The title of this blog entry is a direct quote: “I don’t know how to do this,” is something that Mieka said to me on stage during a show at Rockwood Music Hall, recently. I can’t remember if I actually heard the words come out of her mouth. I’m pretty sure that I saw her mouth move in the shape of the words, but…well… it’s just not that important to the story, ok? You see, Mieka has a certain magic about her. She has the power to express, whether she wants it or not. She need not speak. She need not gesture. She needn’t do anything at all, and you are bound to feel her fury; her joy; her despair; her mind-bogglingly neurotic panic. Much of the time, it’s her eyes that do the talking. Mieka’s eyes are beautifully expressive. Even when they are wide with incensed rage, you can’t help but admire their depth. They’re just so big. Often, I’ll find myself gawking in astonished wonderment as Mieka rips me a new one about one thing or another. It’s best not to drift too far out. The sea is uneven. Jagged shards of broken ice bob helplessly amongst inconsistently spaced white-capping waves that head in all directions. Unexplained shipwreck debris finds itself battered into kindling as it claws its way amidst the loosely packed ice, beneath a foreboding and thunderous sky. Lo! A voice; an unseen siren song beckons from the dark horizon… “Are you fucking kidding me?! Have you been listening to anything that I’m saying???” Sorry, Mieka.

I’d like to return to Rockwood Music Hall, if I may. Mieka, the rest of the band, and I were performing one of our heavier numbers when I seized on an opportunity to have an onstage rock-inspired moment with Mieka. Historically, execution of any traditionally Rock and Roll inspired antic within the context of Mieka Pauley could only be construed as ironic. There’s more acoustic guitar in Mieka Pauley’s past than under every campus tree in every pot-smoking east coast private college that exists or ever has existed. But Rock and Roll in at least one, if not more, of its forms has slowly been finding its way into Mieka Pauley’s music. Don’t get wrong! The extent to which the unadventurous, benign, house-cat character of any Mieka Pauley band member renders any type of raw, ass-kicking, trademark Rock and Roll moment ironic, should not be underestimated. What can I say? We like to drink wine and go to bed early. Irony, however, was not perched at the forefront of my consciousness when I decided to face Mieka onstage and thrust my guitar towards hers by pushing my pelvis out in an exaggerated “let’s make our guitars have sex”, moment. Mieka momentarily obliged. She sensed that this was something that her future identity was calling her to do. “Make your guitar have sex, Mieka,” her inner voice beckoned. “It’s dirty and exhibitionistic, but the people want to watch. You are Chrissie Hynde. You are Joe Perry. You are Slash.”

From my perspective, all this happened in an instant as Mieka momentarily consulted the ground. She paused, her body facing mine, but with her face cast downward, void of expression. Then, those big eyes turned up to meet mine, wide with panic, but not without a self-conscious twinge of humor regarding the absurdity of her position. “I don’t know how to do this”.

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here's another audio recording of a live show - this time, of me & the band at Rockwood last thursday. and wow, the band & I had such a good time - it was an amazing show. check out tracks 1, 2, & 7 in particular because those are the songs going on the new ep we're working on.

(( FREE DOWNLOAD ))
Mieka Pauley & Band Live at Rockwood Music Hall on April 23, 2009

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I've been obsessed with daytrotter for a while, and I finally got to stop by their studios in the quad cities while on tour last fall. the session got posted today - I am so happy with how the piece turned out - daytrotter puts the art back into the music scene. I recorded, acoustic & live-to-two-track, #1 a new-ish song "We're All Gonna Die"; #2 a cover of my friend noam weinstein's "When I Get My"; #3 the first track from my last album (elijah drop your gun) "All The Same Mistakes"; and #4 the a capella "Marked Man".

here's an excerpt from their write-up:

Beauty In The Business Of Toughness

Words by Sean Moeller // Illustration by Johnnie Cluney // Sound engineering by Mike Gentry

...She brings words to her tongue that don’t feel to be of difficult conception, as if they are the particles that have just been swishing around her canals and veins for all of her eternity, which is the only eternity that matters much. They are the pieces of her that she’s never going to get rid of and it comes out as music that will make you feel minty and it will make you feel misty and just the right temperature – where the sun’s blazing down on you on an otherwise chilly day. She takes fate on a day-to-day basis and that could be the smartest thing anyone can do. You carve your own way or whittle your own coffin.

 

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pick up the march issue of cosmo !! it's on stands from feb 10 thru mar 10. I have a full page (pg 127) and also there's a recap of the starlaunch competition (pg 36 or so). woo !!

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amazon mp3 and cosmopolitan magazine's starlaunch have teamed up to promote my cd Elijah Drop Your Gun - and you can download the entire album for free from now until March 10th. get your copy, leave a review & spread the word - I'm all for giving shit away. take THAT all you suits in the music biz.

Elijah Drop Your Gun :: free @ amazonmp3.com

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Cosmopolitan Magazine and the New York Songwriters Circle are celebrating my contest wins with me & the band at our Canal Room show this friday night. Q104.3FM's Jonathan Clarke is hosting the show, and Bess Rogers & co-StarLaunch-ee Alexa Wilkinson will also be there. this show is going to be amazing. I really hope you can make it out.

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my song Bravely was on Lipstick Jungle last night ! episode 11. the song was perfectly placed around Victory working up her nerve. here's the scene:

at the live concert finale last friday, I was chosen as cosmopolitan's "Fun Fearless Female Rockstar of the Year" !! yay. the band & I were treated like celebs, it was crazy : red (actually, blue) carpet & everything. cosmo has just been amazing in their support of independent artists. you can check out pics here, & here's the video of me & the band playing our winning song (be sure to check out 5:08 when brian literally rips off his guitar, cueing the end of the song) ::

"Mieka's Winning Cosmo Starlaunch Performance" on YouTube


and here's a video of the judges handing me the ginormous check for 10 grand (THANK YOU, sylvia, david & mike !! and THANK YOU to everyone who voted) ::

"Cosmo StarLaunch Judges Declare Mieka Pauley Winner" on YouTube


the other fun fearless females in the top three with me were beautiful and gave amazing performances - fortune 457 & alexa wilkinson - they were so fun to hang with, and I was so honored to perform with them.

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