LITTLE ROCK — Cheyenne Marie Mize made her latest EP, We Don’t Need, in a church, whereas her previous album came from a funeral home.
Well, make that a recording studio above a funeral home, she points out: “My friend had a studio above his family’s funeral home, which is where we made my debut album, Before Lately.”
Her EP came out on Yep Roc, a major label based in North Carolina.
“I had thought I’d put it out myself, but then I started talking to Yep Roc, and we just decided to put that out with them,” she says. “And we’re now finishing up the final mixes of what will be a full-length album to be released early next year. We don’t know what the date will be yet.”
Mize, who will be performing at Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack today, lives in Louisville, Ky., not far from where she spent her first 10years on a family farm. She says there’s more music going on in Louisville than just the well-known band, My Morning Jacket, and the cult hero, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, who records under several names.
“My only previous time to perform in Little Rock was as a member of Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s band several years ago, I think in 2009,” she says. “That was so much fun. I had sung on his Among the Gold record and he then invited me to join his tour.
“Our town here has such a unique blend of musicians,” she says. “There’s a huge ‘indie’ rock scene; there’s also bluegrass and old-time music. I also play in an old-timey band.
“I think Louisville is like Little Rock in one respect - a cheap place to live for musicians.”
Mize says she plays violin in her other musical outlet, but can’t manage to play the instrument in her current touring band.
“It’s kind of hard to play the violin and sing at the same time,” she laughs.
Her band consists of a couple of friends who all trade instruments with her, rotating among keyboards, bass, drums and guitar.
“I play all of them,” she says. “I’ve never been able to go with only one kind of sound.”
When she’s not performing, she does some work as a music therapist, working with two boys who are autistic. Her music is one activity that helps her stay sane, she says.
Raised in the 1970s by music-loving parents, she discovered Radiohead in her high school and college years.
“That band kind of provided the soundtrack for my growing up years,” she says. “As far as women who influence me, I’d cite Shannon Wright, a really raw singer from Chicago, and PJ Harvey. She has had her place in my songbook, certainly.”
Opening act Kelli Scarr, a Brooklyn-based pal of Mize’s, recently released a new album, Dangling Teeth, which she recorded in Woodstock, N.Y. Scarr is an Emmy Award nominated composer for her score for Jeremiah Zagar’s documentary In a Dream. She also toured for two years across four continents as a solo opening act for Moby.
Cheyenne Marie Mize
Opener: Kelli Scarr
8:30 p.m. today, Stickyz Rock ’n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 107 River Market Ave., Little Rock
Admission: $5
(501) 372-7707
stickyz.com
Style, Pages 32 on 07/31/2012