In a series profiling musicians and projects in Southeast Michigan, Local Spins writer Enrique Olmos spotlights the work of Greater Alexander and his ambitious Greater Impact House. In the shadow of a muscular Detroit skyline, a row of vacant houses sits stoically along Hogarth Street. Some are crumbling. Many are overtaken by long grass. Most of them are boarded up at the windows...
When producer and composer Alexander Vlachos (Greater Alexander), 41, Southfield, experienced suicidal thoughts because of his depression, he says creating his music saved his life. Paying it forward, he rescued an abandoned house blocks from the Motown Museum in Detroit, to make it an artists’ residency and creative hub for established musicians and artists to flourish physically and mentally. - Article by Susan Peck
Singer/songwriter and musician Alexander Vlachos said that the actions he's since taken to establish the Greater Impact House started back when he was trying to figure out his own health, and his own life. Located just a bit north eastbound Grand Blvd., not too far from the Motown Museum, actually, there's a once-neglected domestic edifice that's recently been bought and soulfully rejuvenated by this local artist who records and performs as Greater Alexander. - Article by Jeff Milo
Check Out Alexander Vlachos' Story: Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started? I currently own a 111-year-old house in Detroit. It has been in disrepair after years of neglect but still carries an essence to it with aged wallpaper, time-worn wooden floors, bow windows, and other original architectural elements. The Greater Impact House is the center of making my latest project a reality — a new residency program for career-driven and established musicians and artists in and around Detroit.
Meet Alexander Vlachos, Creator of Greater Impact House
Creatives sometimes struggle with sobriety, and the artistic lifestyle can make that challenge even more difficult to overcome.
Will Glover speaks with Alexander Vlachos, also known as Greater Alexander about his Music and the arts residency he's working to set up in Detroit called the Greater Impact house.
Episode 329/Segment 3
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Wayne State University graduate Alexander Vlachos, better known by his stage name Greater Alexander, operates an artist residency in the city of Detroit.Greater Impact House is “a collaborative coworking space for artists and musicians in the form of art residency” which was founded Oct. 26, 2018, according to the organization. Vlachos started GIH with the goal to create a community of like minded artists in Detroit, he said.“I just wanted to create this kind of sustainability community that's goal driven and focused on living a more healthy lifestyle, and then have just this intentional inspiration and support that's behind it,” Vlachos said. “When I graduated from Wayne State University, it was just something in the making, that I really invited for myself, this kind of experience of really bringing a community together to just be more transparent about how the way the world works outside of graduating.”
Greater Impact House to Arrive in Detroit Offering Artists Space for Sober Intentions, Sober Creations. Imagined by Alexander Vlachos, the House is Seeking Donations for Renovations and Art Exhibitions...
Musician Alexander Vlachos aims to bring more established artists to Detroit with residency program
On a cool summer evening in Detroit’s Petoskey-Otsego neighborhood, the vibrant sounds of a live stringed quartet seem strangely out of place as they drift from the Greater Impact House across the overgrown lots and dilapidated houses that surround it on Hogarth Street...
SUCH GREAT HEIGHTS
Local folk musician’s new video chronicles an intense year long journey
In his video “Bag of Bones,” Alexander Vlachos sings the same song every day for a year, starting in December 2012. The video highlights the physical and emotional changes he endured throughout those 12 months — including shaving his head, losing weight, becoming physically fit, and letting go of old bad habits.This quest to become a greater version of himself is the essence of Vlachos’ folk project, Greater Alexander.Heavily influenced by Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel, and Bon Iver, Vlachos is slated to release the first single, “Bag of Bones,” off his album Let Love In this month. “Bag of Bones” is an eerie tune with the theme that life is moving much faster than anyone realizes.
Indie-Folk artist, Greater Alexander, held his much anticipated song and video release party from his upcoming album, Bag of Bones, at Signal Return Letterpress Studio in Detroit on Sunday, February 15th. Held on Self Awareness Day (S.A.D), Greater Alexander brought to light the importance of one’s own mindfulness, as well as the time-line the creative process falls on and how the music industry affects that development. - Article by Jenna Priest