Alara – PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the indie pop artist, Alara, reveals what she does before taking the stage. You can check out the story, after the break.

A lot of bands and artists have very intricate and health-dedicated pre-show rituals (I respect it) but mine would probably make these musicians cringe. When I first started playing music live, I tried all the common stuff, including vocal warm-ups (I had no idea how to do them so I would just mimic what I saw other singers do), drinking tons of water, sipping hot tea, etc. But none of those things really worked. I quickly realized that the best things for me revolve around what makes me feel happy and energized.

During the few hours before my set, I’ll finish like 3/4 of a bag of goldfish. Yeah, the cheddar kind. They’re my favorite snack, so they get me in the mood to sing. It makes sense if you think about it. About a half-hour before, a band member will magically get me a beer and I’ll drink about half of it. I’m 5’1″ so a whole beer immediately beforehand isn’t the best decision, but half definitely does the trick. And now the two most crucial parts of the ritual – taking a shit and getting a few jumping jacks in. Making sure I don’t have to use the restroom during my set is SO IMPORTANT. I don’t know if people realize this, but it’s really hard to do anything successfully when all you can think about is going to the bathroom. So that’s essential. The last thing is going outside (or to the green room) and doing jumping jacks. Not a ton, just enough to get my blood moving. Oh also, to scream a bit. I don’t always do this because it’s actually the worst thing for my singing voice BUT it makes me feel good before a show. Bonus points if it’s while I’m doing jumping jacks.

And that’s it! If any new musicians are reading this, the main takeaway is to use the restroom before playing. You’ll thank me, I promise.

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