Jessica Lea Mayfield joined her parents’ bluegrass band when she was eight. In her teens, she did some recording with her brother, privately releasing an album under the alias Chittlin’ in 2007. That led to recording with Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys and her official debut, With Blasphemy So Heartfelt, which came out in 2008, when she was 19. That well-received album presented Mayfield as a moody, rootsy singer/songwriter of precocious talent, confirmed by its follow-up, 2010’s Tell Me, also produced by Auerbach. The new Make My Head Sing…(ATO) will surprise listeners who expect a third set of Americana-style folk rock. It’s a grungy power-trio album that places Mayfield’s calm voice in a squall of her electric guitar. Mayfield will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on her.
Mayfield: I have a hard time relating to other people. I was home schooled and have been a touring musician since I was eight years old. Our family has always helped and supported each other. Socializing with humans has never been my specialty, and when I’m in a group of people I feel normal until they start asking questions about me. They are gonna figure out that I’m weird. and that I can’t relate to them on a variety of levels. I make much deeper connections with animals. Nine times out of 10 if I met a person with a dog, I would remember the dog’s name before I remembered theirs. I rarely forget an animal I meet, and in fact, I prefer them to people.
