Alyssa Graham – HuffPost 1.25.12

Mike Ragogna: What advice do you have for new artists?

Alyssa Graham: If you can choose any other career path you should. I say that half in jest and half in all seriousness. It’s not easy. You have to really want to dedicate yourself; I mean everything you’ve got emotionally, intellectually and physically to your chosen art form. You can’t be afraid of being vulnerable or of exposing your inner most secrets to an audience of listeners that may or may not give a s**t. If you are ready and willing to do this and to commit to your art, then my advice is to always be true to yourself. Don’t try to be what you weren’t meant to be. Write, create and explore without apologies and without expectations. Don’t create for others. Hopefully, when you have something to share with the world, people will have some kind of emotional response to it, but you can’t worry about that until you put it out there. In other words, keep the creative process pure and untainted, worry about the industry and the listeners only after you’re done.