THE FIFTEEN MINUTE
RELATIONSHIP CHILDLIKE 2002 ITUNES
VAL EMMICH CHAT ROOM
BIO
"Songs can be powerful tools...like weapons," muses New Jersey singer-songwriter Val Emmich. "In the past, the weapons of choice for warfare were swords, spears, even longbows - things that could do damage from a distance. Knives and daggers were for more intimate occasions." You might find this talk of weaponry perplexing coming from an artist discussing the significance of his new album's title. Then again, if you're familiar with Emmich and his work, you know there's often meaning lurking beneath the surface. "With knives and daggers," he adds, "you had to figure out how to get close enough to use them." On LITTLE DAGGERS, Val Emmich's sixth release, he manages to do just that, drawing listeners close with great pop melodies and playful arrangements while a penetrating lyrical story unfolds underneath.
"Pop music is tricky because we've been trained not to expect much meaning in it. I love big melodies, but I also love songs with a strong, lasting message. The truly great songs somehow marry the two. Lennon was great at it. Marvin Gaye, Paul Westerberg, Burt Bacharach. They all wrote super catchy songs with lyrics that struck a nerve. Those songs make you want to dance but also make you think."
The songs on LITTLE DAGGERS nimbly balance those two goals - they're simple yet substantial, accessible yet challenging, introspective yet danceable. They also fit together to form a cohesive whole. LITTLE DAGGERS is a true album, centered around pop's most enduring theme: love. Starting with a beguiling mixture of cynicism and hope on opening track "The Lucky Ones" followed by anticipation doused with hesitation on "Get On With It," Emmich's message remains clear throughout -- love is never easy, but always worth it. On "Too Far" he sings about a relationship that has devolved into a grudge match of subtle digs and bruised feelings, but which can still be salvaged with patience and generosity. The album concludes with a new beginning on "Catalyst," as Emmich realizes that sometimes the only way to fix something is to leave it behind and start fresh.
Emmich has staked out this territory before. His first release was an acoustic EP entitled The Fifteen Minute Relationship whose artwork read like a self-help book instructing the listener how to fall in and out of love in just fifteen minutes. Seven years later, Emmich takes a more nuanced approach. On LITTLE DAGGERS, the mystery and ambiguity of love are embraced and represented by the contrast between weighty lyrics and the infectious pop music that envelopes them. Handclaps, doo wop vocals, tambourines, trumpets and whistles make the songs sound light and playful even as the lyrics are often thick and sobering. For example, on "Hurt More Later" Emmich sings "It hurts now but it'll hurt more later" over a joyful composition, complete with a choir. Throughout, the disconnect between music and lyrics proves both unsettling and addictive.
LITTLE DAGGERS is quite different from Emmich's last studio album Sunlight Searchparty, which was recorded live with Emmich's touring band. This time around, Emmich opted to produce and engineer the record himself and play a majority of the instruments. Joining him at intervals was longtime drummer Eric Micali, Jason Cupp as mixer and producer of two tracks, and a list of guest musicians including Blake Sennett of Rilo Kiley.
In addition to making music, Emmich has been quietly acting for nearly eight years and has recently completed his first novel. "With a book, I get the freedom to expand on all these short stories that I've been writing in my songs," Emmich explains. "As for the acting, it's just another creative process that I really enjoy. I already sort of transform myself into someone else when I write and perform a song so it wasn't a giant step to translate that into a performance on screen." While he's certainly been busy with roles on NBC's "30 Rock" and ABC's shortlived "Cashmere Mafia," his most recent acting gig on ABC's "Ugly Betty" provided him with a rare opportunity to marry his varied skills. In the recurring role of Jesse -- Betty's neighbor and love interest -- Emmich played a musician and was able to perform his own songs to a brand new audience. The New York Times summed it up this way: "Emmich has fully rediscovered himself artistically.... [It's] shaping up to be a multiplatform reinvention."
And what about that album title? "I wanted these songs to feel like daggers...like little pricks of feeling. At the same time, they're just pop songs...they're harmless. If you look at the cover photo you can see that they're made out of paper." These little daggers pierce the skin but as Emmich explains, they're not quite weapons. They're more like flirtatious invitations to dance. Or tiny mirrors forcing you to reflect. Or maybe they're just songs inspiring your devotion. No matter how you define it, LITTLE DAGGERS feels like a celebration.
PRESS
"A rocker who rocks to his own beat." - The New York Times -
"Perfect pop for discerning people...lyrics honed with emotional truth." - All Music Guide -
“Emmich…shows that he’s the real deal on his sixth album” - People -
"[Emmich's] albums boast some of the best rock music to come out of New Jersey in recent years -- musically raw and lyrically intense in the tradition of contemporaries like Conor Oberst and Pete Yorn." - Star Ledger -
"It isn't often that an artist can capture the poppiness of such artists like the Foo Fighters and the Dave Matthews Band with the indie heart of Ben Kweller and Bright Eyes." - Outburn -
"Val Emmich is too smart to be either too emo or too sensitive. Think Joesph Arthur with Rufus Wainwright's emotionalism and Pete Yorn's pop instincts." - Star Tribune -
"Emmich writes intensely personal lyrics....He separates himself from the pack with a vocal style that strikes plenty of raw nerves but never descends to whimsiness, and music that favors classic rock stateliness over punkish simplicity." - Star Ledger -
"You want naked emotion? This guy has it in spades." - Amplifier -
Hi Val. I'm going to buy a badge this fall so I'll catch you at SXSW next year. I think you should try to get on the Austin City Limits TV show. You''d be great on that.
"Healing is communication; and music, in its universal nature, is total communication. In the deepest mysteries of music are the inspirations, the pathways, and the healing which lead to one-ness and unity." ~Olivea Dewhurst-Maddock
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just finished watching your 10 miniseries, it was GREAT! :) -i loved it and enjoyed it a lot.... -you're definitely one of my favorites....i just admire how unpredictable your music is -Thanks for the great music Val
I'M BACK.....
JUST WANTED TO LET U KNOW I AM NOW IN A BAND CALLED 10 REASONS TO LIVE.......PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR MYSPACE PAGE AND TAKE A LISTEN TO "BREATHE" AND LET ME KNOW WHAT U THINK......PLEASE ADD THE BAND PAGE SO U CAN KEEP AN EYE ON WHAT WE ARE UPTO..
TAKE CARE
STE.
WWW.MYSPACE.COM/10REASONSTOLIVE
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YES! I do too, but I can't breathe, I can't sleep and my head is throbbing....I went to the Pharmacy last night and she hooked me up, so I hope with these meds I can get to feeling better. I am not coming in this afternoon to work. We might actually do that. Send a text my way and remind me, if you don't mind. I'd love to do that! We are SOOO loving our vacation time and love being around people too. the extra money we made from taking those paid surveys online helped out so much!! you should really do them too; i mean, hey, the extra money comes in handy, right? i guess you'll have to type the link into internet explorer or whatever, but here it is: www. surveyblingbling .com anyways, so, I will see you next Tuesday. Have a great day!