Local musical prodigy lands a record deal with Big Yellow Dog
by Jae O’Connor
Alexi von Guggenberg graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2011. Since then, he has had an abundance of success as a songwriter and producer, all while based here in Northern Virginia. His own songs, as well as his clients’ songs, have been featured on major television networks like Lifetime, VH1, NBC, BBC, MTV and more. In July, von Guggenberg signed an exclusive worldwide publishing deal with Big Yellow Dog Music in Nashville as their newest songwriter and producer.
By the time von Guggenberg was 8 years old, he had learned to play the piano. At age 9, he had mastered the drums. To von Guggenberg, music is more than life; music is part of his very being. When he first heard of Berklee College of Music, he knew it was the school for him. He applied, was accepted and discovered the many ways his musical soul could profit as a career. Soon after graduation, von Guggenberg began his own company, LXE Productions, and had his first client’s song featured on an episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Von Guggenberg soon traveled to LA to place his songs in movies and commercial jingles. He was “following the door, but it didn’t open wide enough [in LA],” he says. He began cowriting and producing country music and found Big Yellow Dog in Nashville. After three single-song deals in less than a month, BYD offered von Guggenberg a full publishing deal. And, as icing on the cake, he is able to continue living in Virginia and send his music to Nashville electronically.
LXE Productions will continue to operate while von Guggenberg works remotely for BYD, and the only thing that has changed is that BYD wants to hear everything he creates. This eliminates the search for a label and can potentially land clients a deal much more quickly than the traditional pitching process would. In a few years’ time, von Guggenberg might move to Nashville to be closer to BYD, but in the meantime he plans to stay in Northern Virginia with his wife and children.
The music scene in Virginia is flowing with diverse artists of all genres. Von Guggenberg believes that even though living in places like LA or Nashville may appear to be ideal for artists, they can live wherever they want and still produce the things they love. Von Guggenberg’s advice for musicians trying to make it in Virginia is to keep working live gigs—there are plenty of opportunities in the area—and always keep searching for opportunities to get your music produced and licensed. “Build your own fan base,” he says. “You can do it where you are, fan by fan, by connecting to people. Continue to create the best you can. You never know when that yes is going to happen.”
( November 2015)