The Piano Man
I remember the first album I ever bought—it was Billy Joel's Glass Houses. I’d heard Billy Joel on the radio, and like a lot of people, was drawn into his music by the stories they told, the characters in them, and their memorable melodies. I wasn’t conscious of it then, at about 9 or 10 years old, but Joel was just one of a number of pop singer/songwriters of the late 70s and 80s who approached music in this way. Great melodies, lyrics you could hear and relate to, and solid musicianship without much packaging on the outside.
Todd Alsup may have come up nearly a decade after me, but comparisons with Joel are not out of line. His affinity for songwriters and performers of the past is obvious, particularly in terms of melody and his approach to the material. But more than anything, Alsup’s gorgeous voice (with notable shades of Stevie Wonder) grabs hold of you and keeps you with him, from the first note.
“I popped out of the womb instantly making noise all over the house,” Alsup says in a telephone interview from his New York City home. “From as early as I could remember, I kind of grew up obsessed with any form of music.”
Alsup grew up in Detroit into a family of athletes and teachers. “I don’t come from a terribly musical family...but they all had an appreciation for music.” More importantly, he says they were extremely supportive of him and gave him every opportunity to hone his craft, despite the typical parental worries about his future security, as someone going into a creative field.
Growing up in the heart of Motown had a strong impact on the young singer. In fact, it was the record collection his parents had from their teenage years that provided most of the inspiration. The Beatles, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, and Billy Joel were at the top of the list.
But all of his life experiences contributed in some way to his work, as they do for all of us. Alsup says he always writes his lyrics first because “I need to know what I’m writing about first.” But other than that, he says the process varies. “I think the most important thing is that I keep a little notebook where I jot down little phrases or ideas...Probably about 50 percent of my songs come from a very personal place. But songwriting for me is like play time, making up stories [rather than telling true ones]... Melody and rhythmic ideas come to me when I’m in motion, so when I want to create a melody, I just go for a walk in the city.”
These days, Alsup is working on his own album—his very first, although he did release an EP entitled Facts and Figures last year. “We’re really excited,” he says. “I’m lucky to be working with a company called MajorWho Media, which is basically a production house in the city, but they do artist development, as well.”
Alsup says he first began his relationship with MajorWho when he was just looking for a place to record his EP—something he knew he wanted to do about three years ago. What began as just “a production relationship” turned into something more once the EP was finished. MajorWho asked Alsup if they could manage him and the match was made.
But the music industry in the 21st century is a whole different animal than it was in the days of Motown. The classic pop and R&B singers Alsup evokes reached the masses at a time when the name of the game was mass appeal, rather than the more contemporary niche-marketing model.
“On the Internet, especially in New York, there are a lot of hip, savvy music blogs. If you’re writing hip stuff and these guys take a liking to you, they will write about you. But I’m doing very old school, throwback mainstream pop,” he concedes.
The dilemma is an interesting one, but one which others have overcome with great success. Alsup cites Ingrid Michaelson as one example to follow. “We’re just now starting to talk about what the best way to distribute it may be. [Michaelson] is a great artist, and she had a big break by having her tracks on Grey’s Anatomy. Now she’s released three albums on her own, she’s touring constantly. So that’s one avenue to take. It’s really about reaching out and making sure you can connect with your audience.”
While bands that have been around longer may have noticed a drop off in attendance at live shows, Alsup is really pleased with the growth of his audiences. He was invited to play in Provincetown for Bear Week when he met Rick Murray, owner of the Crown & Anchor, last spring in New York.
The shows went really well and Alsup is looking forward to returning. In fact, he confesses this year was his first time in Provincetown, and after the Bear Week show, he and his partner of seven years, Matt, actually came back for a vacation here, as well.
Alsup is also a big supporter of marriage equality, something he has a personal stake in, living in a state still considering whether or not to allow gay marriages. His song, “You Are,” a romantic ballad he wrote about Matt, is a song he hopes can be used to somehow help the movement. In any case, the song is bound to be a popular request for couples, with its romantic chorus: “You are the center of my soul / The half that makes me whole / The healer of my heart / Might not say this nearly enough / But all I’ve ever loved / Is everything you are,” sung by the soulful voice of Todd Alsup.
