Alissa White-Gluz Discusses Blue Medusa, New Collabs and SO Much More In Our First Tea Time Return!

Elizabeth Zharoff and Alissa White-Gluz Catch Up

Elizabeth Zharoff welcomes Alissa White-Gluz back for the channel’s first repeat interview. They catch up on music, vocal research, and life as busy moms. Elizabeth admits she’s running on six hours of broken sleep, while Alissa squeezes in the chat during a week packed with music work and a ten-hour interview day.

Blue Medusa

Alissa says Blue Medusa feels like “coming home.” The band lets her combine growls, soaring clean vocals, whispers, and other techniques in a way that feels true to her. She credits years of vocal practice and training with helping her expand her range and control.

The band took shape through collaborations with guitarist Alyssa Day, who sent Alissa the music that became “Checkmate,” and songwriter Danny, whose dark melodies suit Alissa’s lyrics. The members’ similar names—Alissa, Alyssa, and bassist Alicia—spark a running joke about adopting Spice Girl-style nicknames. Alissa volunteers “Scary Spice,” while Elizabeth is dubbed “Ginger” or perhaps “Baby.”

Blue Medusa has festival appearances planned and is working toward an album, though no release date has been announced.

Joining DragonForce

Alissa describes DragonForce’s blistering speed, demanding performances, and guitar parts that can sound like video-game effects. She recommends “Through the Fire and Flames” as a starting point, followed by “Burning Heart” to hear another side of the band.

The idea of playing back-to-back sets with both DragonForce and Blue Medusa gets a laugh. Alissa says one performance would inevitably suffer because she doesn’t want to give anything less than her all.

Vocal Research and Technique

Alissa explains that vocal research helped her identify muscle tension dysphonia. She now works with a physiotherapist on tension in her jaw, neck, and throat, and is focusing on reaching high notes through mix voice and resonance rather than relying on forceful belting.

She found “Golden” from K-pop Demon Hunters surprisingly useful as a practice track. After warming up, she can sing it with a freer, higher mix. Elizabeth connects this work to the demanding, fast vocal lines Alissa performs with DragonForce.

Other Conversation Highlights

Alissa has been committed to blue hair for most of her life. After briefly trying brown, red, orange, and blonde, she quickly returned to blue. They joke that going purple might require renaming the band “Purple Medusa.”

They close by thanking each other for their vocal research collaboration and encouraging viewers to follow Blue Medusa and DragonForce news.

Personalities appearing: Elizabeth Zharoff and Alissa White-Gluz.