Mayda: Please Pierce Her to My Earlobe

by Doug MacRostie

I listen to a lot of music. All kinds of CDs come into the KAXE Studios and I spend much of my commute sliding discs in and out of the stereo. A couple weeks ago one of our volunteers left a Mayda EP on my desk - I had never heard of her. As I was drifting through the haze of generally unremarkable music (anything can get on CD these days...) I put in Mayda and instantly heard something special. By the end of the EP her powerful and emotional voice and clear, intricately-tuneful guitar work had reached out of the dashboard and grabbed onto my face and made it rock. Perfect :) It's so emotional and consuming, so intimate and personal. It's like there is a wildfire blazing away inside of her, and it burns through her music setting anyone who listens ablaze. This week on Centerstage MN I'll be featuring music from Mayda's "Eyes on the Water." AND - I am very excited that she will be performing LIVE on Centerstage MN a week from Thursday, on June 24th, and you can be part of our studio audience!!! When we open up the station like this it's a very intimate venue - the perfect way to experience Mayda! It's a free concert during KAXE's "Come to Your Senses" summer fundraiser so come out and enjoy on Thursday the 24th at 6pm! (Click here to rsvp on Facebook).

I've also got a new song to play from Mason Jennings, inspired during a 2007 trip to Patagonia to check out the filming of 180° South: Conquerors of the Useless. The DVD just recently hit stores and the soundtrack also features Ugly Casanova, James Mercer and Jack Johnson.

I've got some Dalia and More Than Lights, both with a clear and in-your-face (in-a-good-way) style that will go well with Mayda. And the out-of-this-world music of The Darbuki Kings and Jake Dilley and the Color Pharmacy. And more music from Trampled By Turtles' "Palomino."

Centerstage MN is Thursday evenings at 6, streaming live online at www.KAXE.org; or 91.7 Grand Rapids, 89.9 Brainerd and 105.3 Bemidji and can be heard again Sunday mornings at 6. All interviews are archived at www.KAXE.org. Centerstage MN is also heard on Pioneer 90.1 in Thief River Falls, Saturday nights at 11pm and on KFAI at 90.3 FM Minneapolis & 106.7 FM St. Paul Tuesday nights between 8 and 10pm.