Headline Girl

Headline girl
Give it away
Tell it on the mountain
Tell it on the way

Don't turn red
Fending off the gossips
Singer stole the man
Singer shot the plan

Can't cry with the light on
And the weatherman talking of sunshine

Headline girl
Something to sing
A hole the size of Venus
Caved his wedding ring

Steel town dear
The factories are waiting
For a goodnight and good-bye
Into the camera eye

Can't cry with the light on
And the weatherman talking of sunshine

It's heavier than imagined
It's heavier than expected
Heavier than heaviness
So sleep it off for another day

Headline girl
Give it away
Tell it on the mountain
Tell it on the way

Don't turn red
Sometimes these things happen
Where the singer steals the man
And the singer shoots the plan



Photo by Leslie Trites

Interview from The Brunswickan, February 5, 1999

Emm Gryner emerges from Forest

by Jackie Baldwin

Last Thursday night those of you who attended the Big Wreck show must have wondered who that cool chick was. Emm Gryner, who opened for Chantal Kreviazuk this past fall, was back in Fredericton. I missed the opportunity to chat with her last time and I am glad I had the chance this time around. I have interviewed my fair share of up and coming artists and I must say she was the most laid back, relaxed musician I have had the opportunity to interview. She exuded a confidence without being overly pretentious.

JB: Where do you find the inspiration for your songs - or music?

Emm: Umm... usually from every day experiences or problems that I'm going through - that's where the lyrical inspiration comes from.

JB: I saw you earlier this year, in September... I don't know if you remember -?

Emm: Yeah I do.

JB: Did you enjoy that tour with Chantal [Kreviazuk]?

Emm: I did actually. It's the first time I've ever toured with another solo female artist, so there were a few little challenges - I think - on their part, but I think it was all right.

JB: I remember the show because - the crowd was kind of a frosh concert, and usually it's a really rowdy crowd - where do you get the bravery? Because I remember you did an a capella song... where does that come from? I get scared public speaking in front of 30 people, I can't imagine being in front of an unappreciative crowd...

Emm: Well, I think for me it comes from having done it for a long time. I think if that would have been my first show I would have been intimidated by the fact that there were a lot of people not listening, but what I tend to do is focus on the people who are listening, and play to them. Those other people, you just kind of get over it, really.

JB: Does that bother you at all?

Emm: It bothers me if absolutely - it hasn't happened very often, but I do remember once, or maybe a couple of times it has happened, where absolutely noone was paying attention. I try to treat it as a challenge, how can I get these people to pay attention? I'm supposed to be an entertainer, how can I be entertaining? So I just try to find ways to do that, and I'm still working on it.

JB: It must be really hard...

Emm: It can be, but when you saw me was kind of a bad representation of how.

JB: It says in your bio that you're from Forest, Ontario. Where is that?

Emm: It's a little town three hours southwest of Toronto.

JB: How small?

Emm: About 2800 people.

JB: Where are you living now?

Emm: In Toronto.

JB: Is that a big change for you? Well obviously it is, but have you adjusted - big city life as compared to Forest?

Emm: I don't know... I find I really adapt to things easily, since I went to college in London, which is sort of - what is it, 300,000 people - before Toronto, so it was kind of a stepping stone. It wasn't moving to a big city out of nowhere.

JB: I'm planning on moving to Toronto after I graduate, but I don't know...

Emm: It feels very small very quickly, like you feel really at home quickly. Cause it's got a really small downtown core, just the outside of it is really big.

JB: I read reviews on the Internet, and you've been compared to all these people over and over again. Does that really frustrate you? Do you want to make a name for yourself and not be compared to others?

Emm: Well, I don't think it frustrates me because I don't really buy into it, you know what I mean? Right now, the feamale singer/songwriter is so much overkill, and people just grab the nearest comparison. I think if I had some kind of fear that I was sounding like someone else, it would bother me. I just think it takes a few more records before people understand that I've got my own thing. It's hard for people to see that at the beginning.

JB: I think it has to do with timing, it just happens to be when you came and got your record deal. But had you been on the scene three or four years earlier, people would be compared to you. That's always the way it seems.

This is a personal question but it's not really personal - when you're dating someone, do they worry about being the subject of one of your songs?

Emm: That's a good question, no one's asked that yet. I haven't encountered that yet, but with friends I have. I think - there's a friend who comes up in some of the songs in the record and we're not actually good friends anymore. I don't think it was because of this, but one of his fears was that he would tell me what was going on in his life and it would end up in a song. That's a thing that I never considered would be a problem, but for some people, they would have a problem with it.

JB: I think I'd be honored to be in someone's song, I don't know... (both laugh) If I write an article and my friends are mentioned in it, they're like yeah babe!

Can you explain - my favorite song of the album is the song Acid - can you - I think I know what it's about, but I'm always really bad at that. Could you explain the meaning of that song?

Emm: I wrote Acid after I got a letter from someone that I really liked, and he announced to me that he was getting married... soooo... I wrote it really soon after I read the letter. It's just one of those songs that captures the feeling of rejection.

JB: Are you satisfied with the current level of success that you have?

Emm: Umm... I'm satisfied with the fact that I'm able to go on tour ans stuff and continue to make records, and that's really what I want to do. There are little things that I wish - I mean I wish that more people would have the opportunity to hear my music, but that's something that comes with how hard I want to work at it, and a lot of other factors that I don't have control over.

JB: Well you could be playing in bars, I guess...

Emm: Yeah, I still am, but I'm just taking it moment by moment.

JB: Did you play Lilith Fair?

Emm: Yeah.

JB: How was it?

Emm: It's funny cause it was good - I was skeptical about it, because I come from a musician background, I'm more of a fan of good music and good songs than whether something's all female or all male, but after being part of it, I found it was actually a really empowering thing. There were a lot of good musicians involved at Lilith Fair, even though the theme was all female, but it's kind of a blessing and a curse... but I was very honored - Sarah McLachlan is really amazing.

JB: We're all really mad at her down here - if you can believe this, I saw her at the Playhouse, which is a venue of less than 1000 seats. She would never do anything like that again. We only get people on the way up or the way down.

Emm: Like Gowan! (laughs)

JB: I noticed in one of the articles in the press kit, that you did a fashion shoot for YM magazine. What issue was it? My little sister gets it so I'll take a look.

Emm: Yeah, I think Sarah McLachlan was on the cover. Yeah, it's one of those things that your publicist approaches you with... you're not even asking me why I did it, are you? (laughs)

JB: Do you feel that YM is a good role model?

Emm: Yeah... I think it's because I used to buy it that I have an understanding of what it is, and I felt okay about doing it. Those magazines - I think people have to find out for themselves if they're valid or if they're just entertainment - I know a lot of people just buy them for entertainment.

JB: And for my last question: where do you see yourself in the future?

Emm: I don't know, I really want to try a lot of different things with this. I don't really like it when people just put out a couple of records and achieve some sort of record sales success and then that's it. I really admire people who do a lot of different things... I can't think of anyone right now. I just want to keep making interesting records.

JB: Do you see yourself being a musician for the rest of your life?

Emm: For sure. I can't see myself doing anything else.

JB: I ask this because I heard your latest release on the radio - Wisdom Bus - and the next song was a Luba song, and there is somebody who gave up after two or three albums. Not that I'm comparing you to Luba. (laughs)

Emm: Oh please do. (laughs)


Maybe that's a sign for things to come - a duet with Luba and Emm. I hope Emm never forgets her experiences in Fredericton when she makes it big and appears on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. She seems to have her own spirit and originality. When all the female singer/songwriters lose steam, Emm will be there to pick up the slack.

-JB

(Thanks, Jackie! :)

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