Following the release of Richmond-based She’s a Legend’s new album, “Flight Patterns & Fist Fights,” Arts & Entertainment had the opportunity to sit down with lead singer Alex McDilda and discuss inspiration, goals and some lesser-known facts about the band.
Arts & Entertainment: When did you get started in music?
Alex McDilda: My dad tried to get me to take guitar lessons when I was 10 and told me it would help me get a girlfriend when I was older, but I hated guitar lessons so I quit and I taught myself again in high school because I always loved music.
A&E: Is She’s a Legend the first band you’ve played in?
AM: The first band I was in was a pop-punk cover band that only lasted for like a month and a half, but Sean, the lead guitarist, and I started an acoustic duo called Grace Kelly. So we added people and started the band, She’s a Legend. We decided to actually go for it and be a permanent band, and She’s a Legend is actually a reference to Grace Kelly.
A&E: This is your first album, right? What was the process like to get it released?
AM: It was really hard. I had a terrible sinus infection the whole time we were recording, and we were poor so we couldn’t reschedule. It was a really grounding experience. You can hear every mistake — it’s so different when you play live. So it’s definitely a lot of work, especially when you’re not signed. We did it in five days.
A&E: Where did the songs on this album, “Flight Patterns & Fist Fights” originate?
AM: They’re a collection of songs we’ve always done and some new ones we did for the album. “Lakeside” is the first song we ever wrote together, back when we were Grace Kelly.
The album’s structured in a way that you are supposed to listen to it from beginning to end, because I’ve always been a fan of albums that you can listen to all the way through. We put it in order chronologically, the first songs from when we were 17 and the recent ones from now, when we’re 22, so you can hear us maturing through the songs.
A&E: How do you want listeners to react? What kind of sound are you going for?
AM: We’ve never been a band that is trying to sound like a certain genre or fit into a certain scene. We just write music for ourselves, and as a songwriter I want people to enjoy the music, not to be popular but for people to connect to. And it’s a bonus when people can dance around to it.
A&E: What are you doing currently and what do you plan on doing in the coming months?
AM: We’ve played a couple of acoustic shows. We just practiced with a new bass player. We’re planning on hitting the ground running in November.
A&E: What memorable experiences have you made together as a band?
AM: We opened for Bad Suns in Richmond and they were the chilliest guys ever. After the show they joked ‘We’ll be opening for you next time!’. We opened for Aaron Carter once, last year, and he was so humble which I didn’t expect at all. He introduced himself and was like ‘Oh yeah, I follow you guys on Twitter’.
A&E: What’s the most rock star thing you’ve ever done?
AM: Oh no. I signed a girl’s boobs once. That was pretty rock star.
A&E: What’s your guilty pleasure song?
AM: Jordin Sparks — Battlefield.
A&E: Are you serious?
AM: Yeah, 100 percent. I also think that would be a good rap cover. I don’t know why no one’s done it yet.
A&E: Are you going to start a fan club at any point in the near future?
AM: Someone actually made a Twitter fan handle. They named it “SALers,” like the abbreviation for She’s a Legend. There are like 12 followers. It’s definitely not very popular.
A&E: What movie would you most want your music to be on the soundtrack to?
AM: I can’t speak for the whole band, but for me a James Bond movie. I’m a huge James Bond fan.
She’s a Legend’s new album is available for purchase on iTunes and for streaming on Spotify.
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