Emily Miller Interview by Christian Lamitschka for Country Music News International Magazine & Radio Show
Lamitschka:
Music has many new fans throughout Europe who may be hearing about you
for the first time. How would you describe yourself and the music you
play to someone who has never seen or heard you?
Answer:
I’ve chosen to live my life as an open book. Through that I am able to
share different parts of my heart with the world through music and other
avenues. I would describe the music I play as the music of my heart.
Songs that make you feel but also make you think. My single Avaline is a
song about being your own kind of person. The world puts a definition
on that sometimes, but imagine how boring life would be if you were just
like the next person down the road…pretty boring! It tells the story
of someone that appears to be perfect, but has gone a long way in her
life to get where she is. And that is beautiful.
Lamitschka:Â What kind of songs do you like to record the most?
Answer:
My favorite songs to record are the songs that hit me most personally.
There is just something about singing songs about your life and your
story that makes the ride so much sweeter.
Lamitschka:Â What is your favorite song among all the songs you have recorded and what’s the story behind it?
Answer:
My favorite song I have ever recorded is a song called Dear Lonely. It
will be out in the next few months, but it is my most personal. Since I
was a little girl I’ve struggled being truly alone. I always needed
someone to talk to. I hit a low point in my life where I was headed
because of this loneliness and after a phone call with my mom that I
didn’t like because she called me out on everything I was doing, I sat
down that night and wrote the song of my life. Each word in the song is
100% true of what I was struggling and still continue to struggle with
if I’m being honest. Every time I sing Dear Lonely I go back to that
night when I wrote it and it pulls at my heart.
Lamitschka:Â Do you have any interesting stories about how fans have been affected by your music?
Answer:
I have had a few people come up and tell me that they needed to hear a
song that day that I sang and how it really made them feel all the
feelings they needed to get out.
Lamitschka:Â Who inspires you musically and how deep do your musical roots run?
Answer:
I don’t know if I have a specific person that inspires me musically as
much as country music as a whole inspires me. Since I was younger I’ve
listened to country music and have been drawn to the roots behind the
songs and the stories that they tell. Country music is the story of the
everyday person. And that’s what makes it so relatable and so inspiring
to me and so many others.
My musical roots came from both sides of my family. My moms side of the
family has singers and instrumentalists going back for generations that
have played bluegrass and country music. My dad was an Elvis
impersonator back in the day so I grew up hearing him sing and also my
grandma (dads mom) sang.
Lamitschka:Â What do you think about today’s music scene versus its post and where do you see it going in the future?
Answer:
My take on today’s music scene is that it’s starting to head in a
better direction than it has in the last 5-7 years. The country music
world in the 90s and early 2000s had more originality and more females
being represented. I think as we head forward we will slowly start to
see a shift in the number of female country artists being played, but I
also believe we are headed in the direct that the songs are more unique
and true to the everyday Joe than they have been in the last 5 years.
Lamitschka:Â If you had the chance to change something about the music industry, what would it be?
Answer:
This one is a hard question to answer. But I think the thing I would
change would be to make the business less about making money and more
about the creativity and the unique soul that makes music so artistic.
It should always be able the music first, money second. Although money
is important to succeed, it isn’t the only thing.
Lamitschka:Â What was your big break that got you into the music business?
Answer:
I’m not sure if I had a “big break“ that got me into the music
business. I moved to Nashville in 2014 to attend Belmont University and
upon graduation I started booking my own shows, playing in downtown
Nashville at Tootsies World Famous Orchid Lounge during the week and
touring with my band around the South and Midwest on the weekends. That
helped grow my fan base that has allowed more doors to open.
Lamitschka:Â What inspired you to become an artist?
Answer:
My favorite artists inspired me. I fell in love with being on stage,
sharing my story, and singing songs that tell my story. I knew that
nothing else was going to be good enough for me after that.
 Lamitschka: What has been your greatest challenge in music business?
Answer:
The greatest challenge for me in the music business is booking shows.
It is hard to get anyone to respond to your emails because you and a
million other people are fighting for the same spots. It is draining.
Lamitschka:Â What moments in your career stand out in your memory as highlights and achievements which you are proud of?
Answer:
I will never forget the day that I received an email from a booker that
they’d like me to be an opener for Easton Corbin. I had just come out
of a workout with my trainer and like I always do (while trying to catch
my breath from a hard workout), I checked my phone and scrolled through
to see the email, opened it up and started bawling my eyes out. It was
one of those “THANK YOU JESUS!!“ moments for sure. The show was so much
fun and I gained many wonderful people and fans in my life.
 Lamitschka: What message would you like to send your European fans?
Answer:
I hope that you connect with my music in the same way as I do. I hope I
can help tell your story one song at a time. Country music truly is a
universal language that everyone can share.