In a first for The What Podcast, Barry talks to an artist not on the Bonnaroo lineup. EmiSunshine is a young up-and-coming star in the country music scene, although her musical style isn't contained by the genre and her songwriting ranges across all subjects. Her newest work is called "Stars", in collaboration with Bootsy Collins (yes THAT Bootsy Collins) and other legendary artists. We hope you enjoy this little detour from Bonnaroo and check out this fun interview with Brad and Barry. EmiSunshine is set to perform this Friday at Songbirds South in Chattanooga.
Guest: EmiSunshine
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All right. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another edition
of the what podcast which is you guys know we primarily do sort
of focused on Bonnaroo, but an opportunity came up and I am so
excited for a lot of reasons and I'll just take a quick minute
because I want to I want to hear Amy speak more than me, but
your manager reached out and said, hey, do you want to talk
to Amy Sunshine? She's coming to Songbirds June 19th and Amy, I
don't know if you know this, but first of all that had me. Yes,
I want to talk to you because I know you've had a history here
you were you played our Riverbend Festival when you were
what nine or were you six? I know you were very young.
Yeah, yeah. And then I don't know if you know this, but a
little girl named Amy Reamer Reimer, you gave her a pair of
your boots that you wore, I guess on the Grand World Opry
and she was a yeah, well she was a guest on a music show that
we used to do for the paper and she wore those boots and she
wears them all the time and and so so that had me too because
you were so sweet to do that and then also as part of this
email, your manager says she you were asked to co-write a song
with Bootsy Collins and well I was in so so here we are so tell
me how that happened. Tell me about. Yeah, so. So my
publicist was talking to me about how I was going to go do
this festival sort of thing. I mean, my mom told me a lot about
it, but I was like OK, this is kind of cool. I think it's the
opening day parade of the Reds and I was like OK, this is
really cool. I'm going to be part of this parade. That's
awesome and then you know the whole coronavirus thing
happened and we weren't able to do that anymore. It was
actually one of the last shows that we had before we were on a
tour and it was one of the last shows we had before we were
going to get to go home, but it was cancelled and Bootsy was a
part of that as well and he looked at my music and he was
researching me and he ended up really loving it and wanting me
to be a part of one of his projects and since all the
coronavirus thing happened and everything that's been going on,
we just decided to get a bunch of musicians and singers
together and put together a song and me and Bootsy co-wrote
Stars and I'm very very happy about it. It's a great song and
I'm very honored to get to work with him. So many. So those are
words that just don't come out of most people's mouths, right?
Bootsy first of all and you got to write a song and when you
say got some people together, I've got the list in front of
me and we're talking Bayla Fleck, Victor Wooten, Brian
Culberson, Steve Jordan and Dr. Cornell West. Yes, if anybody
had their TV on over the weekend, got to see Dr. West
multiple times. So I mean the timing. You know, I started to
say good, but it's not good is it? I mean the reason all this
is happening is because of so much terrible stuff that's going
on, but what an opportunity to be a part of something like
this. I have to thank for you. Oh yeah, I mean I'm very honored
to get to work with Bootsy and especially the artist who've
been a part of this. I mean there were so many parts of
this song where I was hearing different singers sing my song
that me and Bootsy wrote. It's just it's something that you
know doesn't happen very often and getting all these
musicians and singers and writers together and that's
really really cool. I mean I think that's a song that's
gonna be something I'm gonna remember for a very very long
time. Yeah, tell everybody about the song right? Because
it's a very socially aware, socially conscious song.
What was the process with you? I assume from watching it that
you were in different places and probably talking just like
you and I are now type of thing. Pretty much. It was kind
of difficult to write the song because like we were gonna get
together at one point me and Bootsy and my mother and my
family and we were gonna talk and get to know each other and
maybe work on a song. We thought that might happen, but
quarantine started happening and we were just like, oh maybe
we can you know get together. You know we can email back and
forth. We can do Skype maybe at some point. We never got to do
that actually, but we just kind of went back with emails and
gave little pieces of the song to each other and kind of gave
ideas back and forth and I feel like that somehow worked out. I
mean like it was a very odd process, but I mean like it had
its perks. I mean like getting to work with Bootsy on this and
I was very nervous about it first because I was like, how
the heck am I gonna write a song without the other person in
the room with me? I mean I can understand Skype because that's
a little bit easier. We didn't get to do that, so I was a
little bit worried about what the outcome would be. Eventually,
I put down the track for this and I sang it and it was
really cool. I mean like I'm so happy with how the words
turned out. I mean I just sort of took what Bootsy was saying
and I just applied it to the song and I did it in a very
simple way, but it just sort of kind of got everything in
there in the way that I wanted it to and I'm very happy with it.
Did it change from much? I'm sure it changed. Any song changes
from the process, but I mean things were happening and still
are in the world every five minutes it seems like. So
how did that impact what you guys were doing?
Well, I mean I feel like that song in a way can apply to a lot
of things and I think that it is a way for
us to have a very inspirational sort of uplifting song through anything and I
feel like it can be something that people either can relate to or people
can listen to and be like hey you know it's
gonna get better at some point. Things are gonna get better and it has
gotten better and things have can get better and that's sort
of what that song is just really trying to say,
but it's saying it in a way where it's not really kind of going towards
oh this is all about the pandemic or it's all about everything else. I
mean like I feel like this song can apply to a lot whether it
was intended for the pandemic or not. Whether you know it
was intended for it, but I feel like it has a
broader reach now. That's kind of a tricky wicket right there isn't it? You
want it to be sort of of the moment but not stuck in the moment,
right? That was the hardest part of writing it.
I really wanted it to talk about
what everyone in the world was going through. I mean like the pandemic
and but I mean I didn't want it to be too
obvious to where like it would only apply to that.
I wanted it to be diverse and I wanted it to be something that
people could listen to maybe like 15 years down the line and still
have it apply to something at least you know and I feel like that is
we kind of executed that pretty well I think.
How much of a historian would you say you are? Music historian? I mean do you
do you know all of the people that were involved in this and their histories or?
I don't know personally but when I first started the project
I didn't know like all the people who were
part then I started researching them and getting to know their music and
and I am very very happy that I got to because you know now I'm a fan
of all the people. That's what I'm wondering.
I first heard about Bootsy. I didn't know a lot about him before like
but then I was like oh he is a really cool dude and he's a great producer.
He's amazing and I just got to know all about the people I'm working with and
that is quite an honor to you know just get to
look at their history too. Yeah it's pretty
pretty good company you're in there. There's a lot of history with
those guys. That's why I wondered if it was something you knew beforehand or
sort of figured out. I wonder if you had known beforehand
if you'd have done it you know or brain locked because.
Yeah well I mean I didn't know much about Bootsy but I knew like a little bit
beforehand. I mean like I knew a tiny bit of some of
some of his work but I mean like there was a few people that I knew
about but there was a bunch of them that I just
didn't know. I didn't know nothing about them but then you know I looked at their
career and what they did and you know I feel like that's really what's
great about you know working with other people is you get to
learn more about them and their history and they get to learn about you. So
I think it's cool. I want to ask you about other stuff you've got going on
too obviously but the process you said was not what you had
envisioned or would have ideally you know
put down but now that you've done it does it feel like something you could do
again or you just ready to get past this and go back to whatever
normal is? Actually I think I could do it again. I
can easily adapt to stuff like this. I mean I've
we've had to do this before and we've had to write with people
over text or over emails and skype before. I mean like but I mean
like it was sort of different when it was something
that was this important you know like to me this song was like
a very big deal and I didn't want to send like Bootsy Collins you know
just some lyrics that weren't good enough for the song.
Right. And I was very um so to me it was um it was quite an importance to
um really get this correct. So it was a little bit of pressure but I
mean I would definitely do it again because I had a lot of fun doing it.
Tell me about the last seven years I guess or eight years of your career.
I mean uh what a what a career path right?
Um yeah it's something else. I mean I started singing when I was around
five years old and my great grandmother, my grandmother,
my dad and uncles and everybody everybody in between
were singers and either singers are musically
inclined in some way. Right. And my mom was a writer way
before I was born so I kind of had both of those things
that I could learn how to do or either have a little bit of a talent to do.
And I think at some point when I was around five I was singing and I loved it
but I wanted to start writing music too so I wrote my first song when I was five
and then I went on about seven to play ukulele and
try and learn guitar at the time but my fingers were too small for that then.
And then I just went on playing different things. I mean I went to
Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I was playing there for a long time and
um then I got one day I got to play the Grand Opry
and then again and again about 15 times I did that.
And I've gotten to do all this stuff. I mean I was on the Today Show and I've got to do
so many things that I would have never thought
you know when I was little that I would really get to do as much like and I
never knew that and I'm really really happy with how it
turned out because you know I get to travel, I get to sing, I get to
voice you know my songs and in a very cool way to an audience that I'm very
very glad that I get to have. So I mean it's turned out pretty good.
I mean I've done do all kinds of things. Are you a planner?
Sometimes. I mean my plan when I was when I was younger is that
okay I'm going to be a singer-songwriter musician and this is exactly what I'm
going to do and is going to go out exactly like this
and that's it. It's never going to change. Nothing ever is.
And that's about it. And then you know I just thought well
yes you're still going to do these things but your direction might change.
Some things might change and you have to be able
to um you know take that change and go with it.
You know and that's something that I had to learn over time but I mean I'm a
planner but I don't try to plan too much to where I'm
you know putting myself in a position where I won't be able to fluctuate in
ways that I need to. That's a great answer. That's what I was
kind of getting at. The second part of it is are you a sort of a
list a goals set or do you have like the grand old
opera you've done? Are there people that you want to
perform with, write with, work with? Do you have that kind of list?
Yes especially with writing. I mean I have so many people that I want to
write with and I've talked about that a lot before. I
mean like I've always wanted to write with um the
Redelin. I mean I've wanted to write with um
Jack White which was something I'd always want to do. I've always wanted to
write with um Dolly. I really want to write with
Dolly. There's just so many people that I
wouldn't I would love to get to work with
um in any way singing here and I think that it would be really cool to um
you know really do those things eventually. I have plans when it comes to
that but I mean I think a lot of times I
forget to plan and then I'll just go on on my way when it comes to my goals.
Um but I mean I have all kinds of things that I want to do
especially vocally. I want to you know really work on my vocals in the best way
that I can. I want to take care of myself and I want
to make sure that I'm taking care of my voice because it's something that is
very important to me. So I mean like I think there's a lot of
things you know just instrument wise. There's so many
instruments I want to learn as well. I mean like this
there's so many things but I mean yeah there's I definitely have goals.
The uh priority is I mean Dolly it's amazing uh on this podcast.
We've asked people who they want to see at Bonnaroo. Dolly I think is number one
uh for most for most of us yeah and you know
crosses all genres doesn't matter. Um oh yeah it doesn't matter it's Dolly.
She's good. She's phenomenal. Have you met her?
I have not met her but I hope to one day she was a big influence on my life. I
mean my family introduced me to her music at
like a very young age and I was just enthralled by her voice and her writing.
So yeah I hope to meet her. She's a great
inspiration. I should say um we're do we're talking a couple of
weeks before the song comes out. The song is supposed to come out on the 12th.
It's called Stars right? Um we're going to if we can't embed it
on here we're going to link to it so people will see it. So
whether we have it or not they'll they'll be able to see it but uh
you're also you've also graciously agreed to uh
sing it. There's Brad. Oh hi. Hey guys. There's our there's our
co-host Brad. Brad McInnie. Hi Emmy. Lovely to see you. Nice to see you as
well. Sorry I uh I'm late. I uh there's a
hurricane coming right for us and um we just now realized it.
Oh I can't blame you for being late. Yeah no kidding.
Uh I see that Barry got a haircut. He looks good.
Same to you. Same to you. Very happy to see that.
Yeah we have just been talking about this song
that uh Emmy co-wrote with Bootsy Collins. It has um
Bela Flack and Victor Wooten and Dr. Cornell West on it and we're going to
hope to link to it and uh she's going to sing a couple of
songs for us here in just a little bit before she has to get off. So
um I'm sure you had a couple of questions that you
that you had lined up. Well I in quarantine life all of these uh
things sound damn near impossible. So how did how did it all how did
everybody do this at once including Cornell West which you know
not really known for his uh the backing band for Cornell West.
He's great in it though. Yeah I mean he yeah it was it was so cool. I mean like
when I first heard his voice and I was like
this is this is something else. Who is that? Like I was
I was so um I was so confused but at the same time you know
you know surprised something very pleased and
then uh we we just started looking at all the people who were going to be on
this and I was like oh that is very surprisingly cool. I mean like
that's that's really amazing and I just I just did
not realize at first who that was and I mean I think that it was like looking
at all the people who who have worked on this so far. I mean like
it's just like it's insane. I mean like especially with how
many people that um have contributed and like
have really been um a major part of um vocals or anything. I mean like it's
it is uh it's really cool. It's the power of Bootsy.
It is. He's the glue that keeps a nation together in times of turmoil.
Agreed. I meant to say at the beginning, Amy, and
ever since I used to work at a record store probably in the late 70s and 80s
my all-time favorite album title is What's Bootsy Doing?
I just think that's the that just cuts right to
everything. Yeah. I love it. It's it's arrogant.
It's it's everything. Yeah. But he delivers.
You know. It's got like that it's got that
uh cool factor to it that I mean like it's just the title and everything once
you just see it you're like oh that's gonna be cool. That's that's that's mic
drop right there. That's it. It'll never be a better. Definitely.
Go ahead, Brad. What's that? I'm sorry I lost you. If you got any other questions
I know you. So yeah because you how can I put this
where it's not offensive which is damn near impossible for me.
How do you how do you manage doing what you do under the umbrella
called country where it's so fractured in so many
different ways? Can you even call what you do country?
I don't I used to but then my music evolved and it became more
and that's just what it did. I mean like I consider it more Americana than
anything because they're like Americana there's so many things
and you can just really just be whatever you want.
I mean like it doesn't have to have some sort of
goal to set you know to be more country or to be
more you know.
And I think and I think the the label is the thing that's so
confusing I think to so many people. I mean you watch Jason Isbell.
Jason Isbell who has such a problem with the label of country
and then you know I read an article the other day where
his new album is labeled alt alt alt country.
You know there's so now we've gotten to the point where we're slicing this
you know ham so thin that you barely can taste it anymore.
And you know Americana makes a lot of sense but
you know it is it is sort of a sound that is kind of all over the place.
And you know that I think that's sort of the point right.
That is to me it is. I mean I just don't like being
labeled with my music because I feel like when I do like
some like major like oh yeah I'm definitely country or I'm definitely
bluegrass or I'm definitely blues or I'm definitely this or else.
And it just sort of feels wrong to me because like I don't feel like I'm
able to put my music under a specific label like that because it doesn't
fit perfectly to that. I think we've talked about on here Brad
it's if you looked at anybody's uh podcast or iPad list or you
know their playlist it's all over the place.
Right yeah genre genres really don't exist anymore. They don't exist anymore.
So it's doing what you want to do. And I don't really care about the genre as
much whether it's great lyrics you know I feel like
the music needs to be really really cool and I like cool melodies and you're like
I just I don't care about the genre as long as
it's good music and it has a good message to it. That's all I really
that's all I really want. I mean like I don't really it feel like you know just
like what goes out on like you know you know pop country radio and everything
else is just sort of it's it's it doesn't have a lot of depth to it.
And to me as just for me I don't particularly like that.
So are you telling me that you think my track
Dr. Sexy doesn't have depth?
I hate to tell you but no.
Damn it.
It touches you right? Yeah it does. It touches you.
Yeah. Emmy do you need to get off? You got time to sing for us?
I got time to sing for you. All right. All right awesome. What are you going to
sing? What do you got? What's uh what's coming up for
for the band? You and the band? Yeah um I have my recent um album out
right now called um excuse me um I
I have my album out now called Family Wars
and um I think I'm gonna do a little um track from that. Yeah this is one called
Crimson Moon.
Oh it's crimson moon
in Georgia East
is where I lost you that's where I found me
now I'm better off
oh all alone
oh promise to ring on your hands and it's still just a start
oh I don't need to be in my life
baby young but I'm warm enough
to be happy on my own happy on my own don't you call my bluff
let the light of this crimson moon shine down on us
oh lift me up oh lift me up
oh lift me up
I've got a table for one now don't bother me
the coffee's still good and strong the music's still sweet
moonlight's better than sun ain't no chains on me
this room this place hey that's all I need
oh I don't need to be in love
well I may be young but I'm woman in love
to be happy on my own happy on my own don't you call my bluff
let the light of this crimson moon shine down on us
this crimson moon in Georgia East
is where I lost you that's where I found me
very nice there you go very nice
I uh here's what I want to do I want to watch that again
and practice my hair flip so expertly done too so
accurately done the hair flip is so perfectly timed every time
oh I appreciate it and the song's good too how about that
I've mastered the hair flip yeah well let me ask this uh you you prepared
another one for us so if you'll take us out with that one but I wanted to say
the song stars the one you co-wrote with Bootsy
that has a whole list of stars on it uh comes out on the 12th uh we should
have a link to it if if not as part of this show but you're also
going to be at songbirds in Chattanooga on June 19th
so I guess you're getting back out huh you're starting to
starting to do some shows wow an actual show
yeah an actual show so weird to think already I mean like
it I'm glad that we are getting back out but I mean like it's
it's been so scary and you know odd lately that it's just
it's just really um difficult to get back in that group of just um traveling
and going but I mean I think it's gonna go good we're gonna
try and see what happens what where are you caught where are you right now
we're in Nashville okay um yeah we had a few things to do here so we left
little our little town to come here so okay so so it's not like it's not like
traveling across the country for a show you're just
staying regional that's not bad okay yeah all right well that's
to me that's breaking news there's a show happening
that is sick and I think that's what I think that's what we're gonna see I know
songbirds has started booking some shows here with some local people but also
some regional acts uh Emmy's actually up from Madisonville
Brad so she's uh yeah she's not far from we claim her
as I always say if somebody does good we claim them
and it's going to be it's going to be venues like uh those
small intimate venues that sort of like start opening these things up and and
being sort of the petri dish and the test run for
then the the 500 room the the thousand head room um you know and seeing the
step move that's a that's a big step that's a big
step that's happening I did not see that coming
oh good luck I hope that I hope it goes well it's gonna do all right what are
you gonna take us out with Emmy and thank you so so much for doing this
for having me on I'm very happy um I have a little song here that I started
writing about two years ago um this is one um
that I started writing um with some friends of mine
um here in Nashville um Vicky Mickey and Kyle Jacobs
um we started writing this song because um well
I mean I just don't particularly write a lot of um
uplifting songs that often or you know love songs in general because I
just don't really like them very much um but I well how was it how was it you
described oh Caroline with your brother as a family tragedy is that what
yeah nice sorry I didn't mean to interrupt you but that's funny
oh no you were fine um but here you go but yeah I mean who does like who
likes positive songs I mean who wants to listen to Macarena
every every three hours I am able I am strong I am able I carry on
oh we are able we are strong oh we are able we carry on
we learn to stand when battles come we fight for peace we never run
in spite of all the said and done together we will overcome
I am able I am strong I am able I carry on
we are able we are strong we are able we carry on
we stand tall when battles come we fight for peace
we never run in spite of all the said and done
together we will overcome
oh I am able I am strong I am able I carry on
oh we are able we are strong we are able
we carry on we carry on
We carry on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on.
We carry on and we carry on.
Really nice.
You're doing you're doing just fine with the happy sucks.
You did just fine.
Okay I like it.
Emmy sunshine you're so kind to give us this much time and to do this and
I hope everybody out there enjoyed it as much as I did.
So weird any sunshine and and i'm bradley dark cloud
It's so so ironic
Yeah, thanks for coming on. Yeah. Thank you so much and enjoy the uh, enjoy the uh show man
I I can't wait to see how this goes. This is this is a big test. It's a big test for you know small
Independent venues like that. So I I really do hope it goes well for you guys
Thank you so much
And and barry you better be there. I want to hear you better be there. I'll be there looking forward to it. All right
See you guys. Yeah, thank you
