You’ve said so many things that I think your fans can take a lot from, but is there anything else you’d like to say to old fans, new fans, anyone else that may be reading? Alisa: All I can say is that I’m incredibly grateful, and we feel so blessed to still be doing this. Part of the motivation is just hearing back from our fans. We promise we’ll plug ourselves back into the amplifier and be rocking out soon, but I just want to say a huge thank you to our fans who have come along with us on this slight detour off the usual road that we take. I wanted to talk a little about diversity in music. You are a woman of color and an immigrant, and you’re making your dreams come true and doing all these insane things, proving that that’s possible now more than ever. I know there’s a lot of people like you that aspire to be doing what you’re doing. Is there anything you would say to them? Alisa:I think that for me, it’s been really interesting witnessing the diversity and representation. I think it’s absolutely incredible. Whenever I get asked about advice-type questions, it’s been really difficult for me to divulge in anything that I think would help, because when I was growing up I didn’t have an idol who looked like me, doing what I dreamt of doing. I looked around in the pop world and the rock world, which were very male dominated and without a lot of representation of other ethnicities. I always just followed my own path, listened to myself and to my intuition. Looking back, there have been situations where I could’ve used my voice to speak up, but I didn’t. If anything, I think people of color need to remember that they do have a voice and they should use it to say what they think, to be assertive and get where they want to go.
That’s would I could impart to people like that, is to not let other people say you can’t do something because of your color or the way that you look. Just go out and do it, be persistent, work hard, persevere, and you’ll get there. HEM: I think that’s really great. Alisa: I mean, it’s what I had to do. I came from an Asian family, and throughout my teenage years, my dad told me I couldn’t date boys until I got my university degree. I followed my instinct, I said, “you know what, I want to be a musician.” I really wanted to do music ever since I was a kid, and I knew I wanted to write music and I wanted it to be my full time job. I was dirt poor, I was on unemployment, working jobs under the table, sacrificing all that I could to just follow my gut to get to where I had to go, despite the adversity at home from my dad. It’s remarkable how you came from that and got to where you are today. It’s great that we live in a world where anyone can do what they want if they have the motivation for it like you did. Alisa: One thing that I never forget is that no one’s going to care as much about what you’re doing as much as you do. You can’t expect anyone to shift that way except yourself. No one’s going to give a shit as much as you give a shit about something, you have to do it yourself if you wanna get something done. I remind myself of that when I’m having a hard time. When something isn’t working out, I ask myself if I’m doing everything that I can do to make it happen, or if I’m relying on other people too much. I think independence is such a big part of my personality, too. HEM: I’m sure it wasn’t easy, but I think it was definitely worth it.
Alisa: Yeah! I do too. I think being a creative is very difficult and trying at times. Sometimes I think it would be so easy if I could show up to an office, be given a task, figure it out, and clock out at 5pm, but that’s not the kind of life that I want to live. Some people do, and that’s fine, but being a creative, you have to figure out your entire world by yourself, and you’re lucky to have other people collaborate with, which I totally am. Thom has been my creative collaborator for the past ten years, through thick and thin, through it all, we persevered, and we’re the best of friends. We have each other’s back. He’s the one person I don’t have to explain myself to, in terms of being creative and getting my ideas across. That’s very special to have, other co-conspirators in your field of work. When you have that, you have to hold onto it. You’ve said so many things that I think your fans can take a lot from, but is there anything else you’d like to say to old fans, new fans, anyone else that may be reading? Alisa: All I can say is that I’m incredibly grateful, and we feel so blessed to still be doing this. Part of the motivation is just hearing back from our fans. We promise we’ll plug ourselves back into the amplifier and be rocking out soon, but I just want to say a huge thank you to our fans who have come along with us on this slight detour off the usual road that we take.
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