mazie: “I’m hoping as I grow my platform becomes a space for leftist ideals.” (12/15 at TLA w/ COIN)

“I’m really excited to play Baltimore and New York, of course, but the number one place I’m most excited to play is Philadelphia.  The TLA is the first venue...

“I’m really excited to play Baltimore and New York, of course, but the number one place I’m most excited to play is Philadelphia.  The TLA is the first venue I went to when I lived in Philly — Philly was the last place I lived before LA — so I’m more excited about Philly than anything,” says mazie, who kicks off a three-week tour supporting Nashville-based pop rockers COIN tonight, which will be appearing at the TLA on December 15th.  Although currently based out of LA, the singer/songwriter hails from just outside of Baltimore and certainly embraces her Charm City roots, resembling something of a John Waters vixen transported to the 21st century to be the kind of punk pixie to tear up the stage of The Ottobar once a month (During a recent phone chat, she tells me that both Baltimore institutions hold quite a special place in her heart.)

Like the anti-heroines found in the cinema of The Pope of Trash, mazie blends a post-Manson psychedelic aesthetic with potent political commentary.  Last month she released her debut EP, the rainbow cassette, a collection of songs that could be described as postmodern sunshine pop on acid.  While delectably bouncy, mazie’s music is rooted in her interest in existentialism, especially as it relates to the trauma of entering adulthood in a time when chaos quite literally reigns.  The EP was recorded in 2020, when mazie and engineer, producer, and neighbor Elie Jay Rizk were in the process of leaving school, amidst the pandemic and the plethora of political protests that marked the summer (mazie partook in numerous protests in support of Black Lives Matter around DC and Philly.)  During our chat she tells me, “I’m hoping as I grow my platform becomes a space for leftist ideals.”

However, despite her willingness to take on many of the heaviest issues of the day, mazie also seems to be thoroughly enjoying many of the milestones of being a young musician starting to make a splash.  When I ask her if she’s had any favorite reactions to her work, she tells me about an especially meaningful experience with her dad: “I had a really amazing moment with my dad.  He came out for the EP release, so to have him hear it play through, after he’d been there the whole time I was making it, that was really special.”  And when I ask about some of the highlights of her career so far, she says, “Signing my record deal was pretty insane, and Playing Gov’s Ball was also really cool.”  She’s also quite excited about new music: “I’m actually in the studio in January and I was just there for three weeks.  I’m working on my album, which I’m so excited about.”  But, for the time being, she says that you can be plenty excited about her upcoming show at the TLA, which will have “A lot of energy,” and, “A lot of additional production.”  She also mentions that the set will have a number of surprises for even her most dedicated fans: “I’m playing a lot of music that is unreleased and may never be released [laughs].”

*Get your tickets here.

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During the day Izzy Cihak teaches transgression, subversion, and revolution at Temple University. At night he haunts Philthy's best venues to cover worthwhile acts for Philthy Mag. Morrissey is everything to him and, in their own heads, all of his friends see themselves as Zooey Deschanel.

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