Double Page Spread interview
- 1. Walking intothe crowded coffee shop, Alisha Stewart looksupfrom the window seat and smiles. As she sipsat her iced tea she chatsfreely and I can see that the somewhatguardedattitudewhen preforming live is long gone andreplaced with a more carefree one. Somehow, I get the feeling that Alisha Stewart hates being the centre of attention, sowhy preforming? “I’mnot goodat interviews” she announcessuddenly, playingwithnervously strandsofher dark hair. She shrugsin slow-motionandlooks sidewaysanddownwards, an apologetic gesture. “Youdon’thave tobe.” So Alisha, when did you start preforming? I usedto be in the schoolchoir, andmy first performance was a school musical showcasewhen I was 12 but I started regularly performing when I joined a bandwhen I was 15. The bandwas called Fire at Mayflower butI left it soI could perform onmy own. Do you prefer preformingon your own? Yeah, it’sjust easier, youknow. I loved being in a bandbut now I can choose what songsI want to play andwhat instrumentI want to use withoutit causing hassleamongstthe others. What instruments do youplay? I play the Keyboard, theGuitar andVoice. So whatwas it that inspired youto start preformingmusic? My Granddadgave me his old keyboardwhenI was about10 and I was always playingit, preforming little showsto him all the time andhe loved to see me preforming! It lead to me wantingto learn guitar and I guess that singing justsort of came with it. Do you writes your own songs oruse others? I like to write my own, it helps to let feelings out, but recently I’vebeen really happy just doingcovers, so, a bit of bothreally. Is there any sort of theme or topic for the songs youpreform? Mostly I just perform covers of music thatI like to listen to. MumfordandSons are my favourite band to cover, I just love their songsbecause they’realways so meaningfuland have somuch depthto them. How has your music developedso far? I’vealways stuck in the safe zone, doingsongsI love already andgo well with my voice but recently I’vebeen trying different thingand havinga go at more adventurousgenreslike tryingto do electric songsonacoustic guitars. I’vealso become a lot more confident because of the shows I’veplayedand the reaction of the audience and so I’vebeen performing at bigger venues. What gigshave you played? I perform at openmic nights, I’ma finalist of the police funded Warrington’sGotTalent and I performed at StocktonHeathFestival thissummer. Those gigs don’tseem toolarge butgoing through this onmy own asa soloartist, insteadof in a bandwith friends who are goingthroughthe same thing asyouare, is quite nerve-wrecking. I’mslowly makingmy way up though, hopefully everyone will see a lot more of me soon! What has beenyour biggest challenge beinga soloartist? Like I said before, I’vealways stuck in the safe zone so I’dprobably say that the biggest challenge was to gain the confidence to go for the bigger gigs rather thanstayingwith venues I’veplayed before.
- 2. And whoinspires you tomake that leap? Bothmy family andfriends are very supportiveandhavealways been, even when I was first starting outand noone had really heard me sing so I’dsay them. Are there any gigsyou would definitely like to play? To be honest, I’dlove to play concerts of my own andstuff but at the momentthat’sjusta dream. I need to work my way up onestep at a time gettingahead of myself…well it wontget me anywhere will it. I’venever actually been paid for a gig though, soat the momentI’m definitely aiming for being paid for a gig, hopefully I can play at some bigger venuessoon. What'syour ultimate direction?Where doyou see yourself in 5/10 years’ time? I’dlike tostill be performing regularly, maybe havea regular spotat a certain place and havedone some of my own shows but because of my studies andthe fact thatI really wantto go to university first means thatit will probably stay as a hobby ratherthan beingmy actual career. So whatadvice do youhave forpeople who want to formtheir ownbands or become solo artists? For a bandI think that it’sreally importantthateveryonehas a similar music taste, then it’s easier to work togetheron new things. Is there any way that the audience canaccess your music? There are a couple of videosandYouTubeand people can always come to the OpenMic Nights! Do you know how oftenthose are? Once a month, onthe first Friday of every month And finally, what do youthink has been your greatest achievement? Probably playingat StocktonHeathFestival, it felt great being there and preformingin front of people I knew andnot being as scared anymore. I’vegaineda lot of confidence because of it.