Mieka Pauley

Artist Information

Biography

* Winner, Cosmopolitan’s Fun Fearless Female Rock Star of the Year (year 1 out of 800 contestants)
* Winner, the Starbucks Songwriter Competition
* Winner, New York Songwriters Circle Songwriting Contest
* Opened for Natasha Bedingfield, KT Tunstall, John Legend, Edwin McCain, Jason Mraz, Gavin DeGraw, the Black Eyed Peas, Shelby Lynne, Citizen Cope

Mieka Pauley possesses a voice that flows like good whiskey and a frankness that makes Alanis Morissette look shy. She conjures up a sonic immediacy with the same masterful command as Ani DiFranco with driving, yearning melodies that stand alongside the work of Michelle Shocked, Neko Case and Emmylou Harris.

“My songs are like the actions that I can’t really take.” So says Mieka Pauley, a refreshingly candid artist whose vagabond background infuses The Science of Making Choices, her new full-length album due on June 26, 2012.

Frequently moving about the country in her formative years, settling down, then uprooting and starting anew: No wonder her messages have a no-time-for-B.S. vibe. While her lyrics are startling–”Never f*** a woman that you don’t love,” “I promise this time I won’t be a psycho,” “I wanna wreck your home/I wanna get your husband alone”–they’re never vindictive. In fact, her confessions invite listeners to admit they share the same inner struggles and desires.

“A lot of it is true from the prospective of me thinking these things. It’s all shit that I went through in my own head, like rocking in the corner,” she says of her songs about retaliation (“First Stone,” “Marked Man”), lust and envy (“Wreck”), desperation (“Another Go”) and brokenhearted disgrace (“Never F*** a Woman You Don’t Love”). “But I’ve never tried to kill a man or steal a husband,” she laughs.

Pauley’s career pursuits have helped her win prestigious competitions like Cosmopolitan’s Fun Fearless Female Rock Star of the Year, the Starbucks Songwriter Competition and the New York Songwriters Circle Songwriting Contest. She’s shared stages with household names like Natasha Bedingfield, KT Tunstall, John Legend, Edwin McCain, Ben Kweller, Jason Mraz, Gavin DeGraw, the Black Eyed Peas, Shelby Lynne and Citizen Cope while earning herself slots at must-see music events (Newport Folk Festival, South by Southwest,CMJ) and high-profile gigs like singing the national anthem at Red Sox games. She’s also been featured on BBC London Radio, PRI’s “Mountain Stage” and the music session blog Daytrotter.

Not content to wait for label backing, Pauley has self-released all of her work, which includes three other EPs and two full-length albums. For Science she’s joined forces with PledgeMusic, where her fans proved their demand for more music by donating far more than she requested to fund the project. Having worked with producer Geoff Stanfield (Firehorse, Sun Kil Moon) to create The Science of Making Choices, Pauley feels she’s finally captured in the studio the same rawness she conjures when playing live. “It’s finally like me making that alternative sound while still holding on to what makes my live solo show work. He was able to take that live vibe, that connection, and then put really sweet, respectful production behind it. I really love that Geoff was able to make it happen.”

Other major plans are in the works besides Pauley’s new album release. An edited version of “Never F*** a Woman You Don’t Love” is a contender in the International Songwriting Contest, which includes Tom Waits, Darryl McDaniels and Tori Amos on its judges panel. Also this summer Pauley’s song “Devil’s Got My Secret” will be heard in the movie Peace, Love and Misunderstanding, which stars Academy Award winner Jane Fonda, Oscar nominee Catherine Keener and Elizabeth Olsen.

Instrumentation

Mieka Pauley - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar

Discography

The Science Of Making Choices, 2012 (independent, funded entirely by fans via PledgeMusic) - produced by Geoff Stanfield
From The Mouth Of Paris EP, 2009 (independent, funded by Cosmopolitan Magazine) - produced by Mike Mangini and Brian Cassagnol
Elijah Drop Your Gun, 2007 (independent, funded entirely by fans) - produced by Brian Cassagnol
Out Of Car Wrecks And Hurricanes EP, 2006 (independent) - produced by John Alagia

Official Website

http://www.mieka.com

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter
• MySpace
• Last.fm
• YouTube

Audio

• Wreck
  Listen  
• Another Go
  Listen  
• Whiskey Is The Devil, Daughter
  Listen  
• We're All Gonna Die
  Listen  
• Marked Man
  Listen  
• All The Same Mistakes (Elijah Drop Your Gun)
  Listen  
• 9:45 (Elijah Drop Your Gun)
  Listen  
• Colossal (From The Mouth Of Paris EP)
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Wreck
• Another Go
• Whiskey Is The Devil, Daughter
• We're All Gonna Die
• Marked Man
• All The Same Mistakes
• 9:45
• Colossal

Video

Mieka Pauley

Photo Gallery

Press

• Mieka Pauley And ‘The Science Of Making Choices’
  

  She’s turning into a big name.

• Listen: Mieka Pauley @ Precinct
  

  Her confidence and swagger translates to the stage each time she puts on a show.

• Mieka Pauley, ‘The Science of Making Choices’
  

  She’s not to be messed with.

• Mieka Pauley Studies ‘The Science of Making Choices’ [+ Show ]
  

  What jumps out immediately on Pauley’s latest offering is her voice: a bluesy, weather-beaten croon ...What jumps out immediately on Pauley’s latest offering is her voice: a bluesy, weather-beaten croon that demands attention without being overly affected. She can go from a howl to a whisper in seconds, and lines that might seem hackneyed coming from other singers sound natural and convincing in her hands.

• Profile: Mieka Pauley
  

  [Mieka] eschews flowery imagery in favor of forthrightness and clever turns-of-phrase.

• Mieka Pauley at T.T. the Bear’s [+ Show ]
  

  It’s not unusual to find a rising star who will blow you off in a crowd, but even rarer to find some...It’s not unusual to find a rising star who will blow you off in a crowd, but even rarer to find someone who will stand in a crowd with you pointing at their own opener, and telling you how awesome their peers are. That’s local artist Mieka Pauley for you—an extremely talented, accomplished, and relatable artist who wants her friends to succeed as much as she deserves to.

• SXSW Artist Review: The Mieka Canon brought haunting, powerful folk style to SXSW [+ Show ]
  

  The Mieka Canon's lyrical folk sound is reminiscent of Tori Amos with an edgier backing band, or per...The Mieka Canon's lyrical folk sound is reminiscent of Tori Amos with an edgier backing band, or perhaps a female version of Jeff Buckley. The band's unique blend of powerful, poetic lyrics accompanied by melodic, rock-influenced guitars mesmerized the crowd in the smallish venue, leading many a hungover partygoer to groove along before it even hit mid-afternoon.
  
  A highlight of the overwhelmingly good set included the haunting single "Marked Man" in which strings of all type were shunned for the power of voice and drum alone. The by-no-means cheerful lyrics drew the audience into the raw emotion of the song that would have easily done a lesser vocalist in.

• Beauty In The Business Of Toughness [+ Show ]
  

  Pauley, recently Twitter-friended by Rivers Cuomo-dueting Rainn Wilson and championed by Cosmopolita...Pauley, recently Twitter-friended by Rivers Cuomo-dueting Rainn Wilson and championed by Cosmopolitan magazine of all things, forms a kind of bluesy-folk rock and roll that doesn't pander to any easy clichés or dialogue, as that sort of music so often does.

• Mieka Pauley Goes Her Own Way [+ Show ]
  

  Fast-rising singer/songwriter Mieka Pauley has gone on to win the first-ever Starbucks Emerging Arti...Fast-rising singer/songwriter Mieka Pauley has gone on to win the first-ever Starbucks Emerging Artist Award, take the top award at the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Songwriter Showcase, be named “Cosmopolitan’s Fun Fearless Female Rockstar of the Year” in the publication’s StarLaunch competition, and finish in the top three at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival’s Troubadour Competition – not to mention a plethora of plaudits for her self-released 2007 album, Elijah Drop Your Gun.

• A Super-Sonic Wheels 2.0 [+ Show ]
  

  This Boston native is a cerebral singer/songwriter with a rock edge who deals with the complexities ...This Boston native is a cerebral singer/songwriter with a rock edge who deals with the complexities of maintaining relationships, the challenge of rising to the moment and the importance of learning from the past. Meika has been compared to Ben Harper, Cat Power and Neko Case, which should give you an idea where she’s coming from. And she’s dedicated as evidenced by more than 700 shows during the last five years.

• I think I'm gonna throw down [+ Show ]
  

  If you’re still walking around Boston not knowing who Mieka Pauley is, we really need to do somethin...If you’re still walking around Boston not knowing who Mieka Pauley is, we really need to do something about that. Her latest, Elijah Drop Your Gun, takes all the smoldering soul of her voice and all the concise urgency of her songwriting and soups them up with more straight-up rock gusto than her largely acoustic past had prepped us for.

• ...things we loved this month
  

  Mieka Pauley works half-whispered, lyrical magic on Elijah Drop Your Gun.... well worth the wait.

• Dog Ears Deserves to be Heard
  

  Mieka Pauley has a very listenable and soothing voice ... you will hit rewind.

• from David Ginsburg, Music Director [+ Show ]
  

  We believe that Mieka is a major talent and will break thru to the mainstream sooner than later. To ...We believe that Mieka is a major talent and will break thru to the mainstream sooner than later. To that end, we very much want to be a part of this development.

Setlist

anywhere from 30 to 90 minute set, mainly originals, interspersed with covers

Basic Requirements

Calendar