TF: You weren't booked to play at Afterhours. How did you manage to get to play this year?

It is actually a pretty long story. But basically I was planning on coming and just playing for the Gospel for Asia stage. So I had my gear and everything and was sort of prepared to play. I was planning on playing a hard hitting electro set. When Dave Richards and the Birmingham crew picked me up from the airport in Peoria, I asked them how Justin was doing and if they had figured out who was going to play. That’s when they told me that they wanted me to open for Alex Bedwell. I was pretty amazed. It was bittersweet though, since the only reason I was able to play was because Justin had emergency surgery. I was excited to play, but saddened because of how it happened.

Alex Laine opened Wednesday night with an hour and a half of electro. It was a perfect set for the crowd. We sat down with him to talk about his set and his plans for the future.

TF: So what were your expectations and how did they play out?

I didn’t really have any before coming. I mean, I wasn’t planning on playing other then like an hour set or whatever at a generator stage and just hang out with the Tastyfresh crew. How hard is playing a generator stage? I didn't expect to be opening up the second night for about 250 people. The thing that I really did not expect though was not having any light racks in the Barn. But we all pitched in and got them all up. I was really happy to get them all up. Next year we won’t have to worry about dealing with those.

TF: What was it like to play at Cornerstone?

It was pretty intense. I mean I came into it without really knowing what was going on. I just sort of had to learn as I went along. I didn’t really know the crowd too well so I just paid a lot of attention to the guys who played on Tuesday, what worked, what didn’t. I paid a lot of attention to what Brother Brooks played and how Topher Jones structured and mixed. But it was really exciting to play; I just went out and figured, "I'm just the opener. I'll play some of my favorite music and try to warm up the crowd as best I can." And it worked. I played a great set and the crowd responded really well, much better then I expected.

TF: What are your plans from here?

I am actually really starting to try to get some gigs lined up over the next few months. Richmond is somewhat dead as far as dance music goes. So I am going to be looking into playing in DC. Cornerstone was a great jump start for me in my confidence level. I knew that I could DJ pretty well. But there is a difference between knowing you can play and knowing you can play, if you know what I mean.

TF: So how does your faith play out in daily life?

I do a lot of youth ministry with my local church, youth group, Sunday school, small grounds, one on one discipleship, the whole deal. I have also been involved in foreign missions for the last 4 years pretty consistently and I am actually working on heading into the missions field full time in the next few months with an organization called Youth with a Mission.

TF: What has God really been working on in your life over the last few months?

He has really been teaching about what it means to really love people. I have a lot of business and ministry contacts and sometimes I feel like I only talk with some of them when I need them. I hate that feeling. It is so hard sometimes, especially when it seems like everyone you minister to seems to be making bad choices. But that is really where the test is, can I love someone despite what they do?

Check him out on MySpace at www.myspace.com/djalexlaine.

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