Alyssa Kayhill is not only a successful singer-songwriter but an interventional cardiology nurse by day. However, since March, she has been one of the many heroes on the frontlines of the COVID-19 battle as an ICU nurse. During that challenging time, Alyssa continued to write songs, but the physical and emotional exhaustion had put some of her music projects on hold. Alyssa recently accepted the position of Director of a new hospital program and says she has already started to write about the big changes and challenges that she experienced during that time. But through all the dark moments, Alyssia said there were many moments when she was reminded of how amazing the human condition is.
Alyssa has performed on the legendary New York City stages such as The Bitter End, Rockwood Music Hall, The Cutting Room, Pete’s Candy Shop, The Living Room, and many more. Her other accomplishments include winning MTA’s Music Under NY competition and being featured in New York Daily News Underground Idol.
In 2011, she auditioned for The Glee Project, a reality television show looking for unsigned talent to win a part in the show, Glee. It was the first time that she had performed for anyone other than family and close friends. Although she didn’t make the final cut, Alyssa says the experience got her to perform outside of her comfort zone and take her music more seriously.
Since January 2020, Alyssa’s album, Love Is What It Is, has racked up an impressive 160K streams, and the single from it, “Love Is”, has to date over 55K. Allysa credits the success with help from her team, of spreading the word and connecting with audiences via social media, doing several live shows before the release of the album, and having great relationships with Spotify curators.
Alyssa’s equally successful single, “Not The End (Bexxie Remix)”, is a collaboration with multi-genre EDM artist Bexxie and was released in June for Pride month. In addition, the music video for “Gone”, a song from her new forthcoming album by the same name, was released on July 24th.
In June, Alyssa celebrated her birthday with a surprise proposal to her girlfriend, Lihn. Alyssa had the idea to combine her proposal with another special event in her life — the comforting healthcare cheer that happened each night while working at the hospital. With the help of her sister, Linh’s brother, and others, Alyssa’s proposal during the cheer completely surprised Lihn and the moment was captured on video.
Currently, Alyssa is planning live streaming performances, a virtual release party for “Gone” and keeping fans updated on the making of her new album.
I recently interviewed Alyssa about her recent engagement, new music, being a nurse on the frontlines of the pandemic, her new music video, the biggest challenge of her music career, performing on the legendary stages of New York City, The Glee Project, and so much more.
Congratulations on your recent engagement! The video of your proposal is so heartwarming. How did you manage to plan and pull off your surprise proposal to Linh?
Thank you so much! Thankfully, I had a lot of help from my sister, TF cornerstone, and Linh’s brother. I really wanted to propose the first time I saw her after being quarantined away from her for so long. While working in the hospital, the 7 pm cheer that was happening throughout the city each night gifted me some much-needed comfort. I thought it would be really special to combine the two events and suggested the idea to my sister. We decided to do it outside of her building in Long Island City since the community there really came out in full force each night. Her management company, TF Cornerstone, embraced the idea wholeheartedly and was kind enough to send out an email to all of their residents. Linh’s brother convinced her that she was coming down to surprise me for my birthday during a healthcare cheer and was shocked when I got down on one knee. We are both so grateful for all the support shown to us by the community and all who have spread our story, especially during Pride month.
Congratulations also on the success of your album, Love Is What It Is. Since its release in January 2020, it has racked up approximately 160K plus streams, with over 55K for the single, Love Is. What have you learned from the experience of getting that many streams?
Thank you, I am so appreciative of all the positive feedback I’ve received from this experience. As an artist, my greatest wish is to be able to connect with as many people as I can through my music.
Take me through the strategy for achieving that many streams for the album. If you didn’t have a strategy, how were you able to accomplish this?
I think it’s a combination of several things. Social media, as I’m sure everyone knows, is a very powerful force. My wonderful team really helped me to stay on track with posting about my process of making the album and promoting the release in a consistent way. I played several shows prior to the album release, specifically Sofar Sounds, which creates a really great environment to connect with an audience. We did some targeted ad campaigns across all platforms close to the release dates. We had some great relationships with some Spotify playlist curators who placed some of the songs on their playlists as well. Ultimately, spreading the word and connecting with audiences seems to be key.
You released a music video for the song “Gone” today. What is the concept? What experience do you want viewers to take away from it?
Gone was a song I wrote about meeting someone in a club that makes you feel almost like you’re intoxicated. You are so into them that it’s a euphoric experience. I wanted the video to be a fun depiction of that feeling. I had both professional dancers and friends come to the video shoot and had them move however the music made them feel. I wanted it to be unchoreographed, like when you are out and are surrounded by people who are just feeling the music and dancing in their own style. To give it more of an intoxicated feel, I had the video editor add graphics in bright colors and words flying around everyone or double images. I just wanted viewers to have fun watching it the way we had fun making it that day.
Your latest single, “Not The End (Bexxie Remix)” was released during Pride Month. Tell us about how your collaboration with Bexxie on this song came about.
Bexxie has been in the music game for a while and has a really specific sound to her music. One of the members of my team suggested I check her out thankfully because she is a wonderful talent. When I listened to some of her songs like Rolling On, it was reminiscent of my days dancing in gay clubs in Hell’s Kitchen or West Village. I could picture my younger self belting out “You’ve got to show me love,” while dancing until 3 am lol. She was nice enough to agree to collaborate on my song Not the End, and in my opinion, absolutely killed it. Also, aside from being so talented, she’s just a really nice and humble human which made the collaboration that much better.
Explain your production process.
I’ve had the great fortune of working with a lot of really wonderful and talented producers who are willing to hear me out and allow me to sit with them during the whole process. For my most recent album, I wrote all the songs from start to finish and had a pretty good idea of what kind of sound I wanted for each one. I taught myself how to play guitar so I don’t have the best grasp of music lingo, to be honest, so what I usually do is sing out the bass or piano parts that I’m hearing in my head for the producer to recreate. I will find other songs that are close to the style of what I’m looking for to give as examples. Then, I let them do their thing. The best moments for me usually come when I’m sitting with them or I’m in the booth and I improvise something that ends up working out really well for the song.
As an ICU nurse by day, you’ve been on the frontlines since March of the COVID-19 pandemic and have now transitioned to Director. How has this experience affected your songwriting/music?
As a nurse, you are often reminded of how life is a gift that isn’t promised for any particular amount of time. For me, COVID-19 drove that point home more profoundly than ever. There were a lot of very dark moments but also so many moments where I was reminded of how amazing the human condition is. I went through a lot of big changes and challenges during that time that I’ve already started writing about.
Before this pandemic, you managed to be an interventional cardiology nurse and patient advocate as well as having a music career. In what ways has that changed?
COVID-19 took over most of my life for the past several months. I was still writing music throughout but the emotional and physical exhaustion that came with working and living through this year really put some of my music projects on hold. I’ve seen artists do some amazing things like live streaming performances that I will hopefully get a chance to do in the near future.
Why do you believe in the healing power of music?
Music allows people from every background and walk of life to connect instantly and effortlessly in a way that I think few other things can. It breaks down barriers and helps people feel seen and heard. It can change someone’s mood and state of mind within a few moments. I ask patients what music they want to listen to during their procedures and I can always feel so much of their anxiety disappear when they hear the first line of their favorite song. Alzheimer’s patients who have difficulty remembering their own name will light up and know the words to a song they loved 20 years earlier. I think music is like our closest friend who understands everything we are feeling even if we can’t put it into words ourselves.
What is your favorite microphone when performing and why?
I would be lying if I named one lol. I am not a technical person at all when it comes to equipment but I should probably figure out a favorite microphone now that you mention it.
What has been the biggest challenge in your music career so far, and how did you overcome it?
To keep going. They say the biggest killer of dreams is fear, which I think can definitely be true. In current times, however, I think that comparison is right up there with fear. It is easy now in the age of social media and streaming to constantly compare your successes and failures to that of other artists. Having a full-time job as a nurse and trying to pursue a music career has been exhausting and at times very frustrating. I think for a long time I allowed myself to believe that my achievements in music were somehow not valuable because so many artists around me were making much bigger strides and I was just tired. I’ve come to a place where my love for creating music is so deeply ingrained in me that doing it in any capacity is enough for me. Having one song truly affect one person is everything.
Explain how you got the opportunities to perform on the legendary stages of New York City such as The Bitter End, Rockwood Music Hall, The Cutting Room, and more.
Each one has a talent director of sorts who you can reach out to and ask for an opportunity to play. It’s important that you send some of your music and if you have a live video to include that’s great as well. In the beginning, you may have to be flexible and play time slots on days that are less popular like a Tuesday at 6 pm for example. You have to show that you are serious about putting on a good show, bring an audience (even if small), be easy to work with, and respect their rules and their time. The Bitter End, for example, was a venue where I played several gigs and developed a relationship with the promoter. He was very supportive of me and my music and over time I ended up playing Friday and Saturday nights there. It takes time to earn the trust of venues but it feels that much better when you finally score a great slot! I also go out of my way to thank everyone involved with the process and show my appreciation from the booking agent to the sound person to the person working at the front door. Developing relationships and respecting them is so important.
What was the Glee Project and how did the opportunity come about to be featured in it?
The Glee Project was a reality show that came out in 2011 with the premise that unsigned talent could win a chance to be written into the show, Glee. Before that, I had never really performed for anyone other than close friends and family because I had insane stage fright. I sent a video submission not thinking I would hear anything back and, shockingly, 6 months later I was flown to LA to be part of the live audition process with approximately 200 finalists. I was equally terrified and honored to work with Glee’s producers, choreographers, and coaches but I was so out of my league at the time. Combine that with stage fright and being surrounded by cameras ….you get the picture! I didn’t end up making the final cut but it was an important moment for me because it forced me to perform in front of people outside of my comfort zone and really inspired me to take music more seriously.
How did it feel to win MTA’s Music Under NY competition?
It was amazing. I’m a born and raised New Yorker who believes it is the best city in the world. To be selected as a winner by fellow New Yorkers who see some of the most interesting and amazing talents out there meant the world to me. I love that I live in a city that supports the arts and embraces all kinds of talent.
You mention having a passion for music across all decades but if you had to, which decade would you pick and why?
That’s a really tough question. I love the big band era of the 1940s. It had some of the most incredible musical arrangements and singers without a doubt. However, I think I would love to be transported to the 1960s. It was such an eclectic mix of rock and folk and blues and I loved the storytelling of so many artists. Music from that time feels like a movement towards unity to me that I would have loved to have been a part of.
Who specifically are your musical influences and why?
I think Ella Fitzgerald has one of the best voices of all time and has influenced how I sing runs and some of my timing. Jimi Hendrix is one of my all-time favorites. I can’t even come close to how he played the guitar but I think some of my more bluesy, rock, rebellious moments come from him. Alanis Morisette and Coldplay were always big for me. Love their lyrics and how you can really feel their emotions when they sing. Beyonce, I mean what isn’t there to say about Beyonce. More recently I love Jacob Banks and how he melds more modern production with very soulful and R&B music. Ben Platt is another more recent artist who I find inspiring because he is an excellent storyteller and I love the soul and passion that comes across in his performances.
How do you think women artists can be better supported in the indie music industry?
I think we need to keep empowering women and bring more awareness to female artists. In my experience, it still feels like a very male-dominated industry. I have been fortunate to work with some amazing male artists but I would love to work with more female producers, DJs, and musicians. I think it is very important to bring attention to talented female artists, encourage collaboration, and create networks that support women in music.
What does it mean to you personally to be an indie music woman artist?
It means a lot to me on so many levels. My great grandmother grew up in the city and was a singer on the radio and I think about what a different world she grew up in. The word “indie” didn’t even exist then. To me, being an indie artist means embracing who you are as an artist on all levels without compromising your sound, image, or intention for the sake of fitting into a popular category.
What projects do you have planned for this year besides a new album?
2020 is proving to be an interesting year! We’ve had to shift touring dates and performances and find creative ways to stay connected with the music scene. We plan on streaming live performances, host a virtual video release party for “Gone” and continue to post content on the making of my album. I also hope to collaborate with other artists on new music and remix another song from side A of my album.
Thank you, Alyssa, for the opportunity to interview you.
Keep up with Alyssa on her Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify Artist Page
