Alfa

Artist Information

Biography

In 2011, after three years as a newspaper journalist, 25-year-old Alfa Garcia called it quits and took the biggest leap of her life. Bent on musical dreams, she packed her things in a Nissan Sentra, grabbed her guitar, ukulele and keyboard, and headed for California.

But the life of a musician-traveler is no new thing for the petite songstress. Born in the idyllic Philippine countryside and raised in New Jersey by a single mom, Alfa got her start on piano and violin. At 13, Alfa taught herself guitar and crafted a sound suited for her raspy voice, drawing comparisons to Jewel, Ingrid Michaelson and Sara Bareilles.

After a number of EP’s and her debut LP, "Second Skin" (2009), Alfa toured across the U.S., captivating audiences at colleges and venues with her unique brand of folk-pop, described as “pop with intelligence” and “hydraulics for the heart.” Solo live shows are often littered with a revolving door of instruments: guitar, keyboard and ukulele. Alfa has been hailed as “the best female singer-songwriter in the New York and New Jersey Asian-American music scene,” by Ted Reyes (NY Indie Music Examiner).

Alfa’s songs can be heard in four recent episodes of MTV’s “Friendzone”. In 2010, Alfa's uplifting piano-pop song, "Supergirl" made the honorable mention list of the New York Songwriters Circle's Songwriting Competition. In 2009, Alfa took home the Grand Prize in Kollaboration Acoustic 3 in Hollywood, a nation-wide talent competition featuring Asian-American talent.

A smart lyricist with a knack for catchy melodies, Alfa has brought her musical style to the stages of the Ford Amphitheatre and The Shrine (to a crowd of 6,000) in Los Angeles, NAMM in Anaheim, Lincoln Center and the Highline Ballroom in New York.

Aside from her solo creations, she is also one-half of the Nashville-LA based duo The Idle Hours, which will release its debut EP later this year.

www.alfa-music.com


Alfa endorses Walden guitars.
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~ Praise for ALFA and “Second Skin!” ~

“Hey, your CD is terrific! Great voice, great songs!”

o Pete Kennedy (The Kennedys)

“Alfa creates excellent music and performs it spectacularly. New Jersey should be proud to call her its own.”

* Evan Toth, “Good Music” on WFDU radio, 89.1 FM, NJ.

"Alfa's songs are pure, real, and lyrically fresh ... Her unique voice combined with her knack for catchy tunes and beautifully written songs paint stories that capture listeners in ways they never knew. Just a breath of fresh air from what we often hear in today's music."
* Thinh Le, Asian Voice Radio, 900AM, Houston, TX.

"Alfa had caught my attention, and with such a remarkable gift, the love in her words hold great value. " - Robby Vang, University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN. (9/27/11)

“Alfa is able to transport everyone to an intimate New York venue where uplifting musical chords and her singing blends together colorful substance…Alfa’s sweet, raspy voice paints a woman mature beyond her years.”

* Jess Man, Boston Progress. Boston, MA. (5/21/09)

“Alfa was the highlight of the concert. She won the crowd over with her incredible vocals and soulful music, even letting a lucky few join in and play back-up for her last song!”

o Charissa Ng, Tufts University (11/19/09)

“The final track … not only made me stop playing solitaire, but had me completely absorbed in the song’s message of familial love and growth. Mind you, the rest of the album is just as good.”

* “Second Skin” review by Eugene Song, Born in Chinese (borninchinese.wordpress.com). NYC. (7/6/09)


“In Alfa’s sophomore album entitled ‘Second Skin’, we see her in a new phase, which reveals her in her most brilliant form yet… she is currently the best female singer-songwriter in the New York and New Jersey Asian-American music scene.”

o Ted Reyes, NY Indie Music Examiner. Newark, NJ. 7/2/09.

"Alfa's music is quite different. It's pop with intelligence."
o Gordon Nash, "Wise Madness" (8/19/10)

"I've come across many singers during my ten years as Executive Director of a national talent show and Alfa is one of the classiest singer/songwriters I've ever heard. She commands the stage in a way that invites you to listen to her words and let it move you...I'm a fan for life."
o Paul "PK" Kim, founder, Kollaboration. (9/2010)
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Instrumentation

Alfa - Vocals, Guitar, Piano/Keyboard
Dave Dodds - Drums, percussion
Jon McElroy - Electric and Upright Bass

Discography

Alfa (EP) - 2002
Picture Memories (EP) - 2003
Growth (EP) - 2007
Second Skin - 2009

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Alfa's Official Website
• Read Alfa's Blog
• Watch Alfa on YouTube
• Twitter
• Join Alfa's Facebook Fanpage

Audio

• Love as Tragedy: A Play in 3 Acts
  Listen  
• Supergirl
  Listen  
• FirstSightofLand2
  Listen  
• Isabelle
  Listen  
• Don't Write Your Goodbyes
  Listen  
• Second Skin
  Listen  
• Foot Out the Door
  Listen  
• Wear Your Shoes
  Listen  
• Home to Me (live in-studio)
  Listen  
• Don't Write Your Goodbyes (Live on Piano)
  Listen  

Video

Love as Tragedy: A Play in 3 Acts

Alfa - Walden Guitars Promo

Photo Gallery

Press

• Alfa's Second Skin yields brilliance and maturity [+ Show ]
  

  NEW YORK– Artists have phases in their careers. The not so great ones have downhill phases, while gr...NEW YORK– Artists have phases in their careers. The not so great ones have downhill phases, while great ones have phases pointing them towards perfection. In Alfa's sophomore album entitled Second Skin, we see her in a new phase, which reveals her in her most brilliant form yet– a testament to the fact that she is currently the best female singer-songwriter in the New York and New Jersey Asian-American music scene. Second Skin is such a well-written record that it is a challenge to anyone who listens to it to even describe it as an OK record because It is not just an OK record, it is a magnificent record. It is Alfa at the top of her game. The opening track Supergirl is rich with musical ideas because for the first time, we hear Alfa's music fully accompanied, unlike her first record, which was mostly accompanied by her acoustic guitar. Alfa's producer, Alex Houton played most of instruments in this album. Alfa chose to use the piano to a large degree here, which perfectly matches the nice tongue-and-cheek beat. Supergirl is a great album opener because it ushers the listener to Alfa's new phase as if she is saying '" told you it will be different." Well, different but great. Another great track is the second song Love as Tragedy: A Play in Three Acts, which displays Alfa's lyrical gifts and knack at crafting sweet pop music. It has a solid driving rhythm that brings a great groove. All the 11 tracks in Second Skin are great. The skip button will have no use for this record. Consider the track Isabelle. It is track number five in the album. The song is a French-styled ditty with Alfa actually singing verses in French. It is lushly decorated with an accordion and violin, which was played by Jorge Miranda. It is nothing short of magnificent for it is so different from the rest of the songs in the collection , yet the listener will have no doubt that it is still Alfa's song. Though extremely musically detached from the other 10 songs, it is not a "what was she thinking" moment. It fits perfectly in the album. All songs were written by the Bergenfield , NJ artist except for the songs Wear Your Shoes, and I wont, which she co-wrote with Mr. Houton The last song , Home to Me, which was recorded live with just Alfa playing the piano is a perfect album closer. It was a great decision to have her accompanied by only the piano for it totally captured the song's sentimentality and rewarded the listener with honest to goodness tenderness. If one thing is evident in this record, it is that Alfa has truly matured. She now understands the power of the chorus. In pop music, a song without a chorus is a song wasted. And Alfa provided the best choruses yet in her young career. So catchy are these choruses that the listener still sings them even after the tracks have ended and the the player has started playing the next track, which inevitably contains yet another catchy chorus. Second Skin is Alfa's second offering, but really, it is the beginning of her stellar career.

• Kollaboration: Empowering Asian-American Pacific Islanders [+ Show ]
  

  ....classically trained pianist, violinist, and guitar- ist, Alfa, has been writing her own songs fo.......classically trained pianist, violinist, and guitar- ist, Alfa, has been writing her own songs for a long time. Her first full-length record, “Second Skin”, was received well by the Asian American community in New York. This petite music genius has also performed all across the US, Toronto, Swit- zerland, and the Philippines...
  - Elgin Zulueta

• Alfa: Second Skin (CD Review 9 out of 10) [+ Show ]
  

  It’s not often that I get emotional during morning rush hour. Normally, I’m too sleepy/tired to eve...It’s not often that I get emotional during morning rush hour. Normally, I’m too sleepy/tired to even think straight, let alone notice things like, say, words or feelings. However, the final track on Alfa’s first full length album, Second Skin, not only made me stop playing solitaire, but had me completely absorbed in the song’s message of familial love and growth.
  
  Mind you, the rest of the album is just as good.
  
  As I noted in my preview of Alfa’s newest material, we find the songtress in top form for her new album. The continued progress of her career and skills is fitting, given the title of her previous release, Growth. It seems that Alfa has indeed been growing.
  
  The late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg once said, “People ask me what words mean… Some people would say, ‘put it in a sentence.’ But I need a little more. ‘Put it in a play.’” Well, Alfa does exactly that (“Love As Tragedy: A Play In Three Acts”) and a whole lot more. She explores familiar themes of love found and lost from different perspectives, a variety of settings (France, anyone?) and pleasantly varied musical styles.
  
  The album starts off with a jaunty girl-power theme song called “Supergirl,” continues with the aforementioned three-act “play,” and flows right into “Second Skin,” an achingly intimate love song. The songs that follow range from the wistful (“Isabelle”) to the pessimistic (“Nothing Ever Lasts”). Alfa beginning to explore her range as a songwriter and singer a bit more. She still has a knack for super catchy hooks and melodies, though this reviewer would love to hear Alfa tackle even more themes outside of love and relationships.
  
  
  CAPA Heritage Festival - 2009
  Also important to note: the album just sounds great. Not only does Alfa incorporate strings, horns, and other ancillary instrumentation into her arrangements, but it’s clear that all the sounds have been lovingly and carefully crafted into tight, well-rounded mixes. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Alfa, a multi-instrumentalist, works with a very talented band, which include drummer Dave Dodds and bassist Jon McElroy.
  
  Verdict: Second Skin is a big step forward for singer-songwriter Alfa. Vocally, compositionally, and performance wise, she is definitely hitting her stride. I highly recommend picking up or downloading a copy of her latest album and trying to keep pace.
  

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Setlist

Don't Write Your Goodbyes
Second Skin
Love as Tragedy: A Play in 3 Acts
Supergirl (on piano)
Home to Me (on piano)
The Pi Song
Isabelle
Mushaboom (by Feist)
First Sight of Land
Hazy-Eyed Troubadour

Hey, Soul Sister (by Train; on ukulele)
Grenade (by Bruno Mars)
Nothing Ever Lasts
The Lament
The Way I Am (by Ingrid Michaelson)
Over the Rainbow / Rainbow Connection (on ukulele)
The Kind of Girl (on piano)
Washington Square
Meaningless Conversation
Foot Out the Door

Basic Requirements

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