Maya Nye isn't just a local performer in Charleston; she's also one of the behind-the-scenes people who help give live music a home in Charleston. Music and art are important to her. It's part of the reason she came back to the area after she left after high school.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Maya Nye started playing guitar 20 years ago, when she was 11, but it was nearly 15 years before she was ready to step on a stage. Her father was a musician, but it didn't help with her serious case of nerves.
"I had major anxiety," the 31 year-old singer said. "I started at open mics around town, which led to hosting an open mic and eventually to me performing again, too."
Friday, she performs at Taylor Books with guitarist Chet Lowther. It will be cover material, she says, although not necessarily what everyone expects.
"I like a lot of Americana and old country, like Johnny Cash," Nye said. "I also like newer material by singers like Neko Case. I guess I'm still performing on the backs of others. "
Nye writes songs. She just hasn't quite built up the confidence to put them in front of people yet. It's always: The music is good, but the lyrics aren't or the lyrics are good, but the music isn't, she says. She swears she's just not ready. One day, she says, just not this Friday.
Nye isn't just a local performer in Charleston; she's also one of the behind-the-scenes people who help give live music a home in Charleston. Music and art are important to her. It's part of the reason she came back to the area after she left after high school.
Nye grew up in St. Albans, then went away to school at Antioch College, which she says, "was a great liberal arts school located in the middle of a corn field." After college, she traveled around. She lived in New York for a while, San Francisco and even England. In 2000, she came back to West Virginia because missed friends and family.
"I wanted to come back to West Virginia to help make it a place to come to and not just to flee from. I thought I could help nurture a creative environment here."
She does what she can. Currently, she schedules acts for the Flour Sack Series at Lola's Pizza on Bridge Road. The whole idea, she says, was simply taking available space and putting to good use.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Maya Nye started playing guitar 20 years ago, when she was 11, but it was nearly 15 years before she was ready to step on a stage. Her father was a musician, but it didn't help with her serious case of nerves.
"I had major anxiety," the 31 year-old singer said. "I started at open mics around town, which led to hosting an open mic and eventually to me performing again, too."
Friday, she performs at Taylor Books with guitarist Chet Lowther. It will be cover material, she says, although not necessarily what everyone expects.
"I like a lot of Americana and old country, like Johnny Cash," Nye said. "I also like newer material by singers like Neko Case. I guess I'm still performing on the backs of others. "
Nye writes songs. She just hasn't quite built up the confidence to put them in front of people yet. It's always: The music is good, but the lyrics aren't or the lyrics are good, but the music isn't, she says. She swears she's just not ready. One day, she says, just not this Friday.
Nye isn't just a local performer in Charleston; she's also one of the behind-the-scenes people who help give live music a home in Charleston. Music and art are important to her. It's part of the reason she came back to the area after she left after high school.
Nye grew up in St. Albans, then went away to school at Antioch College, which she says, "was a great liberal arts school located in the middle of a corn field." After college, she traveled around. She lived in New York for a while, San Francisco and even England. In 2000, she came back to West Virginia because missed friends and family.
"I wanted to come back to West Virginia to help make it a place to come to and not just to flee from. I thought I could help nurture a creative environment here."
She does what she can. Currently, she schedules acts for the Flour Sack Series at Lola's Pizza on Bridge Road. The whole idea, she says, was simply taking available space and putting to good use.
A couple of years ago, and before she took her current job working for the Division of Culture and History as an Arts and Education Coordinator, Nye had a job at the pizza parlor. One night, Nye and a few of her co-workers were finishing up when someone pulled out a guitar. He sat on a pile of flour sacks and everyone sang along. Nye said everyone had such a good time, they decided to bring live music to the pizza place. It grew from an occasional event to a regular Wednesday night feature at Lola's.
"What started as something seasonal became year-round," she said.
Lola's Flour Sack Series is now in it's second year, and Nye is glad to still be part of it. Finding musicians, she says, isn't much of a problem. Charleston has a rich variety of players, and she knows a lot of musicians.
For herself, Nye says she plays out when she can, although she acknowledges that it ebbs and flows. She oversaw the open mic at Sam's Uptown Café for many months a while back, but then she injured her wrist and couldn't play guitar. It put a damper on her desire to perform or watch others.
Lately, she feels good about being part of the local scene in whatever capacity she can find. Other than the show at Taylor Books, she also haunts the local mic at Griff's in South Charleston.
"Louie does a great job," Nye said. "He's really built that one up."
For anyone who nurses the idea of singing or playing, she says it's no big secret: you just have to do it. There are people out there waiting to see it.
Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.
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