Falk (band)

Early life

Alexa and Natalee were born in Farmington, Utah to Michael and Analee Falk. Michael is an international commercial real estate business owner, while Analee is a former flight attendant. The girls have a younger brother, Luke Falk who is the starting quarterback for the Washington State University football team.

Early on, they began singing and harmonizing together. Upon noticing the girls’ love of singing and performing, Analee began to enter them into local pageants and talent competitions. Although she simply hoped the girls would gain confidence and have fun through their experiences, Analee was later approached by a teacher who advised Analee to enter the girls in private vocal lessons.

Two-Steppin'

In 1998, Alexa and Natalee entered the Starmania Vocal Competition in Las Vegas, NV. The girls won their respective categories, and had the opportunity to record their first album. One of the stipulations of the deal was that the record had to include an original song. It wasn’t long before Alexa had written her first song, titled “When I Look Into Your Eyes”, in the backseat of her grandmother’s car. With the help of long time vocal coach Dean Kaelin (David Archuleta, SheDaisy), Alexa and Natalee recorded the song on their self-titled first album, Two Steppin’, a country record that also featured covers of the girls’ favorite songs.

That year, Alexa’s song, “When I Look Into Your Eyes”, was entered into the Utah’s Songwriter of the Year competition. Some judges did not believe she had written the song and required proof of her writing. She won the competition across all ages and categories, garnering attention around the state. Later that year, the duo performed for the Karl Malone Foundation, opening for SheDaisy.

Girl Talk/Kiss Across the Ocean

Meanwhile, SheDaisy introduce the Falk family to songwriter and producer Jason Deere, who co-wrote a catalog of music with them through his company, Bigger Than Me Records. The duo signed on with Warner Chappell Music Publishing.

They were told they were between mainstream country and pop music, and created the pop-friendly album Girl Talk – working with Deere, Luke Wooten, Silvio Richetto, and Trina Harmon. Girl Talk was later released as an EP, and they began working with Tina Treadwell, choreographer Chantal Robson, and Disney’s Greg Cham on their performance.

Girl Talk was followed by Kiss Across the Ocean, with a title track about kids who were separated from their deployed parents during the Iraq War. The Falks donated the proceeds from sales to the Fallen Heroes Last Wish Foundation, which provides for the children of US service members who were lost in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Around this time, Brazilian pop artists Wanessa Camargo and Luiza Possi both recorded songs that Deere had written with the Falks – including Camargo’s song, Se Aquela Estrela É Sua (Kiss Across The Ocean). By 2002, they had five platinum hits as songwriters in Brazil – three of which hit #1 on the charts. As established songwriters, Natalee signed with ASCAP Publishing and Alexa signed with BMI.

They gained national recognition on television programs such as The Jenny Jones Show, and with features in Girl’s Life and American Girl. They were also featured in the full-length documentary, The Indigo Evolution, which sought to highlight indigo children, or kids that possess special, unusual, or supernatural talents. Through their lawyer at the time, Craig Hayes, the girls landed interest from several record labels and learned to play the guitar to perform their songs at meetings.

Faces Without Names

In late 2005, the Falks joined forces with Jared Paul of Irving Azoff Management to form the band Faces Without Names. With the help of musical director Bruce Sterling of AEI entertainment, they held auditions for musicians and signed on Jaco Caraco (Miley Cyrus, Aly & AJ, Colbie Caillat), Tim Archer, Jesse Berent (Aly & AJ), and Jon Willis.

In 2006, Faces Without Names signed with Airgo Music. They left school to move to Los Angeles, where they could have regular band practices and prepare for a summer tour. They wrote and recorded most of their album with Marjorie Maye. They also visited places like Sweden, New York City, and Canada to work with other industry professionals like Andy Marvel, Justin Gray, Oliver Leiber, Jimmy Greco, and the Anders group. In 2006, Faces Without Names went on the Camplified Tour with choreographer Paula Brown, where they performed at summer camps along the East Coast.

Later that year, they became one of the top 25 groups recognized on Fox’s The Next Great American Band.

By this time, personal issues and pressure led to Alexa developing an eating disorder. As she struggled, she wrote a song titled “Deadly Beauty” about the experience. In 2007, Alexa submitted “Deadly Beauty” to the CosmoGirl Magazine songwriter’s competition. Readers all over the country cast votes for their favorite song, and Alexa won the competition. The girls later performed “Deadly Beauty” on 97.1 FM in Salt Lake City.

Falk

After graduating high school they decided to leave Faces Without Names. Alexa spent one semester at Berklee, then joined Natalee at Utah State University. The sisters spent a summer in New York recording their album What If You’re Wrong with top producer Russ DeSalvo. They again performed on the Camplified tour.

At that point they decided to create the duo Falk with the help of Troy Oldham’s PR agency team through the Huntsman Business College at Utah State University. Fellow students studied Falk’s audience and helped market and brand the duo through their public relations courses. During this period, the girls simultaneously attended school and performed – opening for artists like Secondhand Serenade, Sean Kingston, Kalai, Tyler Hilton, and Vertical Horizon.

In the summer of 2009, the girls returned to New York City to work with Freddy Wexler, The Brain Management, and engineer Matt Appleton. They released their album Kiss the Radio – an infusion of pop, rock, and country influences. At that point they reconnected with their first producer, Jason Deere, and returned to their country music roots.

In October 2011, Falk flew out to New York City to perform at the National Eating Disorder Association's annual walk in Foley Square. “Deadly Beauty” resonated with the event’s attendees, and a few months later, Alexa and Natalee signed on to be ambassadors for NEDA. As part of their ambassadorship, Falk has traveled to NEDA walks all over the country to speak and perform their hit song.

In the spring of 2012, Falk began recording their new album, The Ride, with Deere. The album features several prominent Nashville musicians, including Ilya Toshinsky, Nir Z, Nick Buda, Derek Wells, and Tim Marks. Later that year they released their first four singles: “Deadly Beauty”, “Chase Me”, “Will You Catch Me”, and “Don’t Wait”, and are releasing one single per month until the next album comes out.