Hi friends!! Today I have a special treat for you...an interview with a RAD musician named Allison Weiss! I first found this awesome gal via Tumblr! Her blog was listed in one of their Tuesday recommendation posts and I immediately hopped over to check it out. After perusing through a bunch of pages, I was convinced - this girl is legit. She's real. She's honest. She's funny. She rides bikes. She loves pizza. She moved from Georgia to New York City in August 2010 to pursue her dream of making music! And SHE'S DOING IT! ALL ON HER OWN! :) 

I got to do a little Q&A with her recently, so read up and get ready to meet my/your newest girlcrush:  

1. Who are you? What do you do? Where are you from originally and where do you live now?

My name is Allison Weiss. I write songs about my feelings and play them for audiences across the USA. I'm 24 years old, I was born in Michigan, grew up in Georgia, and moved to New York in 2010. Right now I am spending my days working on my second full-length album and touring as much as possible.

2. When did first get into music? What instruments do you play?

I've been playing music for most of my life. I started on piano when I was just a little kid, and over the course of my childhood I dabbled in ukulele, keyboards, harmonicas, violin, and anything else that made pretty noises. I didn't really become obsessed with music until I picked up an electric guitar at age 14 and fell in love. My main instruments now are guitar and bass, with keys in third and drums coming in fourth. I can also play a mean shaker and my handclaps are spot-on.

3. When did you first start writing your own music?

About a year after I started playing guitar I made attempts at actual songwriting, so I think I was around 16. Before that I was always very into making up melodies. I used to spend hours in my basement creating loops on my dad's old synthesizer. He actually had a big influence on me. He used to sing silly songs about everyday activities so I kind of did the same. It wasn't 'til high school that I realized I could actually write about my life. I asked my dad to teach me some chords on guitar and after that I was good to go.

4. Do you find that there’s a theme to your songs (i.e. a particular subject, a particular person, place)?

I typically only write about relationships, not because I don't want to write about other things, just because I am most inspired by love and the lack thereof. I personally use songwriting to deal with my own problems and hope that other people hear them and can relate and feel better too. Everything I've written is derived straight from personal experience, which I've decided is either really awesome or really depressing.

5. Is songwriting cathartic for you?

Oh, definitely. I started writing songs when I was in high school as a way to get all of my teenage girl feelings out. It was the only way that I could say the things I wanted to say to the people I wanted to say them to. I've always thought that songwriters have got it easy. We get to put our emotional craziness into catchy songs and nobody ever questions it. When I go through a breakup I get to write the whole thing out and record an album and create something awesome from my angst. If I couldn't write songs I'd probably never get over anything…

6. What’s the best and worst part of going on tour?

For me, the best part of touring is getting to drive around the country with my best friends and play music every night. I love piling into a van and spending the day on the road, I love seeing a new city every day. It's just exciting. I'm really into delicious food, and when you only have a couple hours in each town every night there's not really much opportunity for tourism, so I love hitting up local spots for dinner before the show. The worst part is probably just leaving everything behind for a while. It can get tiring to be away from your friends and loved ones for so long. I also have a bad habit of meeting cuties in NYC right before I have to leave town for weeks. Whoops.

7. When you’re not making sweet tunes, what else can you be found doing?

Sometimes I'm a freelance graphic designer, but I'm trying to do less of that these days. Honestly when I'm not actually songwriting, I'm busy running my "business". I don't have a manager, publicist, or booking agent so I have to do all of that myself. I also run my online store from home and do all my own online promo. When I'm not doing any of THOSE things, I like to participate in the New York nightlife. I love going to shows in venues and basements, riding my bike to the park, going out with friends, and staying up late. I also just joined a book club, so I'm pretty cool.

8. What artists do you find most inspiring?

Honestly I am constantly inspired by all of my friends and I'm lucky enough to be part of an incredible circle of talented hardworking songwriters. I'm going to namedrop for a second and mention Bess Rogers, Lelia Broussard, Lauren Zettler, Greg Holden, Katie Costello, Jenny Owen Youngs, Tegan and Sara, Twin Tigers, Ingrid Michaelson, Allie Moss, the list goes on and on… I just befriended two girls called Mitten who I love to death. I've also recently gotten into the riot grrrl movement (I'm late, I know) and I've been extremely inspired by bands like Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Bratmobile, and a ton of other awesome women in punk. I also see so many local bands that just make me excited about music in general, I could never name them all.

9. Top 5 road-trip albums:

Weezer - "Pinkerton"
Tegan and Sara - "So Jealous"
Neutral Milk Hotel - "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea"
Laura Veirs - "Saltbreakers"
Josh Ritter - "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter"

10. Top 5 break-up songs:

"One Fine Day" - The Chiffons
"Go Your Own Way" - Fleetwood Mac
"I Don't Want To Get Over You" - The Magnetic Fields
"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" - Bob Dylan
"Call it Off" - Tegan and Sara

11. Top 5 songs to get you PUMPED up in the morning:

"Parentheses" - The Blow
"How I Remember" - David Bazan
'I Could Be With Anyone" - Kevin Devine
"Just Like Heaven" - The Cure
"Party Hard" - Andrew W. K.

Thanks A MILLION to Allison for chatting with me! Keep your eyes peeled for big things from this woman - we're positive that she can do anything she puts her mind to! Visit her site or follow her on Twitter to keep up with the latest happenings! 

MUCH LOVE BUDDIES!
xx