Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I went to a Waldorf school growing up. This type of education is very art focused and I started playing Violin and Viola at a young age. My folks always listened to good music when I was a kid. My mom would often play some of Led Zeppelin’s lighter music to help me go to sleep. My dad played a lot of good music too. Particularly punk music (Social Distortion) at ear shattering volumes while driving in his car. However, looking back these were fond memories for me. In my early teen years I got into Rock n’ Roll. My uncle is a jazz musician and he inspired me to pick up the guitar.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “Brian Emory”?
A: Word of mouth has always been the best way for me. I know we live in the modern age and social media is a good way of promoting yourself. However, I prefer a more organic way of reaching people. Honesty, If I had all the money in the world I’d just pay someone to do my social media. Personally, it’ll never touch the in human interactions I’ve experienced with fans. That being said, I don’t intend to completely avoid social media. It has its place in show business too.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
A: Tricky Question… There are a lot of artists I look up to. I love Thom Yorke and Radiohead to death. As far as a fresh face in the scene, I’d say Jacob Collier. He’s definitely one of the most talented musicians out there. He’s such a positive guy, and a true gem in the music industry. Inspiration varies for me. Sometimes it comes from an event that happened, or someone I’ve met. Other times it just comes out of the blue. Finding Inspiration is like capturing lightning in a bottle. When it’s gone there’s no getting it back. All you can do is start searching again.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Cut You Out.”?
A: The Song is about a handful of things I was going through at the time. Mostly, it’s about removing toxic people from your life. Someone I knew in particular was trying to stifle my creative property. At the time it was a frustrating experience. Looking back it was a blessing in disguise. It led me to the creation of my new song “Cut You Out.” Instead of the event being a story of failure, it was a story of success and redemption. I couldn’t have gotten through it without the help of my wonderful friend Joshua Boshell.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
A: Emotional
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Cut You Out”?
A: Cut You Out was one of the easier tunes I wrote. The bones of the song were finished in a couple of hours. The tune was done by the end of the day. I also wrote and played all the guitar parts and bass lines. I work well under pressure, and a lot was riding on this song so I knew I had to deliver.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
A: My music is certainly on the melancholic side, but there’s energy there too. I don’t really intend it to be that way, it just happens. Once you release a song it’s not really yours anymore. People will interpret your song in a million different ways and none of them are wrong. My hope is that whoever discovers my music is that they enjoy it or that it moves them. Maybe even in a therapeutic way. If someone doesn’t like me then that’s fine. However, I love the quote from the movie The Field Of Dreams “If you build it they will come” I do my best to weave those words into my art.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
A: That’s an easy one, Elliott Smith hands down. He is certainly one of the best singer songwriters ever.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
A: It’s cliche but, be yourself. More importantly, be unique! Do something different, dare to be a weirdo (I use that word positively). Look at Bowie, Daniel Johnston, Robert Smith, Billy Corgan. They were inspired by others, but they were authentically themselves and I think that’s pretty badass. Don’t be afraid to express yourself. Practice like hell and don’t sweat the small stuff.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
A: I would have told myself to start playing sooner. If I could’ve, I would’ve started playing when I was an infant! I also would’ve told myself not to neglect music theory. It is such an essential tool to becoming a next level musician. It expedites all the guessing when writing and playing music. Most importantly, If I were to travel back in time I’d tell myself not to take things so seriously. I’ve grown a lot, but I used to be so hard on myself for the smallest “mistake” and never felt like what I wrote was “good enough.” It was to the point where I felt like quitting altogether. I stuck with it though and it was completely worth it. I don’t know what I would do without music.
