Jessica Lea Mayfield & David Mayfield in Louisville

Sibling rivalry can be the fiercest of competitions, more vicious than political infighting. It’s love and hate, there’s the protective instinct, and of course, a desire to one-up that pesky brother or sister. A sibling can somehow get closer to pinpointing your strengths and weaknesses than anyone else in this world. It’s an indescribable, unparalleled connection between two human beings.

So when Jessica Lea Mayfield and David Mayfield decided to go on tour together, they thought The Sibling Rivalry Tour would be a good name. But luckily for us, these siblings are the type that gets along. Perhaps a better name would be Sibling Bonding. The two haven’t spent much time together lately – with both of them leading their own bands – so they chose the dates because it allowed them to travel together around the holiday season.

It’s not like they haven’t shared the spotlight with each other. They started performing together when they were young. In fact, it was a family affair. They traveled with their parents in the bluegrass band, One Way Rider. Jessica was only eight.

“When I was old enough to have rational thought, about six years old, I knew I wanted to play music for my whole life. I wasn’t one of those kids who was like, ‘oh I’m going to be an astronaut and a guitar player and a priest and a Mormon and a nurse,’” says Mayfield.

And music is what both have done ever since. While she admits that the lifestyle of a traveling musician is less glamorous than she initially imagined, Mayfield says she’s never taken her eyes off this path.

Fortunately, working with her brother and her husband has helped keep her comfortable during her creative process. Both have played in her band and toured with her at some point since her debut full-length in 2008. Mayfield has also enlisted the help of The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, who produced both her debut and 2011’s Tell Me, both of which express a sort of quiet turmoil.

Mayfield says she only writes about personal experiences, but she’s mostly driven to create when she’s angry or tense. And even though she’s still in the honeymoon period of her new marriage, she’s inspired to write her contemplative folk tunes in the worst moments.

“I’ve noticed that I’ve been writing about things like anger and sex and all other different aspects of my marriage that aren’t the good ones. Because when I’m having good experiences I’m going to go have fun. If I’m having bad experiences, I’m going to slam the door and do my own thing and be creative. It’s hard to be creative, at least for me, when I’m in a good mood. Because I’m just like, ‘Ok! Let’s go get ice cream and go see a movie.’ I almost need a little bit of turmoil.”

Mayfield plans to self-produce for the first time on her third release. She’s working with her brother and husband at home in Kent, Ohio on some of the new material. While it’s been nice to leave the grind of constant touring behind to work on new ideas, Mayfield is ready to get back on the road.

 “You can only appreciate watching Netflix naked so much. If it’s just one day a week, it’s alright, but if it’s every night, it’s like, ‘aw man.’ I need to get back out there.”

(I wrote this for LEO Weekly. You can see this show Tuesday, December 11th at Zanzabar. See ya there.)

mr. Gnome @ Zazoo's Tonight

I wrote this up for the LEO. Check out the show tonight!

Cleveland-based bands aren’t really known for their national recognition. After all, when Pere Ubu is one of the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Capital of the World’s” biggest claims to fame, it’s hard for natives like myself to brag about the local scene. But mr. Gnome is the kind of powerhouse duo that’s working hard to dispel the rumors that Cleveland is just a sad city with a hopeless football team. Nicole Barille and Sam Meister play the kind of experimental, art rock that alternates between creepy psychedelia and murky pop. They don’t stop at music. Their 2011 release, Madness in Miniature, follows the same concept as their graphic novel and a soon-to-be-released live-action music video. mr. Gnome kicks off its fall tour right here Louisville.


Zazoo’s Bar & Grill

102 Bauer Avenue • 384-8478
$5; 8 p.m.

Conveyor - Tonight at Zanzabar

No, they’re not just your average psych-rock band from Brooklyn. Ok, so they are that. But they also use synthesizers that sound like old-school video games, and when they’re not jamming on druggy interludes, their shiny pop choruses are pretty bouncy. It’s like John Vanderslice on depressants or Aqueduct after therapy. This summer’s tour is all about playing off their newly released debut, Conveyor. The album opener, “Woolgatherer” teeters between weirdo ambience and summer driving soundtrack, with odd tribal calls that overlap beachy calypso twinkling. If this is what summer in the city feels like, we’re in for a treat. Let’s not forget to mention, they’re sharing the stage with Louisville’s favorite power poppers, The Deloreans. It should be a night filled with all the best kinds of sticky guitar licks and synthesizer loving. 

She & Him Tomorrow @ HOB

What do you get when you mix a Hollywood starlet with a powerful singing voice and one of the most valuable folk songwriters of his generation? A band of pronouns. She & Him is a clever way of disguising the duo’s real names – Zooey Deschanel, of Elf fame, and M. Ward, the famed guitarist who most recently hit record store shelves with Jim James and Conor Oberst under the Monsters of Folk moniker. The pairing gives Deschanel a chance to showcase her songwriting skills, while Ward demonstrates his ability to adapt his production skills and guitar-playing to everything from blues to folk to Brill Building pop. She & Him have come under fire by music critics for “repackaging” retro into today’s new alternative, but fans don’t seem to mind their digging up of 60s AM Gold. On Volume Two, their sophomore record, they cover Skeeter Davis’ “Gonna Get Along Without You Now,” and bring Diana Ross to mind on the Supremes-flavored “Over It Over Again.” The Chapin Sisters, a band of three female sibs with killer harmonies, opens at 8:00 pm at the House of Blues (308 Euclid Avenue, 216.523.2583). Tickets: $22, advance; $24, day of show.

Metric @ HOB Tomorrow

If it’s even possible, Metric sounds edgier today than they did back in 2003 when vocalist and bandleader Emily Haines fiercely urged us to “fight off the lethargy” in “Combat Baby.” The band has always popped right out of the speakers with stuttered percussion and growling riffs. Yet Fantasies, their fourth album, purrs with a maniacal energy that’s as danceable as ever. The guitar line of “Sick Muse” looks back to Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus,” and then adds swagger. True to its name, “Gold Guns Girls” fires like a 24 karat pistol, speeding your heart rate with Joules Scott-Key’s relentless percussion. Fantasies' fast pace is a sure bet for a sweaty, sloppy crowd, but sprawling ballads like “Love is a Place” and “Torture Me” give the Canadian band a second to cool down while Haines showcases her seductive vocals. Dark lyrics cloud the exuberance you might typically find in such danceable music. “If this is the life, why does it feel so good to die today?” questions Haines when she’s not belting, “Help, I’m alive.” Still, as much as Metric renounces being alive, their music is the kind that will surely bring the audience to life. Bear in Heaven open at 8 p.m. tomorrow at the House of Blues (308 Euclid Avenue, 216.523. 2583). Tickets: $20 advance, $23 day of show.