When Nightlife caught up with Logan Mize last month, he was very eager-- anxious, even. In between t
Video Comentary
When Nightlife caught up with Logan Mize last month, he was very eager-- anxious, even. In between talking about touring and recording, the SIU alum and rising country star revealed that he is sitting on finished material that he wants to play out immediately.
“I’m not sure when it will come out,” he said in a phone interview, “but I want it to now.”
Mize rides in Friday, April 26 to the Copper Dragon. Other performers that evening include Clayton Anderson and Matt Poss.
Mize mixes raw Southern rock with a twangy country likability that is reminiscent Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. A dream collaboration for Mize, in fact, would be to work with Petty. Mize said he has always admired Petty’s guitar playing and the way he is able to capture moods and stories in song.
Originally from Kansas, Mize came to SIU in 2004 to major in plant and soil science and play defensive tackle for the Salukis. He now hails from Nashville. He is also kin to Billy Mize, who was a longtime steel guitarist for Merle Haggard and a pioneer of the Bakersfield sound.
When Logan Mize is not on stage, his mind is never far from his music, which often results in a surplus of material to sort through when it is time to produce an album. It presents some challenges, but Mize said it’s a good problem to have.
“You write, write, and write, and you get forty to fifty songs,” Mize said. “Now you have to go through them all and see what ones to put on a record.”
His last album-- 2012’s Nobody in Nashville-- is a clever concoction about the ups and downs of love and life, and also displays the self-reflective nature of being in the music business. In “Rock ‘n’ Roll Band,” Mize admits that he has never fully grown out of his childhood dream. “I’ve been sixteen now for most of my life,” he sings in a way to which almost every would-be rock star can relate.
Mize wrote or cowrote all of the songs on the album. The twenty-seven-year-old married recently, and he said he is often able to pull inspiration from his relationship when he is trying to think of what would make a good song.
“Being married is always good,” Mize said. “You’ve got good and bad both in there. You have a lot of situations to pull from.”
Of his new songs, Mize said “Used Up” seems to be on constant repeat among his bandmates.
Mize is definitely making a name for himself among country music’s heavy hitters. He has shared the stage with Lady Antebellum, Eric Church, the Band Perry, and Billy Currington. Bucky Covington of American Idol recorded Mize’s “Mexicoma” for his Live from Rockingham album. In February, Mize debuted his acting chops while guest starring on the C.W. show Hart of Dixie. True to life, he also performed part of his song “High-N-Dry” during a bar scene.
Today’s current country scene is a creative place, Mize said. He adds that he looks up to newcomers like Kacey Musgraves because they have the ability to command attention both lyrically and musically. Nashville is different now, and he kind of likes it that way.
“There seems to be a lot of diversity,” he said. “A lot of people have something that they want to say. [I think] it is in a really great place.”
Whether it is on the jukebox or up on the stage, Mize said he hopes that when someone listens to his music, he or she is able to let loose and understand where he is coming from.
“I just want people to come out, have a good time, and hopefully like what they hear,” he said.
For more information about Mize, visit <http://www.LoganMize.com>.
who: Logan Mize / Clayton Anderson Band / Matt Poss
what: country-western showcase
where: Pinch Penny Pub Beer Garden / Copper Dragon Brewing Company
when: Friday, April 26
