Stitched Up Heart has really been paying their dues since forming in 2010. They have been road warriors playing every little club and dive bar across the US. Lead vocalist and founding member Alecia “Mixi” Demner has seen quite a few members come and go as she’s searched for the right fit to the band that she’s always wanted. They have battled it out in the trenches of music and are stronger than ever a decade are forming. The band has been getting noticed by some pretty big heavyweights including Godsmack and Sebastian Bach who both enlisted the band to open up for them on their tours. The lockdown that happened because of COVID was really tough on everyone. The band’s latest album Darkness was released March 13 and then their highly anticipated tour with Sebastian Bach, which was scheduled to kick-off on March 25, was postponed. During her COVID downtime, Mixi sat down with us to talk about the new album, kitties and much more.
If I didn’t like you before, one look at your Instagram feed would have converted me into a fan. Just looking at your Instagram feed melted my heart. What you do with the kitten rescue is absolutely amazing. I am a cat person myself and we rescued four kittens when they were just a few weeks old. It’s a lot of work to have to bottle feed them and watch after them.
Mixi/Stitched Up Heart: I have three that I technically have now and the rest of them are rentals.
Were you always an animal person?
I’ve always been an animal person and my dad rescued 14 cats from a rescue and just kept taking them in. My aunt is really into cats, my mom is into dogs and my grandparents rescue little Chihuahuas and mini pinchers so I think it’s part of a family thing. I didn’t start fostering until about five years ago when we were travelling through Seattle. My aunt, who is also a crazy cat lady, told us that she had these two kittens that she was fostering in her bathroom because we were crashing at her place. I was like ‘you foster kittens?’ You just borrow them for a little while until they get to that awkward teen stage and they start scratching up all of your furniture and then you give them to somebody else. Is that how that works?’ (laughs) So, I thought that I would try it out while we were off tour. First, I fostered a dog and it pooped all over the place. For some reason, I can’t train dogs. I don’t know how to be the dominate one and they just poop everywhere. Then, I tried a full grown cat and then my first kitten which was only seven days old. His name was Oreo and he was 35 kittens ago.
It really takes a person with a big heart to do something like that.
Their lives are in our hands. They don’t have an immune system and they don’t have mama’s milk that has all the nutrients that they need. If the least little bit of bacteria gets in that bottle, you can really have a big problem. I absolutely love it. Our album came out March 13 in its entirety, on that same day our tour with Sebastian Bach got postponed until the fall because of COVID. I was driving home from the gym because I was trying to get into tour shape so I can run around the stage and go crazy. First I ordered a pizza and then I called the kitten rescue. I told them that I was going to have to have some kittens or otherwise I was going to get depressed. So, there has been a lot of rescuing while COVID has been happening.
You’re definitely a very special person for doing that and I think it’s pretty damn awesome.
Thank you and I think that’s why I’m drawn to the bottle bed fed babies. When people find kittens out on the sidewalk they think mom has abandoned them but mom’s just out looking for food or found another cat or something. She comes back most of the time but people find them and take them to the shelter. The shelter has one day to find somebody to bottle feed them otherwise they’re not going to survive the night and they put them down that day. I know it’s such a big problem. When I’m off tour, I can do it because I don’t have a nine to five that I can’t bring kittens to. I think that’s where I am most useful at. Once they get old enough to where they can eat food, then I turn them back over to the people that handle the adoptions and just want kittens running all around their house (laughs).
Ok, I’ll try my best to stop talking to you about cats and start talking about music.
I know, whoever is reading this is probably like ‘enough about the cats already.’ (laughs)
You released your new album back in March. Did you do any dates at all with Sebastian Bach?
No, it was supposed to start on March 24. It’s postponed until the fall and we’re still playing that by ear as well. We did kind of luck out by the way we released our album. We did something really different with this record where we did this waterfall effect thing where we released a different song every month. Luckily we did that because we only had like two more songs to release by the time the album came out. We had been promoting it and out on tour with Godsmack, Like A Storm, Through Fire and Steel Panther so we did a few tours last year. By the time album dropped on March 13, we already had three millions spins on Spotify.
That was a pretty cool marketing tool to use. How did you decide to do that?
Honestly, the label came up with that and ran it by me. I am always a person for trying new things and I’m not afraid to take risks. Of course a fan wants the whole album all at once. We want to record it on our phones so we can listen to it over and over. We were giving the fans a little taste each month and building momentum which was important because it had been a few years since we released something. We had to engage them again.
For me, when an album first comes out, I’ll listen to the whole thing two weeks straight if I really like it. I’ll skip over songs just to get to the ones I like the most and maybe come back to those, but it’s dead to me after a few months. With this record, we would give them certain songs and it would make them come back. It would give them something to look forward to and it extended the campaign a little longer. Each song got its own moment to shine rather than being one that you might skip over on the record. It was really cool and I really enjoyed it. I don’t know what we will do next time, so I just keep writing.
I thought it was pretty cool and I really liked it. I can’t think of anyone who has done anything like that or anything even close to it though.
I think a lot of pop artists do and sometimes rap artists do. Singles are really the way that streaming survives these days. You put so much money into an album and nobody buys records anymore. You know, we’re all just streaming it on Spotify and watching the YouTube videos. I think that there’s going to be record deals that are more single oriented versus album oriented. I think things are going to change. That’s just my belief. I mean, I could be wrong in five years from now. The next interview we do, could be like hey, remember when you said? I’m sure there will still be full albums obviously because it’s a tradition.
What you did was a slow cooker. How did the connection with Ron Underwood (9Electric) happen? I knew of him before your “Warrior” video because we’ve done some work with 9Electric. I know the crazy frontman side of him with 9Electric, but I don’t know anything about his producer/director side.
We’ve known him for a while. We’ve played a couple tours with 9Electric and we just became really good friends. As far as directing goes, our first video we shot was with him. It was just a simple performance video; he put the light on us and we played the song a bunch of times. Then, he walked around with a camera as we were performing it. I feel like that was like our best. It was one of my favorite videos, no matter how simple it was. There wasn’t a storyline or anything and I just absolutely loved it. We did a couple other videos with some really amazing directors as well. When we came to “Warrior” and I was able to have a little more creative control on how it would go. I was also against the performance video. Ron is like, a genius. He’s just got a great vision and a great eye. It was basically him and I; we designed the entire thing. For “Warrior,” we studied the movie 300 because I had this concept that I wanted it to be like a green screen like, but not in the desert. I really liked the cinematography in 300. So it was kind of like that, and we just bounced the ideas and we work really well together. You know, it’s not like one person’s ideas are the only thing that goes. He’s very open to that kind of stuff. So he’s just incredible and if anybody’s ever looking for a music video director, I highly, highly recommend him.
I know you’ve been asked a ton of times, but just in case somebody is reading this that hasn’t read it. I have to ask you about “Lost” and working with Sully (Erna) of Godsmack. Where did that connection happen and who threw the idea out there of working together?
Sully is just a cool fucking dude. I shouldn’t say fucking but you know he’s a cool fucking dude. He’s super chill, super humble, super cool. He cares about you and will go above and beyond for anyone that he cares about.
I actually got connected with him for a writing session. We were going to collaborate a couple years back and immediately it was just like we’ve known each other forever. It was just one of those things where we’re just like, dude, I feel like I know you! We got connected through A&R over at the label, and then just kept in touch over the years. When it came time to do this record, my management actually asked me if I wanted to see if he’d be down to sing. I hate asking favors of people. I’m trying to learn how to do that more often. So I asked and he was like, ‘absolutely, as long as it’s the right song.’ It wasn’t until the very end of the record and I was listening to “Lost.” I heard this part in it, that I thought it could use a vocal in it. It could actually be really cool to sing it with him. I threw it over to management and they threw it over to Sully. They both agreed it was great and we ended up in the studio together. He recorded his vocals, because he didn’t want to just email it to me.
I flew up to Nashville because Godsmack moved their studio down to Nashville so bands can record there and we tracked the vocals. He asked me who was going to sing his parts live. The guys in the band can do it or if we’re on tour with someone, maybe they can get up and sing it. Then we ended up on tour with Godsmack!
What was it like the first time performing it live? I can just imagine the show as you guys are opening for Godsmack. You know, there are people there that are just there for Godsmack.
They weren’t there for us?
Well, of course, but I didn’t want to hurt Sully’s feelings.
The three people in the arena were there for us.
Well, I doubt it was only three! Anyway, they got there early to claim their spot and they are watching you perform. It’s hard not to be captivated by your performance and everything that’s going on. All of a sudden, Sully comes walking out to sing his part in your song. They had to be shocked!
Well we did about two months of touring together and for the first six shows he already said he was going to come out. Normally, he does not go out and collaborate and do stuff like that. There’s a huge production that goes into it, but we never got to a soundcheck. So by the time it was ours, it was like the seventh show. They came out did the soundcheck and then he was pretty much on the bill. I never knew if he was going to come out on stage. I thought he was going to come out on one side of the stage and then he’d trick me and go on the other side. I had no idea what side he was going to come on or if he was going to come out at all!
We also had our friend Cody Carlson, who was also a really cool guy. He was a part of our crew and helping us out on the tour and he’s also a good singer. Well, I asked him if Sully couldn’t do it, if he’d want to come up and sing with me. He looks like Head from Korn, so everybody would think that it was Head. He came out pretty much almost every show and missed, like one or two of the whole tour after we got a soundcheck in and it was really cool. I mean, it was really awesome. It was an amazing tour, like what dreams are made of, you know?
That’s so cool! Sully sounds like such a cool guy. I mean, they’ve been around for a while too. They’ve lasted longer than a lot of people expected them to and he just seems like he is so down to earth and just with no ego.
Yeah, and you know how he went above and beyond to make this happen for us. He didn’t take any credit for writing his lyrics. He didn’t want anything. He didn’t want a percentage of anything. We didn’t even have a booking agent when we got that tour. This is all him, his agent and his manager going around the entire system of all the bands that wanted that slot. We found out like a week before the Canada dates, as we’re about to leave for the US that we’re on the Canada dates too. We were like no way and that was just him going to bat. He’s like, I got this don’t worry.
I don’t know if you know all of the politics that is involved when it comes to putting a band on a tour and especially a tour like that. It’s pretty insane!
I’ve seen them many, many times. I saw them on their debut album tour and they were opening for Black Sabbath. What a freaking show! They had so many people there just for Sabbath. Sully and the guys didn’t have the elaborate show that they have now. They still managed to engage the audience and they had a mosh pit a few songs into their set. That energy was so infectious!
I watched them side stage, every single show except one, because it was too squishy inside. We would have a game whenever the pyro would go off. They had these loud booms and all the crew would be like plug your ears. They’d tell everybody listening on the side to plug their ears. We would start trying to guess when it was going to happen. Like right here it happens, you know? That stuff is dangerous! I think there was one point Sully got way too close to it. It was like OMG you’re going light on fire! The coolest performance, every time I watch this and I can never get tired of, is “Voodoo.” OMG, it gives me chills! They had dry ice that would come out and creep into the song and it was just amazing.
Last summer they played here in Raleigh for the first time in about eight or nine years and it was a small amphitheater. It was so hot and the wind started blowing pretty good during their intro and the curtain blew down early. So, Sully just walked out and they’re scrambling and panicking to get the curtain. He was like, fuck it, let’s do it.
The whole curtain fell down?
Yeah, that big heavy curtain! Mic stands fell over and there was a moment of chaos, but they got it under control pretty quickly. I’ve never seen a curtain fall, not on cue, like that one did.
We did some dates with Godsmack and Volbeat. We have this backdrop that’s huge that Monster Energy got for us. It wouldn’t fit in some of the venues that we play as headliners because it’s so huge. Then, we put it on the stage in front of their backdrops and it looked like a tiny napkin! We thought it was massive and they’re like ‘you’re little napkin is not even going to cover all of Volbeat. You see like “VO – EAT.”
How hard is it being a vegetarian when you’re out on the road? I don’t know what kind of vehicle you guys travel in but eating on the road for any band is tough unless you are traveling in a vehicle that might have a kitchen or something. Is that tough to stick to your diet? How do you work that?
Well, I’m a liberal vegetarian, I like to say, which means that I do eat meat every once in a while. I’m not going to say I can completely cut it out because sometimes my body just needs something. I try my best to not eat meat. On the road I don’t get to eat a lot. I mean, I especially as a singer, I don’t like eating in the morning. I just have like a Monster or something like that to wake me up. Then we have a soundcheck or something. I might have a tiny little snack, but I can’t eat too much before I perform. Let’s say if we were going on at 7:00, if I had a big meal at 4 or 5 or even 3 sometimes it’s too much. Then, I’m burping in a microphone! I’d rather be hungry on stage than full. So I don’t get to usually eat until the very end of the night, like after the show and after VIP and after everything’s done. That’s usually whatever I have stashed away in the RV like tv dinners and stuff like that. Now when I’m home, that’s another story.
So with the COVID thing going on and shutting everybody down, you mentioned writing. The new album is just a few months old, but it sounds like you’re already looking ahead. You probably always write, but you really have free time to do so now.
Right now it’s just casually writing because as a musician, we’re used to going on tours, come back home and write, go on tour, come back home and write. Now, we came back home and we have time to write for a really long time. We aren’t in any rush to release anything right now. We just dropped our album but we’re at least getting a head start and see what happens.
I think we’re going to see some really awesome art created from all of this lockdown time, whether it’s music, books, painting, whatever.
Right now I feel like we’re still kind going through a lot of ups and downs. I unfortunately, I don’t live anywhere near family. My dad and grandparents and stuff are in Florida. My mom’s in Indiana and Tennessee, my sister’s in North Carolina. Everybody’s everywhere, and I’m in California, so I have a lot of downtime. I guess, I’m just trying to appreciate the break, the pause, and be grateful and it’s definitely making me miss the stage even more and more.
If you guys do go back out in the fall, with the dates that you’re scheduled for now, are you worried? I mean, how do you feel about going back out there? Will there be any apprehension?
Well, I’m hoping that they find a vaccine or something beforehand. I’m more worried about being part of the problem, not the solution, like encouraging people. We actually just dropped off a festival that a half a million people went there last year. We have people on our team that have heart conditions and what if something happens to them? I don’t know; I’m just kind of playing it by ear and hoping something changes before the end of October.
I noticed here in North Carolina, there are several venues that are booking shows for like, late October or early November. I’m wondering how do I feel about going, especially to a small venue. How do I feel about being inside? How are you going to social distance? Are people going to wear masks? I just can’t see people social distance.
We did like a little backyard jam kind of thing that we videoed and everything for this fundraiser for a horse rescue on the Fourth of July, and it was literally 25 people with some members of the Patreon group. We didn’t invite anyone else except for like our manager and stuff. It was mandatory that they got tested within a week or two, for COVID and they had to have proof of negative results. Masks weren’t mandatory because it was 30 acres of land and 25 people so it’s not like super crazy but we all were very, very careful. I think outside shows are probably going to make it a little easier. Maybe drive-in concerts are the new thing and until a vaccine comes? I guess we’re going to have to play that by ear.
I guess we should go ahead and wrap this up. I know you have some kitties running around that need tending to. Oh no! I worked cats back into our talk again (laughs).
Follow us on Spotify and YouTube all that and check out the album Darkness.If you have free time right now and you want to do something positive in the world, go find something you’re passionate about, like a kitten rescue, or a horse ranch. Do something to try to give back and I promise it will feed your soul 1000 times more than just taking all of your time.
By I’m Music Magazine Owner/Editor Johnny Price
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