Ahead of a gig at the Fitzgerald Theater in downtown St. Paul, Minn., Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield stopped by The Current studio to chat with host Bill DeVille and to perform tracks off their Elliott Smith covers album.

Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield first met back in '05 or '06 in Kent, Ohio, when Jessica was asked to open for the Avett Brothers at the Kent Stage, a former movie theater turned music venue. Since then they've kept close – even their families have toured together!

With a new Elliott Smith covers album out—an album three years in the making—Jessica Lea Mayfield and Seth Avett trace their inspiration for the record back to Jessica's dog named after the late musician. "After Elliott Smith?" asked Seth after Jessica introduced her dog to him for the first time. "Yeah!" Jessica replied.

Both Jessica Lea Mayfield and Seth Avett were introduced to Elliott Smith's music by their peers. Jessica's Weezer-tatted friend played "Clementine" for her after one of her weekly bar gigs while Seth's college classmate gifted him a cassette tape that had "Say Yes" on it.

"My heart is drawn to it because of the themes, because of the meaning," Seth tells Bill DeVille. "Then my brain is really activated and challenged and awoken in different ways just from the aesthetic of it, just from the technical side."

Songs Performed

"Baby Britain"
"Fond Farewell"
"Let's Get Lost"

All songs are off Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith, out now via Ramseur Records.

Hosted by Bill DeVille
Produced by Lindsay Kimball
Engineered by Michael DeMark
Web feature by Leah Garaas

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