Mieka Pauley

October 25, 2005
Interview: Mieka Pauley
Program: Coffeehouse

There I was, standing outside of the WERS studio, for my Emerson ID card does not yet grant me access. I had my first interview for the radio station and I was a few minutes late, so naturally, I was calling some associates in a hurry to see if anyone could let me in. Shortly thereafter, I heard squeaky footsteps descending the staircase, soles soaked from the pouring rain, and I wondered who it could be.

Sure enough, it was Mieka Pauley herself. No "posse," no chauffeur, no one to carry her equipment, not even an umbrella; she brought merely her raincoat and a guitar case. I introduced myself and she assured me, "I sent someone to open the door," much to my relief.

We got to talking, along with multiple other WERS staff members on hand that morning, and, from the very beginning she was so personable, so kind and down to earth, especially for one of the most up and coming artists in the country, let alone the New England area. A Boston native, Mieka lived all over the country before returning to Cambridge in order to attend Harvard University. Still, despite her quick, phenomenal success, she was even willing to walk to Starbucks with myself and Matt, an engineer, to buy everyone coffee.

In a sense, I learned more about Mieka in that small time frame than I did from the entire interview. Not to devalue the interview at all, for she was so sweet and open, even willing to give me some information and references in regards to the Boston comedy scene, but that first impression truly allowed me to observe what kind of person she really is. She has such an unassuming, easily relatable personality and once she entered the studio, none of that changed. It was only different in that everyone witnessing the performance was entranced by her angelic soulfulness.

The Starbucks/NEMO Emerging Artist Grand Finalist at the Paradise Lounge and nominated for Best Singer/Songwriter at the Boston Music Awards, correct?

MP: Yeah, Best Female Singer/Songwriter.

How did you fare there?

MP: I lost, but it was just awesome to be nominated; that was the first year I was nominated in Boston. It was cool because I got to perform at the awards too, I got to get up and do a song. That was just nice to be a part of the Boston community.

What kind of music did you listen to as a child?

MP: A lot of female vocalists; I loved Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, so I guess old jazz. My idol when I was little was Mariah Carey, stuff like that. Typical kids' stuff, pop radio.

And they inspired you to do what you're doing nowadays?

MP: Yeah, they inspired me to sing and I guess I started writing in order to have songs to sing. It's not like I was listening to a lot of songwriters and breaking that down. It was more the vocal techniques.

Does that differ much from what you listen to today?

MP: I listen to less music now than I did before; I listen to very little music for a musician. I mean, if you're asking me what's in my CD player, it's going to be an audio book.

Your website, Mieka.com, and others note remarkable comparisons to the likes of Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Sarah McLachlan; where would you like to see yourself among such incredible performers?

MP: I'm not sure what form my music's going to take yet. That's what we're discovering recording the EP right now, what genre of music I actually am. As an acoustic musician, you really can't help be anything but folk. So maybe some sort of rock/soul hybrid, I'm not sure.

I read an interview on that you noted how you can't write when you're sad because you focus too much on the feelings.

MP: Yeah, it's a strange sort of thing, because you can't write when you're in the midst of what you're going through. I think it's something that you have to get through and then look back and see how it is because when you're in the middle of something like that, you don't want to do anything. Then when you're really happy, you can't remember what you were feeling; there has to be some weird balance. Writing is hard for me.

It's a brilliantly simple observation because I think that people usually get so blinded and distracted by their emotions that they get sort of enveloped in that.

MP: I think a lot of people can fall into that trap of writing when they're in the depths of depression and I'm not trying to broadbrush, but I made the same mistake in high school as well. You'll have this sort of stream of consciousness song over very dark chords. Whereas it's very meaningful to you, when you come out of it nobody else can really hold onto or relate to that. I think you've got to come out of that and see it with a clear head; you have to take that experience, but also match it up with what you know works in music, combine the two.

How have Cambridge, the Boston area, and your surroundings in general influenced your music?

MP: Oh man, Cambridge is just awesome. I lived just outside of Harvard Square, so I would street perform and that really helps your performance style. It's like what we were talking about with stand up comedy too; if you can stand there when people are just running straight by you, plugging their ears or whatever, you can perform anywhere. If I can stand on a street corner and develop a crowd out of nothing, then when I'm performing in front of an audience at a rock club, of course I can play because they're already there and listening. So that's really helped and it's just a cool scene anyway. I don't mean to paint Harvard Square so tough; it's not. It's a really great place to get out there and play acoustic stuff. There's a great sort of community of people getting out there and playing as well, so that's really helped too, and Boston's just a really cool rock town. It's just great, good people, but it's not as inundated as New York.

Do you have any advice to give to aspiring musicians or performance artists?

MP: Yeah, it's weird though, because I can always tend towards cheesiness. I'm not going to say something like follow your dreams, it's stupid. Either follow them or don't, but if you have made that decision, the best things that helped me were just going to all of the open mics and making sure you're joining a community, not competing with the community. Street performing was great, so people in Boston reading this...

Get your name out there and everything?

MP: Yeah, and just get your performance chops up. That's my advice. That's more practical than, "If you can dream it, you can do it."

On that rainy October morning, the remnants of hurricane Wilma drenching the city of Boston, she did not complain about the weather or how she did not prove victorious in the Boston Music Awards, for she did not have to. Besides, she could portray all of that and more in her music anyway.