We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alissa Musto. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alissa below.
Hi Alissa, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is not an optional quality in the entertainment industry. No matter how talented, experienced or polished you are, you will hear “no” far more in this business than you will “yes”— especially when you’re first starting out. As creatives, our art is often so intertwined with our identity that it’s almost impossible to not take rejection personally. Even after growing up in this industry and being surrounded by it my entire life, every time I get passed up for an audition or show, I look at it as being told “we don’t like YOU”, rather than “we don’t like your work”. I know this sounds incredibly cynical and self deprecating, but I think the only way to be able to handle this type of emotional roller coaster is having the upmost confidence in yourself and your abilities. You just have to constantly believe you’ll get the next one. No one can take that away from you.
Quite frankly, my resilience comes from a lack of other options. Every time I’m told “no”, I can get upset or discouraged by it. Or I can work harder and book the next gig. It’s a privilege and an honor to be able to be a successful, independent artist and performer. However, constant, resilience and perseverance is a requirement to not only achieve success, but maintain it in this industry. I could opt for a different life or career path; I have experience in other industries and my undergraduate background is actually in political science. However, nothing in the world comes close to being a musician and performer and that will always be the motivation I need to carry on.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a full-time professional musician, singer, songwriter and performer based in Florida, although I travel pretty much every week performing around the country and world. While I perform all different types of styles, shoes and venues, the majority of my performances are as a solo piano bar entertainer, or in dueling piano shows.
Being a Piano Bar Entertainer is different from being other professional musicians because we don’t have a specific genre, style or setlist we perform. Audience members make song requests and I perform whatever they ask me to play (whether it’s a piano based song or not); my repertoire consists of about 1000 songs memorized. On a typical night, I’ll perform everything from Elton John to Taylor Swift to Metallica to Cardi B. No two shows are the same. Piano bars are also comedic, interactive and improvised, unlike many other musical performances. I’ll change the words to songs, make jokes, sing parodies or sing special songs for people celebrating birthdays/special occasions. These shows are very popular on cruise ships and with “vacation” crowds.
While I work with several agents, I also negotiate with venues and clients directly and my typical engagements include cruise ship contracts, resorts, piano bars, weddings, private events, fundraisers, concert venues and festivals. This year, my bookings will take me to Germany, Denmark, Washington DC, Texas Georgia, California, New England, Wisconsin, Sint Maarten, Central America, New York and local shows in Florida.
Influenced by my experiences as a professional stage performer, former pageant queen and world traveler, I recently launched my own boutique, “Piano Ma’am Boutique”, which is a collection of music-inspired and show-stopping designs, costumes and gifts geared at making anyone feel like a rockstar–both on or off the stage.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
In order to be successful as an independent artist, I think the three most important areas to focus on are musicianship, branding, and work ethic. If any of these three areas aren’t prioritized, you’ll fall short of your goals, even if you’re on top of it with the other two.
This may sound obvious, but your musicianship needs to be a priority, there are a lot of talented people in the world, and they all want their music to be heard. Being proficient in your craft is a prerequisite and even as you start growing in your career and have less time to practice, you still need to carve out the time to improve your skills and grow your show. Too many artist get comfortable with the level they’re at and that is when they stop progressing. Prioritizing your musicianship also means taking care of your body and voice, and making personal sacrifices when it comes to certain foods, habits and activities.
With that being said, you can be the most talented person in the world, and if you don’t know how to brand or market yourself, you will never be heard or booked. I always say that as an independent artist, I’m equally an entrepreneur, as I am a musician. While an audience may only see me perform on stage for a few hours, behind the scenes, I’m working on bookings, contracts, marketing, press inquiries, social media; editing and countless other administrative tasks.
Finally, even if you have a good grip on your musical abilities, and your brand, if your work ethic lacks, you will struggle in this industry. As crazy as this sounds, I am almost never not working. While I may not be performing a show or answering emails, almost every decision, and lifestyle choice somehow leads back my career and how it will be affected. You have to be obsessed and you have to know that going into it. There are nights I will get home from a gig and then put in another three or four hours on my computer. Nobody is going to care about my success as much as I do and it is 100% up to me to ensure I get where I want to be.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
I actually grew up in a family of professional musicians, so the most impactful thing my dad did for me was introduce me to the world of music at a very young age. I started playing the piano when I was four years old and I had a piano teacher living with me. I joke around that there was no way I was going to get out of it, but from a very young age, my talent was nurtured and developed and I was in an environment where having a career as a creative was acceptable. Aside from literally teaching me how to play the piano, my dad taught me so much about the industry: the good, the bad and the ugly. I certainly made my fair share of mistakes, but starting my career with him as a mentor and his 35+ years of professional experience put me miles ahead
Contact Info:
- Website: www.alissamusto.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/alissamustomusic
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/alissamusto
