Alyse Black

Posted by Julie Grebenau on January 5th, 2011

Sometimes you’re in a completely new situation. You don’t know anyone, aren’t totally sure about what you’re doing, and you’re kind of afraid to talk to anybody. Alyse Black is the fearless and outspoken girl who will extend her hand and start telling you about how she was once in the exact same situation.

Alyse exuded confidence on Thursday night as she sang with her ‘just perfectly raspy and deep’ voice and conversed with the audience. She told stories that were unique and interesting, yet completely familiar to audience members. Her music and her personality are for ‘real’ people. Though her physical beauty and music are enjoyable, there is a wonderful grit to her that makes her easy to relate to.

Her song “B-17 Bomber Girl” was a ‘feel good about yourself’ song with a twist. It would have worked for The Disney Channel if it wasn’t about the wide-hipped women B-17 Pilots put on the side of their planes to help them when they got lonely.

Black truly looked like she was doing exactly what she was meant to throughout her set, embodying her songs with deep emotion and a smile. After almost every song, Black would take a moment to laugh with her bandmates as if she was having the time of her life and truly felt at home. Black is Seattle-bred, but has lived in Austin for the past 3 years.

Black is one of those rare singers that regardless of your taste in music, you cannot ignore the uniqueness and beauty in her voice. The perfect yet rare moments of breathiness, the strong yet beautiful vulnerability in the melodic cracks in her voice show glimpses of how much passion and emotion Black has inside her.

Alissa Jandt’s percussion kept the songs steady and added a gentle layer to the ukelele and guitar on Black’s songs. Jandt also did a great horn/baby voice vocal effect that lent playfulness to songs like “They Say Honesty” (check out the video below).

Black’s set included covers from some of the singers she is most often compared to — Ingrid Michaelson and Regina Spektor, and she completely held her own with their catchy songs (“The Way I Am” and “Sampson”, respectively), as well as playing songs from all of the albums she currently has out.

She told the audience a little story near the end of her set about the end of her corporate career.  Eventually she realized she would rather jump off the roof of the building than stay in another meeting. Now we have Alyse Black, inspiring Seattle singer-songwriter extraordinaire. You’ll know when you  listen to her music that she made the right choice.

http://www.ssgmusic.com/alyse-black-at-the-triple-door/