Interviews/Press

Nick Alexander is Back! Susan Bailey GrapeVine Magazine Welcome back Nick Alexander! It’s been several years since his last parody release but he is back and his latest, I Wanna Be Debated, is worth the wait. I love this album and here’s why. It is crackling with excitement and energy, from the vocals right down to the last guitar and drumbeat. If you want to know what Nick is like live, you’ll hear it on this album in full force. The themes are great – chastity, eating right, the internet, Lent, the priesthood . . . and they are combined with wonderful song choices such as “Footloose,” by Kenny Loggins, “Centerfold” by J. Geils, “King of Pain” by the Police and “I Am the Walrus” by the Beatles, among many others. Most importantly, especially for a comedy album, this project is FUN to listen to. When I am in need of cheering up, this project puts a much needed smile on my face. Thank you. As if that weren’t enough, I Wanna Be Debated contains a bonus track: a serious praise and worship song that Nick crafted from the hymn, “Holy God We Praise Thy Name.” I loved the classic words and the fact that it did NOT sound like the typical formula praise and worship song. This song truly made me want to worship God. Nick has a great future in praise and worship music. Even the best projects have their flaws. For one, I felt that the subject material of “Suicide Hotline” (set to “I Am the Walrus”) was too sensitive to be funny. The arrangement was imaginative and humorous at times, but I still was uncomfortable with the fact that this song dealt with life and death. As creative and funny as most of the lyrics were, some of them sounded forced. Sometimes I felt there were just too many lyrics. Vocally there were flaws too, most of which I credit to being carried away with enthusiasm. Not a bad thing overall! I Wanna Be Debated is just so delightful and fun that I can easily overlook any flaws. It has a permanent spot on my list of CDs to take with me to that desert island someday.

By Mark Weber Crosswalk.Com Nick Alexander, the self-proclaimed “Weird Al” of Catholic comedy, returns. Some of Nick Alexander’s songs are just plain silly. The king of Catholic comedy takes pop songs and parodies them. As the self-proclaimed “Weird Al” of Catholic music, Alexander found some success with his first release, A Time To Laugh, a year ago. Now he’s back with more silly songs on Eternal Life: The Party Album. Life has a distinct ’70s/’80s feel. The only recent songs parodied are somewhat lackluster versions of Lenny Kravitz’s Fly Away and Barenaked Ladies’ Pinch Me. Skip those in favor of other classic hits. Alexander’s high-pitched, “new wave” (slightly whiny/nasal) voice is just right for Nahum, Zephaniah, Malachi, a dead-on parody of Tommy Tutone’s original Jenny (867-5309). The rosary is the subject of These Beads, a strange albeit educational version of These Dreams by the Wilson sisters, of the band Heart. Evangelize, a well-written religious parody of Gloria Gaynor’s huge 70s hit, I Will Survive, will make you laugh. Therese of Lisieux, a send-up of Eddy Grant’s Electric Avenue, will liven up dull Catholic CCD classes. It’s a very clever three-minute mini-bio about the legendary saint known as “the little flower.” The highlight of Life is We Want To Stand United, which finds Alexander hitting the church history books and spoofing Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start The Fire. If you want to sum up theological history from A.D. 313 to the present, this song covers it: “Baptists form, then they split, Wesleyan makes Methodists, Mormons follow Joseph Smith as a Deity. Whitfield, Edwards, then Finney, A.M.E. from bigotry, JWs, they’ve introduced a lower-case ‘g.’ Maria Monk’s tale untrue. Darwin’s Monkey Trial blues. Azusa Street, Campfire Meet, Preacher Billy Sunday.” And that’s just one verse in this detailed study of Christianity throughout history. Alexander should win a songwriter’s award for We Want To Stand United. Recently married, and living near New York City, Alexander keeps busy writing parodies and sharing them with appreciative audiences who aren’t afraid to laugh. Eternal Life: The Party Album is the kind of disc you’ll want to share with friends. If you’re in the mood for Catholic parodies (did you even know they existed?), Nick Alexander is your man.