Alexander F

So Sensation

Alexander F is an American new age punk band fronted by Alex Toth. While on an eleven-day silent meditation retreat in Quebec, a handful of Buddhist-themed experimental punk songs exploded into Alex’s head. Writing and demoing the record took three weeks post-retreat and involved wearing nicotine patches, meditating daily, reading the Tao Te Ching and listening to Pixies and Fugazi.

The whole project was pretty unexpected as Alex comes from a background of jazz trumpet and leading the large new wave band, Rubblebucket. The need for intense meditation came a year into his recovery as a sober alcoholic after a couple musician acquaintances committed suicide. The aggressive songs that emerged quite surprisingly are about freedom from self and freedom from the illusion that we’re separate entities. Freedom from being so lost in thought and in our egos that we hurt ourselves and those around us.

For four days in August of 2015, Alex and friend Steve Marion (guitar) went into Room 17 in Bushwick, Brooklyn to co-produce the Alexander F record with a bunch of friends including Dandy McDowell, Christian Peslak, and Noah Rubin who now comprise the touring band. Kimbra makes an appearance on the record and has been known to sit in with the band. The album was engineered by Joe Rogers and mostly mixed by John Congleton and Claudius Mittendorfer.

Alexander F has played with the likes of Speedy Ortiz, Perfect Pussy, Downtown Boys, Colin Stetson, Margaret Glaspy, Mac McCaughan, Delicate Steve and Reptar.