible” tells the story of disappointment over losing love and self-esteem and finding female empowerment. “Every person has experienced that… where they’re just made to feel invisible by whoever it may be – a stepparent, a coworker, a friend, a loved one…” comments Alexa Ray Joel during her recent interview on the Wendy Williams Show.

As Alexa Ray Joel continues to hone her craft in the live arena and to prepare songs for her upcoming sophomore recording, she muses on how she's developed as an artist in just a few years. "I was 19 when I wrote the songs on Sketches. I've grown so much musically since then, but I've also grown personally. Songs I'm writing now are about experiencing love or trying to keep hold of it. They're bolder because I've experienced more in my life, including frustrations about the media, so they're coming from a different viewpoint. Being an artist and being a real human being is about being euphoric one day and then feeling completely awful the next day, and not understanding why. You write about it to try to figure it all out. It's important that people see that that's where I'm coming from as a songwriter."

"When I was younger," she continues, "I had a really big Liza Minelli-type theater voice. Then I went through a shy period and my voice became very small. It took me until age 21 or 22, very recently, to get back to my actual voice: to shed that teenage self-consciousness where you think you have to look and sing a certain way. Now, I feel like I'm where I need to be. If my voice is a little husky, that just gives it more soul. On Sketches, while every note was .. and sounded good, it was my first time recording and I just wasn't as freed-up as I wanted to be. Those songs came from a dreamier, more naive time, you could say, because they were written before I had even my first serious boyfriend, or before I had started my career. Now, in my songwriting, my performances and my life, I do feel that I really am freed-up," she confesses. "It's a wonderful thing, to feel free."

Written By: Gail Worley, prolific East-Village rock-writer & friend. To read more of Worley's great work, visit her website at: http://www.worleygig.com.