The New 'Jersey Boys'
Music fans might mistake Alex Bleeker and his bandmates from indie-rock group Real Estate as Brooklyn scenesters. But the Ridgewood High School alum wants to make two things clear: He’s a New Jersey kid to the core, and he and the guys are ready to break away from the beach-vacation band stereotype.
Music fans might mistake Alex Bleeker and his bandmates from indie-rock group Real Estate as Brooklyn scenesters. But the Ridgewood High School alum wants to make two things clear: He’s a New Jersey kid to the core, and he and the guys are ready to break away from the beach-vacation band stereotype. In March, Real Estate released its fourth studio album, In Mind, and Bleeker sat down with BERGEN to discuss their new sound, why education was so crucial to their success and where to get the best deli food in Bergen County.
Real Estate is known for its chill, laid-back vibe. Do you think that’s something that comes from growing up in New Jersey? I like to think we’re “approachable” music—a guitar-based rock band. We’re proud of our roots. There’s a lot of pride that people from New Jersey share with one another. But we don’t like to be pigeonholed. I understand where it comes from—in the early days we had the three guitars, and on our first album, we had the song “Beach Comber” with the lyrics, “You fell into vacation zone.” So I get it.
How is In Mind different from your previous albums? We’re entering new territory—new ideas, sounds and textures. I live in California now, and my perception of music and life’s details has shifted significantly, and you can hear that in the album. For example, the lyrics that I wrote for one song, “Diamond Eyes,” are directly related to living on the West Coast. Of course, another major difference on this album is Julian Lynch. He’s our new band member—who’s also from Ridgewood.
Bergen County has produced a lot of successful musicians—The Lumineers, The Jonas Brothers, Karen O, Lea Michele, Titus Andronicus and Prawn, to name a few. In what way do you think this area is conducive to creative success? We come from a place of affluence, and we are very fortunate that way. We had all of these incredible opportunities with public art education in school, and we had progressive parents who supported our endeavors in the arts. Music doesn’t have to be your source of income or career—you can still do it if you’re passionate about it. You have to just keep going and keep creating. That goes for anything you love. You and some of your original bandmates grew up together in Ridgewood. Were you always friends and how did you start playing together? Martin [Courtney] and I were the worst players on our little league team, which should’ve brought us together, but it actually made us rivals. But in middle school, we learned we liked the same music. We started a band, and I don’t think we’ve stopped being in a band together since that day. Julian was a year ahead of us, and I met him one summer when we were planning a backyard show for Martin’s birthday. We needed more bands, and Julian was in a group down the road, and their band asked to play. What are some of your fondest memories of growing up in Ridgewood? We used to put on shows in my Mom’s basement. It was funny because there’d be 1,000 or so pairs of shoes at the door because we didn’t want to mess up her carpet and floors. Of course, the food in town was amazing. I used to love a deli called A Taste of Italy in Ridgewood— it was my all-time favorite. It moved to Westwood and is now called Lepore’s Italian Market. I also really like The Kosher Nosh in Glen Rock.
