An Interview With Edward Sylvan
My hope is that we can inspire a generation of thoroughly compassionate and loving human beings from the ground up! This new album is a step in that direction — each song is rooted in a Jewish value that is also a universal value that everyone can relate to. I would love families to listen to these songs and talk about what they mean. I’m trying to simplify some huge ideas so that kids can grasp them intuitively, and relate to them.
As a part of our series about music stars who are making an important social impact, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Alison Faith Levy.
Alison Faith Levy is a beloved children’s musician and educator based in San Francisco. As an original member of kindie rock pioneers The Sippy Cups, Alison toured the country many times over and wrote several of the band’s Top Ten hits on SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live. After the band went on an extended hiatus, Alison released two albums of her own original music for families: World of Wonder and The Start of Things. Her new album You Are Magic is designed to open up a spiritual dialogue for families, touching on ideas of creativity, connectedness, empathy, and caring for the planet and each other. She recently earned her Master’s degree in Jewish Education, and this work has inspired the latest chapter in her career and her life.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit of the ‘backstory’ of how you grew up?
I grew up mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area and went to college in New York City. Interesting fun fact: my dad founded the game company Activision! I was always interested in music from a very young age — I sang and played piano and did musical theater. I was also a voracious reader, record collector, and fan of rock music, underground, punk, new wave, and indie rock. It was my whole world. I spent a lot of time just alone in my room, listening to records and dreaming about being in a band. I was also always interested in philosophical and spiritual ideas but didn’t have much of an outlet for it until I got to college and majored in Philosophy at NYU.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
Since my early 20s, I have played in a lot of bands, toured the country, and recorded many albums in different genres. When I had my son Henry, I had just finished two albums and tours with the band The Loud Family and wasn’t sure what my next move would be. I wound up joining The Sippy Cups, which was a psychedelic rock band for kids. We took off like a rocket, had some great success, and I found myself writing and performing music for kids and really loving it.
From there I continued to perform and record for kids as a solo artist, and I also began teaching preschool music classes in Jewish settings and leading family services at our temple, and a lightbulb went off in my heart. THIS is the world for me. THIS is my place. I wanted to learn everything I could about Judaism and be an active part of the community. I wanted to use my skills and talents to serve families in a way I hadn’t done before. I was raised culturally Jewish, but not very observant. I had found my way in, and my calling.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What was the lesson or take away that you took out of that story? What would you advise a young person who wants to emulate your success?
Give yourself the freedom to try different things, live your life the way that feels most authentic, and let go of perfectionism and comparing yourself to others. It took me a long time to learn how to TRUST MY GUT and do what felt right for me, rather than what I thought other people wanted to see. It’s never too late to make a change.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
“Look for the clear flowing water.” This is my own quote, from the way I have learned how to live. When I am wondering whether I should do something or not, I have invented this simple way to check in with myself. I picture life as a stream, and I visualize whether the water will run muddy or clear when I make that particular choice. If it seems muddy, it means something is not right about it, and I trust my instincts to try something else or let that particular thing go.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are so many people who have inspired me and helped me, but in this latest chapter of my life, I would say it is Rabbi Katie Mizrahi and Zehava Dehan (Education Director) from Or Shalom Jewish Community in San Francisco. They really encouraged me to pursue this new path and gave me the freedom to find my own way as a Jewish educator, song leader, and spiritual person. An interesting story: When I was considering moving into this new career as a Jewish educator and away from the life of a rock musician, I was very emotional — it was like leaving a huge part of my life behind. I was talking to Rabbi Katie about this, and telling her how I felt a calling to do this, but I was so scared. She said “You know, I envision myself as a hollow tube. The wisdom and inspiration come from above me, and flows through me.” I never forgot that. We are but a hollow tube and must allow the creativity and inspiration to flow unimpeded by our own ego. I have since found a way to reconcile all these aspects of myself into a life that feels natural.
Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview, how are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting social impact causes you are working on right now?
Well, after the last election I’m giving myself a little breather! 😉 I did so many voter postcards I thought my hand would fall off. Seriously though — through my work as an educator and musician, my goal is always to start with the youngest children and families, and give them the tools to understand basic values like empathy, caring for the earth and animals, honoring their own creativity and authentic self, and practicing kindness. Last year, during the pandemic, I created a whole online curriculum for K-5th graders, with hands-on activities that brought them in touch with these values in concrete ways.
My hope is that we can inspire a generation of thoroughly compassionate and loving human beings from the ground up! This new album is a step in that direction — each song is rooted in a Jewish value that is also a universal value that everyone can relate to. I would love families to listen to these songs and talk about what they mean. I’m trying to simplify some huge ideas so that kids can grasp them intuitively, and relate to them.
Can you tell us the backstory about what originally inspired you to feel passionate about this cause and to do something about it?
I grew up in the 80s, which was a time when selfishness and narcissism were at their peak. I did not really learn the value of cultivating empathy and kindness, and it took me a long time (and a lot of big mistakes) to really understand that it is the only way to move through life. I wish that I had been taught more directly as a young child that I am part of something bigger, the immense fabric of human life and that everyone needs love and kindness. I’m still learning, and I still work every day on trying to be a better person. I’ve taught these things to my son, however, and he is such a thoughtful, kind, and lovely person. I’m so proud of him.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and take action for this cause? What was that final trigger?
At a certain point in my career I was feeling so burned out, and I realized that the life of a recording artist and musician felt hollow when it was only about “ME ME ME.” I was miserable and stressed out all the time, constantly pushing to get myself out there and be successful. It didn’t feel authentic somehow, and I wanted to give up. I hadn’t ever reached the wide-reaching success I had envisioned for myself, (or that others thought I should have reached), but then I started to understand that there was a reason for that. I didn’t actually want that particular kind of success that I thought I had been working towards. I took a step back and examined what was in my heart. I wanted time with my family, my friends, and I wanted my work to have real meaning and be connected deeply to a community. When I flipped the narrative and made it about working with children and families in the community, everything felt better. Like a huge weight had been lifted. Clearwater flowing. That was definitely the “aha moment.” (I’m a big Oprah fan so I dig that reference, thank you!)
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
When I saw all the photos from the children that did my activities this year, during a really tough time of being stuck at home for months on end, it made me feel so good. I felt like I was making a small difference in their lives, their perspectives on the world, and their place in it. My goal was for them to feel connected, engaged and heard, during a very isolating year. The social-emotional impacts of the pandemic are going to be long-lasting, especially with children. We need to make sure they can reconnect with the bigger community safely and know that they are loved and valued. I also hope that some of those voter postcards may have changed some minds, too!
Are there three things that individuals, society or the government can do to support you in this effort?
- Fully fund early childhood education and make quality health care available for all.
- Get vaccinated and trust the science.
- Consider how your decisions and actions impact others, and always begin from a place of empathy.
Fantastic. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or an example for each.
- Don’t let your emotions get in the way of your work. I spent way too much time as a young artist being caught up in drama, and it wound up really affecting my professional relationships and my ability to focus on my goals.
- Stop worrying so much about how you look. I have always felt like I wasn’t quite perfect in many ways, and I look back now on how cute I was as a 20-something and I’m like ‘“What a waste of time and mental energy!”
- Keep moving forward. Don’t get caught up in your past mistakes or successes. Keep growing and evolving. Stay open-minded and always willing to listen, learn, and change.
- Make art. Make art. Make art. Make all kinds of art — not just the kind you think you are “good” at. Your talent does not define you, and you are allowed to choose for yourself what makes you happy.
- Love and be loved. Giving and receiving love takes work, energy, and compromise. Be willing to do the work and the rewards are infinite.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Well… besides clean water, safe housing, fully funded education and a healthy planet? Community art-making initiatives — where people from all social, cultural, and political stripes come together to get messy and make art together. Paint a mural on the side of a building, make a mosaic in a park, paint, draw, build something. Across generations, neighborhoods, and political affiliations. It may sound trite, but what comes out when we are playful and creative is our authentic selves, whether we are “artists” or not. Making things together, and the connections and conversations that happen during the process can dissolve boundaries in profound ways. Maybe people could just see each other more honestly, without the gauze of media and politics, and know that we need to work together, help each other and that we’re all an integral part of healing this interconnected world.
We are blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Politics, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Oh, come on. OPRAH! 100%!! Or Brene Brown. She’s amazing.
Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was so inspiring, and we wish you continued success!
Music Stars Making A Social Impact: Why & How Alison Faith Levy Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.