Interview with 15 year old singer-songwriter WALLIS and her dad Gene Schriver. We talked about her life growing up and singing with her two sisters, and the creation and launch of her viral holiday song "Lonely Christmas". [Originally aired 12-14-20]
Dean Olson
StrongWriter On the Radio
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Featured Guest: WALLIS
Photos courtesy of WALLIS
WALLIS has been dazzling audiences with her musical skills since she was a young child. Raised in Philadelphia, she got her first taste of performing arts at the tender age of two when her parents took her to see “Peter Pan” the musical. Mesmerized by the performance, WALLIS immediately declared that performing was what she wanted to do with her life. Delving into the local choir and theatre landscape eventually led to WALLIS being cast in a production of Annie at The Walnut Street Theatre, on the very stage she saw her first show. Growing up with a musician for a father meant a steady stream of musical friends visiting their home and having impromptu performances, which she often joined. A songwriter by 9 years old, WALLIS became a paid performer singing cover songs in local theatres and cabarets by the time she was 12. As she approached junior high school, WALLIS decided to study her craft full time, pleading with her parents for the opportunity to audition for a performing arts charter school over an hour away from their home, to which she was accepted and now attends as a sophomore.
One of WALLIS’s favorite memories of performing was during a 2019 trip to Paris with her father when she began chatting with a talented busker who was performing in front of the Eiffel Tower. He invited her to join him in a cover of John Legend’s “All of Me”, and a large crowd soon gathered.
Frequently collaborating with her father, WALLIS has enjoyed recording in their home studio for years. They began writing and recording what would become her first single, “Lonely Christmas,” back in 2019.
She has been recording at home, often collaborating with her father on songs, including her first single, “Lonely Christmas”. WALLIS and her dad actually started recording what would become “Lonely Christmas” in 2019, but they didn’t feel like they were connecting to the lyrics and so did not release it. Cut to November 2020, and the two suddenly had something poignant to write about. While the song never directly addresses the pandemic, it is not only relevant for this year, but also the timeless topic of loneliness.
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