Ashley 1st

Saturated in the city for a couple years now, Ashley 1st is quickly carving a name for herself after the release of Sony BMG's "Christmas Classics: Yesterday , Today & Forever" album, on which she lends her own jazz twist of "Santa Baby" to the company of Tony Bennett, Destiny's Child, Christina Aguilera, and Luther Vandross to name a few, to the ACQB chart climbing success of her single "You're Just So Good"? from her debut album: Lovin' Every Minute (iTunes, cdbaby.com).

"Ashley 1st ROCKS with a sound all of her own!!" - Kevin Wyatt (Bass Player; Lenny Kravitz)

...which may be why she was 2nd most added on FMQB as of this August. With an ensemble as tight as her vocals that cross Alicia Keys and Blondie over a Rolling Stones ride, it's no wonder Ashley 1st and her original songs pack a punch on stage with the team of All-Stars she rolls: Bass-Gary Pickard, Drums- Benjamin Woodbury, Guitar- Sergio Ortega, Saxophone-Michael Seropyan, Keys- Dominic Fallacaro. "Everybody's felt like shouting after a first kiss, or groaning after a break up- and with me those emotions are always accompanied by a song. I write songs as they happen to me, or as life hands them to me."

Ashley 1st writes songs that express what we've all felt at one point or another because "love is the great equalizer." "Lovin' Every Minute" covers all those emotions and more. The influences for Ashley's album come from a myriad of artists: "My sister got a record player to take advantage of all dad's vinyls, and that's where the Rolling Stones, Beatles, and Bowie came into play- and driving with Mom entailed whatever Eydie Gorme, or oldies she cranked up in the car." Piano and voice lessons followed soon after. Some staples in Ashley's cd collection include brit pop, motown, salsa, merengue and hip-hop. Yet Ashley has managed to create a sound hard to slap with a one word label. "I think my album is a cocktail of pop rock songs infused with jazz over a retro vibe."

Summing it up, A.1st adds "I just write about everyday emotions that anybody feels, but the goal is to do it well. A teacher once told me, "Anybody can string a bunch of words together to make a sentence. But we write music to put words together in a way no one else has ever done, and once heard they can't imagine having it any other way. That is the ultimate goal one day," confides Ashley, "for any songwriter really. And I may die trying...but my hope is that my songs allow people to either relish or cry in the glory that is love."?