We recently connected with Emily Wolfe and have shared our conversation below.
Emily, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is my most recent album, “The Blowback”. It’s the first time I’ve stepped into the producer chair and taken the reins on producing my own music. I always write all of my own music, but in the past I’ve worked with producers on all of my records, whom I have learned a lot from. However, the songs I wrote for this record are about political injustice, and sexual assault. Handing these songs over to a producer wasn’t an option for me, because I don’t feel that anyone else would have truly understood my vision. In the past, producers have tried to put me in a creative box in order to reach specific markets. I didn’t write this record to reach a market, or make money. I wrote it to heal myself from a traumatic experience involving sexual assault, that led me to have to cut ties with someone very close to me at one time. My goal in writing this record was to write an anthem for survivors of sexual assault, and show people that it’s okay to claim your own power and rage if it helps with the healing process.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Emily Wolfe and I’ve been a professional musician for 11 years. I’ve played music my whole life, but stepped onto the stage in college, when I really found my own voice. I play electric guitar and front my own project. I have three studio albums out, have toured with The Gaslight Anthem, Black Pistol Fire, and several other artists. I’ve opened for TOOL and recently played guitar on stage with TOOL in my hometown of Austin, TX, guest playing on a song called “The Grudge.” I’ve opened for Joan Jett, Heart, The Pretenders, The Toadies, The Struts, White Reaper, Catfish & The Bottlemen, and played several festivals. I also have two signature guitars I designed with Epiphone on the global market. Though this resume reads as exciting, my bar of success is constantly moving. I’m not sure where it will lead, but I have been considered an “emerging artist” for years now. I’ve done many headlining tours across the US, some shows to packed out crowds, and some shows where I’ve played to about 10 people. At the moment, my career is full of ups and downs, but the ups seem to be getting higher. My main goal is to just play music. It’s my favorite thing to do in the world, and allows me to escape from whatever this world is.
I think what I’m mostly proud of is the way I’ve navigated my career as authentically as possible. There have been times when I could have played the game – cut corners, used political spheres in the industry to get ahead, or changed my artistic genre to follow the latest trend. It hasn’t been easy, but the phrase “quick to rise, quick to fall” has stuck with me since my first manager said it. I’m trying to build a life-long and sustainable career, which isn’t something that can happen overnight. It’s taken me quite a while to realize this, but I’ve learned that everything is a stepping stone, and no one thing will make or break you as an artist. If you just keep going and create things that are authentic to you, you’ll get to where you want to be.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My mission in music is about helping other people realize that we can be messy, powerful, rageful, and spontaneous. The best part about being a front person in a band who plays guitar, and a woman with long hair, is that moment on stage when I allow myself to fully embrace the messiness. Hair flips and high kicks take over. The way I play guitar is very visceral. I tend to use it as a weapon. It doesn’t look pretty, but I will say it feels great to not care what anyone thinks for a 45 minute performance.
I want my self acceptance to be on display to the point that it allows other people to feel safe enough to join me. I’ve been through so many ups and downs in the past 11 years as a musician. There is a lot of rejection on the business side of being a creative, but the thing that keeps me going is making music for the love of the artform.
To me the purest form of myself is creating and shedding the layers that the business side of this career has led me to build up. I’ve had to develop a very thick skin, but on stage all of that comes off, because nothing protects my vulnerability the way a guitar can. I’m at a point in my career where owning my own rage has allowed me to drop unrealistic expectations of myself, and oddly enough, throwing two middle fingers in the air to my own moving bar of success has made a lot of exciting things fall into place. That’s another goal I have – to show people it’s ok to get out of your own head, especially as a creative. We get sucked into dark places as creators, but there’s a light at the end of the tunnel if you let yourself see it.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Last year, I was on the road and someone on my team who was very close to me showed their true colors as a predator. I had to part ways with this person, which gutted me. Mostly for their victim, but also because I was as close to this person as one would be to a sibling. I cancelled my remaining tour dates, and went dark for 2 straight weeks. I felt like I was in an alternate reality, and the only way I knew how to cope with the situation was to write an album. The mix between feeling betrayed, devastated, and angry at the same time was like nothing I’d experienced before. I wrote song after song because they just fell out of me. That album is The Blowback. As terrible as this experience was, I could have sulked in a corner for months or given up. But I kept going, all the way to the producer chair. I’ve never been more proud of an album because this awful experience turned into a very powerful piece of art, and sometimes the most beautiful things can come out of the worst experiences.
Contact Info:
- Website: emilywolfemusic.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/emilywolfemusic
- Youtube: Youtube.com/emilywolfemusic
Image Credits
Jackie Lee Young Whitney Hensley