Alexander – No Compromise

Alexander
No Compromise
1989 Kitty Mixed Records
Glen Burnie, Maryland, USA

Dana Dobbs – Lead vocals
Tony Stramella – Guitar
Paul Stramella – Bass
Teresa Acquaviva – Keyboards, vocals
Mike Slagle – Drums

1. No Compromise
2. Crossroads
3. Don’t Slip Away
4. Do You Know

Side 2:

1. His Name
2. My Love & My Friend
3. Angel Song
4. The Key

This demo has two copyright dates on it – 1988 and 1989. Usually I assume that means it was released on the later date, but some sources say this tape was released in 1988. The three songs that were copyrighted 1989 were later on their 1989 demo, while the other 5 songs make up the bulk of 1988’s The Key. the version here are similar to the other ones, just different recordings with a better overall sound. Alexander is a heavy metal band with keyboards, but they use the keyboards more for an epic sound rather than a pop sound. They are still a fairly commercial metal band, just a bit more metal than most commercial metal bands are. But from what I have been told, the 1989 three song demo was recorded after this tape.

Alexander – Demo

Alexander
Demo
1989 (no label)
Glen Burnie, Maryland, USA

Jeff Antkowiak – Vocals, keyboards
Tony Stramella – Guitar
Paul Stramella – Bass
Alan Fleishell – Drums, percussion

1. No Compromise
2. Crossroads
3. Don’t Slip By

These guys were smart – they used a fairly basic label maker program to save some time (and hand cramps) in hand-writing out the details of their demo on every copy. I only wish they had put the band member list on one as well. I found the above line-up online, so it is possibly not totally correct. Paul and Tony are listed on the label, but I don’t know about Jeff and Alan. I also don’t know who Alexander is. This is really slick but well-done keyboard based pop metal. Some people don’t like this cheesy metal, but I kind of like it when they can play and write songs well. It appears this particular demo has three songs that were later released on the 8 song No Compromise demo – but I don’t know if these are the same version or not. They also had a longer earlier demo called The Key in 1988.

Missing Information: Confirmation of who played on this demo.

Alexander – The Key

Alexander
The Key
1988 Kitty Mixed Records
Glen Burnie, Maryland, USA

Jeff Antkowiak – Vocals, keyboards
Alan Fleishell – Drums, percussion
Paul Stramella – Bass
Tony Stramella – Guitar

Side 1:

1. My Love & My Friend
2. Do You Know
3. Angel Song

Side 2:

1. His Name
2. Loved by You
3. The Key

This demo is actually a bit heavier than it would look at first glance. The song titles and band dress style would seem to indicate mid-80s keyboard rock or AOR. However, there is some mid-80s traditional metal muscle to some songs like “Do You Know.” Of course, this was 1988, and gritty sleaze blues metal by Guns N’ Roses and Motley Crue were ruling this space. Then again, Alexander sounds exactly like you think they would on keyboard ballads like “Angel Song.” But you have to wonder if it would have been better to drop the Miami Vice jackets for a hard rock look on the front cover? Who knows? There seems to be a follow-up demo called No Compromise in 1990 that also had 5 of these 6 songs (“Loved by You” was not repeated) with 3 new songs added (those three were first released on a 3-song demo in 1989). Another odd thing about this demo (that you can see above) is that someone marked it up with a red marker, even coloring in the words on the spine.