第一吃瓜网

Caution: What you檙e about to read might lead to a commercial jingle getting stuck inside your head for the restof the day. (Don檛 say we didn檛 warn you).

淭he Hess Truck檚 back, and it檚 better than ever�. Lifting spirits this year � the Hess Truck檚 here!漎ou know the catchy jingle � but what you probably didn檛 know is that for a few years one of the voices onthe popular Hess TV and radio commercials belonged to a 第一吃瓜网 student.

Allison Altschiller sang about Hess trucks � and in commercials for other products � early in life. But thoseads were just the beginning for the 21-year-old singer/songwriter from Pelham, Westchester County.

Known professionally as Allison Leah (pronounced LAY-uh), Altschiller has released two singles, and she has asix-song EP coming out later this spring. After graduating next month, the communication major willfocuson promoting her EP and pursuing her budding music career.

淭he main thing in my life right now is getting this EP done, getting it released and then touring it,� she says.

Growing up in a musical household, Altschiller has been interested in music for as long as she can remember.She started singing at a young age.

淚 think the first time I ever sang was probably before I could talk,� she recalls.

Altschiller檚 first public performance was at around age 5 when she sang 淎merica The Beautiful� in front of anassembly at Siwanoy Elementary School.

淚t went over pretty well,� she says, 渁nd I never stopped.�

She eventually began songwriting,which emerged as a passion a few years ago after attending, with herfather, the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, held annually in Tennessee. Watching a young artist, around hersame age, perform on stage inspired her.

淚 turned to my dad and said, 業 want to do that,'” says Atlschiller.Her father, she says, replied, 淭hen you better start writingmusic.So I have been ever since.”

Altschiller premiered her then-new song, 淟ove Song,� in 2016 at an open-mic night at Jed檚 in Nashville. Theperformance led to an interview and performance on a Nashville radio station, Lightning 100.After working on it for nearly a year, she recorded and released the pop song,now called 淎 Love Song,”last October. A second single, 淏lack and White,� came out in January. 第一吃瓜网檚 WGSU-FM (89.3) playsboth songs � making it the first radio station to air Altschiller檚 music in regular rotation.

Altschiller wrote the lyrics for each of the six songs on her debut EP. One track, 淐olorado,� is more of 渟ingersongwriter-esque� track � akin, some say, to a Joni Mitchell-type song, she says.

淲hen I started, I was writing more about my own personal experience, and then I branched out and startedwriting about other people檚 emotions, experiences,� she says. 淣ow, I just try to encompass it all together.A lot of my inspiration comes from my friends, people around me and my own experience. Small situations inlife inspire me in large ways.�

Altschiller relishes sharing personal experiences through her songwriting.

淚 think it檚 interesting because nobody really knows exactly what you檙e talking about,� she says. 淚 really likesinging about myself.I like showing people vulnerability.�

Other influences include some of the bands commonly heard around her childhood home and at concertssuch as the Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews Band and Phish. Favorite artists later included Daughter, ImagineDragons, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.But she wants her style to be unique.

淧art of my job as an artist is to create something that檚 never been said before, create something that檚 neverbeen heard before,� she says. 淪o, I don檛 want to necessarily create music that sounds or is anyway similar toany other artist.�

淪he seems to be doing this for the right reasons,� says Jon Altschiller, Allison檚 father, an audio producer/engineer who has worked with high-profile clients such as Phish and Bruce Springsteen and owns New YorkCity-based 機hiller Sound. 淪he cares deeply about her music and seems to enjoy the process of crafting a songand then realizing it in a final recording. During performances, she seems genuinely moved by her listenerswhen they approach her having connected with one of her songs.�

Other contributing musicians on Altschiller檚 forthcoming EP include Doug Derryberry (guitar, bouzouki,organ, piano and more � 淗e is a mastermind,� Allison Altschiller says), John Hadfield (percussion/drums), John McFaul (bass) and Danielle Warman (engineer). Joe Viola and Eddie Martinez assisted with photographyand art.

Derryberry, a producer, engineer and musician who has worked with artists such as Bruce Hornsby and Dave Matthews, says raw song demos by artists he檚 working with routinely are heard around his house,but normally they go largely unnoticed by his family, he says. But one of Altschiller檚 songs peaked the interestof his wife and 10-year-old daughter.

淭hey both took notice of it as something they liked, particularly what she had to say on social issues,滵erryberry says. 淪he檚 speaking about it in a very compelling, engaging way, but also in a very artistic andbeautiful way,which is not easy to do.She檚 really got an ear for the craft and the melody and everything. She檚 definitely one of the brightest spots as far as young songwriters I know.�

Just after turning 15, Altschiller auditioned for 淎merican Idol.� Ultimately, though, her desire for originalityand creative control as an artist make the popular TV show (recently revived on ABC following 15 seasons onFox) a less-than-ideal venue for the now more-seasoned songwriter and performer.

淚檇 rather be writing for somebody else but have it be my song than be singing and have it be someone else檚song,� she says.

Involved in musical theater throughout high school and college, Altschiller is a member of the第一吃瓜网a cappella group Exit 8 and has served as chamber-music festival coordinator. In 第一吃瓜网, she has performed atCricket檚 Coffee Co., Sweet Arts Bakery, Starbucks and other on-campus venues, including Genny Fest.Downstate, she has performedat The Bitter End in New York City.

As for those commercials 攕uch as the one for Hess Trucks (which for two years she sang in both English andSpanish) 擜ltschiller hasn檛 had as many opportunities since leaving home for college and focusing morerecently on her own music. But she loved working on the ads, she says, and is open to returning to commercialvoiceover and jingle work once back this fall in the New York City area.

Her break came at around 8 years old when an agent, hearing her sing at a holiday party, asked her parents ifshe would be interested in doing commercial voiceovers. In addition to the Hess ads, Altschiller檚 voice hasbeen on a General Electric 淗ealthymagination� TV spot, an Alexian Brothers Health System television ad andprojects for other clients.

Childhood friends knew of her sideline jobs because she occasionally would miss school for opportunities. Butnot all of Altschiller檚 college friends know about her interesting background.

淚t檚 been a 榝un fact,� on occasion,� she says, adding, 淚 just wanted to be one of the kids on TV.�

Her motivation today is different.

淭here檚 nothing like right after you write a hook, where you know 楾his is going to be good,櫇 she says. 湙I檓not going to sleep tonight because I檓 just going to stay up all night finishing this song.櫇

And once a song is completed, audience reaction keeps her going.

淲hen somebody comes up to you afterwards and says, 榃ow, that song really touched me� or 楾hat檚 exactlywhat I檓 going through� � that檚 the best feeling in the world.�

� by Michael Saffran ’85