Alice in musicland

American alternative-pop singer and songwriter Alice Peacock is in the Philippines and she’s enjoying every minute of her stay.

"It’s my first time in the Philippines," Alice relates to a group of print journalists including this writer on the fourth day of her week-long promotional tour which ends on Nov. 11. "And it’s very exciting!"

Alice actually is much prettier in person than she is in pictures. Tell her that and she shares with a laugh that her mother once told her, "Your pictures don’t do you justice!" She also has a particularly radiant, friendly smile that helps others warm up to her.

Alice is here to promote her eponymous album from Aware/Columbia. The album is the follow-up – or rather, one should say the fortuitous outcome – of her critically-acclaimed self-released CD Real Day which not only put Alice on musicland’s map of artists to watch out for, it also landed her a deal with a major record label. Alice Peacock is an entrancing mix of pop, rock and folk styles which Alice deftly blends while speaking from her heart.

Alice has thus far appeared on TV, done radio tours, conducted autograph-signing sessions. She’s plainly enjoying her promotional tour, judging from her hearty smile and cheerful disposition when we meet her.

She recounts with obvious glee a "surreal moment" when she arrived in the Philippines. Coming from the airport and driving around, she recalls, "My song came on the radio and we (Alice and husband Hugh Haller) kind of looked at each other and said, ‘We’re in Manila and we’re on the radio’! That’s very exciting and it doesn’t happen everyday. It’s satisfying to know that people are finding my music and are connecting to it."

Thanks To The Midwest

Alice, who is of English, Irish and German descent, reckons that her happy childhood in the Minnesota town of White Bear Lake helped bring her musical inclination came to the fore. There, she fondly remembers growing up in a "musical family where everyone can sing all behind the guitars."

Growing up in a brood of six, Alice recalls, "It came very natural for me to sing and it was fun. Plus I got a lot of attention by performing."

She continues, "Growing up without a TV and having to sort of fend for ourselves with the kids in the neighborhood – we all played together – forced you to be creative. With video games and TV, I don’t know if kids today have enough time for imagination. We’d make up our own little stories and our dramas. I think being in the Midwest gave me that opportunity, that kind of childhood – you know, very innocent (in a place where) there’s not a lot of crime and people were very open. We had a big lake across our house and we’d spend the summer swimming, riding my bike ... it was so carefree. That helps foster a safe place to create from."

Listening constantly to the radio also helped cultivate Alice’s love of music. "I learned about pop music and what sounds good to my ears by listening to pop music," she says.

Among Alice’s musical idols are Sting, Peter Gabriel, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Burt Bacharach.

Her Style, Her Music

If there’s one thing Alice considers to be the most satisfying about being a musician, it’s the fact that she is "able to do what I love. I love to do what I’m doing."

Describing herself as an "intuitive singer," Alice reckons she’s "in the vein of the Carly Simon/Carole King school (of music) versus the Madonna school. It’s a different kind of pop. I think you call it ‘alternative’ over here, although in the States ‘alternative’ means sort of a heavy rock."

"I think when I played solo acoustic," Alice reckons, "people sort of said, ‘She’s a folk singer’ because (‘folk singer’ is) kind of the familiar term for that. But I don’t think I wrote folk songs; my songs were pop songs. I grew up listening to the radio and my influences were pop influences. I write songs with pop melodies. I’m not like Bob Dylan who is fabulous and who writes 30 verses and stories. (My style is) pretty much verse-chorus, verse-chorus, chorus, chorus, chorus – a pop formula in some way that’s connected to how I feel."

Whatever you call Alice’s music, one thing’s for sure – it’s honest and passionate, just the way Alice is. And you can’t ignore her music, too, just like her real surname, Peacock.

"Oh yes! Oh yes!" Alice admits when asked if she was ever teased about her surname. "There’s a lot that kids can do with ‘Peacock’. I wished I had a more common name growing up. But I appreciate it now because it’s a good stage name. It’s my real name, it’s who I am."

Going Personal

The Chicago-based Alice reveals that besides music, "I like to read. I exercise, I paint. I love to garden; I love getting in dirt and planting – you’re tending to something and then something grows. I enjoy that. I don’t have a yard – I just have pots – but I’d love to have a real garden someday. I’m a pretty good baker. I love making pies."

Her one frustration, Alice shares, is that "sometimes I have no control over the outcome. I can work really, really hard and do my best (but) you know (there are factors like) the musical climate, the economics, the people in charge (over which) you don’t have control. So there are times when I definitely think I just want to throw in the towel and have a good garden. That’s usually when I’m very tired!"

On matters of faith, Alice says she is guided by core Christian values which she notes are shared by other religions. "It’s interesting that different religions are about love and loving one another and treating each other as we wish to be treated," she muses. "The core of it all is love and acceptance. I think Jesus was really a revolutionary at that time. His teachings were very unorthodox – you forgive people, you accept all, and you love."

The Fear Factor And The Future

Whatever life holds for Alice, however, she is certain she can’t face life feeling afraid. That’s why, despite negative news about the Philippines, she still flew in.

"I can’t live my life in fear," Alice explains. "You just try to be as safe as you can and just go about your life. (For example) I had to fly five days after 9/11 to New York City. You can’t live by fear. That’s not good."

Ultimately, Alice reckons, "No one knows what the future may bring. How do you prepare for the future? You can’t. You just trust yourself and kind of watch what’s happening. You have a choice... before it hits or all comes together, you can decide how you’re gonna react. We have a choice in life but we cannot control what happens to us. So just do the best you can."

"I feel like I have been given a gift to express a musical side," Alice concludes. "I feel like I should give it a shot."

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