Singer-songwriter Alexis Ebert has called Nashville home for over a decade, but her newest single, Trailer Trashed, is an ode to her upbringing in a farming community in Oregon. “I spent a fair amount of time living in a trailer park with my aunt and my mom and always wanted to write about that experience.” The descriptive lyrics paint a colorful picture of trailer life: Citronella on a cedar deck/Doubles up to light your cigarette. Alexis admits, “of course, the lifestyle is a little dramatized in the song!” She co-wrote Trailer Trashed with Rodney Clawson (who has written for FGL, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney) and Luke Laird (Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood).
Watch the acoustic version of Trailer Trashed in the video below.
Alexis was only six years old when a family friend recognized her talent and signed her up to sing in a talent show. “I won, and there was no looking back.” She went on to perform all over the Pacific Northwest, and eventually had to be home-schooled from time to time because she was booking so many shows. “I totally thought that was typical, but I guess it wasn’t.”
When she was in grade school, Alexis received an invitation to sing for President Bill Clinton during his visit to Portland. But there was just one problem -- her parents had purchased tickets for the family to see Shania Twain in concert on the same night. Alexis chose to follow the advice from her school bus driver. “You can probably go see a Shania Twain concert another time, but you may only get to perform for the President once.” When Shania Twain got wind of Alexis’s dilemma, she sent backstage passes for a meet-and-greet for the whole family since they missed the concert.
Not long after that, Alexis and her mom started making frequent trips to Nashville (her dad stayed back home to work at the mill and take care of her younger brother). In Music City, Alexis had opportunities to play with Chet Atkins, Nokie Edwards (The Ventures), and Tommy Emanuel, among other famous musicians. “I made a CD and went back to Oregon and sold it at all the fairs.”
Before she was even a teenager, Alexis nailed an audition at Ray Stevens’ theater in Branson, Missouri, for Country Tonight, a production show with a cast of 60. “That’s like the best entertainment bootcamp you can get – Branson.” She performed two shows a day, six days a week, and sang everything from Blue Moon of Kentucky to Up by Shania Twain. She remembers, “I could wear makeup in Branson because I had to, but I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup until I was 16.” (Side note: her mom is a makeup artist.)
Her Branson gig was during the height of 90’s country, and Alexis was being influenced by songs she heard on the radio by Garth Brooks, Dixie Chicks, Alan Jackson, and Faith Hill. She landed a short-lived record deal with Warner when she was just 13, but says, “they really didn’t know what to do with me” (back in the pre-Taylor Swift era).
Alexis decided to take a break from music for a couple years, although she continued to write. “Rejection is hard… you kind of lose your confidence. I don’t know how much of my heart I can give to this because when it breaks, it breaks.” She used that time to separate herself from the stigma of being a child star. “I discovered what I wanted to say, and who I was as an artist.”
Since that time, Alexis has signed a management deal with Smashville Entertainment and a co-venture publishing deal with Wrensong Music and Rezonant Music. Earlier in 2019, she released a single and music video for her original song Ride or Die, which features a cameo appearance by country superstar John Rich (see the video below). The brand new single Trailer Trashed was released August 2 and is available on all major digital retail and streaming platforms. In June, Alexis performed several shows at CMA Fest in Nashville. “That was crazy. I’ve been coming to CMA Fest since I was a kid, and so to play it was very surreal.”
Alexis already achieved what many would consider a lifetime of success before she even reached her 20’s. But she says the biggest reward of being an artist is “having someone tell you how much your music has touched their life -- that’s a huge accomplishment to me.” Her focus now is to stay positive and work hard. “Just knowing that there’s a bigger plan and I just have to keep on the path and give it my all.”
For more info, go to www.alexisebertmusic.com
Trailer Trashed on Spotify
Trailer Trashed on Apple Music
FUN FACTS AND TRIVIA
Alexis taught herself how to play guitar chords using a guitar chart she bought at Walmart.
Artists on repeat on her playlist: George Strait and Steve Miller Band
FAVORITES
Restaurant: McDonald’s (cheeseburger and Diet Coke)
Concert: Garth Brooks at Bridgestone Arena
Movie: Kill Bill
Book: Fight Club and rock ‘n roll biographies