Today we’d like to introduce you to Al Deans
Hi Al, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started drawing and making visual art when I was 3 years old, just as a hobby. But then I found out that what I was doing was different and perhaps more advanced than the other kids. I was put in advanced art and reading classes in my early school years with kids much older than me. I didn’t really think much of it until people told me, adamantly, that other people weren’t able to do artistic things as easily. Come to find out, I was autistic.. diagnosed later in life, I was found to have what they used to call Asperger’s Syndrome. Not that it really mattered as a kid. I was a nerd and I got bullied a lot. I got good grades up until I entered middle school, where things changed drastically. I was getting D’s and F’s, not paying attention and basically bored with school and all I wanted to do was ride my skateboard with friends and draw superheroes.. mostly Spider-man. Then as a young adult, I was 18, I discovered the guitar and music and realized I had a huge passion for writing and playing music. I joined rock bands just a few years later and basically put down my art, even though I had earned a full scholarship at one of the top Art Schools in Utah. Fast forward to 2016. I had played bass and guitar in countless rock bands. I had made a career out of recording and producing other peoples music and mixing live sound for corporate events in addition to rock and roll, but I was feeling as though I had neglected my own creativeness. I had written a good 30 songs under the band name, Quasi-Stellar Radio, but I didn’t really consider myself a songwriter. Inspiration came as I toured with a rock opera called The Deeplove. I wanted to write a rock opera of my own. So, I wrote “The Adventures of Walter Ergo”, a rock opera set on an alien world about a man dissatisfied with his life enough to steal an interstellar spacecraft to meet his destiny on another world. And so that brings us to today. I no longer record/produce other people’s music, but I make a living repairing orchestral instruments, such as, violins and cellos, etc. and I am in the process of producing a show with my rock opera.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like many artists, I suffer from “imposter syndrome”—a condition probably related to my autism that causes my intrusive thoughts of not being good enough or as good as….whomever. Although I don’t regret having autism, it simply creates social barriers. I struggle trying to put myself forward as a creator. I struggle with perfectionism and have had to work very hard to allow myself to step on stage as a front person and a singer. ADHD is a symptom of Autism and I suffer from executive dysfunction and I have to make extensive lists to check off and I then have to remember where I put said lists when I step away from them for a time. On top of that, I’ve had to learn how to exist in a world of neurotypical people that just don’t understand the way I view the world and therefore try to impose their assumptions and ways of doing things. Learning about my neurodivergence, however, gave me the understanding of my own limitations with social ques and how to navigate the world that most people just find easier to navigate. I have found a way to do life my own way and since then, I have been able to create a life I can be happy living, albeit a lonely one at times.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a multi-instrumentalist. I play guitar, bass, drums, piano, Native American flute and I sing. My music is quite a departure from pop music in that I like to step outside of what most people would think of as “safe”—melodically and topically and in the arrangements of the instrumentation. I like stories and sci-fi and it comes through in my creations. The music from The Adventures of Walter Ergo, my spacey rock opera, has elements of progressive rock and alternative as well as classical and jazz, all rolled into one and is also accompanied by a comic book that I will be releasing in April (11-12) of 2025. The comic is written and illustrated by myself and follows along with the rock opera. The lyrics of the songs are the dialog of the comic book characters.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I am not, by nature, a major risk taker, however, making my life revolve around my music and art is a HUGE risk! The music business is extremely saturated and art is being taken over by AI. So, I know if I do this and try to make some sort of success out of it, it will be necessary for me to step up and do a lot of grueling work that no on else will see. But, with high risk comes the possibility of a higher reward. I can only imagine, right now, what it will be like to succeed in something I love to do. I figure, if I just put my head down and just keep going, eventually, as I complete my lists, my dreams will come true. Because, really, if other people can do it, why not me?! To me, the matter of success is the direct fruit of hard work and persistence mixed with inspiration and creativity. If I have found my own niche, something I can bring people that they may never have experienced, then if I successfully show it off, I believe, my rewards will manifest.
Pricing:
- TBA
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.aldeans-creative.com/
- Instagram: @alecaster_smythe
- Facebook: Al Dente
- Youtube: @qsrnusic
- Other: https://qsr1.bandcamp.com
