By DONNA BALANCIA
Alice Wallace is a musician on a mission.
Wallace is a talented songstress and impeccable self-promoter, and that combination is helping her make a mark in music. Wallace, whose new album, Into the Blue, is getting great reviews, is also a social media expert, as organized online as she is compelling onstage.
“The labels don’t have as much money, no one has as much money, and they want artists who understand the business,” she said after playing a recent Sunday at Gary Calamar’s Mimosa Music Series in North Hollywood. Wallace’s new 11-track album, Into the Blue, is her fourth.
On her social media, Wallace diligently posts articles, not only about her new album, but also about her adventures, her accolades and even shoutouts to friends. These days she’s not doing it all on her own, she says, but she thinks it’s important for musicians to have the know-how in promotion.
DIY on Social Media
“A lot of this stuff you can do yourself these days,” she said. “I feel like you have to do it yourself before you can look to other people to help you to do it because so much of it is so-self driven.”
Determination and Drive
Wallace’s music has the twang of country with even a little yodeling thrown in, but it appeals to the Americana-rock fans as well. The latest collection, Into the Blue, covers a range of her experiences and is mainly inspired by California, where she was born and where she longed to return after living in Florida for years.
Armed with her diverse songs and determination, she left home to hit the road, the only way she knew she would be able to make it in music. And in these tech-driven times where everything is available online, Wallace says it’s still the live show that makes all the difference in the world.
“I will say that what I did was, I did hit the road,” she said. “I quit my job and just started planning tours. Usually just me and a guitar and getting in a car and starting to drive.”
She trained herself to make the most of blending modern promotional opportunities of social media with the traditional live circuit.
“I feel I learned so much by just being out there and figuring out how to connect with an audience and figuring out how to network with people,” she said. “There are certain people who can come out of the gate swinging and they just know how to do all this stuff, but there’s so much of a learning curve when it comes to performing.”
Wallace said social media platforms and the technology to distribute online make it both a blessing and a curse for musicians.
“It’s by trial and error, there are a lot of resources online,” she said. “Now that we can all have such a great presence online there are a lot of resources for those of us who are doing it themselves. Now, I’m connected with people who help me. But for years it was just me out there promoting myself, doing all the legwork, wearing 70 different hats trying to figure this out.”
Observing others helped her through the years.
Wallace says observation skills have helped along her journey.
“It’s a matter of being on the lookout,” she said. “And learning from other artists, tracking other artists who are like you, and seeing what they’re doing, where are they playing how are they doing it. And learning from there.”
How did she learn how to yodel?
“I taught myself to yodel in college mostly because I was a huge Jewel fan and Jewel is a fantastic yodeler,” she said. “And I didn’t think anyone was still yodeling. Once I heard Jewel do it, it blew me away. I basically locked myself in the bedroom three months during one summer home from college and it’s been a part of my shows ever since.”
Alice Wallace is on tour back East, check out the dates HERE
Alice Wallace – Santa Ana Winds