Interview with multi-talented Elyse.

Twist Online : First of all please introduce yourself to our readers?

Elyse : Hi! My name is Elyse. I am a singer/songwriter. I’ve been singing since I was about seven years old and really just working towards my dream of becoming a professional singer ever since.

Twist Online : Which famous musicians do you admire?

Elyse : My top three favorite musicians are Dermot Kennedy, Surfaces, and Sleeping At Last. I absolutely love Sleeping At Last. His songs are incredibly personal, lyrically beautiful, and uniquely specific to the subjects he writes about. His albums explore subjects like the planets, enneagram types, etc. and the song and music are so beautiful and unique. Surfaces, which consists of  Forrest and Colin, has music that is very up-lifting. It’s the kind of music that you can’t help but smile to or want to kind of move your body to every time  you hear it. Their music tends to put you in a better mood when you listen to them. Dermot Kennedy is my absolute all time favorite artist. His music is breath-taking in every way. From the way he creates the actual music in his songs, to the real and rawness of his voice, to the stunning way he writes, leaves me in awe as an artist. His lyrics are what I love most about his music. He has this way of writing that is so complex but simple and beautiful.

Twist Online : How would you describe the music that you typically create?

Elyse : I started out creating very mainstream pop style music. Recently I’ve started transitioning into more of a pop/country type of sound. My voice is very much a “pop voice” but it sort of lends itself towards country and I really love pop/country music sound with a strong acoustic guitar vibe in the newer tracks.

Twist Online : We really loved your track “Can’t Have Me”. It seems you have deep love for L.A.?

Elyse : Thank you so much! Can’t Have Me was so much fun writing and creating and filming the video for. I do have a deep love for LA, definitely. I grew up here in the LA region and now that I am  more involved in the music industry I am meeting more artists, producers, and musicians. LA has such a wide breadth of culture an artist can explore so many different aspects of music and artistic creativity and content. I love LA! 

Twist Online : Video is perfectly following the lyrics. You must be getting appreciation from Music critics?

Elyse : Well, I haven’t seen any responses from music critics. I hope they like the video. I like my music videos to reflect the stories in my songs. I think that helps the listener connect with the song at a more personal level.  

Twist Online : Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?

Answer: As you probably know when you start out as an artist you perform any and every where you get the opportunity. I started performing at the local coffee houses which are always so much fun. That was followed by performing at street fairs, restaurants, and some small theaters. I’ve performed at quite a few different places. I actually was selected from a pool of 18,000 applicants to attend the honors performance program and perform at Carnegie Hall in New york City which was such an awesome experience. I think my favorite venue I have performed in here in LA is probably the Gibson Guitar Showroom in Los Angeles. I really don’t have any least favorite venues at this point in my career.  I’ve really enjoyed all the places I’ve had an opportunity to perform at.

Twist Online : What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your entertainment career?

Elyse : I’ve always said that I’ve never even thought of doing anything else but performing. That this was always the one thing for me, that there was literally no other road I’d ever want to even think of going down than the entertainment business. But, if I had to think of something else I’d be doing if I weren’t on this road, I think I’d want to either be a teacher or a worship leader. Helping kids is something I’ve always loved doing and always just been good with them, especially little trouble makers. I always somehow end up being their best friend and get them to listen and behave, it’s kind of funny. I think I’d be good at helping kids learn and grow.  Worship is something I’ve always been incredibly passionate about. It’s where I find pure joy, so I think that might be something I would look at if I weren’t in the entertainment business.

Twist Online : How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?

Elyse : I think the Internet has impacted the music business in both great ways and not so great ways. I think the Internet has made it easier for artists who don’t have the ability to get themselves out to producers and labels to put their music out so their music can be heard and so they can be seen which is an incredible thing and a really great opportunity. At the same time though, it then becomes a numbers game, especially with social media. So, no matter how much talent someone may have, if they don’t have the right numbers, they may never be seen by anyone even if they’re insanely talented, which is a big shame. I think the Internet has both its advantages and disadvantages for artists and musicians in the music business.

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