Today we’d like to introduce you to Alex St Kitts.
Alex, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m originally from Toronto Canada, and started playing music when I was about 16. My Dad (George St Kitts) is a well known musician/singer in Toronto and I first started to learn how to play bass in one of his bands. He pretty much gave me a bass and a book on how to and said “go for it”.
I ended up getting more into the Canadian scene and getting to play with a lot of acts including k-os, Francesco Yates, JP Saxe and Amanda Marshall. I found I had hit a ceiling in Canada so around 2 years ago I packed up my car and moved down to Nashville after a long talk with one of my college mentors Marc Rogers (another great bassist in town).
After about a year of getting to know people in the scene, I landed a gig with Mickey Guyton which I’m so grateful for. That opened up the door for more gigs such as Maddie & Tae and Nicotine Dolls.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I mean nothing in this business is smooth haha
I’ve had my own hardships, one of the biggest was trying to stay relevant as a bassist back in Canada. I felt there wasn’t as much opportunity and often I would be passed over. Another one is taking care of my mental health while out on tours and remembering the joy that music brings me/why I keep playing it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m mostly a touring bass player which I’ve been very fortunate has taken me a lot of different places. I also do sing and write my own solo material as Alexander Saint, or co-write with Seth Cook under Soft Alibi.
These days in addition to being a bassist, I also work a little on the tech side by helping artists run playback/tracks for their live shows.
I’ve been proud of a lot of different times as a player, just being able to help artists bring their live shows to life is fulfilling. And I’m very lucky to get to play with awesome folks in Nashville and Canada alike.
I think for me what sets me apart is stage presence. We all have to be good at what we do; learn the songs, support the band/artist but I think as a performer I bring something really unique to every show.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I had to uproot my whole life/career in Canada and start fresh in Nashville, that was a pretty big risk.
For me, I just don’t want to be stagnant or stuck in place for what I do. So it’s either you make a change and jump, or you’re content where you’re at. And both are fine answers at the end of the day, but I needed change and I needed growth and Toronto wasn’t offering either of those things. The worst case scenario was, I give it a try and if it didn’t work at least I tried. I can’t imagine not going, I think that would have been a regret that would have lived with me for the rest of my life
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexstkitts
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@alexstkitts
