SIMPLY SIX: Kelcy Mae

Kelcy Mae is a singer/songwriter from New Orleans.
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1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer. For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later. Is there such a defining moment for you?

My mom had me singing in the preschool choir when I was four years old, and though it was probably due to her motherly bias, I sang my first solo in church at five years old. I think that’s probably when I decided to be a singer, though I forgot about it during high school and the early part of college. Fortunately (I think), it came back to me a few years ago, and the bug hasn’t left. Nothing else is fulfilling in the way that songwriting and performing are for me.

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to? Who are some of your favorites?

The music I listen to always changes, but some of my standard go-to artists are: Chris Pureka, Bon Iver, Gregory Alan Isakov, Jason Anderson, and Sufjan Stevens. Some recent artists I’ve found that I love are The Tallest Man on Earth, Great Lake Swimmers, Chris Bathgate, Okkervil River, Little Gold, and Damien Jurado. For some international flavor, I’d check out Tinariwen or Manu Chao. On days when I’m down, I’ll set my Pandora radio to Kermit Ruffins for some good New Orleans music. WWOZ is good for that as well.

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

It’s hard to think of one great moment because great moments are constantly reinventing themselves. Usually for me the greatest moments are when I feel some connection mid-song with either the audience, the rest of the band, or both. A specific, and different, moment I recall is once when I was performing “Mr. Leopold” live in New Orleans, and it only occurred to me in the process of singing it what the song actually meant both to and for me. So, I guess sometimes it’s when I feel a strong connection to my own songs. That kind of connection is not always immediate.

4. Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to? How much can music influence current events?

For me, it’s just something to listen to… it’s an escape from the world. For others, music drives them to make big changes. There are political songs that affect me, sure. Ani DiFranco’s “Self Evident” comes to mind, but I’m not one of those large-scale movers and shakers. I want to change the world by telling people to read more poetry. And you can imagine how well that goes over.

5. How has technology affected the music industry? How has technology affected your career as a musician?

That’s a pretty loaded question, and one you could spend hours upon hours discussing. It created the music industry, it destroyed the music industry, it re-created the music industry, and so on. It’s certainly easy to get your music out there, and I’ve taken advantage of that. While it’s great to have a million platforms with which to share my music, it’s also a huge pain to constantly be updating show schedules on several different websites. That’s the price we independent musicians pay, though. Technology is one of those things…like a day job…that I wish I could quit. I try to make my music as accessible as possible, but sometimes I have to remove myself from the computer and pick up the guitar instead. It’s easy to forget your priorities when you get caught up trying to anticipate the next big thing, making sure you’re covered from every angle. I’m all over the web but recently had a guy tell me he couldn’t find me anywhere. Turns out he was spelling my name wrong. I just had to laugh. Sometimes you can’t win no matter what you do, and then sometimes you find out you’re being played on the radio somewhere over in Germany. It’s hard to know how far-reaching your efforts can be.

6. Now for my Barbara Walters question: If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

A pair of cowboy boots, scuffed up, worn in, a little dirt caked to the sides. Ready to go anywhere.