Alanna Royale
Nashville, Tennessee, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF | AFM
Music
Press
The Artist: Nashville’s power-soul sextet, Alanna Royale
The Song: “Animal,” from their debut full length ACHILLES, out September 16th
Fun Fact: “While she thought she had moved to Nashville only knowing one or two people, Alanna Royale frontwoman Alanna Quinn-Broadus quickly made friends with drummer Matt Snow, whom she had actually met almost a decade before. On their first day of college, Alanna had asked Matt to help her set up her internet and after falling out of touch, reconnected at a local Nashville sandwich shop. Along with their guitar player, Jared Colby, they went on to play together for the first time and create Alanna Royale.”
Songwriter Says: “I am very inspired by the books I read and I found an interesting parallel in my life and the story of The Outsiders. Having to act tough, rather than be tough. Becoming tough because it’s all you know. Committing to destructive behaviors while standing idly by and watching the toll it takes. These are things I know all too well about, and not only have I had to deal with people who behave this way, but I also see these characteristics inside myself.”
“ACHILLES was produced by Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff) and recorded off-and-on for about six months. During that time, I was recovering from a hemorrhaged vocal cord and the physical and vocal therapy was intense. It took a serious toll on me mentally and emotionally and Andrija was firm yet patient during this process. He challenged me to accept my natural sound but pushed us all to the edge of our musical boundaries. It was an amazing process that gave these songs life and we are so grateful for the experience to have worked with such a talented individual.” - American Songwriter
Nashville – Before Alanna Royale was ever seen at her record release show on October 4 at Exit/In, she was heard. In traditional soul/funk style, the bearded crew that backs the Nashville songstress came out and laid down a tight vamp as the crowd awaited the showstopper’s arrival. But, before ever setting foot on stage, Alanna sent out one belting note to let the crowd know what they were in for. The tightly packed room at the Elliston Pl. venue (which recently celebrated its 43rd year in operation) erupted into a wave of cheers and applause. The singer then burst onto the stage. What followed was nearly 2 hours of boundless funk, trash talking, and resonating notes from a voice box that reigns with the power of a cathedral’s pipe organ.
The band stormed through the opening number, “Last to Know,” the first track off their new release, Achilles. Their blend sounds like it could easily be coming out of a record player in Detroit in 1965. Additionally, Alanna Royale doesn’t look like most other singers cutting their teeth in Nashville. She’s not singing about her daddy’s tractor or fronting some indie band in a plaid button down. Instead, she struts across the stage like the Motown goddesses who came before her, her arms accented by tattoos and her messy brown curls adorned with a single blonde streak.
Alanna also curses like a sailor. When the band ripped into their third number, “Tennessee Heat,” Alanna declared “This is for all of you O.G. mother f***ers.” Shifting gears and showing versatility, they crashed into a cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” followed by “Go,” a fast, pop-infused song written post-Achilles. “Phantom Limb,” a song Alanna connects to overcoming loss, brought the moonstruck crowd to a solemn hush with her sheer emotion. The powerful sextet behind her ceaselessly provided a wall of support through the whole set.
There were some additions to the normal Alanna Royale lineup last Saturday night as well. The group was joined intermittently by a pair of backup singers throughout the set, and a string trio made an appearance for “Rock & Stone” and “Nobody Else.”
The high point of the evening came when the band laid down the raunchiest version of Rod Stewart’s “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?” in existence. I have no doubt that had Mr. Stewart been in the audience he would have stood up and applauded. If the sheer brilliance of the cover wasn’t enough, Alanna took the time to single out a too-cool patron who had spent the entirety of the anthem staring at his smartphone. “To the guy in the blue and white hat…if I’m up here singing Rod Stewart and you can’t even look up than I must be doing something wrong” she quipped. Her jeering was joined by cries of agreement from the audience.
Alanna Royale has the pipes of a theater kid and the mouth of a football coach, but it is her tireless band that rounds out the soul train that blew through Exit/In. Kirk Donovan (trumpet) and Diego Vasquez (trombone) spit out crisp high notes like bullets out of a gun. The energy required to keep up with Alanna and put wind through the horn must lead to an exhaustion felt by few others. Gabe Golden (bass) and Matt Snow (drums) lay down a warm and seductive tone groove for the rest of the band to stack up on top of. Jared Colby (guitars) plays with a rawness and energy that matches perfectly to Alanna’s gorgeous vocal range and style. This band is a tight machine that could easily be transported to Hitsville USA’s Studio A and few would notice the difference.
When the crowd finally stumbled out at 1am the infectious music was still carrying through their feet as they dispersed into a cool autumn night. “How long,” I’m sure a few asked themselves, “Until we get to feel that funk again?”
The band is touring the Southeast and Midwest throughout the remainder of 2014 with acts like Hurray for the Riff Raff and Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes. - Best New Bands
Alanna Royale is a band that’s helping to push soul music into the 2010s and back into the ears of young kids today whose Apple ear buds are littered with drum beats meant for pre-gaming playlists rather than just the sole enjoyment of listening to music. Riding the wave that mainstream contemporaries Adele, Amy Winehouse, and Joss Stone, the group premieres their debut album Achilles. Lead by vocalist Alanna Quinn-Broadus, the neo-soul group re-ignites the fire under the ass of soul that once burned bright with stars like Etta James, Bobby Womack, and Isaac Hayes.
Alanna’s soaring vocals shine bright throughout the album, but shine the brightest on songs like ‘18’, ‘Go Back’, and ‘Animal’. The attitude of her voice is captured in a powerful, smokey sound that makes for that perfect jazz style. She’s great at using both sides of her vocal spectrum with a wide range of dynamics, which go from slow to sensual throughout the album. Of course a singer is only as good as he musicians that give her something to sing to. Jared Colby on guitar has really been able to tap into his ability and find those great guitar tones and strumming patterns that we all love hearing on those old funk and soul albums of the 70s. Kirk Donovan on the trumpet and Diego Vasquez on trombone add that brass that compliments rather than overpowers. The combination of all their musical assets makes for a really smooth modern sounding soul album that both appreciates the past, but pushes the genre forward to a new generation of music fans. - Pancakes and Whiskey
One way to weed out the locals from the tourists is to ask if they know Alanna Quinn-Broadus, frontwoman of Alanna Royale. For the past several years, the singer and her soul outfit have been bubbling around the Nashville scene, performing everywhere from The Mercy Lounge to Musician’s Corner (the local drop-in spot for Nashville’s musical community). Comprised of Quinn-Broadus and her five-piece ensemble (which includes two horn players, drums, old-school harmonies, and plenty of in-your-face attitude), she brings it on the powerhouse vocals front. She’ll readily admit that she’s not traditionally “Nashville,” but that’s no bad thing. “Being just a little bit different can really work in your favor,” she said of the inclusive music community. “When you see a sold out EDM show a mile away from the Ryman, you know people are out there looking for something new. Hopefully they find us... and buy a record.” - Noisey/Vice
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Powerhouse Soul / Funk / R&B band Alanna Royale originally formed as an experimentation with grunge music. They quickly found the lack of authenticity to pale in the comparison of the true magnetism of the group, finding solstice in Pop and R&B music. “There’s a deep range of intent from the beginnings of R&B music that went between making music to entertain and help people forget the troubles of the world they lived in, to making music that shed light on those troubles,” says Alanna. “Soul music has long been the voice to tell the story, the high’s and low’s. It lives deep within us.”
Raised in Albany, NY, Alanna embraced her heritage while finding her voice. “I was raised by a single Puerto Rican woman who pushed me to go after everything in life I ever wanted,” she says. “My mother was always the boss and taught me to take no shit.“
The band has made a reputation for themselves organically by being punks against the Nashville corporate machine, the anti-typical sound paving the way for Soul, Funk and R&B in a city lacking genre variety. Spotlighted by Noisey as being part of the Nashville music renaissance in “The New Nashville: Eight Acts Rebelling Against The City’s Country Music Reputation” feature. Noisey took note of Royale’s pure talent saying, “…she brings it on the powerhouse vocals front.”Garden & Gun noticed as well, proclaiming, “She’s a powerful singer…The ‘Nashville sound is known for polish. This is something else…the beginning of something big.” View “Nashville’s New Tune: The Next Music Row” feature. Meanwhile, local AAA radio station Lightning 100 began showing their undying support for the band’s music.
Around the same time, Alanna Royale began noticing a cosmic shift. “I think our EP release show here in Nashville was when we decided that this band was something worth investing our time and emotion into,” says Alanna. “The Basement was packed and our band was so brand new. It felt amazing to see the love from a country/indie rock dominated scene for a baby R&B band.”
The band’s first full-length debut album ACHILLES released in Sept 2014 with Andrija Tokic at the helm of production in his analog studio The Bomb Shelter in East Nashville. View NPR Music’s The Record’s feature with Ann Powers on the studio HERE. “It was recorded off-and-on for about six months,” Alanna told American Songwriter in their Best New Music feature, “During that time, I was recovering from a hemorrhaged vocal cord and the physical and vocal therapy was intense. It took a serious toll on me mentally and emotionally and Andrija was firm yet patient during this process. He challenged me to accept my natural sound but pushed us all to the edge of our musical boundaries.”
Alanna’s vocal suffering became the inspiration for the album title from bassist Gabriel Golden observation of the experience. “I was left in a lot of pain and with very limited vocal abilities,” says Alanna. “I became depressed on the road and in the studio and our recording process was difficult to get through. Gabriel made mention that everything was riding on this tiny little piece of my body. Much like achilles and his heel. We came out on the other end of it a better band and closer friends than ever.”
With Alanna’s vocals in full recovery, it wasn’t long after the release ofACHILLES that the band was making debut appearances at major festivals, including Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, Austin City Limits and Loufest. The band quickly made a name for themselves as a must-see live act, opening shows for St. Paul and the Broken Bones, Lee Fields, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Big Freedia, Trombone Shorty, Mayer Hawthorne and Monophonics. The opportunity knocked for Alanna to tour with The Alabama Shakes. “I chose to push on with Alanna Royale rather than change lanes into background singing,” says Alanna.
In question of the persona that both identifies and define the artist of the modern social media era, she says, “I love the name Alanna Royale because it sounds cheap and luxurious all at once. It conjures up images of a classic car or a Tarantino reference. It doesn’t sound like just one thing.” That in itself wraps up the perfect description of a band dabbling in various sounds to create something unique in itself. Not just one but a variety of sounds that stretch the limitations of Nashville, live music and beyond to conjure what it means to feel the freedom of live experience with a band that is unforgettable.
Band Members
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