Brooklyn Is Deep in the Heart of Mariela Flor Olivo

Texas native Mariela Flor Olivo tells Brooklyn Roads that the music of singer-songwriters such as James Taylor and Brooklyn’s own Carole King were staples in her home when she was growing up. “The lessons and stories each of these artists told, their voices and melodies, have always drawn me,” she says, adding that she also listened to “a lot of jazz, thanks to my father.”

Mariela Flor Olivo / photo by Michael Phillip Geffner, Inspired Word NYC / courtesy of the artist

Olivo, who now resides in Park Slope, tells us that, “Every song I’ve written so far” — including the four originals on her newly issued six-song digital EP, Decide — “is about my life and experiences.” She says she hopes that folks relate to her music “or, at the very least, feel something. Few encounters are more humbling than when a stranger approaches after a gig to say, ‘That song you did up there…I’ve lived it. Thank you for talking about this.”

Of her evolution as a songwriter, Olivo says, “I’m becoming a more curious writer, telling stories beyond my own tiny world and self.” On this score, she says she looks up to iconic singer-songwriters such as John Prine, Joni Mitchell, Brandi Carlile, Regina Spektor “and even early Taylor Swift.”

While proudly noting that the music scene in her home town of San Antonio “holds its own … teeming with talent [and] a supportive environment,” she touts her adopted home borough as having “a far more prevalent bustle. I find the music scene in Brooklyn welcoming, challenging and engaging.”

On a personal level, Olivo tells Brooklyn Roads that, “Brooklyn is usually the setting of the songs I’ve written and continue to write, subtly driving my stories forward by giving them a home base. My first true heartbreak was spent in an apartment in Bushwick. I’ve started many a song on scrap paper from my job in Park Slope. I’ve stared out into the ocean in Coney Island and paced until a song has come.”

Fist Pumping On Stage /photo by Michael Phillip Geffner, Inspired Word NYC / courtesy of the artist

Two local venues that Olivo tells us “hold reign forever in my heart,” are Big Alice Brewing Co. Barrel Room in Industry City and Jalopy Theatre. “The Barrel Room … took a chance on me with a full two-hour set [this past January] and by the break of my first act, asked, ‘So, what’s your availability like until June?’ The space itself has a lovely staff with a lot of heart, an incredible craft beer selection … and an atmosphere that makes you feel like a hometown hero.”

As for Jalopy, she enjoys the “old school, other-worldly vibe. It’s a truly magical place, an absolute Brooklyn treasure. On any given night, you’ll hear an act that will soothe your soul, inspire you and enchant you entirely.”

In the near future, Olivo plans to release a physical CD of Decide and a new digital acoustic EP. If all goes well, she hopes to record a full album next year with additional musical accompaniment beyond her own collection of acoustic guitars.