Born from instinct rather than intention, ExWife grew out of Alexandria Bonanno’s lifelong pull toward songwriting and solidified during a period of personal unraveling. Raised in a restrictive religious environment where most mainstream music was forbidden, Bonanno shaped a singular voice through what slipped through the cracks — Broadway scores, Barbra Streisand, and the quiet urgency of self-discovery. What began as subconscious songs written in moments of chaos and early parenthood became ExWife, a band that transforms lived experience into towering, cathartic rock. Today, ExWife is Bonanno alongside Nicolas Kauffmann, Josh Mahurin-Chavez, and Kadin Monegan, each member sharpening the emotional weight and sonic force of a project rooted in release, courage, and music that feels necessary rather than manufactured.
SNQLX: Let’s start with the origin point. What’s the story behind ExWife, and when did this project become the one you needed to bring into the world?
EXWIFE: The origin starts in the womb no? I’ve felt a call to writing songs for my entire life. When I was four years old, I would take my mother’s tape recorder and sit behind our floral couch recording, and listening back to the sonic sounds that I had created. It is difficult for me to separate my songwriting into different ‘projects’, but ExWife officially began as I was contemplating divorcing my partner of 10 years. Most of the songs on our debut album, just so happen to be my subconscious musings of separation from him. The band has had a lot of iterations. The version we are now, is very different from where we started. This question is hard for me because it feels as if this project already existed before we even began. There never was a question in my mind about bringing these songs into the world. In a way they asked me, and I said of course.
SNQLX: Your debut record Blow came together from years of voice memos and personal history. What felt different about capturing songs that way — scraps of moments evolving into a full album?
EXWIFE: This was more of a necessity, rather than a creative decision. At the time of composing these songs I had very young children. Anyone who is a parent knows what it is like to pursue a creative endeavor while parenting. My greatest strength as a songwriter is being able to compose in the midst of the most chaotic situations. During nap time, snack time, and bedtime I wrote. Banging out my frustrations and heartache on a piano is the only thing that kept me balanced and sane. Some of the songs you hear on BLOW were written in five minutes. Others took years to finish. I love how this album came together, and I can’t see any other way that it would have.
SNQLX: Sonically, you’ve got this towering 90s rock pulse — big guitars, big feelings. Who are the artists you feel genuinely built your musical DNA?
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