Alyssa Galvan
I first saw & heard Alyssa on her Gems in the Rough 2021 video. She sang an original song “Still In Love With You” this song is written in the style of an old Blues song that could have been sang by Bessie Smith. Alyssa is from my home state of Missouri. I always happy to see the younger generation finding out about the older music especially The Blues. Alyssa not only has an amazing voice that is suited for the Blues, but she also very talented at playing the Blues and writing old style Blues songs. Let’s talk about Alyssa’s voice, She has such control and an amazing tone. Being as young as Alyssa is she can sing in the style of all the Older Blues singer, plus she can yodel with the best. If you listen to Alyssa sing with your eyes closed, you will think that this was something from the 1920’s 0r 30’s. And I am talking about the songs she writes. Alyssa also can play the guitar just as well as the ones who influenced her from the Blues genre. Alyssa mostly plays solo, but you will read in the questions below that recently Alyssa was able to join in with some other young people to form an international group. So I highly recommend if you love Old style Blues then check out Alyssa Galvan. There are links below and some questions I was able to ask Alyssa. https://www.youtube.com/@AlyssaGalvanMusic https://www.alyssagalvanmusic.com/ 1.How long have you been playing music? I have been playing music since I was about twelve years old. My first gig was when I was thirteen and ever since I have been gigging regularly and focusing on music. 2. How many bands have you been in? I’ve had the amazing opportunity to share the stage with several incredible musicians and kind people. While I love the idea of performing regularly with a band I have only been in one band prior to the one I am currently involved in. We were a swing and jazz group! Now I am the singer/guitarist for The International Crossroads Project, a French/American youth band that formed after meeting at a Pinetop Perkins Foundation Summer Masterclass. 3. Where were you born? I was born in Beloit, Wisconsin and while I didn’t experience growing up there very much, we visit my family there every few years. I remember being very young and living in Shreveport, Louisiana for a while before relocating to southwest Missouri, which is where I am now! 4. Are you self-taught? I had guitar lessons for about a year when I was ten years old, but I didn’t engage in them as much as I should have. I quickly left after gathering the basics and began to really start learning on my own. 5. Who are your biggest influences? My musical influences really come from a broad variety but 70’s/80’s punk rock and new wave is really what drove my passion to be a performer. Icons such as Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Lou Reed, and several others from the New York scene hold a forever spot in my heart. From gritty punk rock and hardcore I discovered early 1900’s blues players like Blind Willie McTell, Son House, Big Mama Thornton, etc. These blues musicians are who inspire me to really indulge in songwriting, and recently I have been really involved with the blues scene and blues music. I enjoy lots of old folk and country music as well, which has inspired my songwriting too. 6. What style of music do you consider yours? . I think every artist struggles with this question. I consider my music to just take inspiration from every genre I enjoy, which is a wide selection. Mostly I’d consider my songs to fall under the category of blues and folk. However, I have a few unreleased side projects that involve surf punk! 7. What was your first gig? How old were you? My first gig was at Dead Cow Saloon and Grill in Carterville, Missouri when I was thirteen. It isn’t around anymore but that is where I first started playing music after attending a weekly open mic. The people there were always so kind to me and I couldn’t thank them enough for their support when I was just starting out. 8. What advice do you have for someone starting out in the music business? While I haven’t been in the music business too long, I have learned several things along the way. Nearly every incredible opportunity I have gotten has been a result of networking. It is so important and can launch you into a whole new scene that is looking for something you have to offer. Some of my greatest accomplishments were presented to me because of open mics I have attended or charities I have supported. You never know who will be where. 9. Do you write your own songs? Yes! I have a self-titled album I released in early 2021 when I was fifteen which consists of my original songs in an acoustic format. I am always writing music and have plans to release another album under my name in the near future, as well as two other projects I am apart of! 10. What would people be surprised to hear that you have in your personal record collection? I always get excited to talk about my record collection. I have a wide variety from all genres, but I do have several original pressings I am thrilled to have. I have got an original pressing of “The Velvet Underground and Nico”, one of my favorite albums of all time. My rarest first pressings would have to be The Modern Lovers debut album, Tom Waits “Rain Dogs”, Suicide’s self-titled album, or a couple of first pressing James Chance albums I was lucky to come across. I could really talk about my collection all day to anyone who would be willing to listen. 11. What would you be doing if playing music was not an option? I truly could not imagine myself doing anything else besides music. My life would be so drastically different, sometimes I hate to even think of what it’d be like if I never started to pursue it. Although, I know I’d still be a writer. I’ve always loved writing since I was very young. One day I’d like to think I’ll be brave enough to attempt to publish some poetry or a novel. 12. Besides your own songs, what is your favorite song to perform? I always love doing the occasional off the wall cover that nobody would ever expect. These usually fall into the classic punk rock category. I always love bonding with other punk lovers at shows when they hear me do a classic. However, the first that comes to mind is Scrapper Blackwell’s version of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out”. I remember first learning the guitar part and working really hard on it. Ever since it’s been one of my favorite songs to perform, it has so much emotion in it. 13. If you were strictly a songwriter, who would you like to see sing your songs? This is a really interesting question! I have never ever thought of this before. I am not sure at all who I would want to sing my songs. I think it’d be interesting to hear different takes. Tom Waits is one of my heroes. If he sang one of my songs I don’t know what I’d do, let alone if he was in my presence. Either Tom Waits or Jonathan Richman.
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AuthorHello, My name is Michael. I am into music, have been for over 48yrs. Big fan of all kinds of music, right now it has been the Blues for the last 10yrs. I do not play any instruments, But I very interested in the recording aspect of the industry. Have messed around with it a little and always learning new things about it. I have met many wonderful people because of Music.. Hope you enjoy my Blogs... In the last two years I have been producing House Concerts. I also in the past 2 years got to produce and engineer an album for a very good friend of mine from Sweden "Magpie". Archives
February 2024
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