Alternative
artist appeals to students at Fingerprints
By Christine G. Adamo
On-line Forty-Niner
Heaven
rained down on Belmont Shore Thursday night
under the pseudonym Mia Doi Todd.
 Drizzle
danced on the windshield of my car as I
drove from West Campus to Fingerprints New
& Used CD’s & LP’s on 2nd Street
at Quincy Avenue. I arrived without
incident, shrouded in a peaceful calm evoked
by Todd’s newest release, “The Golden State.”
Like a samurai warrior who’s laid down his
swords, Todd extends herself in mantras
that leave her accessible but never vulnerable
and levitate her listener above the mundane
to embrace the duality of life, as in the
single “88 Ways:”
“In the house of mirrors, looking different
but the same; one pendulum swings from loving
to and back from disdain.”
The 27-year-old singer, musician and songwriter
graduated from Yale University in 1997 with
a degree in East Asian studies. “Musically,
I’ve been influenced by Leonard Cohen and
Joni Mitchell. Nina Simone is a big
idol of mine. There are also The Beatles
and The Cure.” Todd said.
If you’ve ever liked Sinead O’Connor or
Sarah McLaughlin, you’re going to love Mia
Doi Todd.
“(Todd)’s unassuming and friendly on stage…she’s
a great poet” said Cal State Long Beach
senior Josh Teague, a Fingerprints staff
member who helped Todd with her sound check.
College students, according to Todd, represent
a group that is willing to try new things
and embrace alternatives to the mainstream.
“I started writing songs my freshman year.
The year I graduated, my first album was
released. My previous albums all went
through the college radio system, [a system]which
is of great wealth to the country.” Todd
said.
When asked about media and their effect
on her life, Todd said she doesn’t pursue
outside influences with vigor. She
said she thinks of herself as being fairly
self-contained.
“I stumble into prime-time TV once in a
while but it doesn’t captivate me.
When I do come upon it, it’s fascinating
because it’s so foreign. But I’m not
ignorant to pop culture.” Todd said.
She extended an invitation for students
to join her at The Knitting Factory in Los
Angeles on Sept. 25 (see miadoitodd.com
for details).
Todd
then mounted a stage at the back of the
store to thoughtfully strum out her musical
meditation.
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