Mieka Pauley finds inspiration in the oddest
places2004-01-09
IF YOU GO
Mieka Pauley with Mitch Rutman and Shawn Mullins
WHEN: 9 tonight
WHERE: Blue Cat's, 125 E. Jackson Ave., Knoxville's Old City
HOW MUCH: $10
CALL: 544-4300
ON THE WEB: www.miekapauley.com
By Steve Wildsmith
of The Daily Times Staff
People stop and stare at Mieka Pauley at red lights, and not just
because she's stunningly beautiful.
A lot of the times, it's because she's singing to herself.
Pauley, who performs tonight at Blue Cat's with Shawn Mullins and
Mitch Rutman, finds inspiration at the strangest of times. As such,
she's just as likely to be hit by the lyrics for a new song when
she's driving as she is when she concentrates on writing.
``I write best when I'm in a quiet, pensive mood, or when I'm
alone,'' Pauley said this week. ``I come up with a lot of hooks
after a 10-hour drive and I'm in the 11th hour, just humming to
myself. I'm sure a lot of people look over at me and think I'm
insane.
``It's weird, because I can't write when I'm sad. I'm just too
caught up in that at the time. When you're in the extreme of it, you
can only come up with literal words to explain what you're going
through. Later on, when I'm out of it, that's when I can look back
on it and call back that emotion with just a certain combination of
words and music.''
At 23, Pauley is finding the combination that turns heads in
concert and the ears of critics. Her voice ranges from hauntingly
beautiful to soaringly stark, with lyrics that speak of honesty and
emotion that come from the heart.
Born in Boston and raised in Kentucky, Colorado and South
Florida, she attended school in Cambridge, building on a love of
music that began when she was a small girl, tinkering on the family
piano in private before growing confident enough to take vocal and
instrumental lessons.
As high school came to an end, she taught herself guitar, and
once in college, she pursued her music passionately. She made a name
for herself in Boston's club scene and a splash in the New York
scene as well, and she won BMI's Rock Boat Song Contest as well as a
top three finish at the famous Telluride Troubadour Competition.
Her self-titled debut album was universally praised by
publications from the Boston Globe to Billboard Magazine, but it's
difficult to pin down who, exactly, she reminds you of.
``The thing is it's weird, because I'm not really influenced by
singer-songwriters,'' she said. ``I'm more influenced by vocalists
like Mariah Carey -- she was my idol when I was little -- Ella
Fitzgerald and Aretha Franklin.
``I wasn't influenced by them, but since people have compared me
to them, I've started listening a lot to Ben Harper and Patty
Griffin.''
When writing songs, she takes both an emotional and clinical
approach to her craft. She's a traditionalist, meaning that she
sticks close to the tried-and-true songwriting formula: first
chorus, first chorus, bridge.
``I don't know why, but it just doesn't feel complete unless I
have that in my song,'' she said. ``It's really sort of a random
emotional thing. I didn't grow up with singer-songwriters, so as it
stands, there aren't really role models I have on a grand scale.
There are people I come across, not on a national level, but I'm
still very impressed with them and happen to love their music.''
As she continues to make waves on the singer-songwriter circuit,
Pauley now finds herself at a place she never thought she'd be --
where to go next now that she's fulfilled her long-time goal.
``It's weird, because the biggest step I was looking for was to
be self-sufficient in my music, and I've done that,'' she said.
``Sometimes I can't believe I'm doing it, so what to do next -
that's a hard question. Because I'm so happy, the biggest thing I
want to do now is to look back and know I've come further with my
songwriting and progressing with my music.''
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