Meet Dawn Mitschele, a gifted Singer-Songwriter from San Diego, California, who’s been nominated twice in 2014 and 2015 for Best Singer/Songwriter at the SD Music Awards. Her band, Cardinal Moon, just released their new album Come Undone on the Redwoods Music label, and they’ll soon be releasing a new video to accompany it. Throughout quarantine, Dawn has been actively collaborating with Alfred Howard on his project, Alfred Howard Writes.
Recently we had a chat about her album release, motherhood, and how collaboration has helped her grow as a musician and songwriter. Here are the highlights from our chat.
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How does she describe the new album?
Dawn describes their genera of music as indie rock and says the album is quite eclectic. The songs have been in the works for some time, ever since the band was formed 4 years ago. Alfred Howard writes the lyrics while Dawn is responsible for turning them into music.
What were the lessons learned from the album launch online?
Everything happened very fast leading up to the album release, according to Dawn. That meant some things were left undone, like making videos for the songs. They’ve been playing it by ear since the online release, making short video clips for the different songs in the album. Dawn has been editing the videos herself, which has been a fun process of trying out new things and being creative.
What’s the Alfred Howard Writes project all about?
Al’s a prolific lyricist who works with singers/songwriters from all over the country, including Dawn. He’s already released 42 songs for the project, averaging 2 songs a week. His lyrics are reflections about the stuff he goes through in life, and for every song, there’s accompanying artwork done by Alfred’s mom. At the end of the day, it’s more than just a song. It’s a story and a painting as well.
How does the singing process unfold, does Al provide any melodies or titbits to guide song writers?
For the most part, he lets Dawn run with it. Sometimes he’ll send a tune to accompany a song, sometimes he’ll send references from other songs to give Dawn an idea of the musical vibe he wants.
“Sometimes they [the lyrics] jump out at me, and other times I sit down and play around, and then it emerges,” she says.
What’s the production process like, does the band go into the studio together?
Dawn did all the vocals in the studio in one day before the instruments were layered on. Some songs she releases as solos, while others are done with the band. All the music is part of the Redwoods Collective.
Who’s behind the Redwoods Collectives?
Redwoods was started by a member of the Transfer band and Al six years ago. It includes musicians like Birdy Bardot, Rebecca Jade, Dani Bell, Jack Najor – to name a few. It has a really diverse collection of music where everyone’s got their own sound, says Dawn. They do mini-festivals annually they refer to as Redwoods reviews. The idea of the collective is to get the music and artistes out to the community.
What’s in the horizon for Dawn and her band?
They plan to keep with the writing process, including songs for the Alfred Howard Writes project. There are no plans for shows yet. Dawn would like to get the music out more and make additional acoustic videos for the songs.
What about the video, what should people expect from that?
“Something cool, local and outside somewhere,” is Dawn’s response.
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Hi! I’m Danielle Tucker – singer, vocal coach, and lead vocalist of The Mighty Untouchables band.
Throughout my 20-year career, I’ve equally enjoyed singing country, rock, pop, gospel, and jazz. Today, I’m a professional singer/songwriter available for solo performances, studio recording, and lead vocalist of San Diego-based band The Mighty Untouchables. I also offer vocal coaching to both solo artists and groups through my own studio. I’ve crafted a rewarding vocal career, and it’s my great pleasure to bring music to others through private bookings, performing with my band, or helping others to grow more confident in their own vocal gifts. Thanks for visiting my site I’m honored that you’d like to get to know me!
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About the author
Danielle Tucker is a professional singer/songwriter with 25 years of experience singing country, rock, pop, gospel, & jazz. She has performed with celebrated artists like Chris Young, Jamey Johnson, Josh Gracin, Jamie O’Neil, Phil Vassar, James Otto, & Juice Newton. She currently works as a solo performer, studio artist, vocal coach/career advisor, and lead vocalist for the award-winning, San Diego-based band The Mighty Untouchables.
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