Go ask Alice

Peacock's music resembles most of her folk influences, as she says she grew up "without watching television" and instead spent countless hours listening to her transistor radio (so much so that her father dubbed it Radio Free Alice). Growing up in the Midwest was a huge part of what made Alice Peacock the musician and person she is today. Alice says, "Having no television made me more creative. We'd go out and play, read books or listen to the radio" that featured Neil Young, Tom Petty and Tom Waits. Also credited for her musical influences are Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and conventional pop giants Sting and Peter Gabriel.



The talented and unassuming Chicago Cubs fan (check out "Casey at the Bat") has a previous independent release, Real Day. It turned out to be a learning process for touring and writing, paving the way for her major label debut. And though her eponymous debut album for Aware/Columbia was intended f independent release, working with producer resulted in an album more polished than Real Day. "I'm glad a producer came on board for the second album, because it allows y to have two ears working on one song." The results haven't exactly been staggering in terms of sales, though A/ice Peacock surpassed the near 10,000 copies sold for her debut, in itself a great feat. The reviews and critical acclaim it has garnered bode well for an intelligent lyricist with a penchant for writing memorable hooks on an acoustic guitar. Her first single, "I'll Be The One," may not be on the air every second of every hour on different stations, but the exposure is impressive nonetheless, considering she is the anti-thesis of a packaged female musician whose songs are hummed by everyone (admit it) and whose bodies are drooled over by horny young teens.

Peacock's talent was honed through the years by majoring in theater and taking music classes. She paid her dues singing for a local rock band and a college jazz band. (She was also a voice talent for television commercials in Chicago.) Her music spins tales of love, loss, the struggles of a person who has lived her life and the triumphs that come with it. With the deep human insights come lyrics that make the listener feel comfortablenot preachy, not overly muddled with intelligent fracas yet meaningful in gaining thoughts about our existence. That's not to say they're not flawed; she may sound a bit distant at times, but that's based on opinion. She is honest however, and even poetic in her expressions, a basic requirement for a songwriter/ musician, especially of the folk/pop genre. Her songs stand on their own, infused with a touch of everything in between. From the mesmerizing "Bliss" recorded with John Mayer to the more rock-based "Into the Fire" to the all encompassing subtlety that pervades this form of pop in "Parallel Life," Alice Peacock's tunes are a breath of fresh air in modern music that won't alienate any true music lover.