Two Singles Introduce Award-Winning Singer/ Songwriter’s Sophomore Set

With a personality as effervescent as her beat-laden, dance-inflected music, it’s hard to resist Alyson. Combining business savvy, determination and girl-next-door charm, the talented singer/songwriter formed her own record label, scored five Top 10 dance tracks from her debut album and became a staple on LOGO’s “Click List” countdown.

Set to release sophomore set Hey You! April 22, Alyson returns this month with a one-two punch. Seducing club-goers with slinky “Here With Me,” for which the Pride circuit favorite recently won First Place in Billboard Magazine’s 15th-Annual Billboard Song Contest, she’ll simultaneously woo radio with the album’s title track.

(Bay Times) Hey You! seems even more eclectic than your debut.

(Alyson) Really? The Take a Good Look is really pretty eclectic, too. “Forever” had a Caribbean flavor. There’s some R&B and dance, quite a bit of straight-up pop, and club tracks. I think it’s pretty reminiscent of the first album. Over the last couple years, I’ve really grown as a songwriter and performer. I think maybe that’s what you’re hearing.

“Sticky Sticky” verges on a little nasty for you!

(Laughing.) Maybe I’ve gotten a little bit nasty over the last couple years? I don’t know. I had a little nastiness on the first album. “What Are You Going to Do?” was a little dirty. I guess I was just in the mood when I wrote that.

Why release “Hey You!” and “Here With Me” at the same time?

With the music industry today, there’s really no rules – especially as an independent artist. That’s one of the beautiful things about being an indie artist. You don’t really have rules to abide by. You can write whatever you want. You can do whatever you want. We’re appealing to radio with “Hey You” and clubs with “Here With Me.”

“Hey You!” has an old-school vibe.

Absolutely! It has a very 1960s vibe to it, though it’s very subtle. I shot the video for it a few weeks ago. We totally ran with the ‘60s thing. It has that whole theme, so it’s really fun. It’s very “mod.” That video is going to be out by the end of March.

You once told your first fans – the ones who encouraged you to perform professionally – were gay.

Yes, definitely. The gay audience has been a wonderful support for me. I so appreciate it. I really do. That’s why I wanted to continue doing dance music, and not just the remixes but the original dance music on the album. I know a lot of people that follow my music love that style. I wanted to make sure that was included on the album. There are two songs, “Some Love” and “Here With Me.” Both are originally straight-up dance tracks on the album, in their original form.

Recording Take a Good Look was an all-new experience. What was Hey You! like?

It was really cool! With the first album, it wasn’t like I went into the studio and said, “I’m going to record a CD.” It was more I started writing songs and, all of a sudden, I had enough for an album. I was working with my friend Daveed in L.A., and the album sort of became itself because we were hanging out in the studio, recording tracks. With the new album, I said to my coproducer, “OK, we’re going to do an album” So we thought a minute about what we wanted it to sound like. It was really, really cool. It was my first time working with Jeremy Yeremian [producer of Pink, Kelly Osbourne], so it was really fun.

Rather than release albums, most dance musicians go single-by-single.

I like doing albums. I like writing. A big part of who I am is a songwriter. I’m writing all the time. If I have a bunch of songs I’ve written, why not put out an album that people can listen to all the way through and follow a story? Since I’m on my own label, I can do that. It’s a free experience.

Congrats on your Billboard Songwriting Award!

Thank you! I was so excited when I heard I’d won. It was the first songwriting competition I’d ever entered. I was so thrilled about that. I hope that helps spread the word about my music and my songwriting. It’s a challenge every day as an independent artist to spread the word about your music. It’s largely word of mouth. You don’t have that multimillion dollar budget to promote your music.

Are you hoping to ‘breakthrough’ – or are you comfortable being slightly under the radar but calling your own shots?

There are pluses and minuses to both. I’m just sort of going with the flow, making music and putting it out there. Wherever that takes me, I’ll be happy. I can’t imagine not making music. That’s what makes me happy. For me, it’s not about making a billion dollars. If I can make enough money through my music to be comfortable and not have to worry about getting my bills paid, I’d be happy with that – as long as I can continue to make music. Wherever I end up, as long as I’m a working musician, I’ll be happy!

See www.AlysonMusic.com for more info.