From Sisley to Hollywood

 By Randy Simer

Speaking recently in Valencia, Francine remembered, “Terin would sleep right here in this restaurant when she was little.  We wanted the kids with us all the time.”  Years later, Terin worked in the deli and as a hostess, but her innate acting and singing talents could not be denied.  “My first kiss was on my first commercial set in fifth or sixth grade,” Terin Alba laughs.  She has guest-starred on television shows such as “Party of Five”, “That’s So Raven”, and “Saved By The Bell”.  Francine relates, “It all started one night at dinner.  Terin said, ‘I’ll eat my broccoli if you let me take interviews.’ And Jamie responded, ‘Fine, get yourself an agent and we’ll talk about it.’  Within a week she had a monologue prepared.  When she auditioned with that monologue for a top agent, the agent said, ‘I’m so sorry that happened to you,’ at first thinking this child was just relating something horrible that actually happened to her.  She was signed immediately.”

Alba is just as serious about music as she is about acting and is determined to do both in the years to follow.  She explains, “I don’t want to have to pick.  Luckily, there are a few film projects in development right now and in one of them, it’s about a singer, and in another there’s a song at the end that I would write with one of the producers for the soundtrack.  So I’m fortunate that I’m able to incorporate both.”  With her writing partner Eli Wulfmeier, Alba has been recording with producer Gary Miller, who has worked with David Bowie and Cher.  Some have tried to steer her towards dance pop projects that capitalize on her youth and striking beauty, but that’s not where her heart lies.  “I started out dancing and singing.  But I saw how it really did limit you.  For a lot of the girls who are doing that, it’s so hard to come out of that market and have longevity.”

With influences like Etta James and Jon Mayer, Alba can’t be painted into any musical corners.  She states, “If you say country, they want you to be in cowboy boots.  And if you say blues, they want you to be in a jazz bar.  But there are so many kinds of music that incorporate each other, that I’m not putting a label on it.”

 Photo courtesy terin alba