ZapTown

Cheyenne Marie Mize will be returning to Indianapolis, this time performing at The White Rabbit Cabaret in Fountain Square, Saturday, July 31st.

Her breathtaking visions of parlor music, her collaboration with Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and her exquisite folk nature , this Louisville musician takes haunting sounds from the past and makes them realistically current. Her voice will sooth your soul while hypnotizing you to gaze into her expressionistic ways. It’s hard not to fall in love with her songs. With her debut solo album Before Lately, due out soon, she talks about why she decided to record a solo album now and what it means to her and the future of her career.

Links:
Cheyenne Marie Mize: http://www.shinyplaces.com/
White Rabbit Cabaret: http://www.whiterabbitcabaret.com/

You went from collaborative musical endeavors to your debut solo release. Why decide to finally record your debut? How was the transition, and did you feel more in control of this release or was it similar to your previous releases?

The songs on Before Lately were songs that I had wanted to record for myself for quite some time, but had just not gotten around to it. After last year’s touring stint I finally was able to get to the studio. All of the other recording projects I have worked on have been me doing my best to bring someone else’s songs to life. This recording is me bringing my songs to life, so just in that it was/is very different. The level of attention and effort were about the same but I was able to make all the decisions for this one, to be the “producer,” if you will.

What influenced you to write Before Lately? How did the ideas come in play?
Some of the songs have been swimming around in my head for years, others were written just before or during the recording process. So there were many different influences over that time period. The ideas generally just come- I’m not very calculated in my songwriting process, the songs just come out when they need to.

What elements do you feel stand out on Before Lately? What are you most proud of?
Although I don’t think I’ll ever choose to do this again on an album, I played all the instruments that you hear on Before Lately, except for one banjo part on “Lull” played by Ben Sollee. It was more a matter of necessity than anything, but I was really excited to try my hand at upright bass on “Rest” and take my first go at the cello on “With(out).”

How has Louisville affected you throughout the years and your songwriting?
My KY heritage definitely comes into play with a great deal of music that I play. It creeps into Before Lately with some of the instrumentation for sure. But above all it’s really the people that I’ve met- the great community of musicians and wonderful folks that I’ve had the pleasure of knowing, loving, and working with.

What influenced you to try your hand at parlor music? Do you feel adventurous with your music? What would you like to try?
Long story short I was familiar with most of these old tunes from my Music Therapy training in college. I had wanted to record them in an effort to preserve and bring them to a new audience. They are too beautiful to be forgotten. I am interested in playing way too many types of music right now. I’m doing my best to pare down.

The album does not come out for more than a month, why tour in preparation for it now? How will it benefit you?
I play music for a living. I play as many shows as I can because that’s what it takes to make a living playing music. I am just super excited to be playing some of my songs for different audiences in different cities.

Have you been to Indianapolis to perform before? If so, where, when and what was your impression? What do you anticipate your impression to be this time around?
Most recently I played at Radio Radio with the Dear Companion touring band. It was really before our tour had even started and one of our bandmembers was really sick that night so I think we were all a bit distracted…but I hear good things about the White Rabbit Cabaret and the music-loving people in your city- don’t let me down Indy!

How will your songs translate to the stage? What can we come to expect?
Right now I’m travelling with the lovely Joan Shelley (a fellow Louisvillian)- we play several different instruments to try to convey the heart of each of the songs and she sings some mighty fine harmonies. It’s definitely not the same singer-with-an-acoustic-guitar set up (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

We will be the last date on this tour, how do you feel to wrap it up here and what has this tour taught you?
I hope that it’s a great last show. Most of the shows are still to come this week so maybe I’ll have a “tell all” moment on stage in Indy where you get to hear about the inner workings of my growth as an artist…but probably not. I’d rather just play music.

10. After this tour, what are your plans?
I have lots more shows to come this summer and fall, including one in nearby Bloomington with The Hollows and The Spinning Leaves on August 12th at The Bishop. It’s been a crazy year so far and I’m not planning on letting up any time soon…