From left to right... me, Alana, Liz.Here's some more pictures of Alana performing and during the interview... (I took the performance pic and my dad took the interview pic, if you were wondering)
Liz- What's your favorite part about touring with the HORDE festival?
Alana- Well, playing outdoors is really nice. I play acoustic guitar and there is something very right about looking out and seeing the green grass. Playing in the daytime is also very cool, usually it's really dark and smelly in most clubs. And knowing that I'm opening the show, there's no pressure, no reason to keep score.
Jennifer- What bands did you listen to when you were younger that inspired you to become a musician?
Alana- My parents were musicians and I think that they probably inspired me more than anyone. I've gone through a lot of periods of music. I was into punk rock and some gothic stuff for a while. I still love reggae, it's one of my favorite kinds of music in the world. My parents mainly raised me on jazz. My first influences are jazz stuff, Bob Marley, who is like God, and then like Joni Mitchell is like the girl side. You gotta have a couple of girls. There is like Joni and Billie Holiday, and a couple others. My tastes are kinda stinky though. Kinda weird. I've never really listened to much radio. In New York City, at least when I was growing up, I remember that it was R&B. It was very, very, very pop and like ten songs that they play over and over and that's it. And I was like okay, never mind. I mean, luckily in New York City, you can find other options. Do you know the club CB-GB's? It's kinda famous, a lot of bands came out of there. I was like 14 and I had this little fake ID that said I was 16, which was as old as you needed to be to go there on Sundays. I used to go all of the time and check out hard core bands, like the Beastie Boys were there. They used to play hard core before they decided to go rap and it was like "ding" and all the people loved it. But for years there were hard core bands and I remember that. I've gone through a lot of phases but I come right back around. I mean now all I listen to is reggae and jazz. Kinda weird. My tour bus is always cranked with reggae. In fact, I leave it on and it is like jammin'.
Liz- So, that was basically how you got into music when you were younger?
Alana- Ya, I've always just loved it. It has always, always, always been my favorite thing. You know, my father was always playing the piano and all the time we used to sing walking to the school bus. Ya, it's just kinda always been my favorite thing. I wasn't actually seeking a record deal. But, opportunity knocked, so I answered the door. It seemed like the thing to do. But, it took me 2 years to figure out what the hell I was going to record. Finally I did, and here I am.
Jennifer- What was it like when you first saw your video on MTV and people actually knew who you were?
Alana- It was really weird, it's strange. I don't even recognize myself. I mean, it doesn't even look like me. It's like, who's that girl? I know the song, but who's that girl? It's two-dimensional. I never wanted to be on TV. I feel like I kinda need to be for situations and it's weird that I have to learn how to do that. TV appearances and stuff are just so strange. There are like 8 cameras in the room and she is just like, "act natural." Okay, that would be me running out the door! It's strange.
Jennifer- Have you had to adjust you lifestyle to fit the music career?
Alana- Kinda. Ya, I just want to play my little songs and just enjoy myself, ya know? This is just like, you can't just play your songs. You have to be a multimedia entertainer commodity. There are videos, there's TV, and there are interviews. It's like speak with this person, pose with this person. There's all of this stuff that I just wasn't prepared for yet.
Liz- How did you feel the first time you were on stage and somebody screamed, "I love you Alana!"
Alana- I'm sure that on some level I was like, "Wow, I guess in someway, I'm getting somewhere." Taking little baby steps. I don't know how to react to that. It's great and I love the artists that I love, and I am just like, "Yes, I love you!" but, I don't know exactly what I am supposed to do. I'm flattered by it. I get embarrassed. What would you say just to like that one person when you're looking at a couple people? It's weird. But, I mean I love it. How can I not appreciate it? It's great. I meet them after the show and they want to tell me when they got my record and what it means to them and stuff. But, that just rocks my world. I also don't know how to respond to that. But, I'm willing to hear it. I don't know that if my response is what they're looking for. I love to hear them and I think that's why I'm doing it, just to communicate with everyone through stuff I've done. And, now all of these people can relate to my stuff, so I guess I'm not that much of a freak. It's great. I feel like I'm kin of making a family out of it. There's friendship being built, and that's nice. Well, one person said to me, she was telling me her story, and it wasn't a very happy story, but my music gives her joy. Which is wonderful. And I just sort of stopped her and asked, "Why are you telling me this?" And, there was nothing I could do, really about her situation. Except give her temporary moments of escapism by listening to my record. She said, "Well, you were honest with me." And I thought about it and I was like, ya, I guess. My record is very sincere, it's all of my little thoughts. The fact that people really do want to give me back that honesty, then I really do feel like I am making friends with anybody. We probably could have helped each other out. In that way, it's good. I feel like I have connected in some way.
Liz-Do you miss your friends and people at home? Do you get to see them?
Alana- No, I don't see anybody. In a way, it's very isolated. Luckily everybody here is very cool and I'm making new friends. But, ya I miss everybody. I wasn't kidding when I said that my best friends were my cats and I lost them. It freaks me out. A cat is home to me, I've had cats since I was 8 years old. My studio apartment with no cat is going to be awful. I guess I'll have to start over. Not that I could ever replace them, but it's just hard. Most of my friends are doing what I'm doing right now. My best, best buddy is in Philadelphia trying to become a doctor. My closest girl friend is in Las Vegas right now. Everybody is trying to get their thing going just like I am so I can't really complain that nobody's around. They're not, but I've got their phone numbers. Hopefully we'll all get somewhere and we'll join again and be like, "Hey, look where I finally got."
Jennifer- Do you ever get a chance to listen to any of the other bands on the tour?
Alana- I was gonna try and check out Chris Stills, but ya know, I'm here. Ya, as much as I can. I stopped by Ben Harper's set whenever I'm not doing something else. Is there anybody else you like on this tour besides Barenaked Ladies? I saw the T-shirts, and I don't have to ask about that.
Jennifer and Liz- Well, Paula Cole, Blues Traveler, Marcy Playground.
Alana- Did you check you Ben Harper's set?
Jennifer- Ya, we watched that. That was the first time I had ever heard him. I knew who he was, but never had listened to him before. It was pretty cool.
Alana- It's very sincere. A thing about this tour is that everybody is just a little bit off of that center mark. Doing different forms of expression, which is nice. Ya, we're gonna play a little song for you and it goes like this. No shtick.
Liz- Do you spend time with the other bands on the tour?
Alana- Ya, somewhat. We have occasional little greets and hangouts, little parties, little barbecues. Everybody is away from their family. You've gotta feel like there's a little bit of a community here. Everybody is very friendly.
