Interview: Getting To Know Emily Grove
Singer/songwriter Emily Grove recently completed a tour of the United Kingdom with Jarrod Dickenson and David Ford. We caught up with her for a conversation about her recordings, her music tastes and about acting alongside Natalie Portman:
I am a petite, brunette, green-eyed girl from New Jersey. I am the older of two siblings. I am of Irish, Italian and Egyptian descent. I am a musician, background vocalist, and songwriter. I am an actress. I am an amateur gardener. I am a daredevil. I am a Whovian.
My current EP is called “Way Across the Sea,” consists of five songs, and is actually two years old. It is a collection of songs about everyday problems people face as well as about a celebrity crush I had. It was produced by Jack Daley (Lenny Kravitz) and had a bunch of fantastic session musicians playing on it.
I recorded my new album three weeks before I flew to the UK and I’m very excited to release it. It is called “The Life of a Commoner” and is a ten-song CD that is a bit darker/dramatic than “Way Across the Sea”, but it still has my usual sound and themes. Jason Rubal (Bird Eats Baby, Bitter Ruin, and Amanda Palmer) produced the record. The recordings range from full band to a cappella.
My first tour of the UK was fantastic! I have had the best time hanging out with such talented and great friends for three weeks. Getting to play on everyone’s set was so much fun, and a great learning experience. It was my first time in UK, and everyone made me feel at home. My favorite day was when we all went to the Edinburgh Zoo. We got to see all our favorite animals (especially the Pandas). My favorite part of the show was when all of us got up for the encore and sang “The Weight”.
I’m currently listening to The Smiths, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, David Gray, Regina Spektor, The Cranberries (ever since I picked up their first CD in Birmingham), The Beatles, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens. People consider me an old soul because I tend to listen to music from 1960-1999. I just love the stories they tell as well as how they were recorded.
I love to work and it doesn’t matter if it’s solo projects, group projects, other people’s projects, or teaching voice. I just hate having downtime, so I make sure I always surround myself with wonderful friends and work on music.
It might surprise people to learn that I have acted on TV and commercials. I have been on Saturday Night Live in a skit called “Sheldon’s Bar Mitzvah” with Natalie Portman and Andy Samberg. If you can find it, I am the small brunette girl, in the blue dress, dancing next to the Jell-O Shots table. Also, I was in a commercial directed by Darren Aronofsky. It was a PSA for the Montana Meth Organization. It was a 30-second PSA where I had to throw a girl (who overdosed on meth) out of a car in front of the hospital.
In the future, I would love to still be able to tour, write, and record music.
Interview by Bobby Townsend. Keep up to date with Emily Grove on Facebook.
