About

Alex Gruenburg is in love with pop music, but for some reason he can’t stop thinking about rock & roll. After spending many nights with both, Alex has combined his loves into a new sound that he likes to call Rock Pop & Roll.

Raised in a small country town buried in the heart of Virginia, Alex has been writing songs since something was explained to him very simply at age 15: to get girls, you should either a play sport or play guitar. The choice was an easy one. Originally taken by the raw and rebellious spirit of punk rock, Alex later discovered the early pop records of the ‘60’s when he was given a early Kinks record after high school. The album changed the way Alex wrote, listened, and thought about music.

Searching for the perfect pop song, Alex moved to San Diego, California to hone his craft as a songwriter and performer. There he experienced a “rock & roll college” of sorts: a life of busking on streets and living out of his band’s rehearsal studio for months at a time. After a year of pulling inspiration from the natural beauty and unexpected characters he found on the West Coast, he made his way back to the countryside of VA. There, Alex began writing what would become his debut album, Rock Pop & Roll: the perfect marriage of 1960’s British Invasion rock & roll and modern Top 40 Pop. While crafting the sound, he had one thing in mind: getting kids to dance to rock & roll music again.

It wasn’t long before Alex put a band together and started playing around the Washington, DC area. From old row houses in Richmond to large wineries in Central Virginia, Alex honed his sound and made whatever space he could into a recording studio. His first single, Hey Katy Hey is a swinging rave-up that recalls a young, electric Bob Dylan but also pulled inspiration from Outkast’s 2003 breakthough hit “Hey Ya”. This duality is only a glimpse into the inner workings of Alex’s signature sound. As Alex continues his quest to get kids dancing to Rock Pop & Roll, be assured that Hey Katy Hey (featured on the EP by the same name) is just the tip of the iceberg.