Entertainment

She came from Puerto Rico to be an engineer. Instead, she's making her bid for rock stardom.

06:01 PM CDT on Monday, July 10, 2006

By MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News

Dallas' Zayra Alvarez freed herself from the confines of the Rock Star: Supernova mansion in Los Angeles long enough to talk by phone about why she auditioned for the CBS-TV (Channel 11) reality series.

The striking, effervescent 31-year-old singer-songwriter put her budding solo recording career on pause so she could vie for a chance to front the new band formed by Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe fame, Jason Newsted of Metallica and Gilby Clarke of Guns N' Roses.

Gaelle Morand

Zayra Alvarez

"It wasn't an easy decision, let me tell you, what with Tommy Lee's reputation," she says before letting out a mischievous giggle. "It could be a lot of fun. Musically, it's very different than what I have experienced. But I was told that the music was not going to be heavy metal; that it wasn't going to be something completely off my limit. It would be fresh and modern, something I wanted to do. I was going to have some creative power, be able to see how that fits with them. That right there is a good experiment. I guess I'm a scientist."

But instead of lab coats, she goes for black leotards with a faux cape extending from a blood-red wraparound belt. That's what she wore during last Tuesday's Rock Star: Supernova debut, when she sang a powder keg rendition of Evanescence's "Bring Me to Life." She then turned flirty with the bad boys in the band. Mr. Newsted, on bended knee, proposed marriage. To which she coyly replied, "Yes, baby."

Ms. Alvarez can't comment on the show, even on the episode that's already aired. But this much we know: She auditioned in May in Austin before being flown to LA for a second tryout. The raven-haired artist made the cut just as she was recording material in Dallas for a planned re-release of Ruleta, her 2004 debut CD, as well as a second solo disc.

The original version of Ruleta, which was released as a joint venture between Dallas-based Brando Records and national powerhouse Sony Discos, contains 11 self-penned tunes in Spanish. On the disc, Ms. Alvarez delivers an infectious, slightly quirky pop-rock sound (think Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch and Nelly Furtado) spiced with Latin elements of flute and percussion.

The new, revamped edition of Ruleta will come out strictly on Brando.

"We had already gotten geared up for the rerelease of Ruleta with Spanish tracks and English tracks before this happened," says Paul Nugent, Ms. Alvarez's manager, of Dallas-based Rainmaker Artists. "The path that we were on continues. We will be re-releasing Ruleta with up to six English and up to six Spanish tracks. We're getting our distribution set, and we're hoping to get it in stores the first week of August."

Ms. Alvarez has no plans to abandon her solo career even if she wins Rock Star: Supernova.

"It's waiting for me," she says. "If I win, it would be the best thing that ever happened to me. I would go on tour and do this. But I'll do my own thing on the side. It's what I'm about. If I don't win, I'll just keep on moving. I will keep on putting out albums and hope people will buy them. Artists want to be everywhere and try all kinds of possibilities – see what sticks."

Adventure is part of her nature, especially these days. Ms. Alvarez left her hometown of Arroyo in Puerto Rico, armed with an industrial engineering degree, to take a job at Boeing in Denton. But the Deep Ellum music scene lured her into its nocturnal clutches. She became a regular doing stripped-down sets at Lizard Lounge's weekly Acoustic Chaos series.

"Dallas was the place that turned the switch on musically for me," she says. "I didn't know how to play guitar, and I had no clue I was going to be doing music. I was drawn to the opportunities that were so available for doing original music. It was very receptive for new artists to grow. That pushed my buttons to want to try and made me think."

Pretty soon, it was goodbye industrial engineering and hello all-night gigs.

"I didn't want to grow old without trying it. I started going out and being accepted. I grew as a musician in front of Dallas audiences," Ms. Alvarez says. "I would screw up a couple of times, and they applauded. I became what I am in front of Dallas. They always supported me. The artist that I am right now was born in Dallas."

Her parents, of course, are dismayed by her career change. They thought they were letting their little girl trek stateside to turn her education into a livelihood. "My mom and dad were like, 'Oh, God, we paid for all of that?' But I got liberated. I became the rebel I always knew I was, but my mom and dad were not around to hold me down."

E-mail mtarradell@dallasnews.com

The one-hour show comes on at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, CBS (Channel 11).