Lisa Mills Reclaims Her Birthright and Resurrects Her First Love: The Interview

Let’s try to get a little background. You are from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, right?
Born and raised.

How did you end up in Mobile?

Oh gosh. I don’t think I’ve ever chosen where I’m gonna live. If we’re going to go way back to when I got married and moved to California with my then, husband. I already had my son, my daughter was born in California. We moved back a couple of years later to Biloxi, Mississippi, where some kin lived. I went to a bar where a duo from Mobile was playing. I had been out of music for some time and my sister-in-law asked if I could sit in with them. Because I sat in with them they started hiring me to do gigs. As a result of the gigs I developed this connection with Mobile. But it was Hurricane Katrina that moved me from Ocean Springs to Mobile.  Once the place I was living in got pretty wrecked I decided to go. 

Your family: siblings? How many? Where are you in the birth order?

Two brothers and I’m the oldest.

Was yours a musical family? Parents play or sing? Parents record collections an influence?

Yeah. My dad played a little guitar, and sang some old country songs, Hank Williams and stuff. My mom sang some in the church and my great grandmother played piano in the church. It was a part of my family’s tradition that even when we weren’t in church we would meet over at my uncle Shelby’s house, get around the piano and sing songs and stuff. There’s a lot of musical background in my family, but, nobody in my immediate family, neither one of my brothers or my kids played music.

That (the family) is a great place to birth an interest in music…

I used to be trotted out to entertain guests when they would visit. I used to sing to other kids on the playground in the first grade. It’s always been a part of what I do and who I am.

How old were you when you first sang in church? What was that like? 

I believe I was pre-school age. I have vague recollections…the big deal was you got to get up in front of everybody and do your thing. And I sang Jesus loves me.

I have always seen gospel music and the blues as inseparable, even though some church folk would say that the blues is the devil’s music. You could say the blues are the question and gospel is the answer, if you want to look at it that way, they’re connected. What is it about gospel and blues music that moves you?

I guess it is the intimate nature of the human condition and striving for a better understanding of who you are and where you fit into the universe. And of course, a Greater Power. And to me, that takes place in both blues and gospel. The funny thing, we’re talking about my family’s church. I want you to understand that, growing up, all I had exposure to, as far as the blues is concerned, was driving past a cinder block building that was painted bright pink, with Christmas lights on it, and being told that {place} was evil. It was the black juke joint in Columbia, Mississippi. I passed it on the way to school. The only gospel {music} that I knew about was in my church, which was very, very…um, I’m trying to think of the right word for it…it was definitely not the black gospel. It was a primitive country type of feel and…

Sort of… white southern gospel?

Yeah, yeah. All these years later, when I look back, on those influences and what it is that really moves me… and is the connection for all the forms of music that I enjoy, I have to say that I finally realized that it is the black gospel element. And I was first introduced to that, unbeknownst to me, through my mom’s love of Elvis Presley. I had no idea that that was where he got his sound. And I didn’t realize that he loved that music until years and years later. Along the way people have labelled me as a blues singer. And I do a huge variety of music. But, in my opinion, the thing that connects everything that I do is the love that I have for the black gospel. I think that is why I fell in love with Etta James; she came from that tradition… Same thing for Ray Charles, Mavis Staples, that’s the element that draws me in. When people ask me what my favorite song is, there’s no one answer to that question. Certain songs…when I do my version of Percy Sledge’s “Warm and Tender Love…” singing that song just feels so right, like putting on an old pair of blue jeans. And it’s because of that element, that gospel, soulful thing. I love it; it’s a unifying force in the way that I feel about music.

I always found it funny that some…religious whites would say that the blues was the devil’s music, but listening to a country song about drinking and cheating was okay.

(Laughter)…that’s great, isn’t it…

I guess it depends on what side of town you’re in when you’re drinking and cheating.

Maybe so…respecting where that music comes from, I believe we all come here with some sort of internal sensor, and we are hardwired to react to certain sounds and certain rhythms. For instance, I can go listen to Willie Nelson, and I can enjoy and appreciate how great he is. But I am in the audience, and everyone around me is moving and grooving, but I am not feeling the rhythm. But when I went to see Taj Mahal at a blues festival, I was ecstatic, and I couldn’t stop moving. The way he plays, where he’s coming from, that is what moves me, not just emotionally, but literally, physically. When I’m doing a project, it’s important to know where the other musicians are coming from. I need people who come from a similar place. I have a musician friend from Mississippi, Cary Hudson, who comes from more of a country blues background. But when we play, he and I connect, and he feels the rhythm on the back of the beat.

Well, this is definitely a day of firsts; I finally get to talk with you and hear you sing live for the first time, all in the same day.
Well, the morning after a show is not usually the time to catch me at my best. (Laughter) Oh, that song “Kiss and Say Goodbye,” you remember that one, right?

Yes I do.

“I had to meet you here today,” (singing). And Midnight train to Georgia. You see the connection…

“I’ll Take You There…”

Yes. That was my first identification with music that was different from what my parents were listening to.

Songs like “People Get Ready.”

Uh huh. Definitely. Hold on, I need a drink of water…I’m having a very organic breakfast, with kale.

Are you vegan?

Heck, no. I gotta eat meat. I can’t deny it. My body needs it.

When we are young we often imagine being someone else before we begin to imagine being ourselves. When I was discovering music I wanted to be John Sebastian. Who did you want to be? 

I have three answers to that question. First, I wanted to be Elvis. But mom would said to me, “Lisa, you don’t want to be famous like Elvis, because you’ll never be able to go to the movies. You’ll lose all your family and friends to fame.” Part of me wanted to be Brenda Lee. But then there was another memory associated with Elvis and Disney World. When I was about ten years old my aunt and uncle took me to Disney World for my first time. There was a girl there that I was told had actually sung with Elvis. Her name was Kathy Westmoreland. She was like a young girl, my age or a little older, and she was at Disney World doing a gig. I cannot remember the song. To me that was the pinnacle of success…to sing with Elvis and to sing at Disney World! I remember her singing a version of…(Singing) “As time goes by, I realize, just what you mean, to me…” Color My World! You made me think about something I haven’t thought about in years.

Well, don’t get too comfortable, I’m not done picking your brain just yet. When did you first realize that your voice could be powerful? And how did that change the way you saw yourself, what you dreamed you could be?

Um…okay… I think the powerful part… I think first of the power of communication, not the power of my voice. As a form of communication I recognized that early on because, as a child, for a number of reasons, I felt that people didn’t really hear me. I had all these feeling I couldn’t describe any other way. So it was a way for me to communicate these inner feelings, using singing to get people to hear me. That was the first power of the voice. And then later on the second thing I thought of, I used to take my guitar everywhere with me, school, everywhere. I remember some guy who had a band, I idolized these band guys. This guy I looked up to made some reference to me as being a little folk singer. That didn’t sit well with me. I felt like he was patronizing me. So I decided, I am going to sing the blues.

I imagine you to be someone who can be rather forthright when the occasion calls for it.

(Laughter) These days I am… I listened to Bonnie Raitt, and realized she was finding ways to make her voice fuller, and richer. When I discovered Etta James, and that is when I deliberately began to study someone’s voice, their phrasing. And I felt a connection to Bonnie Raitt, not knowing where she was getting her stuff from.

So, at some point, you got connected with Big Brother and the Holding Company. How did that come about?

When I played in the Mobile area, ultimately I hooked up with this guy and we formed a duo called Chancey Mills. He ended up in later years with Wet Willie. He still plays, these days, with Hank, Jr. We were together personally and professionally for over seven years. So I started playing solo again, and it was really daunting for me. I was afraid of how people would take me, and my ability to engage an audience on my own. There was this little club in Pascagoula, Mississippi, called Spicey’s, and the guy there hired me, and paid me the most money I had had up to date, so I was thrilled with that. When I played that place, and I walked in the door, people stood up and applauded. They were that enthusiastic, they were that passionate. And that guy, who sadly passed away a few years ago, he believed in me so much that he got someone in there to record me live. That album was Blues and Ballads and it has been out of print for years. But that cd was bought by a girl who was connected to Big Brother. So Sam Andrew started calling me. At that time I was finishing my BFA in sculpture, and my kids were little, I couldn’t really do anything at that time. But after about a year I was able to do my first show with those guys. And I was their main singer for three years. They were the ones who brought me overseas.

It must have been exciting that guys who worked with Janis Joplin had confidence that you could handle the repertoire of someone considered an icon of a generation.

I think ignorance is bliss. I didn’t know much about them, I wasn’t a big Janis fan, I had never really listened to her. It was a whole new world for me. I didn’t go in there with that frame of mind. I just went in there to sing and what I was concerned with was, hey, are you guys going to do any blues? (Laughter). And Sam reassured me they would. And he told me I would probably get to meet B.B. King, and we do our own music as well. It’s funny because I was never a Janis Joplin wannabe. She has inspired a lot of people, I just wasn’t one of them, but I have a lot of respect for what she’s done. I learned a lot about her from the guys in the band.

As flattering as performing in that setting must have been, at some point did you begin to feel limited by it? The need to move on must have started growing on you…

You’re not kidding. There’s two parts to this…and I don’t want to offend anybody…the Janis Joplin thing is a mighty, mighty big shadow to come out from under. And I see this for the guys in the band also. They get pigeonholed as Janis Joplin’s backing band, when they were already a successful San Francisco area band before she came along. Her iconic status left them with this blessing and this onus. And I think a lot of people, when they think of a white girl singing the blues, tend to think of Janis Joplin. 

So how did you go from performing with Big Brother to releasing your own music on your own label?

That first cd got me hooked in with Big Brother, and got me overseas. Over there I met a person who became a dear friend, who got me gigs, he acted as a manager for me, and he opened a lot of doors for me. The first version of I’m Changing just sort of happened. And I brought Ian Jennings over to work on it.

You recorded Tempered in Fire over there with some fine British talent…

That was after a particularly traumatic break up, romantically. My best friend, Cindy, came to me and said, “Look, you need to get out of here. You need to record a new album.” And she went and put five thousand dollars on her credit card. And I went overseas and met up with my buddy, who arranged the studio in Kent. And he brought in the fantastic Andy Fairweather Low to come from Wales and play on the record and we made Tempered in Fire. At the time I didn’t have the money I needed to finish the album, so my friend came in again and suggested I get a sponsorship. So I went to my fans, with the chance for them to get their name on the album, and so we were able to finish it. From there a friend in Texas helped me get distribution forTempered in Fire. She also helped me get into doing publicity for the album. I couldn’t believe the response, some of the reviews that started coming in, I was just sitting there in tears. All of a sudden I felt validated, that people were getting it, hearing me. USA Today mentioned it, and I got a regional commercial for a casino.

So what was the thought process that led you to resurrect I’m Changing?

The album was out of print for many years. I had been playing the songs live. So one night in New York City, after a show, a man came up to the merchandise table and asked me which album had the song, “I’m Changing.” And I had to tell him I didn’t have that album. And back when it was in print, I didn’t have distribution and publicity, and radio and all the stuff I had with Tempered in Fire.  One day I was in my studio, doing some cleaning, and pulled out the raw tracks for I’m Changing. So I sat down and listened to them and I was amazed at how good they sounded. I thought they were incredible, and asked myself, “What happened?” When I had recorded them I didn’t know anything about mixing or production. The people who helped me do it did a fine job. It just wasn’t where I wanted it to be.  So my friend, Cindy, and some other friends offered me a substantial loan to go back in the studio and cut some additional tracks and do what I needed to finish the album. So then we put together a Kickstarter campaign and here we are. I’m doing this…flying by the seat of my pants.

Your songwriting is very skillful. You manage to handle the nuances of relationship within the context of a song, and your characters and their relationships are complicated, not one dimensional. For example, in the title track you are saying, “I’m changing, you’re still the same.” But then you’re not ready to give up on the relationship. 

Yes, there is no denying, if you love somebody, even if there are things that don’t work…even if you know that it’s not really great for you to be there… you still don’t want to give that up, because love, no matter when and who you love, it’s always a part of you. And you don’t want to give that up. It’s about having faith, really.

What brings you joy?

I can tell you that right now. Last night, being in that place (at the cd release party), looking around and seeing those people, the people I love from different parts of my life, all gathered together in one place at the same time. There is nothing I love more than that.

What breaks your heart?

Feeling rejected, like I don’t fit in or really belong somewhere. You know, it feels like…this album… is like reclaiming my birthright. Like the biblical story, or whatever. I know that sounds mighty powerful but it’s reclaiming…these songs are my babies…and it’s reclaiming part of my history.
www.lisamills.com

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