Meet Alex Mendham | Bandleader & Event Music Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alex Mendham and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alex, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Music has always been my life. Growing up, I was never into cricket or football (soccer) like my older brother was. I gravitated towards the arts and culture and spent my early years reading books, studying the saxophone and ultimately forming a band.

At the weekends my mother would put on a black and white film, usually a musical from the golden days of Hollywood. I was always thrilled not just by the music but by the glamour and elegance of those wonderful movies. I could sense, even then, that a lot of that magic was missing from today’s world and so my mission has always been to revive some of that sophistication.

Because of my ethos and the atmosphere my orchestra invokes, we collaborate with the worlds finest brands and perform at iconic venues that pride themselves on their old world charm.

With these kinds of engagements, came the necessity for a business head to cut the right kind of deals, navigate negotiations and the ability to work with people.

I’ve found that isn’t something that often comes easily to a lot of creative people, but I discovered I do have a knack for it. I’m very lucky to have a great team of people around me to deal with the day to day running of things but I do still like to work one on one with whoever is booking the orchestra.

If there was ever any thought process behind starting my own business, I suppose it was always to provide a unique service that nobody else can offer. Rat Pack revivals and Sinatra sound-alikes are two a penny, Or should I say “a Dime a Dozen” these days..? Who want’s that tack any more..?!

No, I want guests at our performances to feel as though they have stepped into a scene from Casablanca or a Fred Astaire movie, that’s a breathtaking moment and that’s how all great events should feel. What we do is extremely specialized and our clients enjoy that exclusivity.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My career so far has been something of a roller coaster. Like all people who work in the arts I suppose.

I was fascinated with music from an early age and one day someone came to our school demonstrating a saxophone in class and I was hooked, I begged my parents and they eventually relented.

I had no idea what music I was really into until I discovered by chance the music of Bix Beiderbecke, a 1920s jazz cornettist and I just fell in love. That set me on a journey of discovery but also a life mission to keep this music and more largely that period alive.

I can’t say it has been an easy journey. Firstly parents and friends, though well meaning, tried to steer me towards more mainstream music as they could not see the value in music from a bygone era. I approach music in the same way I approach clothing. Fashions come and go, but style is everlasting. The music and aura my orchestra purveys is of a time, yet timeless in it’s nature.

When you’ve been in the business a while, you begin to develop a sixth sense about what will and what won’t work, If there is one thing I’ve learnt it’s to trust your instinct. If it doesn’t feel right, it usually isn’t. I’ve learnt to hold my nerve and things come together in the end. Things take time, but now people do recognize the value and importance in what we do. My orchestra is now a rare breed. The last of the Mohicans.

We are the only unit that has made the music of the 1930s a true specialty. Because of that, we often get invited by the film industry both in the US and the UK to recreate music from the period on and off screen.

We’re unique in the sense that we are a truly international orchestra with a schedule last week that included Highclere Castle, St Charles Hall in Luzerne Switzerland followed by the Cicada supper club in Downtown LA.

I’m extremely grateful and proud of the support we have garnered from friends and fans around the world and their help in making what we do a success. People do have a craving for the luxury service we provide, and the word is getting out. We are very lucky to count among our followers and clients everyone from Dita Von Teese to King Charles, even Arnold Schwarzenegger has been known to cut a rug to our tunes…

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’ve always been something of a history buff, (could you tell?) and I’m especially interested in old Hollywood. If you look hard enough, you can still spot glimmers of it here and there hidden among the taco trucks and weed dispensaries.

My favourite spots include

Musso and Frank – of course. Everything is good there, especially their Vodka Rigatoni with a sidecar!

I love the Roosevelt Hotel, especially if you can pop you head in the ballroom and see where they held the first academy awards.

Idle Hour is rowdy and fun, especially late at night for a drink. It’s a kitschy nod to roadside architecture and I love the dog.

Growing up in London, I always wanted to see a baseball game. Now that I live here, I often go to watch the Dodgers – for a Brit, it’s Americana on steroids.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My first real saxophone teacher deserves a big mention here. I met Bob Wilber back in the UK when I was about 15 and he led me on a voyage of vintage jazz discovery. He was an old man at the time but his playing days went all the way back to New York in the late 1940s learning at the feet of masters like Sidney Bechet and Johnny Hodges. The first hand anecdotes alone could fill a book. It was a wonderful time in my life. He not only taught me how to play the saxophone but showed me how music can enrich your life.

I also want to give a big shoutout here to the vintage community in LA for the warm welcome I had coming to live in Beverly Hills. In particular Maxwell DeMille who for many years has organised wonderful dance events in DTLA where the orchestra has become something of a staple. He petitioned my initial visa and with his help, made my transition stateside much easier than it would have otherwise been.

Website: www.alexmendham.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexmendham

Other: info@alexmendham.com