All Photos: Alan Mercer
Peisha McPhee is in a class of her own. As an internationally renowned singer and vocal coach Peisha has improved the performance of thousands of singers over the past three decades. Her cutting edge training on how to audition, how to sing and how to perform enables her students to become their very best.
As a vocal coach for Fox's hit TV show 'American Idol' Peisha is responsible for helping contestants to deliver their optimum singing performance on stage and in front of a national TV audience.
Peisha has her own very successful studio on Ventura Blvd. Studio City , California
Michael Orland introduced me to Peisha and I knew immediately I wanted her on the blog. She was gracious enough to talk with me after I took a few photos of her. I had a good time hanging out and getting to know her a little better. With great pleasure I happily share Peisha McPhee!
AM: I know you as a vocal coach Peisha, but you must have been a performer first.
PM: I got my equity card while I was in college so I was performing already. I started doing musicals right away. Then I had a choice if I wanted to go to New York Los Angeles
AM: Did you find work easy to get?
PM: I got shows right away. I got leads in 'Guys & Dolls' and 'Man Of LaMancha' and many different shows. At the same time I was always taking voice lessons because I was so young.
AM: Where are you from?
PM: Originally I'm from Spokane Washington Loretto Heights Denver , Colorado Denver
AM: Why did you want to take voice lessons?
PM: I was taking voice lessons in my early twenties because I felt that I always had to keep training. One of my first teachers out here was Seth Riggs and he told me I was going to start teaching so I could earn more income in between my shows.
AM: Had you ever thought of teaching voice before this?
PM: It was odd to me because I was so young. I thought I don't know how to teach so I sat in on his lessons and other voice teachers.
AM: Is this how you developed your technique?
PM: I've had so many amazing voice teachers that I developed my own technique from everyone I learned from.
AM: Did you stop performing in order to teach?
PM: What was different for me was most people start performing and then don't make it as a performer so they teach. It wasn't like that for me. I was performing on cruise ships, in musicals and in cabaret and at the same time I taught. After college I was fortunate to support myself on singing alone. I have always made money singing. There were so many times I was so close to getting a great part in my acting as well.
AM: Why do you think you missed these opportunities?
PM: I didn't have a good management team. I didn't have the support I needed. One of the things I do now with voice lessons is to teach confidence. I specialize in ages 11 to 40 plus, most of the young women and men are between 11 and 18 since this is when you can really build the voice. I also teach a lot about how to visualize and dream of your goals and to make them happen. I didn't have that.
AM: Maybe that's why you experienced what you did. It has given you a unique point of view.
PM: I think I'm good at helping people move through performance anxiety and fear issues that come up.
AM: How do you do this?
PM: I help them with what to think about during their song. We focus on their emotion and subtext and what's underlying the emotion of the song. It's a lot of deep work. I have to be skilled and focused. Most people don't have any idea of this. They think you just stand there and sing your song.
AM: You've had a lot of experience obviously.
PM: I've been doing this for three decades. I used to teach at Los Angeles City Collage where I taught a class that was a performance workshop. People came from every walk of life. I met all different kinds of people.
AM: Why do most people take voice lessons?
PM: A lot of people want to learn to sing, not so they can be professional singers, but they want to heal themselves from old wounds and old ideas of themselves. When they sing it heals the old wounds of someone telling them they couldn't do something. That's a huge part of my work. I was working with 80 people a week all the time.
AM: You worked at performing while you were teaching right?
PM: Besides doing musicals I had a really wonderful Cabaret career doing my own act for a long time. About three years ago I decided to focus on teaching only.
AM: Will you ever perform in a cabaret again?
PM: I would love to do my own one-woman show again sometime.
AM: How did you fit in time to get married and raise a family?
PM: Before I had my studio I used to teach at our house in a studio in the back yard. When my girls were really little the students came in the house. This is how my girls learned how to sing! Both my girls are amazing singers.
AM: Did you plan on both of them being singers?
PM: I never really thought about it. I had a job singing in a restaurant and sang up until I was nine months pregnant. They have both been singing since they were one and two years old. It was just part of our life. It was always in our home.
PM: I never really thought about it. I had a job singing in a restaurant and sang up until I was nine months pregnant. They have both been singing since they were one and two years old. It was just part of our life. It was always in our home.
AM: What about their father?
PM: He was a Producer at that time, but his Father was an amazing singer and sang into his late 80's. He created the LaMont School of Music at Denver University
AM: Did you recognize them to have good voices when they were little?
PM: Oh yes! You can tell. When they are two and three singing you can tell!
AM: Is there a reason to take singing lessons if you really can't sing?
PM: Sometimes people have their own profession already and they just want to sing for fun. That's one aspect of it but I think you mean people who think they are going to make it their profession.
AM: Yes exactly.
PM: I'm really fortunate that all the people that come to my studio now are very commited. Everybody is given a different level of God given talent. I never say to anyone that there's no hope. What I do know is if someone doesn't have as much talent but they work harder than someone with more talent, they can be successful. It's all about technique. Seriously how you can build and change a voice is unbelievable.
AM: So you can improve anybody no matter what their talent level is.
PM: Any voice can improve. Even if you have a limited range you can still improve within your range.
AM: It seems rather logical that you would end up working for 'American Idol' I guess.
PM: I used to go twice a week when Katharine was doing the show. I knew all those people but I was a Mother of a contestant. She wasn't underage so I wasn't there all the time. I was only there for the shows. This was five years ago. Last year when they got to Hollywood week they needed some extra coaches. I was recommended by Michael Orland and they tried me out. They liked me so they kept me on the whole season.
AM: Are you doing next Season?
PM: I hope so! You can't assume anything.
AM: Well they'd be lucky to have you back! I read a quote in the Holywood Reporter that Nigel Lythgoe from American Idol said, "She's on the show and very, very talented." You have this great studio on Ventura Blvd.
PM: I never thought I could manifest my own professional space. My intention was to be an internationally known voice and performance coach. I put that into intention and I really believe in that.
AM: Did Katharine's success help you?
PM: Katharine's success absolutely helped me! It gave me a lot of credibility and showed me what was possible in the big picture. I had never dreamed that big.
AM: Was it different than you had imagined?
PM: I couldn't imagine all the unbelievable opportunities she has had. This helped me see myself in a bigger way. I started studying how some people are able to manifest a lot of wonderful things in their life and how they manifest their dreams and why some people don't.
AM: Really!?! That is interesting.
PM: I've always been very curious about that. I like to study this process. I started reading Napoleon Hill's book "Think And Grow Rich" and learned a lot of amazing principles. I use it a lot to guide my singers and what's in there is discipline, no excuses, being responsible, not blaming and determination. Most people don't want to do what it takes to become successful. Most of us make excuses on why we can't do something.
AM: That's true.
PM: I admire successful people, and by that I mean they have beautiful families and they are spiritually connected, give a lot to their community and that their abundance is about giving more to more people.
AM: Those are good qualities to be aware of.
PM: I feel like the reason I am here on this planet is so I can help singers to believe in who they are and how important their gift is and how valuable that is to give to the world.
AM: Music is so important. I have received so much from music in my life.
PM: Yes, for me it's any performing artist or even visual artists. It's artists in general.
AM: You mentioned being spiritually connected. You come across as very spiritual.
PM: For me I wake up grateful to God everyday for this life. I love all my friends and family. I try to practice everyday to be grateful. I pay attention to being kind and to be giving.
AM: I bet your students really feel good coming here because you are so encouraging.
PM: I think my biggest compliment is that when people leave my studio they tell me they feel better about their voices and themselves than when they first walked in. Guiding singers to believe in their unique voices is a very fulfilling job to have indeed!
To learn more about Peisha McPhee visit her web site http://www.peishamcphee.com/ follow Peisha on Twitter and facebook
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