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 used to cry about being a little girl. I was mad I wasn’t a little boy. I was attracted to men and looked up to them. Looking good involved taking a shower and putting on cowboy boots. It always seemed like my mom and sister would put so much work into their appearance. I can remember the high bangs and the crunchy sweet smell of hairspray. I wanted to drive all over the country, I wanted to be a musician and play guitar. I wanted to grow up fast. At the age of seven I was mad I wasn’t Dave Grohl. I fought the “little girl stuff” hard. It wasn’t until my early 20’s I realized getting all dolled up is fun. And applying make-up is now one of my hobbies. It’s like art on my face, and I like to think I’m good at it. Also, there is no such thing as “boy stuff” and “girl stuff”; that was a myth, I just wish little-girl me would have known back then like I do now. That there are no boundaries to what one is capable of.
