Alyse Black

Alyse Black may have jumped out of a skyscraper to play on the streets of Pike Place Market in Seattle, but she’s climbing back up, releasing her third solo album, "The Honesty EP," at Seattle's Triple Door. Black’s vocal-based soulful pop is frequently compared to the ridiculously playful Regina Spektor; the spacious, anything-goes Björk; and the soft and throbbing Norah Jones. ABOUT ALYSE After a youth of living abroad, singing lessons...

Alyse Black may have jumped out of a skyscraper to play on the streets of Pike Place Market in Seattle, but she’s climbing back up, releasing her third solo album, "The Honesty EP," at Seattle's Triple Door. Black’s vocal-based soulful pop is frequently compared to the ridiculously playful Regina Spektor; the spacious, anything-goes Björk; and the soft and throbbing Norah Jones. ABOUT ALYSE After a youth of living abroad, singing lessons, and acting in productions like The King & I at Shoreline Community College, Alyse let herself be convinced a career in the arts was irresponsible and impractical. Because it is. But with three degrees from the University of Washington in very responsible subjects and a short career with Deloitte Consulting, Black was nigh suicidally depressed.

Against the recommendations of her family and friends, she left her job and began busking on the streets of Pike Place Market for a living, belting and lilting swing tunes a cappella on the corner of Stewart. One rare glittering afternoon, the pianist for a Seattle jazz group, Mike Withey with No Jive Five, wandered by, stood captivated for a moment, and the explained: he needed another singer for a show that night at a local club, St. Clouds in Madrona. Alyse’s first album, Too Much & Too Lovely, won 1st place in Billboard’s 16th Annual World Song Contest (Jazz) and the International Independent Singer-Songwriter Awards (Jazz) among others.

Her sophomore album, Hold Onto This, was recorded and produced by Ryan Hadlock (The Strokes, Ra Ra Riot, Foo Fighters) and released in late 2009. Black has since moved partially to Austin, Texas, and currently lives between Austin and Seattle. She’s spent the last few years paying her dues across the US, playing up to 150 shows per year. ABOUT "THE HONESTY EP" Alyse struggled to find her artistic center. It was easy to defer decisions to others who had more experience.

“But I realized that, the more I opened up to my innermost self on stage, the more fans were drawn to my passion and energy, which encouraged me to expose more of my hypocrite, my fearful child, my sexual siren, and all those other sides of ourselves that we’re not supposed to show,” Alyse admits. The Honesty EP is Alyse’ most acoustic, barebones, naked work to date. Made with just the help of an engineer friend (Zach Alkire) in his bedroom studio and her long-time drummer (Cody Rahn), Alyse wrote and recorded almost everything in a vacuum, following her own dark muse down rabbit holes and into lions’ dens. The passion and honesty of the experience is written all over the album. Alyse will tour her home state of Washington throughout December to celebrate the upcoming release of the album on February 8th.

Fans will be able to purchase advanced copies of the album at the Triple Door album release party on December 30th. Tickets are $12 pre-purchased or $15 at the door. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL..