Mia Dyson’s story is the stuff that dreams are made of. If you haven’t heard her voice before, once you do, it will always be instantly recognizable. Her stand out voice has lead her to being nominated four times for an Australian Recording Industry Award (ARIA’s), and winning the fifth time for Best Blues/Roots album for her latest release “The Moment”. Touring with Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Nicks would probably be considered a high point by Mia too I’d say. Now, have you ever had that thing where everything turns into a complete cluster, right before it gets unbelievably good?
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Doesn’t that make you want to get up and run, run long and hard at your dreams, let your whole body fill with that first crisp breath of fresh morning air, dive into a cool mountain spring…get yourself some of whatever Mia was on? I do.
Sallyanne: Mia thanks so much for taking the time to tell a little more about your experiences with us on Mz. In The Biz. You first went to America in 2009 and it seems to me, that you have a very strong sense of self, how did you end up with management that tried/wanted to change your name and put you on reality TV? Was it a case of being in new territory and the uncertainty that can come from that? What kind of show was it?
Mia: yeah I think I was vulnerable being in a new country and ‘starting again’. I’d gone to America without a plan, just a lot of passion and excitement, and I found myself in over my head very quickly. The opportunities and possibilities that came with the management were pretty big, but it came with caveats that in the end I just couldn’t swallow.
Sallyanne: During your time there, you separated from your long term partner, went broke and lost your band…erm, that sounds a bit shitty really, and ALL the things artists of any creative medium have nightmares about, when considering taking such a leap of faith into the unknown of pursuing their dream. How did you cope or not cope, while obviously coping at the same time?
Mia: It was very confronting and I had to do a lot of growing up, to learn how to do some things on my own that i had previously relied on other people for. And while that was scary at first, it felt liberating once i found my feet. I learned how to play solo so that i could still tour and play gigs without going broke again. And i think the dream to tour and record in American was so strong that i just couldn’t bring myself to turn back and going home without giving it more of a chance. If i’d known all that scary shit would happen before i left Australia, i never would have had the guts to go, but luckily that’s not how it works.
Sallyanne: In hindsight, can you now clearly see the chain of events and patterns (if any) that have led to this point, where you are an Australian Recording Industry award winner (Best Blues/Roots album)and about to embark on your dream road trip across the United States to perform?
Mia: Absolutely and it’s why I think it’s worth chasing dreams even when they don’t make a lot of logical sense. I now have an incredible band in America who I made ‘The Moment’ with, and so much support that grew organically.
Sallyanne: Most of the tracks on your latest album seem to be deeply personal, except for “Jesse”, which seems to be you putting your feet into the shoes of the stolen generation, a dark time where indigenous Australian youth were taken from their birth parents, believed at the time, to be for their own good. What was the catalyst for you to write this song?
Mia: The story of that song comes from a fan, Lesley Pearse, who came to me at a show a few years ago and asked me to write a song. Although very similar to the stolen generation story, it was the practice of forced adoption of babies from unwed women in Australian during the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. She was sent to Sydney from Victoria by her parents to live out her pregnancy and told at the hospital that she was unfit to be a mother, and that parents had already been found for her child and she would be terribly selfish to keep her baby.
Sallyanne: You’ve toured with some pretty exciting artists. I would have fallen off my chair getting the phone call about the Stevie Nicks gig! Which one has been the biggest thrill for you to date and why?
Mia: Bonnie Raitt was a hero of mine growing up, being a kick ass guitar player as well as a great singer, and my dad took me to see her play at the Melbourne Concert Hall when i was 13, so getting to open for her at the same venue 13 years later and singing and playing with her onstage was the hugest thrill of my career.
Sallyanne: You are an independent artist, correct? No record label funded your last album. What was your experience of crowd funding, when it appears that entertainment is the least funded by that means?
Mia: Yeah, I have no record label. The crowd funding thing really surprised me. It’s a brilliant idea and it worked great for me. I was able to make this album without going into debt!
Sallyanne: Just curious, will you be flying or driving as you tour “The Moment” across the US and do you ask for any weird things in your rider?
Mia: I’ll be mainly driving, but there’ll be one or two flights. I’m not in a position yet in the US to ask for anything really wild on my rider. Well, I could ask, but no one’s going to pay any attention!
Thank you Mia Dyson. You are my June Inspiration – To be brave and fearless in the pursuit of my dreams. For more on Mia http://miadyson.com/