Glamour of the Week: George Alley releases new single, "Just Leave Me Dreaming"
Sail with us out to sea, as we engage in a conversation
B: How long
did it take you to write this song? Was it in an instant inspirational flash? Or
like a long painting you’ve been taking your time with because it’s special?
G: This
song I wrote on and off in between several other songs I’m writing. I
originally wrote the piano tracks, the melody probably in 2013/4 for it after
hearing a Spanish video game and was re-watching Almodovars Volver. I thought I’d love to challenge
myself into writing a song with a Flamenco element to it; but as I wrote, it
kept changing and ended up in ¾ time as a waltz. I had never written a song in
¾ before and it felt alien to me, almost too different from what I had done
previously and left alone for months more than a few times.
Then last
spring I had just finished laying vocals for another song called “Hard to Hold”
in Greenpoint (Brooklyn) with David Lee Rotten and Sy Boccari of Naked Highway,
who in the past would do production on my songs, but now where I go to record
vocals for their feedback, and because of their superior set up, and eucalyptus
Spa treatments. I just record in my loft apartment, they have an actual studio.
They
suggested that we meet again for a new song the next month so I went back to
this song and asked my friend Andrew Mars/Settled Arrows who is a much better
pianist than I to rerecord some sections of my piano tracks, and Eric Coyne to
flesh out some of my synthesizer lines with some beautiful cello.
This song
was a departure in a way. I was thinking I was writing “singles” and I didn’t
see this song in that light. Additionally, I had written the melody previously
and I had to make the words fit it and the subject matter had started taking on
a real personal narrative for me and ended up being about me in some ways.
B: typical
G: HA!
B: But honestly,
where better to pull from. So, is this about
your life?
G: To a
degree sure, I don’t really think it’s advantageous to tell people exactly what
this song is about. I went to a concert recently where an artist laid out all
the details of every song he had written beforehand and I had heard these songs
before, loved them, and had way more entertaining imagery in my mind about than
what he dictated.
B: True, it
robs you of that personal experience you attach with something. So, you say this song is very personal to you
tell more about that?
G: As I’ve
developed as a songwriter and my writing style has changed so that I can more
easily fit descriptive text into a pop song. A song like Summer Trophies that I wrote 5 years ago, is more of a traditional
pop song telling a broader story; this is written in more of a
singer-songwriting style, one is not better than the other but I feel like I’m
developing my skill-set and being able to more consciously choose where I go
with narrative.
B: My next
question hinges on the narrative. What would you want fans or listeners to take
away from it?
G: That’s
really up to them. It is a fairly honest song for me.
B:
Let's talk about the video, how did the concept develop?
G:
This song had almost a sea shanty quality to it. When I asked Eric to play the
Cello I said I wanted one track that is just the constant ebb tide. I’m a Cancer, I write and think about water,
it is a creative place for me to go. There’s also a nod to Joan Crawford’s Humoresque,
she leaves her beach house and starts walking into the water at the end of the
film.
B:
Where was this filmed?
G:
Ocean City, New Jersey, with Adam Peditto, who has directed most of my music
videos. It was a Supermoon in late September, so we really lucked out on the
moonlight.
B:
As always, let's talk about wardrobe for a moment. Wardrobe has always been a
key player in your performances.
G:
Well initially I was going to wear some sort of robe and short shorts, which as
you know is my usual look.
B:
Or sometimes less…
G:
Ha! Yes. But I ended up wearing a harness from my friend David Mason
Cholpecki’s company, Slick It Up, and lots of black.
B: Describe your look/style for the video, where did you draw inspiration?
G:
Around 1985, The Damned put out an album called Phatasmagora, and Dead or Alive
put out an album called “Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know” They both had a similar
cover a stark figure in black outside at night.
B:
The video was shot in one take. Describe that experience. Was there extra
pressure? Or did it feel natural for you since you have a lot of experience in
live performance?
G:
It was hard. I sort have had to map out where I might do things but it was also
dark; uneven sand and I had no idea what I looked like.
B:
As a dancer, did you choreograph this video? Or was it a freestyle expression?
G:
There was some pressure I put on myself initially to choreograph something
really specific for this, since it was a one take and focused on me; but when I
started to think that way I actually took it into the dance studio and realized
anything “choreographed” I did would come off as trite. The song was so
personal and the background so specific there was no way I would be able to do “choreography”
and not take away from lyrical meaning; especially since the music had to be
sped up for it to have the slow framework it has. So, I drank a few red bulls we drove in the
middle of the night to the beach and I did it a few times and I think by the
last take, I was in the song.
B:
With the moonlight, was there a limited window to capture the video?
G:
Yes, I had to move on a vertical plane because if I moved too far over you
could see the Atlantic City Boardwalk on the left.
B:
What do you hope people take away from the video?
G:
I hope that they appreciate the aesthetic in the video and that it can help
support the meaning of the song; whatever that means for the person watching.
B:
As a member of the LGBT community, what advice would you give to a young LGBT
artist?
G:
Well, being identified as a Gay artist hasn’t really hasn’t affected my career
in such a significant way that I can quantify; and I am not saying this as a
“post-gay” statement.
My
advice I can give to any artist is that you must write things for yourself. If
you are writing or performing because you want to become famous or just want
more attention you are setting yourself up for a very big fall. Artists make
their best work when they are writing for themselves and speaking their own
language.
I’m
not pitching my work to a specific demographic.
B:
And most importantly, what can we expect to see from George Alley after this?
G:
I’m very excited I have three other new songs almost complete, three that are
being written right now, and three that have previously been released but
getting some light updates. Once they are done I will be putting out an entire
album; hopefully before the year’s end on vinyl and digital formats and more
videos to accompany them.
Hear the New Track and Watch the New Video Below :
More info at www.georgealley.com
Now Available on iTunes and Amazon retailers
Hear the New Track and Watch the New Video Below :
More info at www.georgealley.com
Now Available on iTunes and Amazon retailers
