Alex Cole

For the past several years, Alex Cole’s retro-rock revolution has been taking the world by storm. This young man embodies everything great about classic hard rock, honing his influences into fantastic original songs along with covers in his live set. His energy on stage is unrivaled, and on Thursday, November 15, 2018, Cole finally played his first headlining set in Vegas at 172 inside the Rio Hotel/Casino. Earlier in the year, he’d played support gigs at Vamp’d for The Moby Dicks and Jizzy Pearl.

Alex’s trio of musicians arrived to rock Vegas, for the first time (and long overdue, might I add) as a headliner, playing not one but two sets at 172. Seeing him not relegated to the limited set time of a support act was truly a breath of fresh air. Mr. Cole and company rocked the house, utilizing every second of their time on stage brilliantly.

When you go to an Alex Cole show, you’ll get a mixture of original songs and covers, but his original songs so beautifully capture the classic hard rock vibe that the whole set blends together seamlessly. He made an announcement he’d be premiering a few new tracks at this night’s gig as well, much to the delight of the crowd. There’s no denying Alex’s energy on a live stage; he captures the attention of everyone watching him perform, and turns them into fans.

Alex Cole and his trio have progressively become better with each gig, maintaining a chemistry essential for quality rock and roll shows. It was a fantastic rock and roll experience for those who came to 172 to see him rock. Being a Thursday night and a relatively new value, the crowd was disappointingly small, yet those in attendance still made plenty of noise for Alex and his band, and rightfully so. Here’s hoping he’ll be returning to Sin City in the near future to give this rock and roll town more of what they deserve.

Alex Cole is a man who deserves to “make it” in the music business, and he’s already spreading his brand of retro-flavored rock to audiences around the world. Keep an eye on this guy if you aren’t already! - Taylor Carlson

Material: Figuratively speaking, A Bad Boy Rocker is an album where Alex Cole’s original songwriting meets a mirage of classic rock & roll at the crossroads. That artistic conjunction is exactly why the Viper Room served as the perfect backdrop for Cole to perform songs from his exhilarating debut album. Fittingly enough, his set-list featured six original songs and four classic rock covers.

Musicianship: Cole truly thrives when it comes to showmanship and theatrics. But what is even more spectacular is his intelligence and skillfulness in rock & roll vocal technique. When Cole sings, it is as if he has encrypted subtle nods of respect to legendary rock & roll legends, like Jim Morrison, Brian Johnson and Sebastian Bach, who have clearly influenced Cole’s tonality.

Performance: Alex Cole entered the stage through two curtains, as if he were a vintage gift from the “Rock Gods,” a thirst quenching tease of authenticity, dangling from the genetic tree that still connects a vast amount of Los Angeles rock fans to the glam metal era of the ‘80s. With a cocky smirk on his face, the Italian born artist proceeded to captivate the audience with his soprano vocal range, cutting-edge sex appeal and smooth dance moves. Cole was simply great at this show. And he knew it, pointedly winking for the press members’ cameras on numerous occasions, and he even stopped in the middle of his set to promote his T-shirts and CD’s in a way that was comedic (and very likable). His boldness was soaked in hard-earned sweat and justified even more so with every guitar lick and harmonica solo that he played, flawlessly. Cole, in fact, came within one sentimental “power ballad” of completely bringing the house down.

Summary: The margin for error with an excessively confident lead singer, during a live show, is quite small. Especially in rock & roll. Especially in Hollywood. And especially at the Viper Room. Alex Cole moseyed that line nicely, while showing everyone in his audience that attitude is a dish that is best served with substance. - Miguel Costa

The first time I saw Alex Cole play was last year at the Viper Room. I was pleasantly surprised with the high energy show that paid tribute to the roots of Rock. When approached with the opportunity to cover the show at The Whisky a Go Go, I quickly re-arranged other plans to make sure I was there.

As expected, Alex Cole did not disappoint. I felt like the keeper of great secrets when audience members around me turned to me with surprised grins and said, "Wow! This guy is awesome!" But alas, the cat was out of the bag. Now it was time to let the music described recently as "Retro-Rock" to carry us into the voyage of vintage guitar virtuosity.

Classically trained as a Bartione Tenor, Alex's vocals remind you of Ronnie James Dio meets Paul Rodgers. However, it is his command of the electric guitar that immediately captivates you. His riffs are fat, and his leads are a technical marvel. The best part of enjoying Alex Cole live is that his shows are alot of fun. The show at The Whisky was no exception.

I have been writing recently about my excitement over the young musicians who are bringing 70's styled rock to the airwaves. As much as there is heart in these acts (Greta Van Fleet, Joyous Wolf, Dorothy), I worry that in our growing fascination for the "youth revolution" we abandon those who have cut their teeth, who have mastered their chords, and scales and have many years of experience with their voices and instruments. This is where Alex Cole comes in to help bridge the gap. You can learn more about Alex, and listen to him at ALEXCOLEROCKS.COM - Robert De Anda