This has been a great year for Mindie Lind. She’s already gotten some rave mentions from KEXP and Seattle Magazine, so we’re thrilled she’s getting even more attention through Pianos in the Parks. Her voice has been called: “silky, sultry, a smoky sound that transports you to a dark place of night clubs, cigarette smoke and charm.” Who exactly is this woman?

Q&A with Mindie Lind, Seattle Songwriter & Musician

Q: Mindie, seems the PIANOS IN THE PARKS contest has helped answer the question you posted on Facebook Aug. 7:
“…it’s a popular vote thing….am I popular? I don’t know…”
Mindie: Ha! I guess it has.

Q: What’s your connection to pianos?
Mindie: I sort of taught myself to play piano about four years ago. I grew up playing the French horn, and we always had a piano at the house, which helped with that. But the few piano lessons I took when I was younger required that you had a certain number of fingers, and so on. I couldn’t make that. So I taught myself to play in a way that works for me and my music. I’m not that good of a piano player; it’s a good way to help me sing.

Q: What was it like going around and recording your video at pianos in the parks? 
Mindie: It’s been beautiful to see how many different people played the pianos. It wasn’t just me playing. A little kid was playing the “Pink Panther.” Another couple that were classical musicians were there. The variation in making music around the piano is incredible.

I think we first went to the piano at Seattle Center, the same piano I’ll be playing this Friday as the contest winner [Mindie’s the opening act of the KEXP/Seattle Center Concerts at the Mural]. Number 2 was the piano at the Pier, and the third was the piano in Ballard.

Q: What about the song “Lowlands” you’re singing in the video?
Mindie: I wrote that song the week before and played it with my band. This was a way to get it on the piano.

Q: What do you want to accomplish music-wise?  What’s going on with your band Inly?
Mindie: Inly has been together for a year, and there’s six of us.  My goal is to record a full-length album with Inly (hopefully paid for by someone else) sometime this winter. I need a couple of more songs to do that. Our EP “Mississippi Misfit” [released earlier this year] has five songs. And we have five more since then.

Q:  Tell us a bit about yourself. What’s your day job?
Mindie: I’m a music publicist. I work at Hearth Music. I moved to Seattle nine years ago to get away from Georgia.

Q:  There were close to 90 videos in the PIANOS IN THE PARKS contest, with all types of music and performances. Coincidently, your music is “alt-country,” which lines up perfectly with the bands you’ll be opening for this Friday: Star Anna, Mark Pickerel and Lee Banks III.
Mindie: That is great.

Catch Mindie Lind this Friday, August 22, at 5:00 pm. She’ll be the opening act for the KEXP/Seattle Center Concerts at the Mural.