Get to know Alyse Zavala, one of the vocalists of LYLVC. In this interview, Alyse shares with us her musical and social experiences, discussing LYLVC’s current and future projects, her own musical background, and offering insights into LYLVC’s sound.
Reuel
Hello Alyse! I am very happy to chat with you. How are you and the rest of LYLVC doing?
Alyse
Hey! Great to meet you! LYLVC is doing really well actually. We just finished our 3rd National tour before the Holidays with Pop Evil and Fame on Fire after releasing our new single “Crawl Space”, and we are currently working with Sound Talent Group to get another tour lined up this upcoming Spring/Summer 2024. My band members and I are extremely tech-savvy, so we’ve been utilizing some of this in-between tour time to learn and build some crazy AI integration ideas to improve a few things, such as the band’s live stage performance and light show, merch, social media data modelling, and stream playlist mapping to exponentially expand our fanbase and quickly learn other cross-genre playlists our audiences like to listen to. We live in such a fast-paced music world now, so I think embracing technology will be key in helping my band stay ahead of the curve and make larger strides to make a name for ourselves in the music industry as an independent artist. I want to expeditiously spread awareness of our band LYLVC and the music we love to create. I’m ready to light a FIRE in 2024!!
Reuel
That’s great! I was just listening to your new song “Crawl Space” and watching its lyric video. Wow! Such a powerful song. How do you feel about the way your music has been received by fans so far?
Alyse
Fans LOVE us, especially after they see our stage performance. We have sooooo much energy on stage, it’s insane. We’re constantly jumping, headbanging, dancing, interacting with the crowd, etc. My keyboardist Cam lifts his keyboard over his head and climbs light towers and plays smaller wireless keyboards on top of the towers, Oscar and I push and pull each other as we engage with everyone in the crowd, etc. lol It truly is absolute madness. Plus, I think how we’ve adapted our lights and video visuals to enhance our live set really makes a HUGE impact to quickly capture new fans that have never seen/heard of us before.
Alyse
As for our music, I’m so glad you said our new song “Crawl Space” hit you as such a powerful song. We definitely didn’t hold back with that one haha. Our main goal when we write is to open up and be vulnerable so that we can connect with people who have struggled with personal traumas or internal demons in their life and let them know they aren’t alone in their struggles. I personally love songs where people can “feel” the lyrics more than just hear them, so in “Crawl Space” I wanted to expose pure raw emotion, without any filters or holding back. I wanted you to TASTE the lyrics of someone who was kicked through life, beaten when they were down, dragged through the mud, etc. and still fought every single day to find reasons to keep surviving and overcome.
Reuel
Do you have plans for new releases anytime soon?
Alyse
We have SO much unreleased music that I can’t wait to share with everyone soon!! We actually just wrote and recorded new songs with Kane Churko who has written and recorded music for HUGE artists such as In This Moment, Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, Ozzy Osbourne, and more. He said we were like the rock/metal version of the Black Eyed Peas, and I actually really appreciated that analogy since it doesn’t really put us in a common “box” with other Nu Metal bands. He embraced each of our unique strengths by letting me play with more pop-style vocals and allowing Oscar to write more modern mainstream raps, while still pushing a very heavy rock and metal overall direction for the instrumentals. He and Cam both love creating new unique sounds and tones, so both of them were really passionate about creating something COMPLETELY new towards a future EVOLUTION of LYLVC. It was an amazing experience, and the new music really sounds like a completely new level for our band. We are excited to share the new songs with everyone soon.
Reuel
Looking forward to it! How would you describe your sound to someone who never got the chance to listen to your music before?
Alyse
When I first started the band, I wanted to create something kind of like Linkin Park except with a male rapper and female singer, but also incorporate more modern electronic elements like Bring Me The Horizon, and catchy pop-style choruses. I think we have evolved our unique LYLVC sound a lot as we grew together, so it’s hard to compare us to any single band I think. I’m more curious how fans try to describe our sound.
Reuel
What bands did you grow up listening to and would say have influenced your musical identity?
Alyse
I think all our band members would say different artist influences here, but I personally loved Christina Aguilera, Chris Cornell, Eminem, Linkin Park, Paramore, Slipknot, Bring Me the Horizon, Jonny Craig, Celine Dion, and so, so many more. I tend to be drawn to singers that have a lot of pain in their lyrics, or challenging vocal melodies that show off a wide range of vocal dynamics, skill, and control.
Reuel
Let’s play a game! Shall we? I will set a scenario in an alternate universe with new rules and see how you’d react to the different situations. In a universe where you are a necromancer, which late musician would you ask for advice?
Alyse
Chris Cornell
Reuel
In a universe where humans can choose either to be able to teleport from one place to another or travel back and forth in time, which superpower would you pick?
Alyse
Teleport for sure, especially if I could just put all my bandmates and band equipment on a large bus and teleport the entire bus anywhere in the world to play a show. Touring internationally would be so amazing!
Reuel
In a universe where money does not exist, but instead, people pay for things by making other people laugh, how rich would you be considered?
Alyse
I love laughing and cracking jokes or even saying random burns/roasts to my bandmates for fun, so I think I would be pretty rich. lol
Reuel
In a universe where the senses of taste and hearing are mixed, what food would you imagine your music would taste like?
Alyse
A dulce de leche latte with black lava salt and cayenne pepper. I wanted something sweet and salty to express the combination of rap and rock but also highlight how Oscar and I are two very different vocalists that somehow magically fit really well together in both writing lyrics and our opposite clean and raspy vocal tones that complement each other. As for the cayenne pepper, I think Cam constantly striving to create new unique sounds for our instrumentals adds a “spice” that surprises the hell out of people, but is as addictive as capsaicin.
Reuel
In a universe where you were chosen to rule a nation, what is the first law you’d change or make?
Alyse
First off, I am not speaking for my band members or their personal beliefs, so I will stick to my personal opinion only…. I’m a computer hacker for my day job outside of music, so I’ve never been one to follow a standard path or believe in locked doors. I think with enough time and effort and willpower, I can pick through any lock, or create a 0-day exploit for a new vulnerability that impacts systems all over the world. Luckily, my aptitude for computers helped me learn to adapt my brain quickly to overcome complex challenges and I REFUSE to believe in limits. Unfortunately, I think that many people (especially coming from poor income households like I did) have been trained to believe they need to go to college in order to be successful and make a lot of money to earn the “richer” lifestyle they want. A degree is required for most medium-level or high-paying job positions. However, college tuition is super expensive, students need great credit scores or rich co-signers to obtain loans, and then when you’re finally out of school- the student loan bills are so high every month that it is hard to even pay rent or other bills at the same time without drowning or ruining your credit for a few years at least. If I could change a law, the first one I would change is implementing free college tuition and eradicating student loan debt. Not everyone will succeed, and that will be on them (their work ethic, personal choices, etc). In my opinion, EVERYONE should have a CHANCE to work really hard to go to school, learn, grow, and change their future.
Reuel
In a universe where you can only communicate through emojis, how would you describe LYLVC’s music?
Alyse
Hmm.. maybe the Yin and yang emoji, since it describes opposite but interconnected, mutually perpetuating forces… LYLVC has a few elements that I think have this duality concept. For example, our male rapper and female singer are two contradictory opposites of each other, but we learned how to create balance when we write lyrics together so that we can tell the same cohesive story from two very different perspectives and still make it sound blended as if the song had one writer.
Reuel
Thank you for playing! I hope you enjoyed this game. Do you remember the first time you performed live on stage? What was your experience like?
Alyse
I used to sing solos for church growing up all the time, but my first talent show in 7th grade was when I was actually allowed to choose how to dress, what song I could sing, etc. I remember I wore a black dress with black heels, and a big red and black feather boa and I sang the song “Respect” by Aretha Franklin. I won the talent show and it fueled my dreams to grow up to be a singer one day. I wanted to sing and be recognized for my powerful individual voice, and not have to softly blend in with a choir or sing church solos anymore.
Reuel
Have you ever experienced any kind of sexism in your professional life? What advice would you give our young readers who might experience any kind of discrimination?
Alyse
Absolutely… Before I got into Cybersecurity, I remember doing advanced malware removal for the Geek Squad when I was a teenager and I cross-trained half the other Advanced Repair Agents (ARAs), who were male and way older than me. On days I wore makeup and let my hair down, customers would ask for an older guy when I came out to help them. But on days I tied my hair back in a bun, wore glasses, and no makeup- they would take me seriously. It took years of having to prove my computer skills and obtaining some of the hardest hacking certifications in the world before my looks finally didn’t matter at work. Now I can wear makeup, my hair down, and even rock my lip ring as I lead an entire adversarial Red Team for a large financial company.
Alyse
In the music industry, I’ve noticed the opposite. I feel like they want beautiful women, so I can easily wear makeup and strive to look pretty which is great, but I feel like no one expects my intelligence level until I start talking. There is a very obvious respect shift change when they realize I’m not just a pretty face. My advice is to know your audience, learn your skills, and practice the hell out of your craft so that people have no choice but to respect you for you, not your gender.
Reuel
Thank you for your time, Alyse. It was a pleasure chatting with you. Is there anything you’d like to add to take this interview home?
Alyse
It was great meeting you! Check out our website LYLVC.com for upcoming show and tour announcements, and follow us on all social media and streaming platforms to keep up-to-date on new music release dates, fan promotions, weekly reels, and fun opportunities to get to know our band better!
