Meet Alicia Nicole | Singer, Songwriter, and producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alicia Nicole and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alicia, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
Hi my name is Alicia Nicole and I’m a singer, songwriter, and producer originally from San Diego. Growing up in a lax beach town definitely impacted the type of music I was exposed to. There were a lot of reggae and ska bands that played at soma or just around town at different local places. There was also a lot street performers at ocean beach playing their acoustic guitar, harmonica, or violin which was always really cool to see, and since San Diego is so close to the border I was exposed to a lot of Banda music by my grandma. A lot of the music I heard around me including the music from the 60s and 70s my parents would play trickled into the music I make now in one way or another. I still gravitate towards brass instruments and wavy guitars and try to incorporate those sounds in my music as much as I can.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My music is something very personal and vulnerable to me and it was hard for me to share it at first. For the longest time no one even knew I sang or wrote songs, it was like my little secret. Music became my diary, I sang the things I was thinking that I felt like I could never actually say. I’ll admit sometimes it’s still hard for me to release the really personal songs and I still have a whole catalog of unreleased music because of it, but I’m grateful more times than not that the response is better than I hoped it would be. I’m most proud of learning the business and marketing side of the music industry. I read so many horror stories of artists being taken advantage by the contracts they signed so I knew learning the business was something I had to do. It’s taken some time to get where I am and I’m still growing professionally. There’s been moments of doubt, unprofessional engineers I’ve worked with, lack of reaching a wider audience, but I’ve managed to rise above all of that by really pushing myself out of my comfort zone and by learning how to stand my ground when it comes to my art. Music started out as a release and as a fun outlet to let my emotions run free but it wasn’t until I saw messages from women saying they connect to or are going through similar situations as the songs I wrote, that I knew I was on the right path.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a fun question! If my best friend arrived on a Sunday we would definitely go down to Melrose Ave for the trading post. There are so many cool pieces of clothing, accessories, and so many fun stores near by. For food I would have to take her to this amazing place called Oh My Crab near the trading post but if she just wanted something refreshing to cool down I’d take her to Happy Ice. I would probably take her to some of the museums like LACMA to see the lights or to Griffith park to see the observatory. We would go explore Hollywood and hang around for the night life, but I would for sure have to take her to one of my favorite restaurants, Warrior on sunset. It’s such an aesthetic rooftop Chinese restaurant with some of the best drinks. For coffee I would take her to Highlight Coffee in Glendale or Dash Coffee Bar in Pasadena. If she wanted to see one of the best views of the city I would take her to the La Monarca near the Mariachi Plaza to get some pan dulce (sweet bread). If we had enough time on the trip I would also take her to El Mercadito in East LA for some more shopping and then we would end the day at the El Mercadito Mariachi Restaurant where multiple mariachi bands play while you eat. There is so much to do in LA and so many things I would love to show my best friend but these would definitely be my top choices.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m grateful for all the people I’ve met along the way on my music journey who have really supported me and gave me the confidence to keep going, but I would like to dedicate this to my mother. When I was younger I wanted to try so many things, dance classes, gymnastics, sports, piano classes, and I ended up quitting most of those things. Even then she was still willing to help me find the things I was interested in. So when I told her I wanted to take my music seriously she supported me 100%. I didn’t always get the same reaction from the others I told so it was nice to have her believe in me without any expectations. I think it was once I applied and got accepted to Berklee College of Music that she really saw what I was trying to accomplish.

Website: https://beacons.ai/moonmaidenmusic

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicianicolebaby/

Image Credits
Paige Sierra and Mani Strings