Shoot To Thrill

"There were guns everywhere!”

Alex Winston throws her head back and laughs as she recalls the memory of touring with legendary rocker and noted firearms enthusiast Ted Nugent.
“That was where I learned to tour,” the 23-year-old explains. “I learned the basics from him. Despite any personal differences we might have, I like Ted. He gave me a great opportunity. And a hunting knife! If you can play in front of a Ted Nugent crowd, you can do anything. If they don’t like you, they’ll throw stuff.”
Having survived over 60 shows opening for Nugent, Winston has since graduated to more hipster-friendly climes, moving to New York to work with acclaimed producers The Knocks and having tracks remixed by Ladyhawke. Her kooky nu-folk stylings have drawn comparisons to Kate Bush and Lykke Li but such comparisons barely scratch the surface of what Winston is about. From blood-splattered imagery to deceptively upbeat songs, the Detroit native is keen to carve out her own niche.
“I’m not trying to line myself up with those people”, she says. “They did what they did and they’re wonderful at it but I’m trying to do something that’s completely my own. I understand it, but at some point I’d like for those comparisons to not need to be mentioned.”
Further unmentionables include the unnecessary lauding of Winston’s prowess as a multi-instrumentalist, a facet of her work that tends to get overly highlighted due to her gender.
“You’re not trying to compensate for being female but there’s a vibe of, 'What’s the most impressive thing she can do?' instead of just listening to the songs. I don’t understand when the word 'female' has to go in front of 'musician' or 'songwriter' and I hate when people are so fucking impressed that a girl can play guitar. I just think it’s bullshit.”
Refreshingly, there’s very little bullshit where her music is concerned, with the singer skilfully mixing charm and oddity in an eclectic mix. Debut mini-album title-track ‘Sister Wife’ cheerfully deals with the awkward nature of polygamy while ‘Fingers & Toes’ is an up-tempo piano-led stomp written from the point of view of a serial killer.
“I’m not pro-serial killers, obviously, but I find serial killers fascinating. Mental disorders too, and learning about them. It’s not a conscious effort to be unconventional. I write about what I’m interested in and I want the visual aspect to be interesting too.”
That visual aspect extends to the stage, where Winston has been known to get a little carried away, sometimes going as far as to hurl a tambourine into the crowd.
“I can be a bit domineering on stage”, she admits. “Maybe it’s from all that time with Nugent! I go to extreme lengths sometimes to get people involved because I hate when they just stand there. And not just the crowd, the band too. It became so taboo for a while for people to really get into it. You see all these indie bands that just fucking stand there and drool out of their mouths. I like to put on a show.”
Alex Winston then: cool, confident and packing a hunting knife. World domination surely beckons.