Jeremy Enigk Ends Long Gap Between Solo Albums
by Chris M. Junior
Thoughts of making a second solo album ran through Jeremy Enigk's mind "probably every day" since he released his first one.
Taken literally, he spent in excess of 3,000 days thinking about it. "I've always wanted to do solo records," the singer/songwriter/guitarist adds, "but of course, working with other bands, I didn't have enough time to do both things at once."
Those two bands are Sunny Day Real Estate and Fire Theft, and with the former kaput and the latter on hiatus, Enigk's schedule was clear for him to make World Waits (Lewis Hollow Records), the follow-up to 1996's Return of the Frog Queen.
After many years working with bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, the rhythm section for both of the aforementioned bands, Enigk used a variety of players on World Waits.
"What I was trying to do there was get away from a certain sound—branch out a little bit," says Enigk. "A lot of the guys would play the same songs, but we'd take whoever played it the best. That was fun, being able to have everybody try it and whoever made the song sound the best ultimately got the part on the record."
Enigk often is connected with the emo rock scene but says he never wanted any part of that. He calls his music "experimental pop," and that's a fair description: World Waits features tasteful orchestration, spacious arrangements and an uplifting vibe.
The song "City Tonight" began as an experiment to sound like someone else, he says. "I thought, This could be Billy Idol-esque," Enigk recalls. "And at first, I was laughing. Then I thought I should go for that; I should really push that concept. And then naturally, in the end, even if I push a concept or a sound, it's always going to end up sounding like me. It's not too Billy Idol in the end."
Enigk would like to make another Fire Theft album, but he says his immediate plan is to "get my solo stuff off the ground and not wait another 10 years."
He adds, "I want to tour with this record, maybe start writing a bunch of songs, start working on a solo album and then a Fire Theft album—or a Fire Theft album and then a solo album. I have a lot of work ahead of me."
Enigk's tour supporting World Waits stops at the Bowery Ballroom on Dec. 7. Tickets, $16 in advance and $18 day of show, are available through www.ticketweb.com. The club is at 6 Delancey St. For more information, call 212-533-2111 or visit www.boweryballroom.com. Go to www.lewishollow.com for more about Enigk.
Emmich Starts Fresh
In fall 2005, as his lawyer was negotiating to get him out of his Epic Records contract, Val Emmich moved into a house in Woodstock, N.Y., to work on new material.
"It was the best thing for me," the New Jersey-based singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist says. "I just wanted to get away—to a place where there was nothing but me and my guitar and I could figure out what it was that made me want to be a musician in the first place."
And he did figure it out. "I invited my friends and we played music with no thoughts about labels or business or money," he adds. "It was a complete release and a relief. I rediscovered my true, obsessive love of music and the creative process."
Emmich, who was released from his contract in May, came away from the Epic experience with some firm theories on major labels. "In order to [make money]," he says, "they need to reduce the risk of failure. In order to do that, they need to put out 'safe' music—music that fits what is currently selling in the marketplace."
Two months after his contract release, Emmich was at Shorefire Recording Studios in Long Branch, N.J., working on what would become Sunlight Searchparty. Some overdubs for the 14-song album, which he released independently in late October, were recorded at the Pigeon Club in Hoboken.
"Musically, it's a party—just a bunch of musicians hanging out in a room, playing at the same time like bands used to do and having a good time," he explains. "It touches on all different styles and genres of music, but my aim was to make an album that sounded classic, with lots of acoustic guitar, piano, horns and strings."
Emmich says his focus now is regional shows, and his next one is Dec. 5 at Sin-E, 150 Attorney St. Call 212-388-0077 for more information. Emmich's official site is www.valemmich.com.
To contact Manhattan Sounds columnist Chris M. Junior, e-mail chrisjr@mindspring.com.
