We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alexandra Tayara. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alexandra below.

Alexandra, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I was 19 years old and living on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. I had just left college in Southern California because it didn’t feel like I fit in or belonged there. I had tried going to college right after high school because it felt like that was what I was “supposed to do”, but it really wasn’t for me. My mom understood once I came home for winter break – I guess she saw something in me that convinced her too so she agreed that I should come home.

I started performing with my sister at a local cafe. My sister is three years younger than I am and can play the piano and the guitar. I relied on her more because she was better than I was at both (I gave up piano lessons long before she did). We just played for tips, but it was a jumping off point for me in terms of playing in an actual venue. I had written a few songs by then but we mostly played pop covers. Turned out that I was really too bossy for her so we didn’t play much longer than a year or so together.

I got more of my hard-earned experience busking on the ferries back and forth to and from Seattle, and on streets of Seattle.

I didn’t have a car back then and I can remember putting my guitar in my sister’s school backpack because it was bigger than mine, and riding my bike to the ferry on the Bainbridge side. I remember this so distinctly because on one of the days I rode back home it started sprinkling and I was thinking, “No, no, no, this can’t be good for the guitar.” I made it home before it started actually raining, and I still have that guitar 13 years later. She’s no worse for the wear.

I would spend hours at a time performing on the ferries. I would ride free from the Bainbridge side, then pack up, get off on the Seattle side, and pay to get back on and did this until I was tired or was satisfied with tips. When I was busking, it was an absolute thrill to make the money I made from doing something that brought me so much joy. The ferry was my favorite place to busk because it was comfortable and I seemed to brighten up some of the commuters’ rides. I got a lot of positive feedback, and the tips were great. At the time I remember thinking that every tip thrown my way was like a wish thrown in a wishing well – a symbol of people’s encouragement for me to carry on doing what I was doing and to keep moving forward with music.

Alexandra, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started singing when I was really little, and growing up I sang along to anything I could get my hands on in my mom’s music collection or on the radio. My mom started me in voice lessons when I was around 11 or 12, and I studied classical and Broadway styles from then until high school and some college. I was also in some community theater musicals during that time. I wanted to be able to perform solo, so I started taking guitar lessons in high school. I went to a boarding school outside of Boston, Massachusetts, and they offered music lessons there and had loaner guitars. I learned on probably one of the worst guitars someone could ever learn on, until my grandma sent me my beautiful Arbor acoustic for my 18th birthday.
I started performing on my own at college, and then left that school and started performing around my hometown (Bainbridge Island, WA) at local open mic nights and busking on the ferries and in Seattle. I have looked back on videos from that time and cringe, but open mic audiences are the most supportive for new artists who are just starting out and want to learn how to perform. I’m grateful for those audiences because it encouraged me to keep going and get better at something I love to do.
I moved to Denton, Texas, in 2014 and that was where I really started working as a musician. I went to all the open mic nights that I could around here, and worked at a coffee shop that hosted an open mic night and started featuring me as a performer. There is a lot of support for local music here. I decided to stay because of the music scene and I’ve lived here ever since! I do the majority of my performing these days in Dallas, but some still in Denton for those that want to hear more of my original music. I do a lot of my paid work performing cover songs and private events.
I don’t know that I’ve come across any problems per se with clients, but when I’m booking gigs I just try to be as receptive as I can to hearing what they want as far as my services go. Some people want background music, some want up-tempo, some want specific songs. Over time I have gotten to know what the room calls for and I adjust to whatever type of music the audience or crowd responds to most. My friends that have my album will always request my original music, though.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

The two best ways to support artists these days are to help support them monetarily and to share their music with as many people as possible. I ask people who support me who can’t afford to contribute to me directly to stream my music online because I get royalties every time a song of mine is streamed on any major platform. It’s a tiny amount per play, but it really adds up.
Direct contributions would be paying musicians to perform at a private or public function, tipping when you appreciate what you’re hearing, and buying merchandise and music of theirs if you like it, either online or in person.
If you can’t contribute monetarily, streaming our music on any major platform is a great way to contribute, and share those links with people you think would listen. If you don’t want to listen anymore, put it on mute and stream in the background! Every little thing adds up.
Showing up to gigs in person is also amazing and gives all the warm and fuzzies.
Applauding is the best.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I was first starting out, probably around 2009 or so, I arrived for a gig near my hometown at a little cafe. It ended up being double booked with another performer, so we decided to share the night and take turns performing, in a song-swap style. We had a woman come up to us in the middle of our set. She pointed at me and said, “You have a beautiful voice.” She pointed at him and said, “You are great on guitar,” then back at me and said “You, not so much.”
I turned to my performing partner and told him I would take a break. I went to the bathroom and cried and wiped my eyes and came back out and finished the set.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.AlexandraTayara.com
• Instagram: @alextayaramusic
• Facebook: Facebook.com/alextayaramusic
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCGaAW9CEdmBywJ5w2UuMNIw

Image Credits
Emily Kiser