Alyssa Morrissey

A fundraiser to help pay.for
repairs to the Our Space drop-in
centre kitchen is set for Sunday
at the Black Horse Pub.
the centre provides a shelter
and a place to those in need has
recently moved from Murray St.
to 574 George St. in the old
Orange Hall building, states a
press release.
In order to expand its hours of
operation and feed the 40 to 60
daily clients that use the drop-in
centre the kitchen needs to be
fixed, it states.
Fundraiser organizer Terry
Guiel has put together a list of
entertainers for the evening at
The Black Horse Pub including
Stu McCue.
McCue has been performing
old-time country music in the
area for more than 40 vears.
Dubbed the "King of Downtown"
for his countless appearances
in local nightspots, McCue
is also a member of the Walk of
Fame.
Also featured will be Alyssa
Morrissey joined by Beau Dixon,
The Mark Edwards Band. Tami I.
Wilde, Bobby Watson, Western
Avenue, and The Boneless
Duellers featuring Terry Guiel.
There will be a silent auction.
Admission is $10 donation at
the do - Metrolandmedia.com

Beau Dixon and Alyssa Morrissey
perform Saturday at the Holiday Inn,
Water St. at Little Lake in Bernie's
Lounge from 6:30 to ll p.m. There is no
cover charge.
Morrissey, a Grade ll Holy Cross
Secondary School student, has Performed
with Dixon at the Black'Horse
Pub Spotlight Sunday series.
Over the last two years she has been a
soloist in two musicals at Showplace
Peterborough,Come Rain Or Come
Shine and West Side Story.
Morrissey recorded her CD Use It Or
Lose It in Nashville. Morrissey released a
single from that CD called Let's not call
it love to country radio and it reached
number 7l in top 100 Canadian country
charts.
She has also performed at Showplace
for the Gainey Foundation and shared
the stage with Midlife Crisis at the
Canada Day Festival Of Lights'Concert.
Morrissey is a regular singer of the
Canadian national anthem for the
Peterborough Petes games, and both
the Canadian and U.S. national anthems
for the Toronto Marlies (American
Hockey League) at the Ricoh Coliseum
in Toronto.
Werner Bergen is entertainment editor at
The Examiner. He can be reached at
ent @ peterborough examin er. c o m - Ed Arnold

It's now your turn to vote for
your favourite song in this year's
Examiner Song Contest and the
winner will get to perform it at
the Gainey Family and Friends
Concert on March 14.
Examiner judges havb narrowed
it down to five songs. The
final five were difficult decisions
with so much talent in several
dozen songs thatwere submitted:
The five finalists in no specific
order are:
a GirIto Girl byAlyssa Morrissey
I Strugle to Belieue by Claudia
Davison
I The Grace of You by Bill Colgate
I The End by Sam Ferguson
I How Will I Know bv Madison
KozakAll you have to do to vote is go
to The Examiner website Peterboroughexaminer.
com and click
on the song contest logo at the
right. At the song site You can
listen to the songs by clicking on
View Entries. To vote You must
register and only one vote is
allowed per person.
BillColgate
The concert to raise funds for
the Gainey Foundation includes
John McDermott, CBC's The
Hour host George Stroumboulopoulos,
Lisa Brokop and
husband Paul Hefferson, Russell
DeCarle, The Abrams Brothers,
James McKenty, Royal Wood,
Jackson Delta, the Barry Haggarty band
Alyssa Morrissey
Sarah Edwards,
Elyse Saunders, MC and one of
Canada's top comedians Steve
Patterson, 4th Line Theatre
founder Rob Winslow with a
special skit and world yo yo
champion Eddy McDonald as
well as others including Bob
Gainev and his family who
founded the charity in
honour of Iaura
Gainey.
Tickets are i
Showplace Peterborough or at
www.showplace.com
- Ed Arnold

Examiner Staff Writer
There were a lot of smiles at
Showplace Sunday evening.
The sixth annual Cozy Christmas
Concert took place in the
main auditorium and several
performers donated their time
free of charge to delight a crowd
ofabout 200 people.
A host of well-known entertainers
provided a variety of
Christmas and popular songs
and there were 22 different acts
in all.
There were also narrations
and stories.
Local artist Alyssa Morrissey opened the show with
couple of seasonal tunes.
The concert was originally
scheduled for the Showplace
lounge but was moved upstairs
to the main auditorium because
the demand for tickets was so
great.
Proceeds from ticket sales,
donations and a silent auction
will be sent to teachers and students
in Liberia, West Africa in
time for Christmas.
No one was smiling more than
co-ordinator Theresa Foley, who
is assisted by her husband Hugh.
"It is family fun at Christmas
and us showing our love at this
timei'she said.
"It's also a major fundraiser
and all the money raised goes to
our friends in Liberia. It's special
the artists donate their time.
This grew out of we are a family
that sang together and our
friends sang. It went from therel'
- Ed Aronld

Voting is now underway for
this year's Examiner Song Contest.
You can vote for your favourite
song; and the winner will get to
perform it at the Gainey Family
and Friends Concert on March
14.
Voting continues until ll:59
p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 25.
Examiner judges have narrowed
it down.to five songs. The
final five were difficult decisions
with so much talent in several
dozen songs that were submitted.
The five finalists in no specific
order are:
Girl to Girl by Ayssa Morrissey
Struggle to Believe by Claudia
Davison
The Grace of You by Bill Colgate
The End by Sam Ferguson
How Will I Know by Madison
Kozak
All you have to do to vote is go
to The Examiner website peterboroughexaminer.
com, and click
on the song contest logo at the
right. At the song site you can
listen to the songs by clicking on
View Entries. To vote you must
register and only on'e vote is
allowed per person.
The concert to raise funds for
the Gainey Foundation includes
John McDermott, CBC's TheHour host
G e o r g e
S t r o u m -
boulopoulos,
Lisa Brokop
and husband
Paul lefferson,
Russell
deCarle, The
A b r a m s
B r o t h , e r s ,
Iames McKenty,
Royal
Wood, Jackson Delta, Barry Haggarty
band, Sarah Edwards, Elsye
Saunders, MC and one of
Canada's top comedians Steve
Patterson, 4th Line Theatre
founder Rob Winslow with a special
skit, and world yo yo champion
Eddy McDonald as well as
others including Bob Gainey and
his family who founded the
foundation in honour of Laura
and Cathy Gainey.
Tickets are available by calling
ShowplaceP eterboroug h at 74 2-
SHOW or at the box office or
www.showplace.org. - Ed Arnold

Use It Or Lose It
Alyssa Morrissey is a Peterborough,
Ontario-based singer making her recording
debut with this l2-song collection of tunes
produced and written,or co-written by Cryil Rawson. The teenager has a strong, distinctive voice and delivers the material
with lots of passion and pizzazz.
Several of the selections on the album
have 'single' potential, most notably the
firey, beat driven Yeh Did It Again. Tunes
!ike the bouncy You Don't and the uptempo
Hold Your Horses and bubbly Let's Not
Call It Love, are also among favorites.
.
Alyssa Morrissey seems quite adept at
handling a variety of vocal styles. While the
aforementioned 'up' songs are lyrically
front and center, she balances those with
some softer, mellow efforts in If My Heart
Finds Out, I Knew It Was, How Did you
Sleep Last Night and the title tack Use It Or
Iose lt.
listen also for a solid version of You Go
First, a Cyril Rawson co-write that was
a Top 30 hit for Nashville's Jessica Andrews
in 1999, and also covered by Canadian
artists Tammy McRae and Amanda Lee.
The album was produced by Cyril Rawson in Nashville
studios and features Canada's Lisa Brokop on background vocals
- Larry Delaney

Now being played in The Netherlands - The Country Startpage The Netherlands

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DEBORAH WOOD PUBLICITY
#3 - 128 DURHAM STREET,
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For Immediate Release



Alyssa Morrissey has been called a rare talent - a singer that has that unique combination of soulful delivery and tasteful interpretation of a song. Like most singers, Alyssa's been singing since she was very young - beginning with her dad's band to now performing on her own in a variety of different settings. She has been asked to perform for several fund raising events. The latest invitation is for her to perform at the "A Night With The Gainey Family & Friends" benefit concert in support of the Gainey Foundation. The Gainey Foundation formed in 2006 after the tragic loss of Bob Gainey's daughter Laura. The foundation was formed to honor both his daughter and her late mother, Cathy who passed away in 1995. The foundations goal is to raise $2 million by 2010 for funding environmental and arts programs for youth.



Alyssa will share the night with such performers as - Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo; Donnell & Erin Leahy; Sarah Harmer; John McDermott; Murray McLauchlin and The Sadies - just to name a few! The benefit will take place at Showplace Theatre in Peterborough on Sunday, March 15th.



In being added to such a stellar group of entertainers - Alyssa had this to say -- "It's a real honor to be asked to be a performer for something that is such a great cause and to be amongst all the awesome entertainers that will be participating!"



Alyssa's first single - "Let's Not Call It Love" from her debut album - Use It Or Lose It - has been picking up airplay all across Canada since its release in late January!


- Debbie Wood Productions

Radio interview - Quebec radio station

Local Singer/Songwriter - Peterborough Promotions

Morrissey's turn at the Spotlight wheel
Peterborough teen singer Alyssa Morrissey holds musical court at the Black Horse this Sunday night

Alyssa Morrissey.
(PETERBOROUGH) Young singers looking to make an impact quickly should steal a page from Alyssa Morrissey's book.
The Peterborough teen has taken her considerable country/pop-rock vocal talent to as many stages as possible since her 2008 Snofest Idol win at Showplace, all while recording her debut CD, Use It Or Lose It, and its debut single Let's Not Call It Love, in Nashville.
This weekend at the Black Horse on George Street North, you can check out for yourself just how far Morrissey has come as she headlines the ongoing Band Spotlight Sundays showcase. There's a $5 cover for the 8 p.m. show, which will be opened by Clayton Middleton and feature a turn by Beau Dixon on keyboards. Just this past Sunday, Morrissey and Dixon teamed up at Snofest Idol 2010, performing Journey's monster hit Don't Stop Believing.
As well as performing at the Lindsay Country Jamboree, the Little Lake Musicfest, the Festival of Trees and at Market Hall where she officially released her CD, the Grade 11 Holy Cross student has been a soloist in two Showplace-staged musicals, Come Rain Or Come Shine and West Side Story.
"Alyssa is doing all the right things as a young artist...she is finding every avenue to get her voice and music heard and that determination is going to pay off some day," enthuses Band Spotlight Sundays organizer Terry Guiel.

- Metrolandmedia.com

Alyssa Morrissey at Blackhorse Spotlight


Alyssa Morrissey takes to the stage at the Blackhorse Spotlight on Sunday.
The Grade 11 Holy Cross Secondary School student takes to the stage at 8 p.m. at the Blackhorse Pub, George St. N.
The Spotlight series profiles local young and up and coming artists. Opening the concert will be Clayton Middleton, from Peterborough.
"This is great exposure. It is nice to have a place to showcase all the talent that is in the Peterborough area," states Morrissey, in a press release.
Over the last two years she has been a soloist in two musicals at Showplace Peterborough,Come Rain Or Come ShineandWestside Story.
Morrissey recorded her CD Use It Or Lose Itin Nashville. Morrissey released a single from that CD calledLet's not call it loveto country radio and it reached number 71 in top 100 Canadian country charts.
Morressey also performed at Showplace for the Gainey Foundation and shared the stage with Midlife Crisis at the Canada Day Festival Of Lights Concert.
She has performed at the Lindsay Country Jamboree and released her CD with a concert at The Market Hall
The young singer/songwriter has performed at many charities and has made appearances at events such asA Cozy Christmas at the Showplace lounge andThe Festival Of Treesat the Memorial Centre.
Morressey is a regular singer of the Canadian national anthem for the Peterborough Petes games, and both the Canadian and U.S. national anthems for the Toronto Marlies (American Hockey League) at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto.
"She is doing all the right things as a young artist. She is finding every avenue to get her voice and music heard and that determination is going to pay off some day," states Terry Guiel, Spotlight organizer.
Morressey and her band which will feature some keyboards from local veteran Beau Dixon. The band will play a mixture of originals and cover songs.

- Metrolandmedia.com

Event Information
Name: Snowfest Idol - Peterborough
Headline: Snowfest Idol - Peterborough
Start time: Sunday, January 11, 2009 - 2:00PM
Type: Live Music > Variety > Variety Shows
Live Music > Concert Bands > Performances
Audience: Adult, Teen
Price: Free

Description:
The judges will be: Daniel Peters is back once again to host Snofest Idol at Showplace Performance Centre on Sunday, January 11th, 2009 at 2PM.
If you’re 14-22 years of age and think you’ve got what it takes to be the next Snofest Idol, fill out an entry form and return it (along with a demo CD) to Showplace by Friday, December 5th, 2008.
Entry forms can be picked up at Showplace Performance Centre, Peterborough & the Kawarthas Visitor Information Centre, Peterborough Museum & Archives, or they can be downloaded from Showplace’s website at www.showplace.org.
The contest is open to singers only (no bands or groups please), and each contestant is to provide their own recorded back-up music.
A total of 10 contestants will be selected, and they will be contacted by Friday, December 19th, 2008. The selected contestant’s names will be announced at the Snofest Press Conference at 11AM on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 at The Peterborough Museum & Archives at 300 Hunter St. East.
All selected contestants should come prepared to sing 2 songs at the Snofest Idol Contest at Showplace Performance Centre in Peterborough, Ontario on Sunday, January 11th, 2009.
Alyssa Morrissey, the winner of last year’s Snofest Idol Contest
Catherine Hanrahan, from AM 980 KRUZ and the Wolf 101.5FM
Danny Bronson, a popular musician who currently hosts the series, “The Skinny” on TVCogeco
William A. Crane, a well known local music and voice teacher and former Arts Consultant to the Public School Board
For more information contact Teresa Robinson at Showplace Performance Centre showplaceadmin@c










- Anouncement

Greg Keelor to headline
Posted By ELIZABETH BOWER
Posted 15 days ago

GAINEY CONCERT:Blue Rodeo singer was raised in Montreal
Concert facts
What: Gainey Family and Friends Concert
When: March 15. Show starts at 7 p. m. sharp; run time about three hours.
Where: Showplace Peterborough, 290 George St. N.
Tickets: $100, call the Showplace box office at 742-SHOW
Why: All proceeds go the Gainey Foundation to help young people in environmental, cultural and education pursuits.
Who: Some of the scheduled performers include: -Greg Keelor, of Blue Rodeo
-Sarah Harmer
-Host Greg Millen, of Hockey Night in Canada
-Jackson Delta Blues Band

-Barry Haggarty and the Band -Alyssa Morrissey and Cyril Rawson
-Peterborough Pop Ensemble -James McKenty -Kris Newby
-Pork Belly Futures
-Counterfit Fifty, Examiner contest winner
-Donnel and Erin Leahy -comedian Steve Patterson -Murray McLauchlan -The Sadies
-John McDermott -and some surprises
GAINEY CONCERT:Double Juno winner to sing
Growing up in Montreal as a young hockey player, Greg Keelor laughs that he had no choice but to worship Bob Gainey.
Gainey, a Peterborough native, was a larger than life hockey icon with the Montreal Canadiens -- an award-winning defensive forward who went on to become the team's captain and eventually its general manager.
As Keelor grew up, he steered away from hockey and moved on to music, eventually becoming something of an icon himself as guitarist and vocalist for the legendary Canadian country rock band Blue Rodeo.
But it was still a thrill to meet his childhood hero when he and Gainey joined rocker Ronnie Hawkins a few years ago at Hawkins' home on Stoney Lake.
"(Gainey) was different than I had thought," Keelor says in a telephone interview with The Examiner.
"He's a quiet man. But when he speaks, you lean forward to listen and pay attention. And that's probably why he's a Canadian hero -- he's reserved but powerful."

Another mark of Gainey's greatness, says Keelor, is that he transformed his grief for his daughter into something that would help others.
A wave swept Laura Gainey off a tall ship and into the Atlantic Ocean in 2006. In her memory, the Gainey family formed the Gainey Foundation, which helps young people in educational, cultural and environmental pursuits.
For example, the foundation
FEATURES
announced earlier this year that it would help build a self-sustainable environmental education centre for children in Peterborough as its first major project in Canada.
"It's a testament to (Gainey's) strength to take such a great tragedy and turn it into something positive," Keelor says.
Keelor says he's thrilled to be part of the second annual Gainey Family and Friends Concert that raises money for the foundation.
"It's an honour," Keelor says. "Completely."
Keelor will be joined on stage, during the March 15 concert at Showplace, with other musical greats such as Sarah Harmer, John McDermott, fiddler Donnell Leahy and his sister Erin, The Sadies and the Jackson Delta Blues Band (for a one-night reunion).
Examiner managing editor Ed Arnold is known as "the quarterback" for spearheading the first and now second annual
It's a testament to (Gainey's) strength to take such a great tragedy and turn it into something positive.
Greg Keelor singer
fundraising concert.
"When you can get this many acts together for one night on the same stage you hope everyone has a good experience," Arnold says.
"When you have so much community support to sponsor it and an excellent foundation everyone benefits. Every cent of the ticket money goes directly to the foundation.
"This is all volunteer work from the performers to all of Karl Lawson's excellent work with the artists. I can't even imagine what you would have to pay for this show if it wasn't all volunteer and a benefit."
Meanwhile, Keelor, 54, won't have to travel far for the show.
He lives in a somewhat secluded area of Ganaraska in an old farmhouse built in 1883. He comes to Peterborough to shop.
Keelor was raised mostly in Montreal but met his future Blue Rodeo bandmate Jim Cuddy when the pair were in high school in Toronto.
They started pursuing music "full fledged" around 1985, he says.

Blue Rodeo's music registered with Canadians and its music, especially songs "Lost Together" and "Hasn't Hit Me Yet," became standard in university dorms and around campfires and during wedding receptions.
While Keelor recalls planning "world domination" through Blue Rodeo, he says he's glad Blue Rodeo's music was successful but not as huge as bands such as U2 or Coldplay.
"Our career has been such a sweet gift," Keelor says.
Keelor went on to record three solo albums: "Gone" (1996), "Seven Songs for Jim" (2005) and "Aphrodite Rose" (2006).
"Those albums were more like diaries," Keelor says. "They're very different from Blue Rodeo."
His inspiration for "Gone" was searching for, and finding, his birth mother as Keelor was adopted as a baby.
He says the album also reflects on his time with a guru in India.
He wrote "Seven Songs for Jim" after the death of his father.
"The only way I know how to deal with things is to write songs," Keelor says.
The third album, though, was "just something to do," he adds with a laugh.
Keelor says he has always loved writing songs, singing and playing guitar.
"And while my body's still capable," he says, "I'm glad to still be able to do it."





- Ed Arnold

Your turn to vote
Examiner Song Contest
By
Posted 2 years ago

Now it’s your turn to vote.
The five finalists in the 2009 Examiner Song Contest have been chosen.
Judges narrowed the more than 40 songs to five finalists. The public is now invited to vote for their favourite song. The winner will perform it at the Gainey Family and Friends concert at Showplace Peterborough on March 15.
The finalists are:
Once Before by Nathan Foulon
It’s Not Me by Chad Driscoll
Don’t Look Down by Nancy Simmonds.
Waiting by Counterfit Fifty.
Live Beyond My Dreams by Alyssa Morrissey.
The public can listen on The Examiner’s website (peterboroughexaminer.com click on Examiner Extras on the blue bar and scroll down to Gainey Concert II and listen to the songs). The voting ends at midnight Friday, Feb. 6.
To vote go to the Online News Poll and click on the song you choose. The winner will be announced next weekend.
The other songs in the top 10 were:
Holding up the Ocean by Mary-Kate Bronson.
Cat Lady by Kelly McMichael.
Incomplete, written by Cyril Rawson and Tom Shapiro.
Paradise is Just a Chord Away, by William D. Cody Clifford.
Makeda by Phil Smith, of Campbellford.
Profiles
n “Once Before” was written by Nathan Foulon and recorded by him. He plays with a band in Kingston called The Amigos. Foulon is 24, living in Kingston and working at Centre Stage Music. He is a former Peterborough resident.
n Chad Driscoll, 27, from Peterborough, is working on his first full-length CD. Driscoll was a top 100 finalist on Canadian Idol in 2003 and is the lead singer of the local band SexBomb, the previous house band for The Red Dog Tavern.
n Cyril Rawson is a Peterborough songwriter who wrote “Don’t Look Down” with Nancy Simmonds, a long-time friend of Colleen Peterson. It is performed by Simmonds. Rawson said if Don’t Look Down wins, it will be performed by Alyssa Morrissey. Rawson was inducted into the Peterborough Pathway of Fame in 2000, as a songwriter. He was an influential member of the Nashville songwriting community, with more than 250 of his compositions recorded by artists such as Anne Murray, Tanya Tucker and Lorrie Morgan.
n Counterfit Fifty is a band with members in the Peterborough and Brighton areas. “Waiting” is a song about never giving up on your dream.
The band has been writing and performing music together since 2004.
Counterfit Fifty consists of Brandon Scott — lead vocals and rhythm guitar; Brent Alvey — back vocals and lead guitar; Drew Ditmars — back vocals and bass guitar; and new member Mike Arnold (no relation to Examiner managing editor Ed Arnold).
Performing “Waiting” is Brandon Scott.
Writing credits go to Counterfit Fifty and Randy Arnold (no relation to Ed Arnold).
n Alyssa Morrissey, 16, was the winner of the 2008 Peterborough Snofest Idol competition. She has released a new CD called “Use It or Lose It,” recorded in Nashville last August. Morrissey performs “Live Beyond My Dreams,” written by Cyril Rawson, Carl Utbult, and Adam Messinger. It was recorded at Haggarty Sound Studio. Morrissey has a song playing on Country FM 105 called “Let’s Not Call It Love.” Thirty CBC radio stations have also requested her CD to start playing it across Canada, says her dad Chris.
There are different tastes of music of different people and the judges had a difficult time not only selecting their top five but also whittling the competition down to the five the readers will hear.
Thanks to all the artists who made their submissions.
Tickets for the concert are still available at Showplace at $100 each
- Ed Arnold

• Nov 05, 2009 - 4:38 PM
•
•
This 'train wreck' is right on track
Peterborough's Alyssa Morrissey has a plan and it's music to the ears

Alyssa Morrissey. Alyssa Morrissey Lance Anderson
'I hope I never have to go to Plan B. This is what I want to do.'
Track list/Use It Or Lose It
- Let's Not Call It Love
- Hold Your Horses
- If You Go By Car
- If My Heart Finds Out
- Save Your Breath
- Use It Or Lose It
- You Go First
- How Did You Sleep?
- You Don't
- Yeh, I Did It Again
- I Knew It Was
- Live Beyond My Dreams
It would be oh so easy to be envious of Alyssa Morrissey.
The Peterborough teen seemingly has it all -- startling natural looks, personality to spare, real friends of the non-Facebook variety, and family that has taken support and enoucouragement to a whole new level. But more than all that, the 16 year old has a plan; a plan that is an extension of the singing talent that lies within.
When Alyssa says she's going to be a country music star one day, believing in her isn't the challenge. Not outright rooting for her is.
In a music genre where up-and-coming young singers are a dime a dozen, Alyssa is as shiny as a new penny. While her emerging talent deserves our full attention, the real story -- what should catch our attention above all -- is her modesty at an age where bravado is so easy to adopt. The kid -- she is a kid, remember -- keeps it real.
"What's strange is I know where I want to go while most of my friends are figuring what they want to do...I kind of know already," says the Grade 11 Holy Cross Secondary School student
"After high school, I'm going to take a few years off and get out there as much as I can. I'm excited to see where this can go."
"This" is Alyssa's singing career; a journey which, to this point, has produced numerous gigs, close collaboration with Peterborough-based country music writer and producer Cyril Rawson, a trek to Nashville and a first CD, Use It Or Lose It.
A journey one can't help but feel has more than a few miles to go yet.
"I look at the Taylor Swifts and the Carrie Underwoods...you just keep trying," says Alyssa of her ultimate goal.
"But I don't want to be Taylor Swift. You've got to have the things that set you apart."
But first things first. On Nov. 19 at The Market Hall, Alyssa, backed by her father Chris Morrissey's band, will headline a CD release concert for Use It Or Lose It. Her 26-song performance will feature tracks from the CD as well as covers. Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show cost $10; $12 at the door. Students get in for $8. With the following Friday a school PD day, the headliner is hopeful of a good crowd.
Like most young singers -- locals Elyse Saunders and Brenda Mullen come to mind quickly -- Alyssa wasn't shy as a youngster, standing on boxes masquerading as a stage while singing with her dad's band. Her first public performance came as part of a safe well water benefit staged at The Junction. She was just 11 years old.
"I was nervous but I remember going up there and the nervousness went away...it really felt natural," recalls Alyssa.
"She became somebody else," marvels her father.
"I thought it was going to be a train wreck."
Whatever the assessment of the final outcome that evening, one thing is certain -- Alyssa had taken that first step. She had the bug. What followed, in 2007, were winning performances at the Bewdley Talent Showcase, Ennismore Idol and Peterborough Idol, and in early 2008, Snofest Idol. At the latter, Rawson, who has worked with and written for some of country music's biggest stars, was in the Showplace audience.
"This woman came up and said her husband is a songwriter," recalls Chris.
"We met Cyril and he offered to work with Alyssa. When we got home, we googled his name and saw pretty quickly all that he has done. We made contact with Cyril that night. They really seemed to mesh and click right from the start."
For his part, Rawson was taken by Alyssa's vocals and stage presence.
"She had no fear up there," he recalls of that night.
"And she had this quirky stance and way of moving around the stage that set her apart from the other contestants. I knew she had something special."
And so the groundwork began for Use It Or Lose It, a 12-track effort produced by Rawson, and recorded and mastered at County 'Q' Productions in Nashville. It was released in April of this year, its debut single Let's Not Call It Love, written by Rawson and John Acosta, attaining a very respectable #71 on the Canadian country music charts.
"We started working together...trying to bring out this quality that I first saw in her and capture it in her original songs and I think we accomplished that," notes Rawson.
"Alyssa is not only a talented singer but has worked in some theatre projects at Showplace and that has broadened her talent even more. All she needs to do is to keep doing it, develop a great work ethic...the sky is the limit for her."
If you're a hockey player, you remember your first goal. If you're a singer, you remember the day you really arrived.
"I was home sick the first time I heard my song on the radio," recalls Alyssa.
"I heard it coming from the radio in dad's office, on Country 105. It was on right after a Carrie Underwood song. It was incredible to hear my song...my voice.
"Going down to Nashville, that was really my first time in a professional studio. Everyone just worked so hard; they really put their all into it from 10 in the morning until 11 at night. The next time it'll be different. I'll know what to expect. The first time is always going to be special and most memorable."
As exciting as the past year has been, make no mistake -- this is a work in progress. That means more show dates, more studio work and more commitment, not only on the singer's part but that of her family, which also includes mom Toni.
"Financially, it's huge...it's about a $4,000 touch just release a single," note Chris.
And then there's rehearsing his daughter's back-up band -- himself on bass with son Jesse (acoustic guitar), Bill Devlin (electric guitar), Jeff Brackett (electric guitar), Steve Brackett (drums) and, added for the Nov. 19 show, Beau Dixon on keyboards.
As for performances beyond the Market Hall gig, there's Alyssa's involvement with A Cozy Christmas Dec. 13 in the Showplace Lounge and, on Jan. 19, her Band Spotlight Sundays appearance at the Black Horse. Meanwhile, the CD's next single, Hold Your Horses, is slated for release as a single early in the new year.
Somewhere in that hectic schedule there has to be room for a teenaged girl to be a teenaged girl with a dream of tomorrow while she enjoys more conventional pursuits like dance, baseball and field hockey. But when there's no one around, when she's alone with her thoughts, the dream returns and overwhelms.
"I see myself on a big stage, like at the CMA awards, or filling an auditorium, like the Air Canada Centre," says Alyssa, noting she's already performed at the latter as part of an audition for anthem singers for future Toronto Maple Leaf home games.
In the meantime, it's baby steps.
"I want to get better on the guitar," says Alyssa.
"I hope I never have to go to Plan B. This is what I want to do. But if it doesn't work out, I want to be involved with music in some way."
That means getting out there; gracing more local stages like she did this past Canada Day at Del Crary Park. And, of course, performing beyond the 705 area code -- something that's being looked at for next summer.
"I'm really happy...I've been very fortunate to have great people by my side," says Alyssa.
Move along, people. There's no train wreck to see here.
- Metrolandmedia