06.01.2021
This week’s feature is the lovely RAEDY LEX, also known as Alexa Rae. She is part of the movement here in Metro Detroit called That’s Our Friend, which if you can remember from the last mix, was mentioned by TekNoNo as he is donating all of the proceeds from his first track release this month to their efforts in the community.
She burst onto the scene in 2020, most recently being a part of the Charivari New Year’s Livestream, has been streaming often on Twitch, played at Grasshopper Underground, Tangent Gallery, Magic Stick, and part of various other online streaming events.
She fills the space around her with positivity, her hard work inspires, and she is a multi-talented woman. I am so happy to finally have Alexa on as a guest for the mix series. I hope you enjoy her content this week and learn a bit more about her and what she has been working on.
In her interview, we cover things like her projects That’s Our Friend and RAEDY LEX, where they came from and her goals for them in 2021, her background story and how she got to this moment, what the words “community” and “friend” mean to her, how she keeps her positivity flowing, what she would do to change the world, talked about vegan food, and more.
Be sure to check out her mix, on SoundCloud now.
detroit.dance: What do you do outside of music?
RAEDY LEX: For my muggle jobs, I am a server and a bartender for two restaurants in Ferndale, and an assistant GM for a small flow festival in Michigan called Great Lakes Flow Fest. When the world is normally open, I am a Creative Producer and Operations Manager at several other smaller festivals and retreats as well.
detroit.dance: What are your hobbies outside of DJing?
RAEDY LEX: So the last few years I’ve spent time working in and for events. My passion for people and being part of production have given me the pleasure of working at Electric Forest as a character actor, Theatre Bizarre as a Lane Performer, Faster Horses, and many more! So I would say, really anything in the entertainment world – I love to curate a safe and fun space for people.
detroit.dance: Let’s talk about the movement you are involved with that’s called “That’s Our Friend!”. Give a rundown of what it is, when it started, your plans with it, and if it is you or a team behind it.
RAEDY LEX: That’s Our Friend! started as a saying. We have the hashtag #ThatsOurFriend. Well, it originally started with two of them together, like, #ThatsOurFriendThatsOurFriend. The saying began at the flow arts festivals. I wanted to make other people feel good and genuinely seen. I felt like there was a sense of elitism towards certain people that would be in the fire circle, and it felt like people would only praise those certain people. There was this woman that I met in a juggling class, and I hella dug what they were doing in the fire circle and I could tell that they needed some encouragement – but I didn’t know her name. So I started saying, “That’s our friend! That’s our friend!”. It started as words of encouragement that has since blossomed and transformed into a social movement.
Right now we are in the end stages of preparing to launch our media broadcast network: TOF.tv, aka That’s Our Friend! (TOF!). On this platform, you will be able to find all of your friends and their content – their artistic content. It’s awesome because art is so versatile and open. There will be DJs, there will be live music, there will be textile art, we have people that make art out of “junk”, live painters, people that are going to be doing music production, ahem RN ISMO, and so much more. By bringing together different local niche markets to a centralized platform, we give smaller artists a wider audience pool, so they can grow their markets organically, but exponentially, while their submissions help TOF! grow. We want to bridge the gap from local artists to national artists. Providing wide access to our friends of all types of creators of all types of art modalities from across the nation; we connect artists with other art enthusiasts.
This project wouldn’t be possible without friends. We have had several people contribute with their talents in a myriad of ways. I need to give a huge shout out to my dear and hella talented friend Taryn Waffles, who along with myself, is currently working on the back end of the project and is my copy editor and confidant. Taryn has been with me since the beginning of TOF!, and has been my backbone, my rock, and a huge reason for getting TOF! Into existence there. They are my copy editor, as well.
As for goals, I see That’s Our Friend! as being a part of lots of live entertainment things. I can see us having our TOF! stage at different events. I’m a huge fan of Nova Han Productions, whom I have the utmost pleasure of working for at Electric Forest. They are a brilliantly kind human being, very wonderful creative, and I am constantly inspired by all they are doing. It would be an absolute honor to work with and/or collaborate with something like that – to be able to curate a safe space where our friends can come and perform, laugh, paint, dance, and do their music, and to be able to gather and have a place to be seen as well as a safe space. That’s huge for me.
detroit.dance: What does the word “community” mean to you?
RAEDY LEX: I would say that community to me means power. I think that there’s a lot of power with the people. They always say that who you surround yourself with, you’re pieces of those people. So when we come together as a community, we can lift as we rise. I believe that that’s a quality way of helping one another get where we want to go. By helping each other along our path.
detroit.dance: Going along with community and other aspects of that, like you said it’s about helping each other out. Personally, I have done a lot of brand ambassador work and I know you also have, so if you want to give a little shout out to some of the brands and people you work with, let’s do it here.
RAEDY LEX: Oh Lordy, this is gonna be a long response. And I am sure I won’t be able to name everyone, but I am so thankful and proud of my friends. Thankful AF for their support and elated to help elevate them in any way I can. The first shout out has to be for Taryn Waffles of Sun-Up Sun-Down Productions. Christopher Moeller for believing in me before I ever even believed in myself. Great Lakes Flow- Chadewick, and Deanna- wouldn’t be where I am today without them. My roommate and my everything Stephanie for tolerating me- I love you! Tesla aka Bismyth, the co-owner of Equilibrium Arts LLC for helping me with so much, always. Along with my “husband” Veetro Are, the magnificent Mona Black, Jay Alchy, and more. Tom Uncommon for helping me dip my toes into production and pushing me creatively and mentally to be the leader I aspire to be. Krysta Danai aka Kittamami for their constant inspiration and support of my creative endeavors. Johnny Malek of Sauced and Found Records for giving me my first opportunity to play a live show. I have to acknowledge my boys that have gone above and beyond with taking care of me this last year: TekNoNo & RN ISMO- I love them so big. They’re on their way to the top! Noah has become like family to me and I have so much love for Silver Fox and the rest of the NoNo gang. I have mad love and respect for The Gallery Society, Gordé, and Hannah who are a staple in the Detroit community. Stephanie of The Plush Revolution for helping me find my portal to confidence and being my mentor in life. Abby aka DJ AddaBae and Alex, for their endless support and friendship- Ella X is Alex’s musical project that is poppin’, to say the least! Emily of Bellator Leather Hillary Rogers of Whimsical Chic for always making me look so fly in their wares. Elyse of Divine Butterfly for fluttering and wiggling with me, always. Dawn of Geeky Girl Accounting for their help with the backend of TOF!. As well as our Theatre Bizarre community as a whole. Bowman for helping with our past streams! Joe Salley for being my media man, always. Our friend Nick has taken the time to help create our website. Joe, Dave, and the entire team at Tangent Gallery. Cowboy Paul, Dr. Poppers, Deeper Waters, and their crew- mad love for our time spent shared! QURL, DJ Reem, Sonya Alvarez of Korner Kombo Records, and SillyGirlCarmen of WonderfulDJs for their support. Todd Johnson of Charivari for putting me on their first live stream. Metawav. forever the homies- so talented! Eddy Bullock for their creative mind as well as allowing me to play on Scrubby Bubble. To Cathy and Ryan of TreeBassin’!
And of course my Queen: Olive of Harmonic Threads and Divinoir. Harmonic Threads is a huge part of my journey these past three years. I love and stand by their ethics, quality, and brand as a whole and am so proud to be a Brand Ambassador. Olive is for those of you that don’t know, runs her woman-owned small business in Ferndale, MI. Check out WearHarmonicThreads.com. All of their clothes now are all made out of fabrics made in and hand-dyed in the United States. From inception, your clothes are made with care and intent so that’s super exciting to me. I’ve been blessed to be a part of the Harmonic Threads team for almost four years now. If you use my code “ALEXA” it saves you 10%. I know I am forgetting people, but I have so much love for the people who have helped me get to where I am each step of the way. So blessed.
detroit.dance: What does the word “friend” mean to you?
RAEDY LEX: A friend, to me, is someone that you can be vulnerable with. Someone that you can play with. I think that there are so many times now where we feel like we have to be a certain way, or we’re not going to be received. A friend is being able to be yourself, while also being aware of consent and compassion. I think “friend” is a big word – but I think that friendship is one of those things where you can know someone your whole life, have a wonderful relationship, and be great and be wonderful friends. You can also meet someone that you’ve known for two years and have a very similar sort of love. That’s what’s so beautiful about the power of friendship- it connects people and heals. Friendship allows people to see themselves and see others within other people if that makes sense. You have those friends that they just feel like “home”. I think that in a time like now with social media and all sorts of other stuff, it’s really important for people to have those safe spaces. To be able to be themselves.
detroit.dance: What is your background and how did you get to this present moment?
RAEDY LEX: I would say that I had a rather colorful childhood – I’m one of seven kids. Clearly, in need of attention, I found myself in quite a bit of trouble in my younger years. I made some not so great choices that put me in some trouble. I ended up having to take a really hard look at my life and try to heal myself, make life changes, and get serious about my mental health. I was able to get my life back on track. I’m going to be 31 next week and I have been out of trouble for the last six years. Which, you know, when you’ve been in trouble from the ages of 14 to 24, is huge. For me. I feel like I spent half of my life making poor choices and not feeling good enough.
I think that that’s probably why I try so hard with That’s Our Friend!, and with people as a whole, to make them feel loved. I spent so much time looking for love in all the wrong places. I thought I had found it in excessive amounts of things that are not great for you, nor legal. That being said, I am blessed AF that I went through what I did. I am who I am because of it. I think that it gives me a greater sense of compassion for people and why we do the things that we do. Everybody’s got a different purpose – I think that my purpose here is to make sure that people know that they’re loved and to make them feel seen. To be able to help facilitate that, to me, there are not too many things greater than that.
detroit.dance: Where does the name RAEDY LEX come from and what are your goals with the project?
RAEDY LEX: So, RAEDY LEX is actually a play on my name: Alexa Rae. I know that RAEDY LEX has been a little confusing for some and a lot of people say “ready”. Probably because it’s also a play on words – “RAEDY LEX, go” [“Ready, let’s go.”] But since “Rae” is my middle name, we RAEDY. #RAEDYLEXgo is the hashtag I use for any events I play or perform at. My name as a flow performer, my brand, is Alexa Rae Creates. When I started messing around with learning DJ stuff I didn’t have a DJ name, and when I got asked to do a live stream I needed to come up with a name. I wanted it to be my name still to go with my branding, so I just reversed it. I think it’s cool. Some people don’t agree.
As far as the project goes right now. I am currently working on the beast that is Ableton. I’m trying to work through that, find my sound, and I am challenging myself to put out a track by June 2021. I want to give myself time to figure out the program and get my feet wet from experience. Developing That’s Our Friend! has been a huge undertaking so I have not had as much time to work with Ableton. However, the wonderful RN ISMO has been helping me. I look forward to their tutorials they will be making for TOF!. As well as the brilliant Tom Uncommon and Bismyth.
I’m also excited to say that I’m going to be featured on the Wonderful DJ series, which is hosted by SillyGirlCarmen. I just did a stream for Charivari Worldwide over New Year’s as well. I am going to keep up with streaming. I do most of my streaming now from the That’s Our Friend! Twitch page, because I’m trying to help the numbers grow. I will keep passionately practicing my DJing because I just started all of this on New Year’s Eve last year. It’s crazy how in one year all of this has happened. I have so much to learn, but I’m so grateful for what has already come to pass.
detroit.dance: You recently achieved Twitch Affiliate status for That’s Our Friend – congrats! Could you give a little rundown of how that works for the people who may be wanting to achieve that as well?
RAEDY LEX: Yeah, so it’s actually super easy – all you have to do is be consistent and have a certain amount of numbers. It’s something really small for the first one thing, only like five people have to be active in your chat. You just have to play by their rules and do things on certain days. We just got RN ISMO his Twitch Affiliate status as well! He was looking at his numbers and needed an extra stream and together we helped them achieve Twitch Affiliate so that’s very exciting. If anybody has questions on streaming, That’s Our Friend! has created a How-To Stream Guide. It is going to be housed on our website when that is launched. However, the material is already created so if anybody wants it they can reach out and I will be sure to send it over!
detroit.dance: Do you have a streaming schedule you follow so that people can look out for that or is it kind of random right now?
RAEDY LEX: Right now, it’s kind of scatterbrained with everything that’s happening with the pandemic and people’s schedules. I just was talking to Ella X about putting us on a schedule. They just finished doing a scheduled stream series called Ella Xplains that did very, very well! When we launch That’s Our Friend!, TOF.tv, we will start with a weekend-long event and add more when able. Personally, I enjoy the daytime streams and look forward to more of those! The goal is that once we have enough content, there will be a weekly or bi-weekly schedule that comes out that tells you what’s happening. Much like the Desert Hearts and DirtyBird families are doing it. We have such a beautiful and brilliant and wide variety of people that are in our community and afar. With the power of technology, we’re able to connect in ways that we were not able to before.
I am very grateful for being able to still bring some joy to people. We were able to do a live stream at the Tangent Gallery a few weeks ago. We had fire performers, a live painter, DJs, a live electronic pop singer, and a small media team. It felt great and surreal because even though it was very small and not an actual event, it felt close to that. That magical feeling that you get from being around other creatives. You know, because we were getting to do something about more than just ourselves.
detroit.dance: How do you keep your creative and positive energy flowing?
RAEDY LEX: I try to have some sort of release for the not so great energy. As positive and wonderful as everything is, life is tough. It’s not good to hold the negative in it’s better to let it out. I pray daily and have mentors, older and younger than me. I try to work out when I’m able to, and recently I’ve been cooking. I try to make sure that my cup is full before I water others because otherwise, I’m not doing anyone any good service if there’s nothing in my cup.
detroit.dance: What’s the best piece of advice that you have been given?
RAEDY LEX: “Be kind. Be necessary. Be true. And always, be you.” I was told those words by a wise woman. They told me to use those words as a totem for what I say in life. When I was younger, I used to be like, “Well, this is how I feel, I’m just being honest.” But I would be saying shitty things. “Be kind” – what are you saying and how, Alexa? Is it kind – do you need to be saying that? Maybe it is kind, but is it necessary to say something like that- necessary to put that into the world? Is it true – is this something that I feel? Maybe it’s true – but is it necessary to say that? Maybe it’s true – but are you saying it kindly? Is it you – is what you’re doing a reflection of who you really are and what you want to be, and how you want to make someone else feel?
This has stuck with me… I think I was 23 when I heard it, and I’m about to turn 31 next week. It’s my mantra in life. As a 100% Italian woman, my temper in the past used to be more than what it is now. I do my best to keep myself in check. “Be kind. Be necessary. Be true. Be you!” is the best advice that I’ve ever gotten because I try to think about it now, not just in my words but in my actions. It also goes along with being compassionate, which is a huge part of who I am. I think that you’re only able to be compassionate when you’re being those things.
detroit.dance: What do you think your life would look like if it did not involve music or DJing?
RAEDY LEX: I would probably still be surrounded by music because I was before. I would probably be still doing event production, but I would be doing more flow arts versus DJ stuff. Or just more creative producing and consulting. I get excited and inspired to curate spaces for people to gather, I’m super into it. I love that you can see them come alive. The Gallery Society, Great Lakes Flow, and I own a dome from Cerebral Concepts, which is another small business that our friend Michael owns. They make amazing domes for festivals such as Electric Forest and Resonance. It’s a “rhombic triacontahedron”. You can fit about 10 people in it, and it’s a sacred space. As stated earlier, I’m very passionate about people, so I know that I would be in the entertainment world. I never really thought that I would be a DJ. It’s kind of surreal to me that this has all happened. I feel very blessed though.
detroit.dance: What is a smell that instantly reminds you of something?
RAEDY LEX: I have a very good sniffer, so I’m super sensitive to a lot of stuff… I would say, my first smell is what I put on every day. I wear “Alien”. It makes me feel comforted because it’s my smell. My mom ironically started wearing the same perfume and didn’t know that I wore that either. The second one is when I smell peppers and sausage, I immediately think of my Nonna and my mom. Growing up, my mom is Italian and would slow cook peppers and cut some spicy sausage open and make this delicious, dank meal that still has my mouth-watering.
detroit.dance: The recipe you chose for your Recipe by Request this week is a vegan one – so are you a vegan and if so, why?
READY LEX: I have an autoimmune disorder that I was diagnosed with in 2018. I had been a vegetarian for a while before that, like six years. I have always had a huge love for cheese. When I got diagnosed they recommended that I give up dairy, but I tried not to. It wasn’t going well, and I realized that I wanted to change my life for the better. So finally, I cut out dairy and eggs from my diet and it completely changed my life. I do eat salmon, like once a week, no matter what. It’s really good for your gut with the omega-three fatty acids in there that are super good for you. I noticed that I do better when I do eat it like once a week. When I was trying not to eat any of it, I was not doing as well.
So I try to follow a vegan diet, other than the salmon. I’m never gonna be one of those people that share the PETA videos and stuff like that – I do watch them because I think it’s important to know, but I’m never going to try to shove my beliefs down people’s throats. Our bodies are temples, what you choose to do with your temple is your business, not mine. I will say that I feel so much better eating the way that I do, and I love bringing dank ass vegan food to things and having people try it. TekNoNo invited Ish (RN ISMO) and myself for an outside barbecue thing, and I brought my vegan version of the hot sausage and peppers that I mentioned earlier to y’all about my mom making… Noah was pleasantly surprised and Ish ate a bunch of it! If I can show you something different that’s delicious and let you know that it’s out there, that might be a seed that is planted. Maybe you don’t eat vegan all the time, but maybe like one or two days a week, or you have a little less meat than usual on some days. Little victories are big wins. Food is for sure my love language.
detroit.dance: What is one thing that you would change in the world right now? I asked Noah this last week but would also like to see what you say.
RAEDY LEX: If I could change one thing in the world right now, it would be to help others see and feel things more compassionately and empathetically. I think that everybody’s going through a lot right now, and I think that this pandemic has been extremely tough for a lot of people in different ways, maybe not even so much financially but in other ways. The pandemic has also been not as tough for some people, and they feel embarrassed that they’re doing so well. So for me, if I could change one thing in the world right now, it would be to make people be there to be more compassionate for those around you. Empower one another. We are in this together. #ThatsOurFriend
Make sure you check out RAEDY LEX’s Destination Detroit (Hart Plaza), and her Recipe by Request that will be posted on Friday (Vegan Scallops & Garlic Butter Sauce).
Keep up with RAEDY LEX on her socials:
Keep up with That’s Our Friend! On their socials – and join the Facebook community: