Jessica Lea Mayfield

Jessica Lea Mayfield
Jessica Lea Mayfield at Bowery Ballroom, 2009
Background information
Birth name	Jessica Lea Mayfield
Born	27 August 1989 (1989-08-27) (age 22) Kent, Ohio, U.S.A.
Genres	Alt. country, Folk rock, indie
Occupations	musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, Acoustic guitar,
Years active	2000–present
Website	[1]

Jessica Lea Mayfield (b. August 27, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, from Kent, Ohio. She is known for writing dark, sad songs, with a plaintive minimalist style that draws on both country and rock music.

Early years

Mayfield first performed with her family bluegrass band One Way Rider at the age of 8. They began touring as a family band, boarding a 1956 tour bus (once belonging to Bill Monroe, Kitty Wells, and Ernest Tubb) and headed south from Ohio to Tennessee. At age 11, Mayfield began playing guitar and writing songs. She asked her brother David to show her a few chords, and then she started using those chords to write her own songs. Mayfield would accompany her brother David at open mic nights, often covering Foo Fighters songs. Even today, she cites Dave Grohl as one of her major influences.

Mayfield got her first break at the Europe Gyro in Kent, Ohio playing for tips and free pizza every Monday. The place is known for its rough and unforgiving crowd and the experience toughened her act up considerably. For this residency she had a fresh batch of songs she had just written after a breakup with her first boyfriend. It was then that she realized she had somewhere to channel her sadness: into her music.

Studio work

White Lies EP

Rather than trying to make herself happy, Mayfield immersed herself in darkness and, at age 15, recorded her first EP White Lies in her brother's bedroom, printing only 100 copies. One of those copies fell into the hands of Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. After an introduction, Mayfield and Auerbach hit the studio, laying the foundation of her debut album With Blasphemy So Heartfelt.

With Blasphemy So Heartfelt

Mayfield's first LP was the September 16, 2008 release With Blasphemy So Heartfelt. The album was produced by Auerbach and recorded over a two-year span in his home studio in Akron. With Blasphemy So Heartfelt features Mayfield on acoustic guitar and vocals, Auerbach on a variety of instrumentation and Mayfield’s brother David on upright bass. Dr. Dog’s Scott McMicken and Frank McElroy provide vocal harmonies on the track “I’m Not Lonely Anymore.” Says Auerbach of the recording experience, “I think she’s dark and moody in a mysterious way, not unlike Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.” He adds, “I’m just always really excited to make music with her.”

With Blasphemy So Heartfelt debuted with quite a buzz around it. Pitchfork Media gave the record a rating of 8.2 out of 10. Online magazine Blurt named With Blasphemy the Best Album of 2008 and gave Mayfield the title of Best New Artist of 2008. The album's opening track "Kiss Me Again" was featured on The CW's hit series Gossip Girl on February 2, 2009, and "Bible Days" was featured on CBS's CSI: NY. "For Today" is featured on the Starbucks compilation Have You Heard?: Winter '09. Mayfield's cover of the Buddy Holly song "Words of Love" is featured on the Starbucks compilation Sweetheart: Our Favorite Artists Sing Their Favorite Love Songs.

Tell Me

Mayfield released her second LP Tell Me on February 8, 2011.

Collaborations

In 2007, Mayfield lent her voice to the track “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be” on The Black Keys’ album Attack & Release produced by Danger Mouse, making her the first guest vocalist to appear on any record released by The Black Keys.

Mayfield collaborated with Auerbach again on his 2009 debut solo release Keep It Hid, lending her vocals to the track "When the Night Comes."

Touring

In addition to opening for many artists, including The Black Keys, The Avett Brothers, Cake, Band of Horses, Ray LaMontagne, and Jay Farrar (Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo), Mayfield has frequently toured as a headliner, and performed at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, OH as part of A Prairie Home Companion in July 2010.

References

External links

• Jessica Lea Mayfield
• Jessica Lea Mayfield on Myspace

Persondata
Name	Mayfield, Jessica Lea
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 27, 1989
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death