Emily Miller – Avaline

By starrymag | January 3, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound? 

A) If Wynonna Judd and Chris Stapleton had a baby…you’d come somewhere close to my sound. I love 90’s country so I definitely feel those influences in my sound.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences? 

A) Some of my favorite artists are Trisha Yearwood, Reba [McEntire] and Jennifer Nettles. They are some of my biggest influences.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Avaline.”

A) One night I was thinking about how we all have walked down different roads to get where we are in our lives and the name “Avaline” came to mind. “Avaline” is the story of a girl that the world sees as perfect, but she herself has walked down some bumpy roads to get where she’s at to find her true self. The world doesn’t see our bumpy roads in life; they see the finished product and that’s where “Avaline” was born.

 

Q) Where does the title of the song come from?

A) “Avaline” means “a wished for or wanted child.” To be honest, I don’t know where the name came from. I just kinda thought of it and then wrote a song around the name. Fun fact was that I didn’t know the meaning of “Avaline” until after I wrote the entire song and then the title came into play quite well.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

A) I think “Avaline” hits people in the heart because we all have a part of Avaline, the girl, in us. I believe that as humans our goal in life is to continue to find ourselves and that’s what “Avaline” is all about.

 

Q) How does the video for the track play into the message behind it? 

A) For the lyric video I wanted a country road to be the vocal point. In the chorus it says “Avaline has walked a couple country miles,” so I wanted that to be the picture everyone saw. The road that was traveled in the video was very windy and had many curves. Ultimately, I think that is a great representation of life.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics? 

A) My songwriting process is different than most I’ve found. Most of the time I have an idea in mind, a melody or even just a chord progression for my guitar and then I just start singing. It’s more of “freestyle” atmosphere and then whatever I’ve sang I take the lines I like and morph it into a song and then fill in the missing lines after until I get my finished product. Most of the time I go back the next day or the next week and redo lines that I’m not 100% sold on until I like it.

 

Q) Colt Capperrune aided in production on this track. How much of hand do you have in the production of your music? 

A) Production is not really my thing. I can tell you how I want my vocals to sound, but when it comes to the instrumentation of the song, I am very open to suggestions. Colt was great in letting me be creative in instruments that I thought I wanted to use even if they weren’t best for the song. Like during my second single, “Dear Lonely,” I thought I heard a fiddle in it but, ultimately, when I heard it with the fiddle, I knew it wasn’t what the song needed. Colt was very supportive in letting me run with ideas and making the final decisions, but giving me his opinions along the way which I very much enjoy.

 

Q) What can fans expect from a live Emily Miller performance? 

A) I’m a bundle of energy and a firecracker when I’m passionate. I’m a talker, but I never quite know what’s going to come out of my mouth when I’m talking and that makes my momma nervous!  I think people always expect comedy and I’d like to say I plan that, but I don’t. I like being myself on stage and I also like to be personal with everyone and make everyone feel like they are a part of my show.

 

Q) Will you be releasing an EP or full album in the near future?

A) I’m hoping to! I have a few more things to finish up in the studio and I’m releasing another single in the beginning part of 2020, but then I hope to release an EP after that. It will have some familiar songs and also new ones on it!

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you? 

A) Right now, one of my favorite places to perform is Ole Red Gatlinburg. Ole Red is owned by Mr. Blake Shelton and the atmosphere, the crowd, the employees – they all just make me feel so at home. I truly believe that I found myself as a performer and entertainer while playing multiple shows every month at Ole Red. It’s such an awesome venue!

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future? 

A) This is really hard!! One of these days I would LOVE to collab with Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde or even Trisha Yearwood! CMA’s 2025?!?

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?  

A) Definitely Ashley McBryde’s album Girl Going Nowhere. Every song on this record shows a unique side to her artistry. We can all learn a lesson from Ashley’s songwriting and lyrical phrases or at least I do. Ugh, she’s just so good and I’m so happy for all her accomplishments and how she’s finally getting the recognition she deserves!

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans? 

A) I have a love/hate relationship with social media. There are so many benefits to growing and connecting with your fans but, also, I just hate how social media is constantly getting harder to manage and grow from. I do like to keep everyone updated on what I’m doing and where they can come see me and also on exciting milestones when I reach them which is why I continue to post.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) To everyone that is a supporter of mine I’d like to say thank you. Thank you for putting a smile on my face every day, for constantly encouraging me and being a light even on the bad days and never letting me give up. It seems like every time I have a bad day I will get on Facebook and someone will have left the sweetest comment that completely turns my mood and day around and moments like that is why I keep moving forward. So, thank you!