Interview: Ezra Axelrod

It’s not everyone who gets the chance to put on a west-end show, write an album and record most of it on the other side of the world – and still remain unsigned.  So understandably the Ezra Axelrod is over the moon about his latest booking.  He’s currently showcasing his debut album in a show at the Leicester Square Theatre and So So Gay caught up with him ahead of its opening:

SSG: You’re hard to define.  Some have described you as an actor, singer, comedian, activist – but how would you describe what you do?

EA: I’ve been described as lots of things (laughing).  About two years ago at the May Ball in Cambridge at St Katherine’s College, this guy did a review of the event and wrote ‘the entertainment on offer disappointed, although I did enjoy an overly camp North American singer/songwriter in cowboy boats who sang about bumming for an hour’.  I just thought it was funny and thought hey, I sang about more than bumming!  Seriously though I’d consider myself first and foremost a singer/songwriter and from there a gay rocker and LGBT activist.  But I think my activism has taken a very personal form by writing very honest rock that has very uncensored narratives that deals specifically with men loving men.

So what elements of you do we get to see and experience in your show ‘Songs from an American Motel’ at the Leicester Square Theatre?

Well it’s about leaving my home town which I’d describe as a very small cowboy town where the biggest attraction there is the rodeo.  From there I’ve travelled all over Europe and Latin America so the show is about the most vivid stories I remember from that journey.  The songs trace a coming of age story.  The show is comprised of the twelve tracks on the album of the same name.  So the first few are about coming out, and then it moves on to some about the very sordid environment that’s representative of my early twenties.  I’m now twenty five and I think both for me and others the music is about finding stability and that partner and companion to share the rest of this journey with.  So the show traces that arc from coming of age to looking for something more concrete and everything in between.

Do we learn how did you ended up living here in Soho?

Again, in the show the songs tell you about that.  Basically I moved here straight out of university with my boyfriend three and a half years ago.  And well this is now home and I don’t have any plans to go back to the States.  I was reading somewhere that 52% of Londoners are foreign born so it’s a city of transients and I think that’s something I identify with in some way.  It’s the one place you can feel like a transient and still feel like you have a home.

So where did the idea come from to showcase your music from the album in a show?

One of the biggest challenges I’ve always faced is how do I present a very narrative music material that connects with the audience beyond the experience of just going to a gig.  At a gig we don’t tend to engage with the stories that are being told in the songs.  But I also have a background in theatre and I wanted to bring the music to life in a way that means something to the audience so they can inhabit the environments I’ve been meaning it’s a much bigger experience for them.  I think that’s what music should be where it creates this experience for the audience and give them a world they can step into so they can understand what you’re trying to say.

So what about your audience – is this show just for gay men?

Obviously I love gay men (laughing) and I am singing to guys, but I’ve performed to lots of audiences and in front of different people and everyone can find something from them they can relate to in the music.

So how does London measure up as a city to live in if you’re gay?

It’s the best that I’ve encountered.  They gays in London have their fingers in a lot of pies!  I’ve only lived in my home town and Washington DC for a few months in the States, so can’t talk too much about there.  But I’ve also lives in Buenos Aires and Madrid so I know how to compare a few places.

In terms of your activism, what battles do gay people still need to win?

There’s still tonnes of issues.  I have a lot of gay friends who are early twenties and younger who are just coming out and the things they say to me are still shocking like ‘I don’t identify with the community’, or ‘I don’t want to label myself’ and all this sort of stuff.  And I think those kind of statements are really troubling because you only ever hear gay people make them.  So what is it about our experience’s that’s making us say those things?  Clearly it’s a problem because people are distancing themselves from being gay, so there’s still shame to overcome.  There has been  times in my life where I’ve not said I’m gay because I’ve found it easier too so that is troubling to me.

So that’s the issue, but what needs to be done to address it then?

We always seem to have this mirror in front of us.  We can never seem to be able to relax.  We constantly think oh my god what is this person or that person thinking about me.  We think whoever we’re speaking to is judging us and that creates some negative behaviours so I think if we can just talk about our life as though it’s no big deal and make fun of yourself that can have an impact.  I believe to be an activist I need to show by example.

Does your music help with that?

I think so and that’s what much of the response from the gay community has been. I recorded half of this album in Columbia so I spent two months with loads of straight, very macho men, and every second of every day was just them talking about woman and their titties.  And I was like – gay men are still men and they talk like that about other men sometimes.  But all of a sudden as soon as straight people are around we stop.  So my view was different and I thought that if you guys are going to talk like that, well I am too.  And you know what – they loved it.

So what’s next for you after this album?

At the moment I’m really excited about this show and what we can do with it.  I hope to be able to tour with it, expand it and make the ensemble bigger maybe.  So just focusing for the moment on this show is enough.  With what’s happening today the reality is that you need to get that grass roots buzz going so my aim is to have those conversations with people involved and interested in music.  Obviously it’s great if a huge record company comes along and gives you a contract, but that’s not the reality of the industry.  For me it’s really exciting to be writing and producing this music and then managing all these social media avenues and actually engaging with people interested in the music.

Well good luck with the show, I can’t wait to see it at the Leicester Square theatre.  Why did you choose this space in the heart of London?

I picked it specifically.  I knew The Lounge which seats 65 people.  I want people to be in the motel room with us.  There’s literally a bed in the middle of the room and the audience is there with us, so it’s brilliant.  Many of the songs are sung on the bed and then I have my piano and the band, and it’s all just like what we do in motel rooms.  And if the Leicester Square Theatre is good enough for Joan Rivers it’s good enough for me!