Alia is a local out singer and songwriter who began singing at 6 years old. She went on to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston and now tours regularly, with many shows in the tristate area. PGN had the opportunity to speak with Alia over the phone about what she enjoys most about playing music, her growth as an artist before and during her time at Berklee and the role she thinks music can play in the lives of young LGBT women.
PGN: What do you enjoy most about playing music?
A: The interaction with people. I grew up as a singer, I love doing that. But I love playing and interacting with people. With being an independent artist and playing the original gigs … They’re hard to book, to make a living plus fill it out with cover gigs, because I definitely enjoy singing and playing in front of people and the interaction you get when you’re at a bar on a Friday night. I’ve met some great characters playing. I just want to be playing.
PGN: Before Berklee, who had the biggest influence on you and supported your ambition and desire to pursue music?
A: Before I went to Berklee, there wasn’t any one person or big influence that directed me in any certain way. At Berklee, I found a lot of … I always say that I feel like I found my voice in Berklee. I had some great teachers that really pushed me and, you know, said, “Hey, you’re doing the rock-singer kind of thing and it sounds good so keep doing it that way.” Instead of having other people who would want to shape you as a female artist into a certain sound or mold. So I would say it didn’t really happen until Berklee, and my reasoning for wanting to go to Berklee was I always wanted to be a singer and rock star and then, once there, really found who I actually was and that you can do it all the time and play and make a living out of it.
PGN: What advice do you have for young people, especially young LGBT women? And what role can music play in their lives?
A: Music saved me in many ways of just being able to have that song and having out artists to be able to turn to. Now in 2016 we have so much support, through Facebook, through the radio, so we’re not hidden anymore. It’s important to have music because someone else who is younger than me who might be coming out and playing guitar … I remember growing up and listening to Joan Jett and Melissa Etheridge, and they saved me in the sense that I could listen to them and know that they were singing about something that was very near and dear to what I was feeling — instead of just listening to someone where I know they’re straight and they have their life and it’s so different from mine. I definitely think music is a savior in just being able to know that we’re all out there and could all support each other and you could hear that in someone’s voice, and now through this they have the ability to hear my songs and grow their own songs. Just to have that support is the most important thing in music. We don’t all have to be rock stars, where it’s you’re a rock star or you’re nothing, you know? There are independent artists like me. And you can still make a living and you can still have a great life and a happy marriage and do all that kind of stuff; it doesn’t have to be one or the other, like you either have to stop what you’re doing and work 9 to 5 or you have to be, you know, Joan Jett. There are people like me.
Alia will play from 9 p.m.-midnight Sept. 23 at Manny Brown’s, 512 South St. To learn more about Alia, listen to her music and see her upcoming tours dates, check out www.aliamusic.com or www.facebook.com/aliamusicrocks/.