Interview: Emily Kate

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today? 

Honestly, I can’t remember my life without music. Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve been playing an instrument and writing songs. I actually recently found a songwriting notebook of mine from when I was about ten years old. It was where I would put all of my ideas and all my little poems that I would come up with throughout my day and looking back I really think that's what inspired my songwriting. Always writing my ideas down and playing around with different words and sounds was always and still is something I love. I really believe that I would still be in music no matter what. It is my true passion and what I love to do. 

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity? 

I'm a very active person and I really love a lot of sports. I've played hockey, tennis, and soccer all through high school and I actually still play hockey in an adult league right now. I also love to paint and do puzzles. I think having other hobbies is great for my creativity because it allows me to get out of my head and write songs about my everyday life and feelings. 

How long has music been your career?

I started pursuing music as my career about two years ago. I was finishing undergrad and I decided music was more than just a hobby to me and that I would regret it if I didn’t try to pursue it as a career. Therefore, I started working with my producer, Shawn Moore, and we've been working together ever since! 

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

I'm born and raised in Toronto and I am currently still in Toronto. However, for me I don't believe that my location has influenced my music that much. I believe that the styles of music that I listened to as a child really influenced my music. I've always been a person who's listened to the lyrics of a song and searched for a deeper meaning in the story behind the song, therefore I naturally gravitated towards country music. 

Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.

The best show that I've played has been at the Moonshine Cafe in Oakville. They are acoustic songwriting shows that I find very magical. I love telling stories about my songs before performing them and connecting to the audience, so they are by far my favorite to perform at. The worst show I’ve played was probably during the summer of 2019 while I was busking at farmer's markets and local summer festivals. Some days would be better than others, but there were definitely days where you wouldn't find many people connecting to the music or stopping in to listen and that can be very discouraging. However, those are also the days where you learn the most and grow as an artist. 

Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

My favorite venue to play at, like I mentioned before, is the Moonshine Cafe in Oakville. However, there are tons of places that I would love to play that I haven't gotten a chance to yet. This summer, I have shows lined up at festivals and farms that I am really looking forward to. In addition, I would also love to play full band shows around Ontario, and my dream venue to play at would be the Grand Ole Opry, or The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. 

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Oh this is a very hard question to answer, but if I had to choose a few of my favorite country artists that I would want to play a show with are Thomas Rhett, Ashley Cooke, Luke Combs, Kelsea ballerini, Tenille Arts, and many many more. 

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into music?

Just go for it!! I think I knew in the back of my mind for a long time that I wanted to pursue music and that it was more than just a hobby for me. However, It took me a long time to convince myself to pursue music as a career. Looking back now and seeing how far I've come in just two years goes to show that you can do anything you set your mind to if you believe in yourself. So to anyone who thinks they might want to pursue music, just go for it, work hard, be nice to people, put yourself out there cause you never know what’s going to happen. 

If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be?

I would like to tell myself to stop putting so much pressure on myself. This is actually something that I'm still working on currently, and is very hard for me. I think it's easy for creatives to compare themselves and to get caught up in numbers. I sometimes find myself worrying about how I am doing compared to others, however I need to remind myself to take a step back and be proud of myself for how far I’ve come. 

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why? 

That is a very hard question to answer because all my songs mean so much to me. However, I would say that my current single “Cafe Corner Booth means the most to me lyrically. I am most proud of how I wrote that song and the story behind that song. A lot of my songs I write from real experiences in my life, however this one I chose to put myself in a character's shoes and wrote from their perspective. Therefore, I challenged myself as a songwriter and that's why I'm very proud of the storytelling and lyrics of this song. It just came out on April 8th, so you can listen to it here. 

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Honestly all my songs are my favorite to play and listen to. However my song called “Never Get Enough” is definitely my most requested song. It’s gotten over a million views on Tiktok, therefore my fans are connecting to that song the most and sharing it with their loved ones. It’s all about being madly in love with someone and how you can “never get enough” of them. You can listen to it here. 

What is the creative process for you, and what inspires you to write your music?

My creative process differs sometimes from day to day, however it usually starts with either the lyric or melody that I grabbed from my voice notes app or the list of lyric ideas that I keep on my notes app on my phone. My everyday life inspires me to write my music, that's why I like to get out, do activities and live life because I find that creative ideas will spark at random moments and times. When I sit down to write a song, I often write about what's happening in my life and it's my way of expressing my emotions and sharing my story. There is something so special about music that connects us all, and that songs can have a huge impact on someone's life. I think a lot of us go through similar struggles and moments in life, and the power of songwriting is when that connection happens. When someone is listening and thinks "wow, how did they know that's exactly what I'm feeling?" 

Do you ever have disagreements when collaborating and how do you get past them?

I find sometimes there are disagreements when you are writing a song, especially when there are a lot of co-writers in the same writing session. Sometimes the disagreements are smaller melody changes that people want to go with and small lyric changes. To get over those, oftentimes it's what the majority likes. However, sometimes you are writing the song for a specific artist in the co-writing session. If that’s the case, then a lot of times we go with what that one person likes the most because they are going to be recording the song. 

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

“Cafe Corner Booth” and “Never Get Enough” are actually the first singles off of a full-length album that I'm currently recording. The album is called “Love Like This” and doesn’t have a release date yet, however hopefully it will be out within the next year. 

I also just released the Official Music Video for “Cafe Corner Booth” this past weekend and you can watch it here.