Posted on: March 22, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Ed’s music influences range from rock, alt-country, and folk to classical. Over the past fifteen years, Ed has performed at many venues along the east coast, and has ventured inland as far as Nashville to perform his original brand of roots music. His songs have received airplay all over the world and he has received numerous songwriting awards.

In 2009, Ed released his 3rd CD, I Hate You, of original roots music. He lives in the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire where he writes music, records and performs live occasionally.

A summary of his musical career breaks down as follows:

2005 to present: These days Ed focuses most of his musical hours on songwriting and recording. Ed’s 3rd CD, I Hate You, has just been released. He is currently composing songs based on the poetry of W.B. Yeats, Edgar Allen Poe, and Dorothy Parker, among others.

1998 to 2004: Ed was very active in the Washington, D.C./Virginia music scene, writing and performing original roots music as a solo artist, with his band, Liquid Poodle, and as a duo with talented singer/guitarist Jack Gregori. Ed released his 2nd CD, Turning Dorian Gray, in 2002. His song “Texas” was featured on the Focus Compilation of songwriters in the DC/Virginia/Maryland area. While living in D.C., Ed also studied composition with Anthony Stark, and has composed several art songs, a fugue for string orchestra, and a piece for string quartet.

1993 to 1998: During these years, Ed lived and performed in New York City as a solo artist and with musical partner Pat Almonrode. He was active in the Fast Folk songwriting group in New York City and his song “I Never Rode a Freight Train” was included on the Fast Folk CD “New Voices in NYC”. Ed also released his first CD, Diamond Chain, during this period.

1991-1992: While getting started as a songwriter, Ed performed as a street musician in and around Boston, and performed regularly at the clubs and original music bars and coffee houses in the Boston area.

****************************************************************************

Ed is an accomplished instrumentalist – garnering praise for his deft instrumental ability on electric and acoustic guitar and banjo. His voice has been described as having a “bottomless range” and has drawn comparisons to John Gorka, Johnny Cash, and Brad Roberts of the Crash Test Dummies.

****************************************************************************

The D.C. Period, 1998-2004 – Turning Dorian Gray

In 1998, Ed re-located to Washington, D.C. Fresh with new songs, and a desire to further expand his musical styles, Ed emerged as one of the most original writers, and eclectic and entertaining performers in the D.C. music scene. Ed was the primary songwriter for the roots rock band Liquid Poodle who were described as having “[a]mazingly … catchy tunes that … make you want to speed down an empty Kansas highway at 2 a.m. tapping the steering wheel for hours.” (www.leftoffthedial.com). Ed also wrote and performed as a solo artist and with guitarist/singer Jack Gregori in clubs and venues all over the greater D.C. area.

In 2002, Ed was selected to perform at the Nashville New Music Conference. He has also received citations from American Songwriter Magazine, which gave his song “A Two Faced Lady and a Two-Timin’ Man” honorable mention in its 2001 Lyric Contest (May/June 2001 issue), and considered his song “Texas” noteworthy in its 2002 Lyric Contest (May/June 2002 issue). In addition, he finished in Second Place in the Songwriter’s Drive-In Songwriting Contest for “Turning Dorian Gray.” (March 2001).

Ever seeking to cultivate his skills, Ed began studying composition with Professor of Composition Anthony Stark at the Benjamin T. Rowe School of Music at Catholic University. Since that time, he has composed a song cycle based on Dorothy Parker poems, a Fugue in G minor for String Orchestra, and a Processional for String Quartet. The Fugue for String Orchestra was performed at Catholic University in April 2002, and the Song Cycle was performed at the Benjamin T. Rowe School of Music in April 2003. You can listen to his classical compositions on this site.

In 2002, Ed released his critically acclaimed CD, Turning Dorian Gray, which contains 11 original songs that have gained high praise from publications all over the country.

“Alkalay invests more narrative into each song than I thought possible, forcing me to check the runtime of almost every track, unwilling to believe that the story I just heard could have been told so economically and yet with such detail. The best painters never waste a stroke, the best directors never waste a scene, and Ed Alkalay’s way with words places him in the upper echelon of modern bards.”
–Justin Kownacki, Splendidezine, June, 2002

“From banjo and guitar licks to a bottomless vocal range, Ed Alkalay has [made] a great CD.”
–RoyalJam.com, March 2002

Ed Alkalay performs in a “singer/songwriter/country style with added depth …. Turning Dorian Gray is a down-home, organic creation that is real and heartfelt…. Simply said, this is great.”
–Scott Homewood, Freight Train Boogie, July 2002

“Is it folk? Is it country? Blues, maybe? Or bluegrass? Is it alternative? Your guess is as good as mine. The only thing for sure is that Ed Alkalay is turning … the D.C. scene red hot with his cool lyrics and powerful voice.”
–Chaz Topher, Leftoffthedial.com, June 2002

http://www.edalkalay.com/

Leave a Comment