Please introduce yourself, what you do, why you do it, and what you want people to know about you.
I’m Alyssa Lazar, and I’m a piano-influenced pop/rock artist based in Nashville. I make music that incorporates the passion and intricacy of the 1970’s rock sound into today’s pop/ rock.
My ultimate goal through my music career, whether it be through the flamboyant way I dress, my lyrics, or through live performance, is to inspire people to be the boldest versions of themselves. We often WANT to make the bold statement, make the first move, wear the piece that feels a little out of our comfort zone, or just have the courage to believe in ourselves.
Sometimes all it takes is one person to be able to push you to do it. I want to be THAT for people.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
A lot of people in today’s music (pop especially) got their starts in their careers by making music on their computers and posting it online. Although I have used social media, my real beginning initiated by performing anywhere and everywhere I possibly could.
I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, so not a very music-centric city, but by the time I was fifteen, I was playing at every bar, restaurant, and venue in the area, and started building a following and performance experience that way. I HAVE to be playing.
Even since moving to Nashville four years ago, I need to be performing as often as possible. It is also what I think gave me my edge and my grit; knowing that, starting as a kid, I was playing for a room full of adults who either saw me as some kid who sang or more likely, were drinking their beers and not caring a bit.
I took it upon myself at every show to find how I can win them over as an audience. Being a good singer wasn’t enough; that was how I became as bold and outspoken, especially when on stage, as I am today. This is also what really made me such an old soul, and gave me such a passion for classic rock.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you wanted to do what you do now. Who did you tell first? What has it been like since that moment?
I knew that music was going to be what I would dedicate my entire life to. By the time I was about four years old and started singing along to Celine Dion CDs in the car with my mom. I never really had a time where I wanted anything else, and I can’t imagine my story going any other way.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to face and how did you overcome it?
The “No” to “Yes” ratio… As you may have guessed, the “No’s” GREATLY outweigh the “Yes’s” in this career path. As a musician, you’ll reach a potential opportunity, see it ALL coming together and working out in your mind’s eye, and then boom; “No.”
And what then? What do you do when you put all of your eggs in one basket and now all of that faith you had in that one something was broken? In the plethora of “no’s” I have experienced on this journey, I’ve learned the good thing is that “No” is just a temporary burn, and you learn to say “Okay… so they couldn’t see my potential.
Now it’s time to get back up and keep fighting until I find someone who is smart enough to.” You need to have a LOT of strength to pursue music, and if you want people to believe in you, you need to believe in yourself with every bit of your soul.
It took knowing what made me different to know what made me priceless as a musician, and that is all the power you need. When you have that, and understand that you know yourself and your own worth better than anyone else does, a “No” suddenly becomes another page in the story.
If you had to pick the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could take your career (or business) to the next level…who would those 3 people be?
1. Elton John. He is most certainly one of my biggest muses, and one of my biggest dreams is to someday get to perform with him.
2. Simon Cowell. I think we’d hit it off, maybe take over the world, and be jacka**es together.
3. Carole King. Period.