When Wasilla singer-songwriter Lizzie Guillot began consistently going to open mics in Anchorage, she challenged herself to play new material for every audience.
“I set a date, and I was like, ‘I’m going to an open mic [at Koot’s in Anchorage] on this day,’ and practiced a couple songs, and then I loved it so much and just continued from there,” Guillot said.
Even though she “bombed” her first open mic, Guillot’s first crowd experience was so positive and encouraging that it inspired her to push through the nervousness. She first began attending open mics in 2021, and has been playing live in Anchorage and the valley for over three years.
For a while, Guillot says she was driving into town weekly to do open mics, some at Koot’s, Van’s Dive Bar, Williwaw, Humpy’s, wherever live music was played, she says. Eventually, Guillot found the Schwabenhoff in Wasilla and other venues closer to her home base.
Guillot says she grew up on pop-punk, and is “100 percent an emo kid,” really gravitating towards acoustic albums and bands with a heavier sound. She describes her style as indie-inspired, alternative and acoustic. Although she didn’t grow up playing music, she dabbled throughout her teen years, picking up violin and guitar. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit and shutdown orders were put in place that Guillot says she started taking lessons.
Seeing so many local artists playing their own original music inspired Guillot to want to write her own, she said. Her teacher at the time encouraged her to just start writing, even if it was bad. She says it took her a while, but says her process is ever-evolving
“Alaska is crazy full of talent, it’s wild,” she said.
With guitar, Guillot says she teaches herself on sound. Sometimes, she will write a song starting with a chord progression she really likes. Other times, she writes something to a chord progression or how it makes her feel. She says that sometimes, she writes an entire poem, and “finds the music” for the corresponding piece.
“I just do it by sound and patterns rather than more structure,” she said.
Guillot says her lofty goals for the new year include collaborating with other artists, whether that’s writing music together, jamming out or just talking about each other’s process. She wants to record some of her own music, too, but hasn’t pulled the trigger on it.
While Guillot says she enjoys her music style as it is, “slowed down and acoustic,” she says she can picture how it could be expanded to a full band — “heavier, faster, maybe metal or punk-inspired.”
Sam Davenport is a writer residing in Anchorage. She's a leo and a plant-person, and loves spending quality time with her dog, Aspen. She is a Real Housewives fan and has been called a Bravo historian.
