Mayfield Four Get A Crack At Stardom With Record Deal
Myles Kennedy had no idea where his air guitar and Iron Maiden tape would take him.
It was the early 1980s and this scrawny Spokane kid, who was no athlete, had finally found an outlet - in rock ‘n’ roll.
That’s when he and a group of friends decided to form a band. Only instead of using real instruments, they turned oatmeal boxes and duct tape into an elaborate drum set and wooden planks into guitars.
Kennedy strummed a tennis racket like it was a Fender as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest blared from the stereo.
“One day my dad looked at me and said, ‘Son, why don’t you play for real?’ ” Kennedy, 27, says laughing.
So he did.
Now, more than a decade after he picked up a real guitar, Kennedy and a group of his longtime friends have found themselves with not only a real rock band but with a very real major record label contract.
They are The Mayfield Four, a group of Spokane natives who signed a deal with Epic Records on Saturday. It is the label of Pearl Jam and Michael Jackson. Of Oasis and Rage Against The Machine.
Now, these four guys stand on the cusp of what could be a grand score - or what could leave them just another of the many bands swallowed and then disgorged by the ever-ravenous music industry.
“It’s very exciting and it’s very humbling,” says Zia Uddin, the band’s drummer. “We’re not afraid to admit that we’re having a blast and that this is fun, because it is. It’s been an amazing experience.”
The Mayfield Four is only the second Inland Northwest-based rock band to be signed by a major label. The former Coeur d’Alene group Shoveljerk was the first.
“I think the big misconception is that once you get signed, that’s it, you’re home free,” Uddin says. “But when you get signed, all you’ve done is put your foot in the door. For us, this is where the work begins.”
Working hard is something these guys already know how to do.
Kennedy was 15 when he began plucking at the guitar. By 20 he was giving lessons - eventually to people with twice his years and experience.
“I went crazy. I would lock myself away and that’s all I would do, play guitar. Summers were … I never got a suntan, let’s just put it that way.”
In junior high, Kennedy found a kindred spirit in Uddin.
A self-described geek and “huge Kiss fan,” Uddin somehow always knew he could play the drums. When his dad bought him a snare drum and later a drum kit, he applied himself with an intensity akin to Kennedy’s.
Craig Johnson made the natural boyhood progression from skateboard to BMX bike to guitar, finding inspiration in his parents’ Stones, Hendrix and Beatles albums.
His childhood friend, Marty Meisner, voted “Most Craziest” in high school, took up the bass under the influence of Sting and The Police.
All four attended Mead High School. Kennedy and Uddin formed a band called Bitter Sweet while Johnson and Meisner formed Paris By Air. Between the two bands, they covered everything from Zeppelin to Miami Sound Machine.
They laugh and turn a little red when coerced into revealing their old band photographs, each member with his hair long and curly. Pure ‘80s.
They aren’t ashamed of those days. OK, maybe just a little. But they shouldn’t be, because they were playing. They were dedicated to making music.
And they still are.
These guys have spent years slogging it out in numerous respectable bands. Kennedy and Johnson fronted Spokane’s Citizen Swing. Uddin drummed for Shoveljerk and Inflatable Soule. Meisner played bass for Give.
In July 1996, things came full circle. When Citizen Swing disbanded and Uddin left Shoveljerk, the Mayfield Four was born - a name they wisely chose over the likes of Sombrero Bob and the Salsa Suckers.
“Marty really wanted Crop Dusters; he was dead set on it,” Kennedy said on a recent afternoon, poking a little good-natured fun at his friend who wasn’t around to defend himself.
It’s these friendships that are at the root of this band’s cohesion.
“We have something that clicks together,” Meisner says. “I’ve never felt this as much with any other band. It just feels right.”
Uddin and Meisner now live in Seattle while Kennedy and Johnson share a house in Spokane. Each weekend, one half of the band makes the cross-state trek to practice - one week in Spokane, the next in Seattle.
The record label attention began with their demo tape - only four songs long and recorded in just 30 hours last November.
The tracks, with titles like “Freakshow” and “Sucker Punch,” were plucked from Kennedy’s heart when he was recovering from a particularly painful end to a long-term relationship.
With the help of the rest of the band, the songs became tight guitar rock shot through with often achingly beautiful vocals and edgy melodies.
“When we did the demo, we just thought we’d get some gigs out of it,” Johnson says.
And it did land them some shows. But then, with the help of heavy hitters at Susan Silver Management in Seattle, the demo tape landed in the hands of certain music industry people. People who started coming to Mayfield Four shows - and liking what they heard.
Soon, the band was being courted by not just one major label but several. They were flown to New York and Los Angeles. Contracts were discussed. Offers were made.
The Mayfield Four was not even a year old, and suddenly its members were facing the biggest decision of their lives. The question was, which record label would develop their long-term careers - not just spoon-feed them a taste of fleeting fame?
“It was very similar to finding your partner for life,” Kennedy says.
They picked Epic, a label who has given Pearl Jam enormous creative leeway and - being owned by Sony - offered to take an international approach to promoting the Mayfield Four.
The band members won’t discuss the details, but say it is a multiple-album deal that bodes well for a long-term commitment. “It still seems rather surreal,” Kennedy says.
All this attention is unlikely to inflate the Mayfield egos.
These four are a humble lot, more prone to giving credit to those who championed them than to bragging about their skills. When Kennedy is told that the term “virtuoso” is often used by those who have seen his guitar chops, he smiles, says an earnest “thank you,” and changes the topic.
Besides, they are well aware that a “big record deal” guarantees nothing. Not fame. And certainly not fortune.
“It’s a total gamble,” Kennedy says. “We’ve sacrificed a lot for this. But now we’re getting a chance to play with the big boys for a while and it kind of validates everything we’ve worked for.”
Last week the guys were finally able to give up their day jobs - everything from house painting to legal work. This summer they will tour the West Coast, building a fan base. They hope to release their first album early next year.
“Our criteria for success is to record great records - that’s what it’s all about,” Kennedy says.
And in the end, Johnson says, it comes down to this:
“It’s a golden opportunity to get our music out, it’s what we’ve dreamed of for years and worked at. Hopefully we’ll sell some albums. If not, it’s still going to be one hell of a ride.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
MEMO: The Mayfield Four perform at Outback Jack’s Friday at 9:30 p.m. Cry Manna and The Elements open. Cover is $5. You must be 21 to attend.