When I hear that Mia Riddle and Her Band are playing a New York City show this week, I'm inspired by a surge of wanderlust. My mind spins like four new tires and a slammin' car stereo. If my son plays hooky from school on Friday and I move my Friday clients at the massage studio to Thursday, we lay tracks before the first bird chirps Friday morning and make the fourteen hour drive. I drop my son with my best childhood friend in Peekskill, crash with my 90-year old great-aunt in Astoria... I can make it to Southpaw in Park Slope, Brooklyn by 8 p.m. on Friday, September 21st. There is only one problem: the horn in my car doesn't honk -- my car is sort of falling apart -- and I drive through Jersey to get there. This will mean a week's worth of prep work exercising my middle finger.

I'm at Inman Perk, a coffee house in Atlanta, Georgia, opening an email from Mia Riddle. My feet are fastened to the good earth somewhere within five miles of this locale at 8 p.m. on Friday night, despite my impulse to tell a different story.

Mia Riddle's tale thus far begins and ends in Brooklyn. The yarns of her first solo tour are spun from a friend's leaky hatchback, a chariot escorting her through some of the U.K.'s less-traveled nooks and far reaches, where she plays with hardcore and metal bands. Like all legends-in-the-making, she faces imminent bloodshed. "There's no way I'm getting up there," she tells punknews.co.uk. "I'm going to be knifed." She's delivered upon a less violent fate: audience and admiration. Two solo EP's are self-released, "Ship of Dreams" and "Tender," before the band comes together to release Mia Riddle and Her Band's first full-length album,

, which inspires copious accolades. "If it's a brief trip to bliss you're looking for," says The Owl Mag, "Tigers is likely as good as it gets." It gets better. Mia Riddle and Her Band just got back from their second U.K. tour and also hit Paris this time around. After a couple New York shows on the books this Fall, they head into the studio. Their latest EP, , is about to become a full-length album.

The Band:

Mia Riddle -- singing, guitars, glockenspiel, stomping

Dan Barry -- guitar, singing

Laurel Wells -- singing, keys, glock, banjo, boots, mandolin

David Tarica -- drums, teapot, rattly things, potted plants

Dave Wyss -- bass

The Interview:

Lisa: When and where did the band come together?

Mia: This band came together in April of last year. We've had 2 personnel changes -- the addition of our 5th member Laurel, and new bassist Dave this year. All the magic took place, until recently, at my house in Brooklyn.

Lisa: How have you evolved through the first three albums?

Mia: We've only done one album together actually, "Tigers", which weself-released last summer. In the interim our sound has filled out quite a bit, and I think we're a bit more, well, rocking than we used to be. This band was started really as an enhancement to my solo stuff (those are the other 2 eps) and has grown to become a real entity of its own.

Lisa: Was there a landmark show or creative experience that solidified you as a band?

Mia: Really everything we do together solidifies the sound and also our relationships with each other. But I think this last tour was especially so, it felt like a much more sturdy thing than it ever has before. Something about waking up with each other's feet in our faces really ties it together.

Lisa: Tell me about the show you'll be playing this Friday night at Southpaw.

Mia: A bigger venue than we usually get to play in New York. Exciting cause the guy who we use for mastering also does the sound there, so it should be a really nice-sounding show. We are playing with our old friend James on keys cause Laurel is out of town.

Lisa: Do you have any more shows lined up or other plans before you head into the studio to record your next album?

Mia: We'll be doing a show for CMJ at Union Hall in Brooklyn on either the 19th or 20th of October. Then we pack ourselves into the studio and finish our record. We've already done 4 songs, of which Grandchildren is one. In other exciting news, we just found out that Rallye Records is going to release "Tigers" in Japan. It should come out in December. We're really hoping we get to go over there eventually, definitely a dream of ours.

Lisa: Anything unique or new about the upcoming recording experience? Are the songs you'll be recording for the most part written?

Mia: Most of the new record is written. We're really having fun with arrangements and sounds -- being a five-piece really affords a lot of flexibility. We're recording with our friend and producer Rod Sherwood, who's done really wonderful work with some of my favorite Brooklyn bands. He's somebody that, when I met him, there was this instant musical connection. I think because we have nearly identical teenage record collections, somehow he just really gets what we're going for. So that's going to be really fun, to see how the rest of it turns out. We did the first four songs (which are known as the "Hatchet Lake EP," we only sell it at shows) in his basement apartment here in Brooklyn, which is a good time. Played a lot of whiffle ball. For this second round we'll be going into a proper studio for a lot of it. We are hoping to wrap the whole thing up in January, and then see what happens.

Lisa: Do you have plans to tour when the record's complete?

Mia: Well, this new development with Rallye in Japan is exciting. We're also working with a good booking agent in the UK, so we'll be back there for sure. Still haven't toured the States yet, it's just too big and expensive! We seem to be getting a pretty good response on things so far, so we'll just keep doing what we do and go where the current takes us.

For more info, to buy EPs or to contact Mia Riddle and Her Band visit their website.