“I don’t think Santa’s coming this year
‘Cause I’ve been a bad, a bad girl
I’ve made my bed, now I’m lying in it
Without a care, a care in the world
And I took his heart, I tore it apart
I left him outside in the cold
I shot him down, in the middle of town
Oh, I left him outside in the snow”
So began the lyrics to her amusing and twisted “X-Mas Song” and my introduction to the dulcet-tongued Meiko.
Meiko is a humble and soulful performer with a wicked sense of humor. In between songs about love, loss, loneliness and morning coffee, she expresses gratitude for her fans and for the opportunity to perform, and she makes a point of joking about her shitty apartment and her cussing or how happy she is that the infamous gossip blogger Perez Hilton, likes her music (and produced the concert that evening) and puts her picture up on his site, but thankfully doesn’t draw on her face.
Her voice is warm and sweet, filled with slow-dripping golden honey and tinges of her Roberta, Georgia roots. She goes through a set of songs from her self-titled album, Meiko, each one a journey into a different mood, emotion, state of mind she has experienced and understood. The lyrics are simple, but her delivery, and the strumming of her guitar underneath and around the words, bring a message that is both strong and soft, satisfying and restless.
She sings.
“This song’s going to you
The one who’s so confused
The one who feels so used
You don’t have to wait
For all this silly fate
The things you cannot make
And hey
What are you going to say?
What are going to do?
When it’s all said and done
I watched you from afar
Wishing on every star
Saving every penny
And I used to feel the same
Like everything’s a game
But all I kept doing was losing
So hey
What are you going to say?
What are you going to do?
When it’s all said and done”
A standup bass and a muted trumpet flesh out this particular song. There is longing, there is irony, there is a call to action.
Meiko has built a following in Southern California, performing at local venues, most notably Hotel Café, where she worked as a waitress. Her songs have been used on the TV shows, Grey’s Anatomy and Moonlight. Nic Harcourt of KCRW’s legendary Sounds Eclectic radio program, featured her music which gave her a boost onto other L.A. radio stations. She can be heard on Sirius and XM Radio. She’ll be performing at the Sundance Film Festival in the end of January, appearing live in-studio for KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic in February and she will be part of the Hotel Café Tour in the Spring.
But along with her music comes a laid back style, an aching truth, and an accessibility to her audience. She utilizes the blog on her Myspace music page and it provides fun insight into her life.
A recent post.
Friday, January 04, 2008
I Love Nuts.
I just took a stroll down Broadway looking for Ray’s Pizza, when I finally asked a street vendor where the hell it was... He was soooo nice and gave me directions, but I couldn’t help but stare at his nuts the whole time. He had maple glazed peanuts, cashews and almonds... Mmmmm... When he caught me looking, I quickly said thank you and went to get my “slice”...But the whole time, I kept thinking of that man’s nuts... I didn’t know how much they were, but I knew I had to have some... After my pizza, I went straight back to that guy and asked for the hottest sack of nuts he had... and boy was I glad I did... When I put those sweet warm nuts in my mouth, I was in heaven. Damn, I love NYC, and damn I love hot maple roasted nuts.
I even bought my friend Tony Guitar a handful!
*meiko
Her gift, to convey part of the female psyche, is the foundation beneath all of her songs and 2008 is her year. She will break out into a larger market, sing to more and more people, and resonate with women.
She chants.
“You treated me like a goddess
When we were around everyone else
How come you couldn’t notice me
When I was standing by myself
And I need something to help me sleep
When I know you’re not good for me
And I need something I can keep
From the empty space in between
From the empty space in between
Something to help me
Something to help me
Something to help me sleep
Something to help me
Something to help me
Something to help me sleep”
Buy her CD. Check out her websites — http://www.myspace.com/meiko — http://www.meikomusic.com/ or take a peek at her video on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FguDLguubCM . And be sure to go see her in concert if her tour comes to a city near you. Meiko’s songs are something that help the days go by lighter and the nights fall easy.
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