She was a woman on the road, cruising through the west coast in a journey of self-discovery. Emma Grrrl started the band She/Her/Hers in San Diego, California and changed up its ground when it moved to the new atmosphere of Portland, Oregon a couple of years later. Now the band stays in Lansing, Michigan where they play multiple gigs a month as they continue to advance in the music scene.
She looks back on her 2015 days of being a “lost little child” as Emma refers to it: living in her car for 8 months traveling the country, sleeping on the floor of punk houses, and not having a clue of what she is doing. Along the way she met new queer people and was able to build foundation in a loving and accepting community. She was on the road of reinventing herself and self-discovery, and these stories fueled a lot of the music she wrote for her most recent album “She/Her/Hers” from her band of the same name.
Now, Emma Grrrl prefers to spend her time at home with her cats. She felt it was important to reflect on those times of change and how they shaped her current character. This album contains inspiration of Emma’s past, stretching back to the metal music she found herself so attached to in middle school, to the pop punk and piano from years back and all the way to her current music of choice: jazz. Emma states that her song ‘Giving Up’ from the album was written when she was listening to a lot of “hot club jazz stuff from the 40s and 50s.”
Emma said she feels far removed from her days of socially drinking too much while on the road, but while revisiting those times and looking at them in a different light, she was able to come to terms with her old relationship to alcohol and the affect it had on her community. She also expressed how important it was for her to have those experiences, since if she wasn’t taken out of her comfort zone, she wouldn’t be the person who she is now. A lyric from a song on the record called ‘Hopeful/Scared’ calls out this message “Security is complacency, And comfort’s the white flag.” This lyric puts these feelings into perspective for her audience and encourages this belief she carried with her along the road.
Emma found herself inspired by many different music styles and artists as her music career blossomed, but she wanted to emphasize on her own originality as a being for her most recent album. Historically, she would grab hold of various artists’ styles because she wanted to be just like them in an attempt to recreate some of her favorite music. Now, as she aspires to fall in love with herself, she looks to create unique and individual pieces that observe her feelings and ideas. She wanted this album to be “dynamic, interesting, and something that would hold one’s attention,” and she worked hard to compile these songs in order to leave an original and individual mark on the world.
One of Emma’s main aspirations when releasing her new music was to inspire other members of the transgender community to feel comfortable and confident in their own skin. Since starting the band, Emma found herself surrounded by people with similar stories. This family she had built for herself gave her the power to embrace her gender fully and express whatever image of herself she wanted to show the public. She wants for her music to give her listeners the same outlet her friends had given her throughout her time transitioning.
Emma says she is still learning and growing every day. She is now working on herself, loving herself, and embracing her voice. Emma is playing piano and looking into how to make it the main instrument of a band. Since settling down from being constantly on the road, she now seizes any moment to come back to the comfort of her home. Though she has found comfort in security during this stage of her life, she still looks forward to what her future holds with her music.
