#ALISA XAYALITH HOW TO#

I sound like Cindy Lauper, and it's just completely different. If you listen to the recording, I'm like yelling from the rafters. There's this one song on our first record called, ‘Punching a Dream,’ and I remember writing the chorus on the guitar and it was way more folky. “Using the guitar, it's almost like a litmus test to see if the song stands on its own.” It's the most immediate instrument that I can have in my hands and just hum and strum away.” It's a very, very important part of my process because it helps me get to know what I'm writing for. That really helps me get inside the notes and the melodies I want to write. “If a song gets brought to me, if it's like a little loop made on a laptop with a couple of chords, I'll listen to it and then I'll translate that into chords on a guitar. It's a form of just creating something out of nothing, and the guitar is there to help me do that.” “The guitar is something that helps me really get to know the piece of music I'm creating.” The guitar is a great way for me to work through things. “Nothing else in this world kind of gives me that feeling. You just have to build up the callouses, build up the skills.” “When I pick up the guitar, sometimes I can just peck for ages and I go into this trance-like state and hours go by.

#ALISA XAYALITH HOW TO#

There's no way to avoid that pain of learning how to play an acoustic guitar. I remember the callouses and how like red throbbing my fingertips were. I remember learning just chords and sitting there for hours determined to play chords without pausing. Kids often end up learning to ride on bikes that are too big for them. It was almost like the equivalent of when you learn to ride a bike. “When I was 13 years old, that's the first time I picked up an acoustic guitar.” In addition, Xayalith took some time to discuss her songwriting process and how the guitar fits into it. While Xayalith will be performing the A Still Heart tracks alongside her bandmates on the road in 2018, she recently offered a taste of what’s to come with an acoustic solo version of “Last Forever,” shot exclusively by Fender in her L.A. We weren’t capable or confident enough to perform like this when we began the band, but I think after all this time we finally feel comfortable.” “It was an amazing feeling to explore the songs in this way. “We started playing a few songs acoustically for the first time (in 2016)” Xayalith said. after a lengthy tour in support of Simple Forms and set about recording some of the group’s classics. The project started when singer/keyboardist Alisa Xayalith and guitarist Thom Powers got back to L.A. Now, as the Naked and Famous prepares their upcoming yet-untitled “LP4,” they are offering fans the chance to see and hear them in a completely different manner with A Still Heart, a stripped-down collection of previous favorites.Īlready, TNAF has released new versions of “Higher” and “Punching in a Dream,” with more to come in early 2018, coinciding with a slew of tour dates. Over the years, their hits have become ubiquitous anthems, from “Punching in a Dream” and “Young Blood” off 2010’s Passive Me, Aggressive You to the 2016 Simple Forms gem “Higher.” Through three albums and a decade together as a band, New Zealand-bred, Los Angeles-based outfit the Naked and Famous have become known for adrenaline-inducing songs that astutely straddle the line between rock and synth-pop.

Alisa xayalith