I'm Allegra Duchaine

I'm a San Diego-born singer, songwriter, collective energizer, soul-igniter and all around life lover.
My lyrical inspiration began with   

Paul Simon, James Taylor, and in my angsty teen years welcomed Alanis and Avril.

That was when I started making original music with my first band, Next Exit.

 

There were a trio, although not your standard three piece(12 string guitar and vox, backups/violin, drums)

It wasn't much, but it got the creative wheels greased up enough to produce my first album, Singer, as Senior Project. It was 1999 at San Dieguito High School Academy in Encinitas, CA and Mr. Smiley was the administrator.

I've still got this CD in my box of treasures. The "Album Art" is a photo of the foot pedal of a Singer Sewing Machine that I snapped at Pannikin, a coffee shop in the village. So artsy. 

(I vaguely recall receiving a sub-par grade on it as well. But you've gotta start somewhere, right?)

 
After Graduation (where I sang the National Anthem with my school's acapella Group...before acapella was cool)

 I spent my college years at Chapman University in the city of Orange. 

I delved deeper into songwriting, which came a bit easier with all the mistakes I was making and (not coincidentally) lessons I was learning along the way. 

I partied, studied, sang the Anthem at football games, played originals at The Ugly Mug coffee shop, studied abroad in Australia (where I played more shows and wrote more songs) and ate my weight in Aramark french fries and late night Krispy Kreme donuts.

You know - the good ol' college experience

I recorded an EP somewhere in that mix with the insanely talented Adam Gubman. 

It was titled Foolish, and I still have a copy of this CD in my closet as well. It's good to go back and listen to it every now and then to remember where I came from, and just how long I've loved this craft.

 

In 2003, I headed back to San Diego for a quick stay, just 

long enough to release another album, Some Clever Invention.

This time with the thriving wheelhouse of knowledge, growth and self actualizations of a

bonafide college graduate. 

I had a huge party for the release, put a band together, rented a massive venue and got a few 1000 copies printed, along with t-shirts, sweatshirts and stickers.

A lot of people helped in a lot of ways. That's the thing about being an artist. No matter where you go, there is always a community of artists and creators. You just have to find them.

It was a night to remember.

It was also the beginning of the end of CDs, but I wouldn't come to full terms with that until quite a few years later, after traveling the world and back with 6 boxes of unsold albums.

Let's fast forward to 2012. But first, a quick sum-up:

2003 - Moved to LA, worked as a server, played open mics, pay-4-play shows, hocked cd's, wrote more music 
2004 - Moved to NYC, played open mics and some actual shows, auditioned for Theatre, worked as a singing server, wrote more songs, lived more life

2007 - Moved back to SD

(with a Musical Theater stop in San Francisco in between to perform in Seussical The Musical as a Bird Girl)

worked as a server, sold more albums, wrote more songs, played more shows

2008 - quit working as a server, took on music as a full time job, playing cover gigs for money, and original shows for my mental well being and for the love of music. Also, I met my now husband/still biggest fan

2009 - Toured the West Coast with my dear friend and monster talent Veronica May

2010 - Worked as a musician on Carnival Cruises, wrote more, played more

2011 - Compiled the new material and began work on my next album, Keep It Simple, at Studio Studios in San Diego 

2012 - Released my brand spankin new album with the help of a Kickstarter Campaign.

 

I remember my release party for Keep It Simple as one of the best nights of my life. The venue was at capacity, the band was outstanding, all the people who I love were there, spirits were lifted  and my heart was full, full, full.

Learning from past folly and the ever changing digital music climate, I only ordered half as many of hard copy albums this time around. It was time to join the online world of music sales exclusively.

 

Since the release of Keep It Simple, I have performed in places all over the world including Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, Ireland, Australia, Fiji, Tonga, Kiribati and a few places throughout the US.

I released my next album, Little Victories, in 2015 with the incomparable Jeff Berkley at the producer seat, this time all digital. I was living in Fiji at the time, and was incredibly lucky to have such a talented and flexible producer in my corner.

 

2016 brought us back to San Diego (the mothership) and I joined forces with Josh Jose and Acoustic Spot Talent.

I played gigs on gigs on gigs all around San Diego. Performing for audiences big and small. Every night was another gig. 

In 2017 I worked on a collection of 5 singles with Jeff Berkley, all that can now be purchased wherever you buy music:

 

It is 2021. Everett, MA is the place I've called home through these last couple of incredibly uncertain and tricky years. Virginia Beach is in our near future but until then, more show to play, more music to write and a whole hell of a lot of experiences to draw upon.

Thanks for visiting my site, and please enjoy the music!