Alexis Antes

"Singing is a gift. Songwriting is a gift. Playing is a gift. It's not uncommon to find an artist who does one of the three well; it IS uncommon to find one who does all three well. Add Cleveland's own Alexis Antes to the final list…" - Chuck Yarborough, The Plain Dealer (July 2017)

“[album opener on 13, “Fight for a Better Day”] "It's a righteous tune cut from the same musical cloth as songs by Melissa Etheridge and Ani DiFranco." - Jeff Niesel, Cleveland Scene (July 2017)

“…her nuanced vocals on 13, burnished and honey-toned. She’s always been one of the area’s outstanding singers, and maturity has just added to the impact of her vocals. The new songs play to her strengths. In fact, the songs, with the full but not overwhelming arrangements and their graceful melodies, pulse with focused energy. Standouts like ‘Two Hearts’ and ‘Heaven Sent’ are both delicate and propulsive.” Anastasia Pantsios, Cool Cleveland (July 2017)

"...Antes' heart-professing lyrics are cutting through a thick competition of women soloists..." ~ Kristen Hampshire, Scene

"Since Antes released her debut CD Stronger, a collection of the first songs she has ever written, she keeps slipping closer and closer to the spotlight. It is the personal nature of her songs that seems to strike a chord with fans... But it is Antes' ability to expose her experiences that allows her to succeed where other acts may fail…" ~ Glenn Gamboa, The Beacon Journal

“…Antes is a commanding performer. [On her album, All Come Down] She treats us to a good old strong guitar, edgy lyrics, and a wispy voice that can even bring the mastermind computer gamers out of their rooms.” ~ Shaumir Acharya, The Observer, Case Western Reserve University

"Alexis Antes is such a methodic, mood-altering blend of peaceful, relative, and soothing sound that she really takes you away from the outer world, to that inner realm only she and you know how to find.” ~ Cheryl Bruedigam, Women's Rising Music

“[Stronger] A timeless album that you will find in your CD player more than you noticed.” ~ Sergio Ruiz, The Village Buzz

“This exceptional CD was under review for an inexcusable length of time; simply because it is so good. All Come Down, is one of those CDs where you walk back in the room and push play again because it is still in the CD player from the night before. You want to leave the repeat button on, and everyone around you thinks you've lost your mind, like when your dad drives along with the blinker on! No, Alexis Antes is such a methodic, mood-altering blend of peaceful, relative, and soothing sound that she really takes you away from the outer world, to that inner realm only she and you know how to find.” ~ Cheryl Bruedigam, Women's Rising Music - Misc.

Alexis Antes first became known to Cleveland audiences as one of a trio of woman who fronted the popular folk-rock ensemble Odd Girl Out, which packed Cleveland-area clubs in the early ’90s. Tapped by many for greater things, the band released a live album that was a poor reflection of its talents and fizzled out in 1995 after nearly six years plying the local club circuit.

One of the group’s two songwriters, Anne E. DeChant, considered by many to be its focal point, has gone on to a productive career as a solo singer-songwriter with numerous albums under her belt. (She now lives in Nashville but returns home often to perform in the Cleveland area). The other, Victoria Fliegel, performed briefly in VA Dare with Antes, and then retired.

But it was Antes who really surprised a lot of people. Considerably younger than her bandmates (she was only 18 when the group formed in 1990), she stood well out of the spotlight, providing guitar and harmonies and taking the lead vocal on a few cover tunes. She didn’t contribute to the band’s writing. So when she released her powerful debut album Stronger in 1998, it was an eye-opener. She had songwriting and vocal gifts that the band didn’t showcase.

“Anne had to keep up expectations after the band broke up,” says Antes. “People had expectations for her. They had no expectations for me because I didn’t write. Victoria and Anne had that pressure on them.”

Antes followed her debut with the equally strong All Come Down in 2003 — and then semi-vanished, at least as an original artist.

What happened? Life, she says. She moved around the region, worked a day job, was in and out of relationships. She moved to Youngstown where she re-tooled herself as a cover act to make money, learning a large repertoire of current and classic tunes, which she played a wineries, restaurants, clubs and other venues.

“I felt like as an original act, no one wanted to hear that,” she says. “But it was good for me in a way. Even though I complain a lot about being a cover act it took me out of my zone and challenged me to play chord progressions I hadn’t played and push my limits. It made me a stronger performer, guitarist and singer. It made me a better writer.”

In addition, she says, she felt her own music was stale. She had stopped writing in part because she had no space where she could create and in part because she felt depressed “in a funk,” she says.

Eventually she found the space and realized that not being creative was part of the reason for her funk, and she began to produce new songs. Those songs are part of a new album, 13, which she’s releasing at a concert at the Music Box Supper Club on Wed 7/13.

“Almost all the songs on the album are new, like in the last two years,” she says. “’End of the Story’ is the oldest from 2011. It’s so cool now because I feel like this is what my life is supposed to be like. This is what I am supposed to be doing.”

She called the album 13 as a tribute to her mother, Bobbie Antes, a singer/songwriter/guitarist who was a part of Cleveland’s folk scene for many years and co-owned a folk club with Alexis’ father Scott. She passed away in the summer of 2014.

“It was her number,” says Antes. “July 13 was her birthday. So I thought I might as well do 13 songs.”

Those songs include one by each of her parents, Bobbie Antes’ “Gentle True Spirit,” and Scott Antes’ “Virginia.” Both were songs she had long performed in her sets. The only other song she didn’t write is a cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” a song she’s been performing since Odd Girl Out days and that she says has been one of her most requested tunes throughout the years.

Once she had her tunes and was ready to record, a friend recommended Superior Sound’s Jim Wirt, who produced, engineered and mixed the album, as well as played bass on it. Former Odd Girl Out drummer Brian Bretton plays most of the drums, with Tuck Mindrum playing on two tracks. Local rocker Ray Flanagan plays guitars, Chris Hanna contributes keyboards and Victoria Fliegel re-appears on lead guitar on “Landslide.” All except Hanna will perform with her at the Music Box, which she’s excited she was able to book on her mother’s actual birthday.

Those who remember Antes from Odd Girl Out or her late ’90s/early ’00s years as an original act won’t be startled to hear her nuanced vocals on 13, burnished and honey-toned. She’s always been one of the area’s outstanding singers, and maturity has just added to the impact of her vocals. The new songs play to her strengths.

She says, “I’m hoping this album will appeal to a broader audience, getting away from female angst into more topics.”

In fact, the songs, with the full but not overwhelming arrangements and their graceful melodies, pulse with focused energy. Standouts like “Two Hearts” and “Heaven Sent” are both delicate and propulsive.

And don’t worry about her disappearing for another 14 years. to see what I can do after a hiatus,” she says, adding that she’s already working on new material. “I feel like I have the momentum to keep going now more than ever.” - Cool Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Singing is a gift. Songwriting is a gift. Playing is a gift. It's not uncommon to find an artist who does one of the three well; it IS uncommon to find one who does all three well.

Add Cleveland's own Alexis Antes to the final list . . . which makes it a curious happenstance that we had to wait 14 years between albums. Of course, that's not the longest delay: Her new "13,'' includes "Virginia,'' a song written by her dad, Scott, in 1974, and "Gentle True Spirit,'' penned by her late mom, Bobbie, in 1980. Four decades is a long gestation period by anyone's definition, but the result was worth the wait.

"After the 14-year break between albums, I wanted to put everything I had into this one,'' said Antes in an emailed message. "And I wanted to honor my parents and their musical influence on me. So, I decided to put a tune by each of them on this album."

But those two singles - songs she's often done at her own live performances - are not the only "blast from the past'' that is on the album.

Antes was one of the co-founders Odd Girl Out, with Antes, Anne E. DeChant and Victoria Fliegel (who, interestingly enough, took over from Bobbie, according to local author Deanna Adams' book "Rock 'n' Roll and the Cleveland Connection'').

The trio was the darling of the city's indie folk scene in the '90s before splitting. DeChant headed to Nashville to work on her own career as a songwriter. Fliegel in her own words "retired'' from the music world, and Antes continued to perform as a solo act.

There is a mini-reunion on the album, with Fliegel returning to play lead guitar on a cover of Stevie Nicks' "Landslide.''

The rest of the album was written or co-written by Antes, who provides both lead and harmony vocals, and features the kind of introspective lyrics that have always been her trademark.

Fliegel will join her former band mate at the album release party on Thursday, July 13, at Music Box Supper Club, a venue that in some ways is filing the void left by the closing of the much-loved Barking Spider as a haven for local singer-songwriters and musicians. And that's a good thing because Cleveland has a wealth of them. - The Plain Dealer

Local singer-songwriter Alexis Antes first performed as a child in the 1970s at Red Horse Hollow, a Lakewood coffeehouse and folk venue that her parents owned. She co-founded the folk act Odd Girl Out right after high school and launched her solo career in 1996.

Now, she’s just announced details surrounding 13, her third solo album and first release in 14 years.

The press release announcing its release declares that album opener “Fight for a Better Day” serves as an anthem for “anyone struggling with issues of depression, addiction, abuse, self-worth, identity, bullying.” It's a righteous tune cut from the same musical cloth as songs by Melissa Etheridge and Ani DiFranco.

The album includes a track written by Alexis’ late mother, Bobbie Antes, and her father, Scott Antes. It also includes a cover of the Fleetwood Mac tune “Landslide." Locally based Jim Wirt (Fiona Apple, Incubus, Brian Setzer, Jacks Mannequin) produced the album at his Superior Sound recording studios.

“Alexis is great! She’s a terrific songwriter and performer, and I loved working on this record with her," says Wirt in the press release. "I’m proud to have it alongside all of the other work I’ve done in my career.”

Wirt, who also played bass on the record, will perform at the release party that takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 13, at the Music Box Supper Club. - Cleveland Scene

Singer Alexis Antes Will Show Off New Tunes

Published: Thu, March 25, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m.
By John Benson
entertainment@vindy.com

Singer-songwriter Alexis Antes finds herself at a crossroads.

After spending the past year working on a new CD, the talented artist, who was a founding member of Cleveland folk-pop group Odd Girl Out, is hoping her future includes both touring her own material as well as writing tunes for others.

“I’m working more on writing some songs I’d like to sell to other artists to record,” Antes said. “I have a couple of people I work with now that help with publishing. So that’s the route I’m going to use right now. I also might go down to Nashville and join a few writers circles.”

Over the past decade, the critically-acclaimed Antes has had quite a career. Not only was she the only Northeast Ohio artist chosen to perform at the 1998 Lilith Fair at Blossom Music Center, but she was continually nominated for Best Folk Singer in the region by the local music press.

Now comes word Antes is finishing up the follow-up to her 2003 album “All Come Down.” The vocalist-guitarist said she’ll be playing new tunes such as the rocking “How Do You Do That?” and the midtempo “Let Go,” as well as Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” and Pink’s “Crystal Ball” at her Saturday debut show at the Lemon Grove.

“Whereas most of my earlier stuff was a lot of relationship-gone-bad songs, the new material has a little bit wider variety of topics,” Antes said. “There’s still some of the good love-song stuff my current fans are used to hearing, but also a little broader than the love topic. I guess it’s just life in general and soul searching.”

For Antes, that soul searching included overcoming a serious bout with writer’s block, which explains why it took so long to write her new album. In fact, she admits a hiatus she took last year away from her normal 100-plus live-show schedule was aimed at jump-starting the creative process.

“I didn’t struggle as much musically, it was more lyrically,” Antes said. “That’s been more of a battle for me than it has been in the past. I don’t know. I can’t explain it. It would seem like I would get a couple of things going but not enough to put an album out. But then the gates opened up, and I guess it was the right timing. It felt good. So right now, I’m actually kind of working on two projects at once because a lot of people have asked for an acoustic recording. One album I’m working on is an acoustic CD. But I love playing with my band members, and I’m looking forward to doing full-band arrangements on the main CD. So it’s not folk rock anymore, a little bit more on the rock end. I might release them simultaneously later this summer.”

Wow, that’s quite a gift for fans who have been waiting for new material from Antes for more than half a decade.

“Yeah, maybe,” Antes laughed. “A gift for them. A gift for myself.”

- The Vindicator - Youngstown, OH

This exceptional CD was under review for an inexcusable length of time; simply because it is so good. "All Come Down," is one of those CDs where you walk back in the room and push play again because it is still in the CD player from the night before. You want to leave the repeat button on, and everyone around you thinks you've lost your mind, like when your dad drives along with the blinker on! No, Alexis Antes is such a methodic, mood-altering blend of peaceful, relative, and soothing sound that she really takes you away from the outer world, to that inner realm only she and you know how to find.

From the sweet guitar of "Drowning," to the swaying rhythmic voice in "Love," to the pain of "The Fall," Antes has it all. The title cut, "All Come Down," is one we all need at times; strength in a relationship when the going gets hard. Antes fits into today's new genre but she doesn't follow. Antes soothes, she is healing, like a good cup of tonic. You'll want to sit with her "at the coffee shop this morning," (a line from "I Can't Give You Everything"), discussing life and love while "Hide Your Eyes," a Sade soft sound wafts lightly on the air. "Where Do We Go," will rock you gently in comfort until the confusion lifts like a veil.

Self-taught on the guitar, her bio claims she is "refining her own skills as a solo artist." I would say they are re-found. Her acoustic rhythm ain't bad either. As addendum, the lead guitar and drums on "Without You," are in fact a unique combo that works, and works well, and Antes vocals bring it all together in good time.
- Women's Rising

Lakewood Public Library’s “Sunday with the Friends” series is proud to present an intimate acoustic concert with singer/songwriter Alexis Antes on Sunday, October 5 at 2:00 p.m. in the Main Library Auditorium. This free event is generously funded by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture and the Friends of Lakewood Public Library.

Alexis has been performing music all her life. She grew up in Lakewood where she was raised in a creative environment by her mother, Bobbie, who is also an accomplished singer/songwriter and musician. Music was a focal point in her home and Alexis taught herself to play the guitar by the time she was twelve by listening to the radio until her chords matched the ones she heard. At age eighteen, she was the youngest founding member of the Cleveland-based folk-pop group, Odd Girl Out. OGO performed sold-out shows throughout the Midwest from 1990 to 1995. The group enjoyed a cult following, particularly on the college scene and received airplay on, and support from, commercial radio stations in the Cleveland market. In 1994, Cleveland Magazine's Readers' Poll voted the group "Favorite Local Band" and "Favorite Local Folk Band".

When the band broke up Alexis tried to start another group but the venture never got off the ground. Instead Antes decided to go solo. She discovered her own voice and began to pursue her own path as both a writer and performer of her own songs. “It’s so hard to have to count on someone else,” she said. “I just got this idea to start trying to do it myself. It came easier than I thought.” Although Alexis already had experience performing, songwriting was uncharted territory for her and so she began with what she knew -- the music. Antes said that most of her ideas started with a melody that she hummed into a tape recorder in her car. “The lyrics tend to come last,” she said.

Her debut album, Stronger, was released in 1998. Her songs had solid, honest lyrics along with appealing rhythms. The intensely personal and sincere nature of her songs is what resonated with fans. Scene Magazine wrote, "Listeners are treated to a lone voice in the wilderness, singing introspective, soul-searching ballads about disillusionment, heartache and growth — songs that would not be out of place on a disc by Paula Cole". The CD proved that Alexis was very much in control of her future and that she was comfortable alone in the spotlight. She received an invitation to play at Lilith Fair at Blossom Music Center in 1998.

All Come Down, the follow-up to Stronger, was released in 2003. It is more of a full band effort but it still contains songs with the heartfelt lyrics and melodies that have made Antes a noted songwriter among her contemporaries. The album also features a throw back to the Odd Girl days with a cover of The Supremes song, “My World is Empty Without You,” which was one of OGO’s popular cover tunes.

In 2004 she performed her first house concert; literally a concert held at a residence. She performed as a support act for Annie Gallup, poet and folk musician from Ann Arbor, MI. Antes said, “It’s more active and personal when the audience is literally right on top of the stage. When you’re on a big stage and you can’t see anything, it’s easier to do your thing, but you have a harder time connecting with the audience.”

Alexis has shared the stage with such artists as Jewel, Paula Cole, Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, James Taylor, Melissa Etheridge, Stephen Stills and Dan Fogelberg. She was both nominee and performer at the 1999 Cleveland Scene Music Awards. She was one of five finalists in Time Warner Cable’s RoadRunner Rocks battle of the bands and she was accepted into the Indiegrrl national roster of performing members in 2000.

Come experience her unique blend of pop, rock, and folk, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 5 in the Main Library Auditorium. - Lakewood Observer - Vol 4, No 20, Sept 30, 2008

Alexis Antes - All Come Down

Ohio singer-songwriter Alexis Antes delivers her second full length solo CD since departing Odd Girl Out. The appeal of female singer songwriters is not quite as popular as it was in the days of Lilith Fair, some of the ladies have kept producing great material however. The main thing here is that the music and vocal approach has to be much stronger as the style seems to be picking up more steam as of late. That is a good thing as many people are getting a bit tired of teeny bop pop sound that has been cluttering up the airwaves in recent years.

Alexis Antes proves here that she can write a good honest song that can catch your attention, and her delivery is strong for the most part. Growing up in a family where both her mom and dad were singer songwriters too helped Alexis steer her career in the right direction. The latest offering is musically, lyrically, and vocally good, but lacks a bit in the production end as at times it's almost like your listening in a tunnel, a bit hollow. Thankfully the performance is good which can carry you through the recordings imperfections.

A good CD that shines the spotlight on the songwriting, which is well deserved. If you are a fan of the likes of Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLaughlin and other greats past and present, you will be intrigued by this disk. Writing wise it fits in the kettle perfectly, the recording and vocal style may not be as strong as some of the legends in the genre, but it does still hold a great deal of talent that deserves recognition. A good offering, and it also makes one think there are better things ahead for this songstress. - Rikk's Revues

Wednesday, July 23, 2003
By Peggy Latkovich

Robin Stone is a woman on a mission . “I want people to know that there are artists in Cleveland who are all working together instead of competing with each other,” says the neo-soul/jazz/funk songstress. “It's really exciting. There's a lot of camaraderie — we're trying to cross-market and get our fans to other kinds of shows.”

To that end, she's created She Loves You Records, her own label. So far, the label's catalog consists of her work and that of comrade Alexis Antes. The two will hold a CD release party at the Grog Shop on July 26. A third artist, Cuyahoga Falls native Kehri Spicel will be joining the SLY stable soon and is also on the Grog bill.

“She's really fantastic,” says Stone, “Her stuff is very much pop-rock. It's some of the best stuff I've heard in this city in a long time.”

Stone and Antes have been friends for about three years, have toured together and sung on each other's CDs. Stone co-produced and contributed art design to Antes' new disc, All Come Down. The two have styles that are compatible without being identical.

“I think that's why it's worked out so well when we've done shows together,” says Antes. “It's like we're different enough to maintain interest, but we're similar enough that we have a large crossover fan base.”

Though Stone won the Free Times ' “Best of Cleveland” award in the folk category last year, her stuff is more soulful and funky than what comes to mind with the word “folk.”

“The problem with the Free Times [awards] was that it was either folk or pop-rock and at the time there was no in-between category, so my friends ended up nominating me for folk,” she says. “It just happened that way, but it was just nice to win.”

Though Stone's music shows traces of folk-pop divas such as Carole King, Joni Mitchell and Laura Nyro (though she says she's not familiar with Nyro's work), you can also hear the funky tough-girl sound of Ani DiFranco and the soulfulness of Marvin Gaye. In fact, on her new release, Rushmore, she does a respectable cover of Gaye's “Inner City Blues.”

Antes, on the other hand, has what Stone calls “a very smooth delivery.”
“Her stuff is very much acoustic pop-rock,” Stone says. “Her writing is very much on love relationships and mine is more just life in general, relationships in a different sense.”

Antes has released two CDs since the demise of her former band, local favorites Odd Girl Out. She's spent the last eight years developing her own voice.

“Musically [ All Come Down] differs from the first album in that there's a lot more production on the new album — more in the way of support vocals and little bells and whistles that were not on the first,” she says. “I've always liked that kind of sound, but production has always been a mystery. I'm limited to what I have with my band as far as what we do in the live shows. I like being able to take advantage of the studio. It's fun to experiment.”

Her moody cover of the Supremes' “My World is Empty Without You” shows a departure from her previous acoustic sound. Three of her former OGO band mates, Victoria Fliegel, Chris deHaas, and Brian Bretton, join her on the CD and will be onstage at the release party.

Stone and Antes are excited about unveiling these new albums at the new Grog Shop, a venue Stone says is “fantastic.”

“It's much bigger,” she says. “The stage is basically right in the center of the room. You can easily see it from anywhere. The sound system is fantastic. It's going to be a great show.”

And just as importantly, says Antes with a laugh, “The women's restroom has stall doors. I keep trying to stress that to everyone.”

The party will be a music-packed night. In addition to sets by Stone, Antes and Spicel, Stone's drummer Joe Rohan, who plays with local band Mother Train, will open the evening. Stone and Antes anticipate some surprises during the evening, with all four musicians teaming up on occasion.

It's this teamwork Stone hopes to promote amongst Cleveland area musicians. In her view, local artists have more to gain by giving each other a leg up than by tearing each other down. The end result is more music — a win-win situation for audiences and artists alike.
- Plain Dealer, Cleveland Ohio

Add acoustic guitar with female vocals and you get a familiar recipe appealing to most Lilith-goers. Alexis Antes' solo debut has these ingredients, but with a refreshing twist - solid, honest lyrics, catchy rhythms and a balance of upbeat and mellow tracks that give the CD an undying momentum.

STRONGER is a first stop for Antes, but a firm one. Finally going solo several years after the break-up of local folk band Odd Girl Out, she picked up the pen and did a little writing of her own. And apparently a lot of soul-searching, too. You won't find any "Spice"-y pop ditties. You will find the voice of a heart broken and healing. Not to be confused with a standard "love sucks" album or "rage against the ex," Antes' sound is not one of vengeance. Her voice is sincere and intriguing and her painfully realistic lyrics are coated in instrumentation with a folksy feel.

Beginning with "Stronger," quick, strumming guitars keep a light tone that continues into the second track, "Out There." The mood shifts with "Where Do We Go" - one of the stronger cuts on the CD. Here, Antes' voice is more distinguished than other more soft-spoken songs where the vocals tend to slightly compete with guitar. She glides over lyrics like, Is this just comfort in each other/Or friends turned into lovers/No label to define just what we are.

"Lifetime of Me and You" is almost lullaby-like, with its instrumentation textured by piano. "Hold On" and "Something More Than This" bring the pace back up to a foot-tapping speed - almost a moodswing with the combination of tempos on the disc. A stronger bass line is revealed in "Shadow the Truth," where Antes croons, If you think that I can't see what's going on/Well I've been around. Wrapping up with "My Light," a tribute to Antes' mother, Bobbie, also a musician who plays piano in several tracks, Antes' delicate, serene voice sends a thank-you to her inspiration. While the instrumentation and subject of the CD is not unique, Antes keeps interest and carves her own niche.
- Kristen Hampshire