Alissa Musto – X Post Facto

By starrymag | August 16, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) I’m a piano-based singer-songwriter and would describe my original sound as a combination of pop, jazz and folk. I consider myself a balladeer and a lot of my lyrics take on serious or emotional themes. Some of the music from my first album, What We Saw From The Piano Bar, is a bit more upbeat and I think that’s the direction I’m going to be heading in my next album as well.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) I love classic singer-songwriters like Carole King, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and James Taylor, but some of my more modern influences include Lana Del Rey, Ben Folds, Regina Spektor and Norah Jones.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “How Still.”

 

A) I perform aboard luxury cruise ships and was still onboard when all major cruise lines announced they would be immediately suspending operations in March. Luckily, I was able to return home before the CDC’s “No Sail Order” prohibited crew members from disembarking. At the beginning of this month, there were still a hundred thousand crew members stuck onboard, including Americans being denied repatriation in their own country.  Meanwhile, crew at home are faced with an unprecedented uncertainty about the future of their careers; I have many close friends on both sides of that double-edged sword. Lyrically, I wanted to strike a balance between a message of hope while shedding light on the very real struggles facing seafarers around the world and mourning the collapse of the cruise life and industry as we knew it.

 

Q) How did Langston Hughes influence the single?

 

A) The title and chorus of the song are an adaptation of his poem “Sea Calm.” While Hughes is exploring a different scenario in his poem, I believe the sentiment perfectly describes the state of the cruise industry and what it is physically like to be on one of those cruise ships right now: still. Some of these ships aren’t even in port, just anchored at sea. Obviously, because they’re not moving, the water is going to be still. There is also a stillness onboard; usually cruise ships are exciting environments bustling with guests and energy, but now they’re quiet.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) As an artist both at sea and on land, I wanted to use the song to bridge the two worlds and shed light on the reality seafarers are facing. However, I believe those who have never worked at sea can still relate to the stillness that the world is feeling right now. We all complain about how busy our day-to-day lives are. However, now that all of our lives have been put on hold for the past several months, we’re restless. Nobody wants to be purposeless; as human beings we are meant to grow, experience and progress.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it?

 

A) The music video isn’t “based on a true story;” it is a true story. I was living my dream and was about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime when the pandemic brought everything to a screeching halt. Of course, I’m one of the lucky ones. I’m home. I’m healthy. My family is safe and healthy. But I miss my life. And my friends. And being on stage. More than ever, I am so appreciative of the beautiful places, cultures, people and life I’ve experienced during my time onboard and I find myself thinking about them often throughout the day.

I invited seafarers from around the world to send in short videos and selfies expressing what they want the world to know about the cruise industry, to feature in the music video. While cruise ships haven’t been painted in the best light during the pandemic, I want to show that WE are the faces of the cruise industry and how this affects all of US.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) I wish I had a specific process that I could share. Honestly, it would make songwriting a lot easier for me. The truth is I don’t have a real formula or strategy when it comes to writing music. Sometimes, I will sit down at the piano and an hour later, have a song completed from start to finish. Other times, I will start a song and it takes years for me to come up with the missing lines. Sometimes, I write and a lot comes out. Sometimes nothing comes out. And sometimes, something terrible comes out. The one thing that has remained constant in my process is that I always carry a journal of lyrics on me. Whenever I get an idea, no matter where I am in the world, I’ll jot down a few lines or ideas that I can later use when trying to finish up a song.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) Usually, a lot. I really let go when it came to “How Still.” My sister was the producer for this song and her musical influences and sound are very different from mine. However, I trusted the vision that she had for the song and loved the results. It’s almost a paradox: the deep bass and modern electronic instrumentation intertwined with a piano ballad.

 

Q) What are some themes you explore on your X Post Facto EP?

 

A) X Post Factois a legal term derived from Latin, meaning “after the fact.” The album explores typical, coming of age themes such as relationships, regrets and the question we all repeatedly ask ourselves in our early 20s, “What do I do now?” However, it’s looking back on these moments, people and experiences in hindsight rather than in the moment. The narrator knows how the story ends; they’re no longer emotional about these past occurrences. A few songs are memoirs of relationships. However, the focus is on the growth and self-realizations from that relationship rather than the narrator’s partner.

I use “narrator” rather than “I” when describing the perspective of my songs because many people assume that my lyrics are autobiographical. And, yes, while some are based on true stories or people, details and characters are dramatized to tell a better narrative.

 

Q) What songs on the EP have a special significance to you?

 

A) One that really sticks out to me in particular is “Good Old Days.” I started writing this song in the backstage dressing room before I passed on the title of Miss Massachusetts in 2017. I didn’t know what my life was going to look like moving forward and had this fear of becoming another former beauty queen trying to relive her glory days. Even though the song is about a very particular point in my life, there are some lines that are timeless. One of those lines precedes the final chorus: “Every time I lost my mind, I picked it up again. I did alright.” It’s a reminder that yes, there are going to be bad times. But you’ll get through them, just like you’ve gotten through them before.

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your new EP as a whole?

 

A) My goal with X Post Facto was to write a series of songs that people listen to and think, “Wow, I know exactly how that feels. But I was never able to put it into words.” It’s an album where nothing in the narrator’s life is really that wrong. But nothing is really that right. And I think that’s how a lot of people feel a lot of the time. The highs and lows are always easy to pinpoint and relate to; this is about all that other space.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) I actually just finished writing a duet that features male singer, so that is something I’m going to have to start thinking about in the very near future!

For songwriting collaboration, hands down, it would be a dream to work alongside Bruce Springsteen.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) I have been listening to a ton of Ben Folds lately. I’ve always been a fan, but quarantining with my brother, who absolutely idolizes the guy and is playing his music 24/7 (either through a speaker or on the piano), I’ve been introduced to a lot of his B-sides and less commercial albums. I’m also a piano-based artist, so I love hearing Ben Folds really rock the piano, but his songwriting is also absolute genius.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) Well, because the pandemic has completely taken away my ability to perform for live audiences until the foreseeable future, it is really the only way I am able to connect with my supporters right now. I’ve been trying to post a lot more cover songs, collaborative videos, livestream concerts and new content to keep people entertained while they’re also stuck at home! I even performed at a Zoom birthday party the other night!

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) There is nothing more humbling in the world then when I am approached after a show or receive an email, and am told that I helped make someone’s night more special or that my music helped someone get through something. They don’t realize they’re helping me just as much.Music is my life and passion, but it wouldn’t be very meaningful if I didn’t have anyone to share it with.