Daily Discovery: Julie Mintz, “Til She Disappears”

ARTIST: Julie Mintz

SONG: Til She Disappears

BIRTHDATE: the day after Valentine’s Day–I’ve always been just a little behind when it comes to love.

HOMETOWN: Corpus Christi, Texas

CURRENT LOCATION: a quiet canyon in Los Angeles, California

AMBITIONS: being happy, staying creative, writing better songs, falling asleep before 3am, love

TURN-OFFS: poor grammar, lack of compassion, rude people, having a stranger’s hair touch my bare skin

TURN-ONS: big brains, funny bones, clean sheets

DREAM GIG: opening for Joni Mitchell on her comeback world tour (clearly this is a selfish, fantastical scenario designed to allow me to see her perform!)

FAVORITE LYRIC:

I’ve been tryin’ to get down to the heart of the matter

Because the flesh will get weak

And the ashes will scatter

So I’m thinkin’ about forgiveness

Forgiveness

Even if, even if you don’t love me anymore

-Don Henley, J.D. Souther

(the 1st chorus says, “But my will gets weak / And my thoughts seem to scatter”; the 2nd chorus says, “But everything changes / And my friends seem to scatter”; and then my favorite is the 3rd chorus above, such brilliant changes.)

CRAZIEST PERSON I KNOW: Moby–the good, big brained, funny kind of crazy

SONG I WISH I WROTE:  Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” has crossed genres and decades. Not to be confused with the song she wrote years earlier, “I’ll Oil Wells Love You,” about a girl who falls in love with a Texas oil man…and his money. Talent and a sense of humor!

5 PEOPLE I’D MOST LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH: My Grandma Libby who passed away when I was two, my mom, Patty Griffin, Nostradamus (preferably armed with some psychic prophecies), and Rumi

MY FAVORITE CONCERT EXPERIENCE: I was in 2nd grade when I went to my very first concert: the Michael Jackson “Thriller” tour in Houston, Texas.  I still remember my big brother wore a red leather jacket with one glove, I wore a totally 80’s purple suede skirt that buttoned up the front, and my mom rocked the most amazing rainbow sequined tube top.

I WROTE THIS SONG: I wrote this song when I was just starting out as a singer and songwriter and went on a few dates with a really well-known, established musician.  I was so intimidated by his talent, and the more I liked him, the more I would doubt and edit myself around him – a long-held unconscious habit, and a form of self-protection. It was unfortunate because as I was frantically trying to figure out who to be and what to say to make someone like me, I was slowly disappearing. I was blunting all the parts of myself that were unique and lovable. Writing “Til She Disappears” during that time in my life was my realization of that self-defeating behavior, and I think it’s something a lot of women can relate to.