Alex Cano

The neighbor who stops by with coffee just to brighten your day

Writing by Gia Miller

Design and Photography by Justin Negard

Alex Cano is difficult to define. His songs range from high-energy alternative and blues-based rock ‘n’ roll to more intimate Americana, folk and country. He’s often compared to artists and bands like Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, Pearl Jam, The Black Crowes, Jason Isbell and Johnny Cash. But no matter what genre you put on him, there’s one unifying theme throughout everything he does: compassion. “I want to be known for kindness,” says the Pound Ridge resident. “And for writing songs that helped people. I’ve overcome a lot, and if sharing that can help someone else, that’s what I want my music to do—lift people up.”

Cano’s 2019 debut album, “Every Rise of the Sun,” is a collection of songs influenced by his personal experiences. He recommends listening to it cover-to-cover to follow the storyline, which is filled with some “intense highs and lows that ultimately end in resolve.” Cano, who has opened for bands such as Plain White T’s, Gin Blossoms and Band of Heathens, is currently working on his second album with the same goal in mind. “I just want my music and my career to have a positive impact on those who need it.”

A drummer at heart

Cano grew up in a musical family. His father, who has a master’s degree from The Juilliard School and a doctorate from Manhattan School of Music, owns Crestwood Music Education Center in Scarsdale, and his mother, who has a master’s from Manhattan School of Music, is a piano teacher who is “pretty high up in the ranks of Suzuki piano teachers.” Cano began piano lessons at three years old and expanded to violin then drums in fourth grade. Drums, he says, are still his main instrument today. While Cano enjoyed listening to classical music, especially percussion, as a child, what made the biggest musical impact was early MTV, especially songs like Nirvana’s “All Apologies,” and a neighborhood friend.

“As a kid, I had this friend, John, who lived in Florida and spent summers at his grandparents, who lived two doors down from me,” Cano remembers. “We would put on strobe lights, take out the Halloween decorations, play Metallica records full blast and have rock shows at my house. He actually played drums, and before I ever started studying the drums classically, John taught me a few different grooves using my mom’s paper-mâché drum as a kick and a snare from my dad’s music school. I just became absolutely hooked.”

Raised in Vista, Cano was a member of John Jay High School’s jazz band all four years. The band director, Jeff Richardson, was “an incredible mentor and inspiration,” but Cano wanted more. He spent his freshman year trying, unsuccessfully, to form a rock band, but fate intervened during sophomore year when he and two other jazz band members arrived at school for a canceled practice. “It was Ryan MacLean, who plays lead guitar in my band today, and Tim Lukow,” Cano remembers. “Ryan had his guitar and amp, and Tim had an electric bass. Ryan taught us all of ‘Whipping Post’ by the Allman Brothers. And we thought, maybe this is a thing? So we became a band for the rest of high school.” Although he remained a drummer, Cano’s mom taught him guitar, and he would compose the instrumentals for songs while MacLean wrote the lyrics. Cano sang occasionally.

Cano, who also played hockey and baseball throughout school, chose to major in exercise science and minor in music at Ithaca College. “But six months into my post-college physical therapy internship, I was done,” he laughs. Cano moved back to Ithaca, found work as a bartender and ski lift operator, studied music at Purchase College and Berklee College of Music, and began composing songs.

Finding refuge

Until that point, Cano had only composed lyrics for “joke songs,” mainly about his ADHD, but now things were different. “Right after college, I went through a bad breakup,” he explains. “I was a heartbroken dude with a bunch of stuff to write about, so I figured I’d give it a shot.” He also began listening to “old country music,” like Kris Kristofferson and Johnny Cash. “It was the soundtrack of my life at the time,” Cano says.

When a bartending colleague passed away, Cano wrote “Two Steps on the Train” in just 20 minutes. “But they’re not all like that,” he says. “Sometimes you get an idea, and it just flows through you. Other times, I write the seed months or years before I actually write the song. I’m always just writing and laying down little voice memos that I’ll use later. Songs get finished when I have the concept and know exactly what I want to say.” And when he has the time.

As an independent artist, Cano serves as the band leader, manager, booking agent, videographer, social media manager, etc. “I always laugh,” he says, “because I have a desk job. My biggest challenge is finding time for creativity. I have to be disciplined and set time aside to write.”

He also plays all instruments except keyboard on his albums. But, when he performs live, his one-man show expands to include MacLean (lead guitar) and Kevin Myers (drums and mandolin), along with several others, depending on their availability.

Impacting others

While Cano is grateful to be a successful working musician, he says it’s bigger than that. He’s proud of how his music affects others. “Every time I write a song and somebody hears it, it’s healing a person,” he explains. “Every time I go on stage and create a moment where the community comes together and shares an energy, and their life stressors are temporarily gone, it’s healing. My biggest achievement is that every day, I get to do something that I truly believe helps people, and that matters.”

Cano also makes an impact by teaching music at his dad’s music school, which he’s done since 2010. While he’s primarily a drum teacher, he also has several guitar and songwriting students. “I love it,” he says. “It’s so much fun.”

When asked what he is most passionate about, he says that in addition to music, his family and friends, and health and fitness, he’s “passionately frustrated about how people treat each other as a whole. I’m passionate about doing all I can, even on a small scale, to treat people with respect.”

“I hope I can affect people in a positive way,” he emphasizes. “If I can affect someone’s life a fraction of the amount that Kris Kristofferson has affected mine, I’ll be happy.”

To learn more about Alex Cano and the other musicians featured in this series, check out our podcast, available on Spotify and on Youtube.

This article was published in the July/August 2025 edition of Connect to Northern Westchester.