INDEPENDENT artist Alex Lindsey Jones knows the sting of rejection but also the glory of stumbling upon that one, great song.

After paying his dues playing hundreds of gigs in the UK early this decade with his former band Falling Down, Lindsey said he had to develop a thick skin something all accomplished musicians or comedians recount having to do.

''We were constantly gigging night after night. I won't lie, it was tough, playing to almost empty rooms or to people who didn't really want us there. We were booed off stage a few times and that was really hard,'' he said.

''It gave us a thick skin though, which is something you have to have in this game.

''I'm always surprised at the people who do it (perform live) but don't want to do it long term. It's really not the type of thing that is for people who only want to perform if their friends or family turn up to watch.''

While having the unenviable task of becoming familiar with rejection, Lindsey also learned another valuable skill how to judge what songs worked when played live.

''You just have to judge the audience's reaction,'' he said.

''That was something else I had to learn I learned how to play in front of an audience and that you had to play stuff the audience wants to hear instead of just playing what you want to.''

Music is something that has always been in Lindsey's life, albeit not in the usual ''cool'' way of affected teenagers.

''I was 15 or 16 when I seriously started playing, and maybe 14 or 15 when I started dabbling on guitar,'' he said.

''I've never been a proficient guitarist though I just stuck with the singing and crooning.

''I was always influenced by the big '80s rock; Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi. It was a little old fashioned, even back then.''

Following his UK foray, Lindsey returned to Australia and began the process of recording his first album under his name. The culling process was huge as he had a repertoire of more than 100 songs he had written over the years.

He finally nailed it down to his 10 best tracks and recorded his debut album Learning the Hard Way.

Then, after the album was essentially finished and, as if to prove the point that you can't schedule creativity, Alex wrote a new song.

''I knew this song was going to be a hit and my manager told me that I had to put it down on the album,'' he said.

''It was a big call to make to postpone the album. My first reaction was to wait for the next album, but my manager said it had to be on my first album.

''The album was independently financed and some of the artwork was in pre-press and then I go and write this song and it's just killer.

''That took a few months it wasn't as quick as just recording it. The whole album had to be re-sequenced because the song gave it a different feel and then we felt we needed new artwork.''

The new album, renamed If She Knew, is available digitally through iTunes now.

Lindsey is playing The Old Manly Boatshed at 8pm on April 15 and Surf Rock Hotel, Collaroy at 9.30pm on May 6.