Makin’ It Big

I hadn’t previously heard of Valley24, but Emily did an interview with them this past week. Here’s the article link: Valley24 – From YNG to NYC: Local Singer Makes it Big.

And, just because it’s fun to get mentioned…

She comes from a family of musicians who she says should have joined her in New York.

“My sister is an opera singer. I have two cousins who are fantastic musicians who I keep trying to drag out here. We’ve got some interesting talent in our family,” she said.

She speaks of her sister’s success with pride, although their styles of singing are worlds apart.

“We both took opera. I took opera for two years so… suddenly I went into R&B and rock. I’m definitely not an opera singer,” she said.

And by the way: those cousins she’s talking about? They’re both awesome. New York, or wherever—I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. It has it quirks, but man, I love my family.

This phrase is funny, this “making it big”. It starts me off skeptical, because I don’t think mainstream media knows what “making it big” is. They talk about record contracts, checks, renown, etc. And Em is really getting there. She is doing incredible things, and I envy her business savvy. I’ve built mine from books and experiences, but she got hers from jumping in in a way that I was always a little too cautious for. She moved to NYC without any idea of where she’d live, where she’d work, and started from scratch. And while I did something similar when I came to Austin, I had a friend to stay with for several months, I had a business portable enough to bring with me, and I had a more-than-national client base to depend on for income until I had settled and found my way. I’ve always regarded my sister’s guts with a little bit of awe, actually.

So when the headline says something about making it big, I wonder if they’re going to overlook the traits that got her there, if they’re going to talk about the miracle and the money and the stardom. You know? Because fans will look at that and covet the rock-star-ness of her, and I’m still in awe of the person. And… well, there you go.

The article itself is just fine, for the most part. (It has its quirks—Em’s web address is emiionline.com. They totally botched that bit. And I’m not sure why they didn’t include Cherryfix’s site, which is cherryfix.com.) And more than that, I love to see new media venues out of Youngstown—in the same way that it excites me to read the Stage @ the Oakland. I want to see Youngstown grow and change in wonderful ways, regardless of where I’m living. That’s a whole other tangent, actually. ;}

Go read about my awesome sister, man.

PS. Also, you may be amused by the groupies at the bottom of the page… I sure was. Hee!