UCLA alumnus, guitar teacher finds singing voice

Something was missing from musician Bryce Wilson’s arsenal of instruments he knew how to play – his voice.

For most of his life, Wilson’s singing experience was limited to innocent childhood performances, such as his rendition of “Lay Down Your Weary Tune” by Bob Dylan on a 1/2 size guitar in front of elementary school students who weren’t alive in the heyday of the folk singer’s career.

Wilson, an alumnus who teaches guitar lessons at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, overcame his insecurities about singing and is currently working on his debut EP, featuring collaborations and a wide range of genres.

Wilson, who graduated in 2010 with a degree in classical guitar performance from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, grew up in a musical household. His mother, a guitarist and a folk singer, taught both Wilson and his older brother how to play guitar and sing folk songs when he was 5 years old.

From there, Wilson said they took it to the next level. One of his first performances was at his elementary school’s talent show when he was in kindergarten, where he and his brother performed “Mr. Tambourine Man” by Bob Dylan. Wilson continued to perform a song he had taught himself or learned from his mother each year with his friends or his brother.

“That was before I had a concept of whether I knew how to sing or not,” Wilson said. “I stopped singing because I didn’t think I was a good singer and picked it up again three years ago.”

But by avoiding the microphone during performances, Wilson felt his music lacked intimacy.

“I was really inspired by the fact that the voice is such a pure pathway to connection with another person,” Wilson said. “I think it has to do with how everyone has a voice and it’s very out there. It’s unprotected and vulnerable. I really wanted to touch people with my music and I felt like I was hindering myself by not singing.”

Wilson returns to his alma mater twice a week to teach guitar – not singing – lessons at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, a job he’s held since his third year at UCLA.

“It’s nice to be the one to expose people to playing music for the first time, because you can see them really getting into it, loving it and taking off with it,” Wilson said.

Originally from San Francisco, Wilson lauded the city for its diversity – he started playing jazz, blues, funk and soul music there – but Wilson chose to settle in Los Angeles after graduation because he felt it didn’t make sense to abandon the connections he established with other musicians in Los Angeles.

At UCLA, Wilson joined jam sessions in the dorm stairwells and occasionally performed at Kerckhoff Coffee House on Monday nights throughout his four years. He also collaborated with other musicians for his senior recital, a string quartet piece with percussion that Wilson describes as a mix of classical music and hip-hop.

Several of the musicians Wilson worked with for his senior recital joined his first main project, a band named Abstract Funky People that he created in 2010. They played acoustic hip-hop music, but disbanded in 2012 because Wilson said he wanted to focus on his singing career.

Wilson is currently working on his first EP, which will be a self-titled work he said he aims to release in March. The EP encompasses three genres: soul, acoustic and urban. He said he describes the EP as “urban” because many songs are beat-oriented.

All of the songs on the EP, except for one, feature at least one of his former band members, violinist and violist Thomas Lea, bassist and alumnus Charlie Domingo and percussionists Allakoi Peete and alumnus Jake Jamieson.

His friends believe that Wilson’s enthusiasm to explore all aspects of music sets him apart from other musicians. Wilson can also play keyboard, cello, bass, ukulele and percussion.

“(Wilson) thinks not only as a guitarist, but as a percussionist and as a string player because he’s learned those instruments,” Peete said. “His approach is very dope because he’s always looking to learn new things. He gets all the way involved in all parts of the music.”

Wilson’s collaborators witnessed the evolution of his music career as he became more comfortable about singing.

“If you’re an instrumentalist and you start singing, it really opens up another world for you because you have more control of the overall picture,” Domingo said. “Instrumental music can sometimes be more accessible because it’s more open-ended. But with lyrics, there’s more to work with. It’s more direct and there’s more to hold onto.”

Wilson said he understands the concerns of people who are adamant that they cannot sing, especially because he was in the same boat as them. He said he advises them to be diligent about practicing, and shares a different perspective on performance.

“It’s become more about me sharing something with somebody else rather than me trying to be perceived a certain way,” Wilson said, “And people judging me based on my performance and abilities.”