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Teen's Indie, Bluegrass Roots Sprout into Americana

Posted on: Friday, 18 July 2008, 15:00 CDT

By Dan Mayfield Journal Staff Writer

Though Jessica Lea Mayfield is just 18, she's been a professional musician for 10 years.

"It's a little advanced for my age," she said.

When she was 8, she started touring and performing with her family's bluegrass band.

"It was just something that we did. I started playing guitar and writing my own songs since I was 11. I've been doing it my whole life," Mayfield said.

Her own music isn't bluegrass, but a polished Americana sound.

"It's really bizarre how I came into it," she said. "I've always had rock influences. My favorite band is the Foo Fighters, and I love indie rock music. But with the bluegrass background, I would play them acoustically, and it turned out to sound like this."

She's blissfully unaware, she said, of the entire Americana music scene. She listens to mostly indie rock and some emo music.

But because of her music ambitions, she's hasn't had the life of a regular teenager.

"I've never had a 9-to-5. I've done this my whole life. It's all I've ever wanted to do. Every time I think about getting a job, I get shows instead," she said. "I didn't go to high school. I was home-schooled. I only went to public school for a little bit, but it was too hard because I had shows and stuff."

Mayfield has gained a national reputation through her song "Bible Days," which has received thousands of hits on YouTube.com. The song is slow, twangy, and has more in common with country from the 1970s than the 2000s.

Though her Americana music is what she's become known for, she has a new record coming out that is a bit more rock 'n' roll than her music on her MySpace page (www.MySpace.com/ jlmayfield).

"The new stuff is (very) different," she said. "It's a lot more ambient rock, drums and electric guitars."

Though it's fun, she said, to play live, it often comes with pitfalls being a young musician.

"A lot of places I play give me problems for being underage," she said. "I played this place in Seattle, and they told me I wasn't allowed to be in the dressing room or on stage. I wasn't allowed in the venue. I would prefer to omit that from the scene. That's not what I'm about. I want to play."

Jessica Lea Mayfield

with Lucero

WHEN: Tonight at 9.

WHERE: Launchpad, 618 Central SW

HOW MUCH: Tickets are $10 at the door. Visit www. launchpadrocks.com, or call 764-8887

(c) 2008 Albuquerque Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

Source: Albuquerque Journal

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