A Note From Emily to You. . .
“Sometimes bios are boring. I thought I would speak to you from my heart instead.
How does one convey a tone, a message, an image and an essence in a single sound segment roughly 3-4 minutes long? How does one capture a feeling, a place, a time, a moment of life that reaches into a part of you that you didn’t know was there? How does one take the thousands and thousands of interactions we encounter all around us and fold them neatly and precisely into a song that evokes emotion? Questions I ask myself all the time.
There are artists that I am drawn to because they know how to create beauty. I have grown up soaking in the musicality of artists from all different genres mostly because my father is a musician. He let me love music, he didn’t let me give up on it and he knew that it was always inside of me. At risk of sounding cliché, the music is inside all of us, but we relate to it in so many different ways. Whereas some people simply live to listen and others are fascinated with the whole production angle, I grew up performing music and it has guided me to where I am today.
Here are the facts: At three years old, I started singing along with Disney movies and pretended to be the fictional characters I loved so dearly. I then tried my hand in musicals as a pre-teen and throughout my teen years. I acted in plays, sang in musicals and Chorus, and got into the Marin-based a cappella group ‘Til Dawn, where I was a member for my last two years of high school. I started writing my own music when I was 16. Many of my first songs were (surprise) about the devastating break up I experienced with my first love. I recorded my first EP of original music the summer I graduated high school. Then I went to UC Santa Barbara, studied Sociology, auditioned and became a member of the UC’s co-ed a cappella group Naked Voices for all four years of school and graduated in 2011. Meanwhile I have continued writing and performing my own songs at showcases, gigs, open mics and online. I recorded my second EP of originals in Spring 2012.
Here’s what I’ve been learning: The music industry is a maze of wrong turns and confusing outcomes — achieving major success requires both talent and luck. I’m not trying to be the next Britney Spears, but I am running the maze right now because when I think of my life without music, without even trying to find the right turns, I simply don’t see anything as close to my heart. When something speaks to you, when dreams grow bigger and bigger the more you think about them, when happiness is within your grasp if you go out and get it for yourself, what’s there to stop you?
I write music that is based on what I have experienced: a lot of love, a lot of heartbreak, a lot of frustration, a lot of contemplation. Sometimes I write stories that I haven’t necessarily gone through, but I’ve gone through the feeling of it. I love music. I’m inspired by the vast amount of talent that is out there today and from the past. I love to sing. I love to write. This is who I am. I don’t expect everyone to like my songs, I just hope that for those who do, they will simply enjoy. Take a break from your busy life and listen, that’s all I ask.”
Notable Events & Awards
2012
Awarded “Best Song” in January at the West Coast Songwriter Competition, San Rafael Chapter
Awarded “Best Performance” in May at the West Coast Songwriter Competition, Berkeley Chapter
Awarded “Best Performance” in June at the West Coast Songwriter Competition Play-offs, San Rafael Chapter
Recorded and released second EP Afterglow in May, featuring guitarist Miles Schon, son of Neal Schon from Journey
Emily’s song “Get Out” from her EP Afterglow was selected and featured on KFOG’s (104.5FM) Local Scene CD 9, as a part of their annual Local Scene month in August
Performed for KFOG’s Local Scene Happy Hour Live Concerts at the Sweetwater Music Hall in Mill Valley and was featured on KFOG radio for the month of August.
2011
Selected to open for Columbia Records performing artist Lissie at UC Santa Barbara’s Songwriter Showcase in February
Selected to open for Warner Bros. recording artist/songwriter Jason Reeves at UC Santa Barbara in April
Opened for the band Delta Rae, now signed to Warner Bros. Records at Georges Night Club in San Rafael, CA in June
2009
Naked Voices was awarded 2nd place at the ICCA (International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella) Western Region International Finals at UC Berkeley
Opened for Allen Stone and Javier Dunn (Sara Bareilles’ guitar player) at the Hotel Utah in San Francisco in August
2007
Recorded and released self-titled EP Emily Rath
Auditioned and was selected to be a member of UC Santa Barbara’s only co-ed a cappella group Naked Voices
2006
Outstanding Soloist: Emily Rath of ‘Til Dawn for the original piece, “Seasons Change” at the ICHSA (International Championship of High School A Cappella) West Region at UC Berkeley
2004
Awarded “Marin Idol” in Marin County and selected to perform at the On-Stage Mill Valley Variety Show, celebrating the best of Marin Talent annually since 1975.
