Buffalo State

Ask anyone hip on the local music scene about Alison Pipitone and they’ll tell you she’s a Buffalo rocker with a national following; that Pipitone began her music career with the formation of her first band, the Monas, when she was just 18; that she formed her own record company, Slice Records; and that, after 20 years of performing, Pipitone, described by one reviewer as "one part cover girl, two parts Springsteen, one part Liz Phair, and a bucketful of Kurt Cobain," continues to seduce audiences with her unique weave of voice, guitar, and lyrics.

But what fans may not know is that John Steinbeck and Charles Bukowski number among Pipitone’s literary heroes—or that, having just added a master’s in English to her résumé—Pipitone is set to dive into a new career: teaching.

It's a return, says Pipitone, to her early love of English literature.

In fact, Pipitone earned an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Southern California after high school, a move she knew her parents expected. But upon graduating, Pipitone decided to take to the open road. While playing more U.S. cities than most people will ever visit, Pipitone found her creative soul.

"I was 22," she explained, "and felt like I’d done the college thing. Education was important, which is why I got my degree, but then I wanted to see what I could do as an artist. I feel lucky that I followed my heart; I like the fact that I don’t have any regrets."

But in 2004, with her 40th birthday looming and "no Cadillac in the garage and no 401(k) in the bank," Pipitone figured she should weave a safety net for future income. She looked at teaching, given her father's example over the years.

"His passion for teaching made it an appealing option for me." Laughing, she added, "He wonders why it took me so long to get to it."

Yet Pipitone recognized that with her impatience with "too many rules," it might be challenging to find a master’s program that suited her temperament. But the minute Pipitone stepped onto the Buffalo State campus, she said, she felt the cooperative spirit between professors and students.

Now, with her thesis complete and teaching in her blood, Pipitone calls her experience at Buffalo State "a breath of fresh air."

"It’s been very freeing," said Pipitone. "My professors have always been accessible to me, and the environment has been professional and creative, and accepting of individual styles. I appreciate that I was given the room to focus on the areas I was interested in."

Pipitone's pleasure in the program culminated with an acknowledgement she still can’t believe: the English Department's 2007 Outstanding Graduate Student Award.

Pipitone got the nod, said Karen Sands-O’Connor, associate professor, because her thesis was "revolutionary" in the way it meshed sociology with literary study.

Sands-O’Connor explained: "Alison took real people in Buffalo and showed how their lives paralleled the lives of fictional characters. I believe her work could have real impact on how we view literary study—getting us to look at literature as something that affects other fields, such as science and humanities, and vice versa."

Pipitone, bemused by the praise, suggested the overlaying of the two was as natural to her as putting notes to lyrics. And isn't her primary role as teacher to help her students "see" that literature represents the universal human experience? That many of us today share the same concerns as those of Dickens's characters?

Perhaps the connection seemed so obvious to Pipitone because she views songwriting as "just another form of fiction." Or perhaps because her songs represent the broad spectrum of humanity she’s observed while performing.

Sands-O'Connor believes that Pipitone's teaching career will be as bright as her moments on stage—particularly if she continues her academic studies. "We give the award to a student who's shown, through his or her thesis, considerable potential for growth in the field," said Sands-O’Connor. "That’s why I recommended Alison for the award: to encourage her to get a Ph.D."

That's heady stuff for Pipitone. Still, she admits it has her thinking about entering a local Ph.D. program next fall.

But for now, her goal is to make her classroom a life-changing experience for her students. "The students are really important to me," said Pipitone, "as much as the content. Teaching someone to find their voice is huge."

And Pipitone will most definitely continue to rock on, which her fans will be glad to hear.

"That part," said Pipitone, "is not negotiable."

photography: Harry Scull Jr.

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