Whitney Lyman & Cherish Alexander: The NAMM Show 2025 Interviews
Cherish Alexander and Whitney Lyman – Photo by Vivian Ortega
Whitney Lyman & Cherish Alexander: The NAMM Show 2025 Interviews
Cherish Alexander is the longtime bassist for Josie Cotton (best known for the hit new wave song Johnny Are You Queer) and has experienced a brilliant career as a solo artist. When Cherish reached out to say she was now also working with an amazing new artist named Whitney Lyman and they would be performing a very special performance at The Sheraton for The NAMM Show, it was time for a brand-new interview – not only to catch up with the happenings of Cherish Alexander but discover the artistry of Whitney Lyman. This interview was conducted outside The Anaheim Convention Center as the sun was setting its warm golden glow across Orange County. And just like the music of these two wonderful artists, this moment in time was absolutely magical. Read on…
We’re here with Whitney Lyman and Cherish Alexander. Whitney, first of all, tell me a little about yourself, where you’re from, and what your music is like.
Whitney Lyman: I come out of the Seattle music scene. I’m living in California now, but I went to music school there. I studied jazz, and I studied songwriting. I have a lot of influence in classic rock from the 70s and glam rock and stuff like that. I think just from the collection of all the different influences I have, it kind of comes out in my music in a way. So, rock, pop, elements of R&B, folk, jazz, all those things meld into the sound that I end up creating, I guess.
What are you looking forward the most about the NAMM Show?
Whitney: Well, it’s a really amazing place to come and of course meet new people, run into people you know and converge. Everything online is great to connect across the world, but there’s nothing like being in person when you’re talking to people and building that kind of energy. So, I just love that. And I’m especially excited to be performing with my band tonight at the Sheraton stage for a little stripped down acoustic set.
And in your band is Cherish Alexander from the Josie Cotton band. How did Cherish wind up in the band?
Whitney: I started collaborating with Cherish a little while ago, and we started working on some songs together, co-writing, and stuff like that. She had some amazing songs that she wanted help finishing, and so we decided to focus in on this project. Then it naturally came about when there was an opportunity to perform live that she would be the obvious choice to play with me. She’s an amazing bass player, amazing singer, amazing artist, so I’m just excited to work with her.
Editor Ken with Cherish Alexander and Whitney Lyman
Select two songs you’re going to perform tonight, and what inspired the lyrics for you?
Whitney: One of the songs I’m really excited about is one of these co-writes I did with Cherish called Supermoon. It’s going to be our first single from this new EP. It was just a really magical song that she started with, brought to the table, and then we flushed it out together. I just really liked entering that magical world that she created and started, and that we could build together to come up with this final piece. I got my really good friend, Andrew Joslyn, to write some strings for it on the recording, which really took it to the next level of majesty. Yeah, I’m excited about that one. And the lyrics, like I said, it just kind of brings you into this fantasy world, and I’m all about that magic.
Another song that I love performing is a song I wrote called Love Spell. It’s really about, you might have feelings for someone else but instead of trying to force someone to have those feelings for you, you can still talk about having your feelings but directing that love towards yourself. I don’t need to cast a love spell to make you fall in love with me because I love myself enough and that is the spell in itself. I guess that continues on the magic theme in a sense, which I find ends up in my music a lot.
Have you played out here in Los Angeles before?
Whitney: Yeah. I’ve performed at the Whisky a Go Go, the Hotel Cafe, a place called Room 5, which doesn’t exist anymore. But, yeah, I’ve played a few shows around there and also been gigging regularly. I live in the Palm Springs area now, so out there, there’s a lot of gigs I’m playing all the time.
Cherish, what have you been up to lately?
Cherish Alexander: Well, working with Whitney has just been like a complete highlight. We just finished her new EP, and I’m excited about that. That’s actually been a 2-year process, pretty much on and off, taking time to develop the songs, and then we went in the studio. It’s kind of my first time producing. I’ve produced myself all these years, but it’s been really fun producing with Whitney. Yeah, it’s kind of what I’ve been up to. I did tour with Josie last year. I did the Me First and the Gimme Gimme’s Christmas tour.
How was that?
Cherish: It was really, really fun. It was really fun. It was like 8 days and, yeah, that’s what I’ve been up to.
Have you had any strange responses to “Johnny, Are You Queer?” when you performed that live?
Cherish: I love how that song brings people together, people reliving their youth, and people have such good feelings about it. In fact, I think it was a staple song back in the day that helped people identify who they are, and feel okay with it. She’s like the spokeswoman of that generation with that. I guess I didn’t realize what an impact it had until I started playing that with her. People are just die-hard for that.
She got a lot of crap for that song in the beginning, though.
Cherish: I know, but it’s crazy because as much crap as she got, now she has this fan base, this huge fan base that loved her for that. She has embraced that, and I’m glad for that.
And then your solo work, have you been doing anything lately?
Cherish: You know, I’m always creating something, whether I’m writing it myself or working with Whitney, but there’s always something brewing. I’m kind of taking a break from the artist thing for myself, but it’s brewing. So, it’s never forever, but it’s such an inspirational thing when you’re an artist, and you have so many different outlets for playing live and producing and writing and being your own artist. I’ll always be that. I just, I’m not sure what’s next with that. It’s up to the gods.
You were the final interview I did before the pandemic, remember that?
Cherish: Oh my God, that’s right.
Did you find that the pandemic was a creative time for both of you?
Cherish: I mean for me, I was in complete heaven, but I’m kind of a loner by nature anyway. So, yeah, I was completely in my element. I know that wasn’t the case for a lot of people. How about you?
Whitney: For me, it was a little bit different because I had just recently moved to Los Angeles, and I didn’t really have a stable living situation, so I had to move a couple of times. When you’re doing that, you don’t have a chance to settle and get as creative as you’d like. But it was actually a really good chance for me to take some time away from that until that creative urge starts coming back. You also need that time to clear your mind and clear your body and just rest, if that makes sense, until the inspiration starts coming back in. So, that was a good chance for me to do that. And then I feel, really in the last couple of years, has expanded. My creativity is now starting to really pour out even more so. So, it’s like she said, you never know. It kind of depends on the inspiration, it depends on the gods like what they’re going to decide to channel through you or the muses or however you like to look at it.
Cherish: And sometimes you’re pregnant with just ideas and thoughts, and you go a year and not create anything in that way, and then it’s like boom! And then you just do it all in 2 months, and you’re like, “Oh, okay, so that whole resting process or incubation process was for this moment right now.” And I think as an artist, you can listen to that intuition.
Whitney: Absolutely.
One last question, what would you like a listener to remember after hearing your music for the first time?
Whitney: Oh, that’s a good question. I just want them to have a good feeling. My goal is so that somebody feels good listening to it. Maybe they resonate with the lyrics or just the sound, just my voice or the sound of the song that’s coming out. As long as it gives them a good feeling, that’s what I’m about because it’s like really tapping into the emotion and even complex emotions that we sometimes don’t know how to express or address. That’s what I like to put through my music, and if someone can get something out of that that helps them understand themselves a little bit or just enjoys it, then that would be my goal.
(Interview by Ken Morton – Photo by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography)
