Jessica Lea Mayfield (b. August 27, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter, from Kent, Ohio. She is known for writing dark, sad songs, with a plaintive minimalist style that draws on both country and rock music.Contents [hide] 1 Early years 2 Studio work 2.1 White Lies EP 2.2 With Blasphemy So Heartfelt 2.3 Collaborations 3 Touring 4 References 5 External links
[edit] 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, Jessica 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. Jessica would accompany her brother David at open mike nights, often covering Foo Fighters songs. Even today, Jessica cites Dave Grohl as one of her major influences.
Jessica got her first break at a bar in Kent, playing for tips and free pizza every Monday. She had a fresh batch of songs she had just written after a break up with her first boyfriend. It was then that she realized she had somewhere to channel her sadness: into her music.
[edit] Studio work [edit] White Lies EP
Rather than trying to make herself happy, Jessica immersed herself in darkness and, at age 15, recorded her first album 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. [edit] With Blasphemy So Heartfelt
Jessica's first LP was the September 16, 2008 release With Blasphemy So Heartfelt. The album was produced by Dan 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 Jessica 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. Jessica'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. [edit] 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.
Jessica collaborated with Auerbach again on his 2009 debut solo release Keep It Hid, lending her vocals to the track "When The Night Comes."
[edit] Touring
In 2008, Jessica toured in support of and alongside The Black Keys, The Avett Brothers, Cake, Lucero, and Australian duo An Horse.
In April 2009, Jessica opened 11 dates for Ray LaMontagne, before setting out on a headlining tour that culminated with a performance at the 2009 Bonnaroo Music Festival.
In August 2009, Jessica played several shows in Europe, including performances at Gothenburg, Sweden's Way Out West Festival, Oslo's Øyafestivalen, and Dutch festivals Noorderzon and A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise. Jessica also opened for Band of Horses in front of a sold out crowd at Tavastia Club in Helsinki.
In October 2009, Jessica played the Porch Stage at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco, CA. The three day festival drew over 700,000 visitors, and included many big names in alt-country, country, bluegrass and rock, including Nick Lowe, Steve Earle, Robert Earl Keen, Gillian Welch, Ralph Stanley and Lyle Lovett.
