Odes to the Emerald Isle

Up and coming star chose indie path over major record label

It's significant that Emm Gryner seems uncertain whether her new album, Songs Of Love And Death, is actually her sixth or her seventh record. Clearly an artist dedicated to looking ahead, not back, she is already hard at work on two new albums.
Whatever the correct figure, it's still an impressive one for a young singer/songwriter. Now based in Montreal, but born and raised in rural Ontario, Gryner has had a fascinating career that has brought her critical acclaim, three Juno Award nominations, significant commercial radio play, and real respect from both her musical peers and her heroes.
Tandem recently located Gryner on her brief holiday in Florida with her mother. She deserved some warm sunshine after her paying dues in wintry western Canada with a few gigs as part of the Bluebird North tour of Canadian singer/songwriters. "The holiday is disrupting my rock 'n' roll lifestyle," she jokes. "We just needed to escape the cold for a bit. Florida is a bizarre place, but there are a lot of cool birds here!"
Gryner is a well-travelled musician, and her time spent in Ireland sparked the idea for Songs Of Love And Death. It comprises unique, sparse interpretations of songs written by mostly contemporary Irish artists, ranging from '70s stars Thin Lizzy and The Undertones to the current-day likes of The Thrills, The Corrs and Ash.
"The one big misconception is that it is a traditional Irish or Celtic record, but it's not that. As varied as the artists I chose are, the one common thread is that 'lay your heart on the line' kind of feeling. Ireland is so ridiculously small, but there are so many great bands from there."
Gryner is one-quarter Irish herself, and she's thrilled Irish audiences and the artists themselves have enjoyed her interpretations. "I made a rule recently to just record and not worry about what people think, but once you release it you realize you have to contend with peoples' reactions and what the original artist thinks of what you've done. It's been OK, except for one death threat from an Ash fan! In December, I did four of these songs, and, luckily, people took to them. It was a good test for me. I thought if I could do these songs in Ireland and not be hated, then I can do them anywhere."
Virgin Prunes leader Gavin Friday called Gryner's version of their Bau-Dachong "wild and great." An earlier album of covers, Girl Versions, also drew praise from such artists as Def Leppard.
Gryner loves interpreting the work of others, but she is a very talented songwriter too. Her sweetly sung melodic pop has spawned radio hits in Canada, but she hints that she is moving in a less directly commercial vein now.
"Mainstream radio play is not something that with this and subsequent records I will actively try to track down. With my last record, Asianblue, I felt it was a record I could take to mainstream radio and they would play it in Canada, and they did. I'm very grateful for that, but I feel that you can do what you want to do as an independent artist. Now I feel more empowered to follow a path of making creative music."
Gryner had a taste of life on a major record label, and it wasn't to her liking. "It was long enough to get a snapshot of what it's like to have 50 people working your record as a job. I just don't relate to that." She is now the boss of her own record label, Dead Daisy, while she produced, recorded and played most of the instruments on the new record herself.
An encouraging figure in her decision to go indie was David Bowie. Back in 2000, he was taken enough by her vocal talent (and possibly her drop-dead gorgeous appearance) to recruit her as backing singer for a world tour. The two became friends, with Bowie offering invaluable advice.
"Working with David gave me that perspective into huge fame I'd not have known about. He's a great person too, so it was a lot of fun. It was amazing to have these conversations, like 'if you were 25 in the year 2000, would you sign a record deal?' His stand was, 'no way.' That advice was more relevant to me than Ziggy Stardust!"
Other musical friends include Canadian stars Jann Arden and Kate McGarrigle. After touring together, Arden and Gryner became fast friends, even co-writing a song on Arden's last album. Folk legend McGarrigle is actually Gryner's landlady in Montreal (she plays on the album too), and has become a creative role model. "She basically doesn't give a s**t, but is so admired by people like Nick Cave and Bob Dylan. She just does what she wants to do, and that is a huge inspiration."

Songs Of Love And Death is released on Dead Daisy/Outside. A Toronto show by Emm Gryner will be announced soon.

Publication Date: 2005-02-20
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4949