Meet Portugal-born UK Open Mic performer Alex Bigio:

Hi Alex Bigio, thanks for joining us! Let’s get into it:

Do you play solo only, or also in a group?

Solo

How old are you?

31

Where were you born?

Portugal

Where did you grow up?

Cascais, Portugal

How did that place influence your music? (if at all!)

The local bands got me into the live music scene and showed me that playing music for a living was a possibility. I played my first shows in Cascais and wrote a lot of my first songs around the city.

Where are you based now, and why?

I’m based in Cascais at the moment, but travel around quite frequently for music. I work as a professional musician around Lisbon and teach music as a way to fund my travels and records.

What got you into making music in the first place?

My parents loved to sing in the car on long trips and my brothers and I would join in. Coming up with alternate lyrics or making up our own on the spot always led to a fun moment and time would just fly by, so I guess song-writing was just there from the get-go.
My mother plays the piano and my Dad plays the guitar, so we always had instruments around the house, and I have always been fascinated with anything that makes noise. I got given my own guitar when I was pretty young and immediately set to writing a song called “Broccoli and Carrots” which all my brother’s still remember to this day, and make fun of me constantly for it. It was not a good song by any stretch of the imagination, but it was fun, and we still have fun with it, and that was enough to motivate me into doing it again. And again. And again, and again, and again.
We would have friends stay with us that played their own music, and a lot of classics. My family have been very nomadic for generations so guests and family would come from all different parts of the world which meant that the music I was brought up with did too. I consider myself very lucky for this because it really proved to me very early on that there were no rules to music, and no language barriers. If the songs struck the right chord everyone would love them, even if what they were saying made no sense at all. I still don’t know what some of my favourite songs are saying, and I love that about them, because I know what they make me feel, and if I play them, I know how they’ll make other people feel. The moment everybody in a room is brought together with the same emotion is an incredible high, and one that I will keep chasing forever.

What instrument/s do you play?

Singing
Guitar
Guitar
Bass
Drums
Percussion
Music Producer

Who would be in your top 10 musical influences, and why?

It is always hard to make a list of who has been a great influence and why, but at the moment these people come to mind:
Garth Brooks
Don McLean
The Beatles
Queen
Bryan Adams
James Taylor
Jeff Buckley
Dave Grohl
Jacob Collier
Johnny Cash

Do you write your own songs?

Yes

How many years have you been writing songs for?

20

What process, or processes, do you often find yourself using when you write songs?

Music comes to me in very different ways, sometimes in the middle of lunch, sometimes in the middle of a conversation, sometimes in the middle of a dream. Usually whenever I’m around an instrument I can’t help but start to play it, and after a while of mucking about I generally find progressions that I enjoy the feeling of and take it from there. I find that most of the lyrics I write only make sense to me years after I’ve written them, so I don’t really know how, why or where they come from.

How long have you been playing open mic nights?

15

Why did you get into playing them in the first place?

It was always an easy way to get up and share my songs, and luckily people around me were organising them when I started wanting to play live, so it just happened naturally.

What advice would you give new performers who are just starting out playing their first open mics?

Play. Play. Play.

What’s the hardest thing, for you, about playing open mics?

Being truly honest and vulnerable in front of groups of strangers. Getting over the fear of judgement and learning how to deal with disruptors.

What’s the most bizarre, or fun, open mic, or gig, you’ve ever played, and why?

I once played a Christmas show sing along for a local church. I didn’t know many people there but everyone was so happy and couldn’t wait to kick into the songs that the second the first notes hit you’d hear a chorus burst out. Something about playing “Silent Night” in a church filled with everyday people singing so beautifully, there was so much happiness going around that it still gives me the goosebumps when I think of it today.

If it’s not already, are you hoping to make music your full-time career?

Yes

What do you currently find the hardest and biggest obstacles to moving your music career forward?

It is not easy being a full time musician in Portugal, and there isn’t much of a “Music Industry” here. Sometimes it feels like and “old boys club” that you can only break into if you know the right people. But excuses aside, I just think that the road to success in music is a rough one, and you have to put in the time and the effort, But if you can find the pleasure and fun in the grind then you know you picked the right path, otherwise, maybe try something else, and I’m lucky, or stupid enough, to love it.

What’s the one truth about you that people often find surprising?

I am one of 8 children and have visited 5 of the 7 continents.

What’s the most exciting project you’re working on at the moment?

My new album. It’s the first one I’m doing solo and I’ve done my best to write the most truthful and honest songs I can. I’m very proud of it, and terrified of it at the same time, which I guess makes it extremely exciting.

Do you have your own music video, channel or playlist you’d like to share?

https://youtube.com/@layovertheband?si=9KIB8s30vzZJTb-3

Do you have music on streaming? What’s you main streaming channel to send people to?

Where is the main place should people go to find out more about you?

https://www.instagram.com/alex.bigio/profilecard/?igsh=MW5nMWthaWg4eDlhbw==

We’re done! Anything else you want to share before we go?

No thanks!