Oct. 12th - CD Release - Hotel Cafe @ 8:45pm
1623 1/2 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles. $10 cover, 21+ & sharing the stage with friends, Amber Rubarth, Leftover Cuties and Coby Brown!


getting a strong foot in the door is creating buzz—a fan base. And how to do that is touring and TV/film placement. If you're lucky to get a great publicist, that's like having a cherry on top. They get you interviews and reviews online and press in the cities you tour through. It's an arduous battle representing yourself. You can do it…but most people don't like to deal with the artist. Besides, being a salesperson isn't one of my best qualities, I must say. Trying to pitch yourself wears you out—or at least me. I think I'm lucky to have a classic pop/singer-songwriter appeal because my music seems to be pretty universal. Who don't love classic music? Who doesn't love singer-songwriter music? And who doesn't love popular music?Ten-song albums always seemed a bit on the short side to me, but this year's releases have really changed my mind: The Decemberists, Bon Iver and most recently one of Minnesota's own, Caroline Smith. How did you decide on this length yourself? Was it difficult to limit the number of songs?Of course it's difficult to limit the number of songs! I had a handful of tunes that I wanted to put on my new album, but I try to put songs together that make a nice thread of emotion, color and sound. And it also came down to budget as well! Ha ha ha! Which was probably a blessing in disguise, because I'd still be working on it and wouldn't have released it yet!What are your plans for 2012? Will you mostly be promoting your new album? Are there any other projects on the horizon? Uh, 2012 is going to be very interesting on so many levels. I'm anxious to see how it all unfolds. My plan is to promote Rare Bird while touring the majority of the year. And in the early spring, I'll begin to record my next album with the ever so talented producer/musician, Jon Avila (Oingo Boingo) and the extremely gifted musician, Ben Burget (Big Bad Voodoo Daddy/Erykah Badu).Just for fun—if you could play a concert anytime, anywhere, and with anyone, what would it be? Venue? Time period? Fellow musicians?Well, in the future my ultimate venue would be the Hollywood Bowl and I would have a stunning visual performance on screen behind me throughout my show. But right now at my current status, I'd LOVE to perform at the Largo in Los Angeles with any of these marvelous acts: Rufus Wainwright, Andrew Bird, Colin Hay, Ray LaMontagne, Jesca Hoop, Damien Rice and/or Amos Lee.–Emma Nelson