Review Fix Exclusive: Jerrica Alyssa Talks ‘Feelin’ New’

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Jerrica Alyssa, who discusses her freshman EP, “Feelin’ New” and more.

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Jerrica Alyssa: As a Filipina Canadian growing up in Vancouver, I was so lucky to have my loving, large extended family singing and dancing, at every turn.  My Lola (grandma) played and taught piano and encouraged me to take lessons..and to practice!

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like? 

Alyssa: It seems to grow and evolve through all of this Covid-19 lock down.  A few songs have co-writers but most everything else starts with me jamming on an idea.  I collect them, share them with my co-producer, get some more beats going, then keep going from there.  Some come to life very fast, others have to simmer on the stove for a while.

Review Fix: What inspires you? 

Alyssa: Great artists of the past and today, emotional moments in life, art of every kind and the precarious jams we all get into, which need some explaining. Or venting if you will.

Review Fix: What does music mean to you? 

Alyssa: Music is how I live and breathe.  When I was young it was music and dance. I’m now blessed to be able to express life in my music as well as being inspired by all of the amazing artist’s of our time, past and present.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you? 

Alyssa: I would say “Take a listen to my take on Pop today and you will find emotional vocals, my love of keyboards, good grooves and my appreciation of the 70’s and 80’s R&B and Soul.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?  

Alyssa: Dance was such a huge part of my life as a kid, touring with a Polynesian dance troupe.  So my live show gives you  good times and a chance to dance, mixed in with my Filipina love of a few ballads.  My studio work is chasing the quest for pop perfection while trying to maintain my quest for performance perfection.

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single? 

Alyssa: My quest to be better at self love and our mutual, primal need to just let go with a new feeling. A positive, wild feeling to help shake the isolation of the pandemic. Then one more inspiration must be mentioned, my fascination with Soulful Disco.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2021?  

Alyssa: As is everyone else, I’m dying to play live, but we just don’t know exactly how this is going to start up again.  Let’s see I’m hoping to wrap up the decorating touches on my Nashville songwriting/picture editing studio, which I’m pretty excited about!  I have some new instruments which I want to share with you, coming up in live performance videos, real quick here.  We have a video series coming up where I hang with fellow artists and talk shop – should be cool! And last but not least, I have a few collabs which should be great times for everybody.

Review Fix: What’s next? 

Alyssa: I have new songs burning a hole in my pocket! Like many artists, I just wanna get my songs that are recorded released, so then I can express all of the new ideas welling up inside of me.  We have already started!

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add? 

Alyssa: I would like to mention my recently expanding music community interaction.  Specifically, us female songwriter/producers have begun reaching out more in the past year, acknowledging each other’s work.  This is significant to our numbers growing, because we are a minority right now.  Yes, there are many female recording artists doing great things but the amount of women engineering/producing/mastering in the recording industry, is very minimal.  A hopeful time of change is coming for those brilliant, talented women who need folks to recognize that they are ready for the show.