Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I grew up listening to so many different genres of music, and listening to songs over and over again before I could read the lyrics just so I could sing along.
I started vocal lessons at a young age after relentlessly asking to start them, and those quickly became my favorite parts of the week!
I got a lot of the classic rock knowledge from my mom, and then the more grunge alt rock stuff from my dad…although back then my favorite was Taylor Swift, and even now she’s one of my biggest writing inspirations.
I took every single opportunity I could growing up to sing and perform, and was always writing little ‘songs’ when I was a kid. It wasn’t until covid when i finally sat down and taught myself guitar, that I started really taking writing my own music seriously.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “ALYSSAD”?
A: Right now the focus is just making new music, a full project (meaning hopefully an EP soon!!!), and playing more shows around my hometown of Los Angeles with my BEYOND talented band…shoutout to Jack, Angie, Daniel, and Max! I think you really have to start from the ground up, and having a solid fan base in the area I’m from will definitely give me more confidence to branch out into new places (hopefully) soon.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: I have so many inspirations sonically, and it definitely differs depending on the song…usually leading to many different moodboard playlists. Some of the ones that are kind of always on repeat for me though are: Halsey, The Pretty Reckless, Paramore, Evanescence, Fly Leaf…and recently a LOT of Muse!
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “bitter taste of a god.”?
A: For me and a lot of people I know it kind of is a tale as old as time…
I wrote this song in 2023, after realizing the way I was being treated by the person I was interested in was entirely manipulative and toxic. I didn’t see that for a long time because they gave just enough attention to keep me on the hook, and I was so blinded by my feelings that I really began to worship them (hence where the referring to them as a ‘god’ came from).
When I finally realized just how I was being treated and how wrong it was, I was so hurt and extremely bitter about the whole situation…all leading to me thinking of the phrase “bitter taste of a god”, and I wrote the whole song around that.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Venom.
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “bitter taste of a god”?
A: I am quite the perfectionist when it comes to the things I create, so the recording and mixing process tends to be a lot harder than writing for me.
For this song in particular, I actually wrote the lyrics in about 20 minutes in pretty much one shot. Once it got to the point of recording, which was quite quickly after writing it, we got it done and I sat on the version my collaborator and I came up with…and just felt it wasn’t right.
The song was great, and definitely could’ve been released in its original form…but after sitting on it for a while I knew it wasn’t quite authentic to the emotions I felt while writing it yet. We got back in the studio and knocked out what became the final version in one afternoon!
I truly couldn’t be happier with how it all ended up turning out.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: I think a lot of my music is about taking power back in situations you didn’t have power in, as well as channeling grief and reflection into art…call it cathartic.
In terms of goals, I just want people to connect to my music, people to love my music, for my music to help them and mean something in the same way it does with my favorite artists.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: My dream artist to collaborate with in truly any capacity will probably forever be David Bowie. I’ve always been so fascinated by his mind and his art and how unique of a human he was.
Otherwise my dream collaborator would be Ethel Cain (Preachers Daughter is forever my favorite album), that would be a dream come true.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: Take care of yourself.
Don’t let people push you down.
Know your worth.
And most importantly, don’t lose sight of your vision…what your identity is and what you create as an artist is what makes you unique, it’s what makes you cut through the noise. Never listen to the people that want you to sacrifice your integrity for a quick minute of fame.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: Keep dreaming. Keep going.
One day you will be able to put out music that people love, and look at a map of the whole world and see people listening in so many different countries.
Even if the end of the line isn’t sold out world tours, we will continue doing what we love and making music until it’s not possible anymore.
