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Ali Milner � Courting the Flame of Success

With a hot new album and a string of performances for the Olympics, Whistler BC’s Ali Milner is ready to win over fans with her golden voice and warm spirit.

By Shelley Gummeson

Imagine being on a stadium stage, performing for 60,000 people.  Just rock star dreams? Ali Milner has had not only the dream, but the experience. Accompanying BC’s Premier Gordon Campbell, she went to China along with 10 dancers and a family country trio to represent British Columbia. Ali recalls, “It was such a surreal experience.  Jackie Chan sang just before us, it was very odd.”  When asked if she was scared or intimidated she responds, “Yes and yes, but I definitely wanted to get right back on there. I�ve just got this random life. It�s exciting and I love it. It was such a cool experience. I’ve always wanted to be on stage for that many people and have them cheering for me. It was so exciting.”  Responding to the comment that she must have stood out due to her flaming red hair, Ali laughs, “They were more impressed by the blondes.  We had a couple of blonde dancers and they were like ‘WOW’!”

Ali Milner is no stranger to jumping in and working hard.  She began singing with the Vancouver Children’s Choir at age eleven.  “I was put into a section called Chamber Choir with sixteen and seventeen year old girls.  It was really overwhelming. I was expected to sight read music, so I just dived into the deep end.  We sang three, four, or six part harmonies in classical music, like Bach.  It really became a wonderful environment for me to learn in.”  When not with her band, Ali often accompanies herself on piano, which she started playing when she was thirteen.  Considering that she is now nineteen, it’s safe to say there is a natural musical gift coupled with a desire and willingness to learn, that continues to propel her forward.

Ali Milner has been called a female Sam Cook,
but really she is carving out her own thang.

I Dare You is Milner’s sophomore album.  The album carries a solid variety of songs, with an R & B old school aesthetic. The songs were co-written by Ali and the talent of people like Don McLeod, Shaun Verreault (Wide Mouth Mason), and Jim Vallance (Bryan Adams). I Dare You is a departure from the first jazzy self titled one which was released when she was fifteen.  Ali explains how she feels the difference came about. “It was a natural process for me to move from the pure jazz.  I was really into that because at the time I was going to teachers, taking a lot of lessons in both piano and voice.  It was what I was focusing on at that time.  When I slowed down with that, I became interested in other genres and it was natural for me to want to try other things.”   The title song of the new album, “I Dare You” is a beautiful example of how Ali is developing her own style and voice.  The album was, according to her a total creative process.  There were no practices beforehand and the band enjoyed the freedom of experimenting with the sound, which was recorded live off the floor, to form the bed tracks.

The best advice is you can�t please everyone. I�ve heard it a million times from a million sources.

Ali has also been doing her fair share of traveling.  She was in London, England, recently performed in Tokyo, and has just returned home from a festival in Utah.  She happily sums things up this way, “It’s funny, I get a call and two weeks later I’m on a plane to Tokyo.  I’ve just got this random life.  It’s exciting and I love it.”  When asked what she couldn’t do without on her travels she says, “Hmmm…a book or my iPod.  I’m reading a book now called “Sea of Poppies” and I read “The Shining” when I was in Tokyo, I couldn’t put it down.  It was scary reading it in a hotel.”

Ali says having her band behind her relaxes her.

When asked what is the best piece of advice she has received so far, Ali reflects and says, “In this business you get a lot of positive feedback, but you get even more negative feedback I find. The best advice is you can’t please everyone.  I’ve heard it a million times from a million different sources.  It’s so true.  You just have to do it for the people who are giving you positive reinforcement and enjoying what you’re doing. That’s what keeps me going.”

Ali Milner says of her newest album I Dare You, “I think this is a really relatable and listenable album. I’m easy to get a hold of If anyone wants to chat about it.  I’m on http://www.myspace.com/alimilner, I’m on Facebook, I’m on Twitter and YouTube.  I would love to talk to people and see what they think.”

Currently Milner is in preproduction for a music video and working on booking shows and possibly tours.  With the 2010 winter Olympics being held in Vancouver BC, Ali is gearing up for a string of performances.  “The Olympics have been incredible for local artists” she says.  “I have six or seven gigs around it.  I’ll be working hard but it’s exactly what I want to be doing.”

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