Singing her way to Laguna

Laguna newbie Alice Wallace was born into a musical family, so it was to no one’s surprise that the born-to-perform young lady started singing before she could even talk.

“My mom tells me I would attract a crowd when we’d go to the park, because I would perform all of animal sounds I knew,” Wallace said. “After I learned to talk, I sang practically nonstop.”

Twenty-five years later, the soulful folk-rocker, who performs her own ballads as well as a variety of covers from Jewel to the Beatles to Otis Redding, is belting it out for audiences across Orange County and Los Angeles.

She even does a yodeling number, a talent she shares with Jewel, one of her first music inspirations.

“She was my biggest influence in the beginning,” she said. “Her first album [Pieces of You, 1995] really solidified my desire to be a performer because she played the kind of music I wanted to play.”

While her musical taste has evolved, folk rock still lies at the core of most of Wallace’s songs.

Also inspired by artists like Norah Jones, Janis Joplin and Bonnie Raitt, she said her lyrics are a mix of fiction and true-life experiences, most of which carry an upbeat theme.

“It goes back to the adage ‘write what you know,’” she said. “Most of my songs are inspired by something I’ve been through, but other times I’ll be inspired by something a friend has experienced.

“And usually I don’t write about the painful ones until I’ve muddled through them, so by the time the song comes together, I have enough perspective to have learned something positive from it.”

One of her favorite pieces, she said, is “Not About You,” a song she wrote for an ex-boyfriend who told her not to write a song about him.

Wallace will give her second performance at Ocean Avenue Brewery, from 7 to 11 p.m. Sunday, and is scheduled to perform there every Sunday in February.

Born in Torrance, Wallace moved to Gainesville, Fla., with her family at an early age, where she spent the majority of her childhood and early adulthood.

With both a mom and dad who sing and play guitar, she said it was a natural progression for her to do the same.

Having played the flute and baritone saxophone since grade school, she developed a deeper passion for guitar in her teen years.

“After I learned three or four chords and a few easy songs, I just started writing my own,” she said. “I had dabbled in writing before, but it was the aspect of adding music that inspired me to start crafting songs.

“I really love a good melody, and adding words that complement that melody is like piecing together a puzzle for me. If the words and music don’t move you once they’re put together, then the song hasn’t done its job.”

Back in Gainesville, Wallace put on solo acoustic shows and also performed with a band on occasion.

Feeling trapped in a 9 to 5 job that didn’t make her happy, and with a music career that didn’t seem to be taking off, Wallace decided to take her talent to the West Coast.

“[Music] is the only thing I’ve ever really enjoyed doing or that makes sense to me, and I’m just thrilled when other people get enjoyment from it.

“I’d love to think that in a few years I’ll have a record deal and be touring the country,” she said. “But as long as I can find a way to make a living playing music, even if its meager, I know I’ll be happy.”