Mariah Ammons of Orange is trying to make her mark in the music business. The 20 year old has released the first of nine songs she’s written. The first single is called “Papercuts.”
The song is about her sisters ex-boyfriend. “I didn’t like the way he was treating her so I wrote a song about it,” Ammons said. The alternative-rock song gets to the point quickly, “Tiny little words, cutting through my skin, papercuts at first, knife wounds in the end.”
She also has a video that was produced locally by LAK Productions as well as a lyric video.
Ammons has been honing her craft since she started singing in church. “I could sing but I had a lot of stage fright. I was 13 when they wanted me to sing solo. I said I would but wanted to do it behind a curtain but they wouldn’t let me. It was the same in high school when I sang the National Anthem. I did it in a closet in the press box even though it had glass and people could see me.”
She attended the Annie Moses Conservatory Program in Tennessee four straight summers. It was there that producers first heard her sing “Papercuts” and said they wanted to produce it. The faith based music academy not only works with musicians, singers and songwriters, it also teaches the art of communication. And yes, it is associated with the Annie Moses Band.
The LCM grad then took her biggest step three months ago when she started singing gigs around the area. “God has opened so many doors for me,” she said. “I went to Open Mic at Rikenjacks and there I met singer Andrew McCabe. He was performing around the area and he started letting me fill in for him when he would take a break. Then we started performing together which also lead to the business owners asking me if I wanted to perform at their venues.”
Besides her own songs she says some of her favorite covers to perform include “Zombie” and “Creep” and she also does a solid version of “Suspicious Minds.”
Asked if she’s considered talent shows like The Voice and American Idol, she says for now she prefers not to because “they have too much control over your career if you win.”
In the short time that she’s been performing live, the singer/songwriter has been busy playing and learning the music business. She performed at Scarefest last weekend. She’ll be at Two Amigo’s Nov. 1 at 6pm, Dylan’s on Nov. 7 and Cove Marina Nov. 8 where she’ll open for Jace Nunelly.
You can listen to “Papercuts” on your favorite music platform and look for her next release “Spiraling” in late November.
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