Interview with Actress/Songwriter Alicia Witt

You might know Alicia Witt from her body of work as an actor on shows including Friday Night Lights, Law and Order and Cybill, and from the films 88 Minutes, Two Weeks Notice, Last Holiday and Mr Hollands Opus to name a few. But she is also a classically trained pianist and accomplished singer/songwriter. for the last 3 years, she’s been performing her original songs at venues across the country such as Hotel Cafe and Universal Citywalk in Los Angeles, and Joe’s Cafe and The Living Room in New York. She will be performing May 24th at Subterranean in Chicago with Chicago locals Lying Delilah and Jess Godwin opening for Alicia. You should check them out! Ticket information below.

Her self-titled first EP is out on iTunes. Alicia’s first music video, for the single ‘Anyway’, was played on MTVu and VH1.com. She also appeared as musical guest on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson in summer 2010, and is currently working on her next album. “…what a voice. It comes from tender, intimate appeals, soaring to roof raising heights, as she all the while works the piano with ease and command…where Witt really excels is in her ballads, personal and universal poems of love, longing, and everyday girl issues. Her lyrics flow with a poetic polish, and her piano playing rivals that of rockers Billy Joel or Elton John.” – What Duvet Said, review, 12/09

To hear more of Alicia Witt’s music, visit her at www.aliciawittmusic.com

I recently sat down and talked with Alicia about life on screen and off.

Q: How do you think you’ve grown as a songwriter?

Witt: I just know that I love writing songs and the more I write, the easier it becomes; the more ideas come to me… and the quicker I can write. Not everything I write is going to become a tune that gets played on stage or recorded… but just the act of putting something down and finishing it helps when you get an idea that you know you really want to go somewhere with.

Q: What is your favorite song you’ve written and why?

Witt: It’s so hard to say!! I can’t choose one. But if I had to…right now at this moment…I might choose “Judgment day.” One of the reasons I’m so excited about releasing my upcoming album (Live at Rockwood, coming out the day of my show at Sub-T in Chicago on May 24) is that it gives me a chance to introduce a much wider audience to some of my tunes that I’ve been playing at my live shows—some of my more recent songs— that I haven’t had time to record in the studio yet.

Q: How have you been able to juggle acting and songwriting lately?

Witt: I just finished one project (Playdate, directed by Melanie Mayron) and have just begun another (the dark family comedy indie film Pasadena, also starring Peter Bogdanovich and Cheryl Hines) and I have 4 films being released in one form or another this year, so I’m definitely staying busy! But also making music a priority. My song “Do It” is actually being used in one of my upcoming films, I Do, and I write at least one song a week as part of the infamous Bob Schneider Songwriting Circle.

Q: Do you have any regrets from the acting and music business?

Witt: There’s always things you can look back on and think, if you’d done them differently… would it have been better? But I try to maintain my firm belief that everything happens for a reason and that setbacks of all kinds actually do make you stronger, and therefore are not setbacks at all but blessings.

Q: If you could collaborate with 3 people, living or dead, who would they be and why?

Witt: Lucille ball (because she’s my comedic hero and one of my earliest role models/girl crushes); Elton John and/or Billy Joel (because… they’re Elton John and Billy Joel) and Bette Davis because I would love to watch her work up close and go toe to toe with her.

Q: What is the funniest story from a concert and a movie?

Witt: There are so many! The one that springs to mind is from a show in Denver a year and a half ago; I had a set with one song in the middle that I played by myself on piano while the drummer and bassist go do shots (I actually wrote on the set list: ‘you guys go do shots’ next to the song). So they did. as I announced they were coming back, I made a joke that they were now drunk because I’d sent them off to do shots, and right on cue, Kaumyar Delkash (my drummer) did a spectacular trip over a speaker on his way to the stage, nearly knocking it onto a nearby table of patrons! It was pretty awesome.

Q: Where do you draw your material from?

Witt: Everything and anything.

Q: What do you think of today’s music compared to the classics?

Witt: There’s so many artists I love right now….Sara Bareilles, Jason Mraz, Adele, Pink, Bruno Mars, Ray Lamontagne…and various bands too. Neon Trees’ “Everybody Talks,” is brilliant, as is “Cough Syrup” by Young the Giant. They definitely hold up to the classics in my opinion, and there are so many others. As long as a song is about something real—not clearly devised with the sole purpose of being a hit–and you can understand all the lyrics, I’m down.

Q: A lot of Hollywood celebrities like Rita Wilson, Jeff Bridges Kevin Costner, and others have been diving into music. How do you feel about that and how does that affect you?

Witt: Good for them! I didn’t know that but now I do! There’s something so freeing about making music—when you play a role it’s amazing but you’re playing a role… when you make music it’s 100% you, your soul and your heart, so there’s nothing like the high you get from it, and the feeling you get from people coming to see your show and relating to your songs, your stories…I can’t wait for this upcoming live album release tour!!

Q: What’s next for Alicia Witt?

Witt: I can’t wait to find out! Thanks to the amazing people out there who have funded my live album through my Kickstarter http://kck.st/I5kYad, I now have that coming out in a matter of weeks, and at this point I’m working towards raising the money to record my first full length studio album….which is a dream come true. I love my crazy life!