Newsletters

Singer-lawyer-mom Stasia Demos plays to audiences both young and old

by David Lindquist

(0 Results)

VIDEO

Singer-guitarist-accordion player Stasia Demos, 33, formerly of Americana band Middletown, has been focusing on family life in recent years. The makeup of her audiences has shifted accordingly, to include more young faces.(David Lindquist / Indy.com ) (Various for The Star)

Stasia Demos once was known in Indianapolis as a member of popular Americana band Middletown and as the star of a 1999 magazine ad campaign for Martin guitars.

Middletown called it quits a few years ago, and the ad campaign was a happy accident triggered by a satisfied-customer letter Demos sent to Martin headquarters.

Recently, the 33-year-old singer-guitarist-accordion player has focused on family life with her husband, Matt Mills, and 3-year-old son Silas, not to mention her career as an attorney.

When Demos performs music in public, it's often for pre-kindergarten audiences. "It's less bars, more libraries," she says of her schedule.

On June 20, she'll play an all-ages show with fellow solo acts Jason Wilber, Cara Jean Wahlers and Marc Jeffares. The Boulevard Place Cafe event is part of a monthly series titled Indianapolis Songwriters Cafe, hosted and presented by Cliff Snyder.

On singing to youngsters: "It can be tricky to engage kids, especially if they're a little bit revved up," Demos says. "To engage kids, it's really important, it seems, to get down on the floor with them -- on their level. Sing about stuff they're interested in. Sing about gross stuff."

On her day job: "I am an attorney, so I get really conflicted when I have to fill out forms about my occupation," she says. "Lately, I've been putting 'lawyer-musician' as opposed to 'musician-lawyer.' Sometimes I put 'lawyer-musician-mom,' and I have an identity crisis every time I do it."

On playing with Middletown: "It was a transformative music experience," she says. "It was so wonderful, and I'm proud of the work we did together. It's kind of cool to be proud of something and not want to bury it under your mattress."

On the accordion: "My dad taught me how to play," she says. "As I've discovered over the last several years, very few people actually go and purchase an accordion. They usually inherit one from a ne'er-do-well relative. Accordions all smell incredible -- like an attic or mothballs."

On making music today: "The act of singing is making me really happy now," she says. "It doesn't matter where. It doesn't matter if it's on my front porch or in a basement or at the park. It doesn't matter to me if it's recorded or it's distributed to a lot of people. I like my guitar and I like to sing. Sometimes that's about the extent of it."