Web Exclusive: A conversation with Emery's Josh Head

Since forming in 2001, Seattle (by way of South Carolina) post-hardcore five-piece EMERY have seen both sides of scene stardom-from the budding “next big thing” title that surrounded their early work on Tooth & Nail Records to the criticism that came with 2007’s I’m Only A Man. As the band toured with the Almost late last year, new material began to surface. Just how much new material Emery were creating was a surprise even to them. They had enough songs to release an EP, While Broken Hearts Prevail, this past October, and the full-length, …In Shallow Seas We Sail, released just this week. LUCY ALBERS caught up with keboardist/vocalist JOSH HEAD to find out if haters impacted the new album and, among other things, why you might want to brush up on your Español before listening.



The album title sounds like a direct follow up to last year’s EP, While Broken Hearts Prevail EP. The artwork for both even have the same characters and theme. Was that the plan all along?


Yeah, kind of–but not when we started out. When we did [I’m Only A Man], we had some other song ideas and stuff like that, so we decided to put out an EP. At the time, I’m Only A Man was our last [obligation] with Tooth & Nail Records, so we didn’t know if we would be re-signing or releasing it ourselves, but we didn’t want to take, like, a two-year hiatus and not put out any music. So we put some songs together for an EP and we ended up writing a bunch more. It wasn’t intentional at first, [but] then we ended up writing the record and it kind of made sense that it all went together.



What was the lyrical influence behind this album?


All of our records and songs are relationship-based, whether it be with family and friends, past [romantic] relationships or what’s going on in our lives at the time. When we made [2004’s The Weak’s End], Toby [Morrell, vocals/guitar] had just lost his grandmother, so he wrote the song, “As Your Voice Fades” about her. We had also moved to Seattle from South Carolina, and broke up with girlfriends, and that’s what a lot of that record is about. It’s kind of always about where we’re at and our place in life emotionally or what we’re going through. I think that’s the kind of music we’ve always latched onto–especially when we started the band–with a lot of the older, emo records. It’s the easiest stuff for us to write.



In "Dear Death, Pt 1," there’s a part sung in Spanish. How did that come about?

That song, that part, was actually started during our South American tour last summer. It was this little thing that Toby had written the first part of, and we planned on using it as an intro to our set. Toby was just going to come out and play electric guitar, just him, and sing, "Tonight will be mine," in Spanish. We did that and liked it so much that we thought it would be cool to turn it in to an actual song. ["Dear Death, Pt 1" and "Dear Death, Pt 2"] started out as just one really long song. Then we decided right before we went into mixing that we would split it into two.



I’m Only A Man caught some mixed reviews. Some said it was a total departure from your previous stuff, while others cite it as their favorite album in your catalog. Did the attention–negative or positive–from that record influence you this time around?

Yeah, a little bit. When we made the last record, we got done with it and honestly didn’t think it was any different than any of our other records. We thought it sounded like our last couple records, maybe just a little more straight-ahead or whatever. We definitely want our fans to like our music, so their opinions do matter. And I think people will like the new record. Even Aaron [Sprinkle, producer] told us he thinks it’s our best record so far. I think it kind of falls in between [2005’s] The Question and I’m Only A Man.



Why did you decide to work with Sprinkle again?

Aaron produced The Question, our most commercially successful album. The vast majority of our fans go nuts when we play songs off that record. We felt that if we were going to recapture some of the elements that made our previous albums so popular, we needed to go back to the source. Aaron has the ability to really hone our ideas into something terrific. He’s an incredible songwriter and musician, and his ears are unparalleled. He really helped drive the direction of the new album.



Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars has mentioned that he wrote riffs with you guys. How did this influence the new music?

I don’t know if working with Mick directly influenced the new songs. It was definitely a wonderful experience that we’d like to replicate in the future. Perhaps working with Mick helped us delve into some more guitar-driven material. He really is an awesome guitarist.



Emery are known as a Christian-influenced band, but not necessarily focused solely on that aspect. Does Christianity affect your writing?

Our beliefs affect our lives every day. We would not be writing songs and playing shows if not for our faith. We are acutely aware that many of our fans, and perhaps the majority, are not Christian. We definitely want to appeal to people from all walks of life, which is why we principally tour with secular bands. We love God, and we write a lot about love, so there is definitely some correlation.



You put the entire album up for stream just a few days before the release. Why did you decide to do that, and have you gotten much response from it?

When I’m Only A Man was released, we did a similar stream. It seemed like everyone was coming to our website to check out the new songs, and there was a ton of interest. It made us feel great to know that so many people care about what we do. We feel that the new record is our best album, and that our fans will agree. Streaming the album in its entirety is a way to share our new creation with our fans. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.alt

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