Stitched Up Heart’s Mixi Demner, Interview – Inspiring Darker Music
Stitched Up Heart, Mixi Demner interview – Story by Anne Erickson, courtesy photo
Mixi Demner, Interview: The Stitched Up Heart vocalist talks with Anne Erickson about the band’s new album, “To the Wolves,” and women in metal
California rock outfit Stitched Up Heart are back with a new studio album, “To the Wolves,” which just dropped on Century Media on Sept. 1. The set sees the band returning to its gothic roots, with darker-sounding metal music and an industrial metal slant. Think Nine Inch Nails meets Halestorm.
Lead vocalist Alecia “Mixi” Demner of Stitched Up Heart tells Audio Ink Radio that the band’s music took a dark turn for “To the Wolves.” They didn’t really plan that, though. She says it was part of a vision that she had, but the musical change was very organic and natural.
“I think we were watching a lot of vampire and werewolf movies in the beginning of writing this,” she says. “I think we wanted to go dark, an I wanted to go dark and black everything, blackout everything.”
“There wasn’t a reason,” she adds. “The black body paint, for example, is something we’re going to start doing again. We used to do a it a long time ago, and they’re kind of coming from our roots, before we got signed, when we were DIY. I did have black hair back, then,” she says, referring to her new, black hair color. “So, we’re kind of bringing back what we started and what the vision was, with the horror, goth, industrial metal element and going back to what we truly enjoy.”
Demner formed Stitched Up Heart in 2010. Since then, more women are in rock and metal. But, not enough.
“I gravitate to the women in the industry, so I’m always like, ‘Oh my God. There’s a girl in the band! I need to check out this band,” she says. “I don’t know what it is, but I just relate a lot, and I seem to have a lot in common with the other women in the industry. So, it’s kind of like when I find band with a girl in it, I know almost every single one, so if there’s another band that I don’t know of that has a girl in it, I’m surprised.”
“But, I do think there’s definitely been growth in women being more accepted in the heavy music genre, but still, there’s a lot more room to go, because it’s still way male-dominated. I just wish I could see a 50-50 split with women and men. But, it is really cool to see the women. It’s not the easiest gig. It’s rough on the road. As women, we like to be pampered, and we like to be clean, and it’s not always the cleanest. But, I keep it as clean on the road as possible. So, I understand why it’s a little more difficult.”
Demner adds that she hopes more women do enter the rock and metal music industry. “I’m hoping that will change, because if you look at pop, rap, country, (there are) so many women, and why is it different with metal? I mean, if you look at Europe, they embrace the women in metal, and actually metal, in general, is a mainstream thing. So, I’m hoping the U.S. catches up with that. But, there are so many great bands with females in them in the heavy genres.”
Watch Stitched Up Heart vocalist Mixi Demner’s full video interview with Audio Ink Radio above. Also, find Audio Ink Radio’s 2020 interview with Demner here. Discover more on Stitched Up Heart via their official website.
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