Frontman Louis Emory is a singer/songwriter based in Troy, New York – just an hour north of Woodstock, where The Band – one of his many classic rock influences – wrote their debut album, Music from Big Pink. More than fifty years later, Emory would have never imagined he’d be working on his debut EP with one of the album’s engineers, renowned producer, audio engineer and mixer Shelly Yakus. With a small collective of New York musicians — The Reckless Few — the crew fused their individual sounds to deliver Love Italy. Composed of multi-instrumentalists Bob Boyer and Tim Lynch (The Recording Company) — the gifted members of this non-traditional band each played an integral part in bringing the Love Italy songs to life in the studio. Rounding out the EP, Yakus polished and co-mixed the tracks.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Louis Emory and The Reckless Few, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hi Kamil, it's nice to chat with you as well!
I think I’ve always been attracted to the vibrations. It was like this beautiful world that brought me happiness and put me at ease. My childhood is a dream now. The first time I saw Slash and Guns ‘N Roses I knew I wanted to play guitar. At 14, the time had finally come and my parents bought me my first guitar (a B.C. Rich Warlock - Black / cracked Red) and some lessons!
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
It’s really hard. I am home with my four-year-old son during the day and often feel like I’m “watching the wheels go round and round” (John Lennon). Sometimes I only have 5 to 10 minutes to pick up my Taylor and crank out a riff, lol. It makes me extremely focused in those moments. Despite the challenges, I wouldn’t trade my family life for anything. My wife and family are very supportive of my craft and I’m very grateful for that. They are a blessing from the Universe.
Your latest release is 'Love Italy'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
I don’t believe in coincidences. My wife, Raeanne, and I were married in October 2019 at Querceto di Castellina, a winery in Tuscany, and just a few months later we started hearing the murmurs of a mysterious virus in Italy which was traveling across Europe. I was scared and praying for our friends there, knowing that whatever was there would be in the US fairly quickly. A long winter set in along with anxiety and depression, and I kept myself distracted by continuing to study the Renaissance and its masters.
During those early days of COVID I wrote “Firenze,'' which was influenced by two masters: Cosimo de’ Medici and Bob Dylan. I wanted to honor Cosimo and hopefully turn other people onto him. I was listening to More Blood, More Tracks… – Bob Dylan’s bootleg – with my espressos in the mornings. Highway 61 Revisited was my favorite Dylan album for many years, but then I started listening to Blood on the Tracks more and more and it just connected. Anyway, on the bootleg there's this amazing version of “Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.” I thought to myself, “My God, this man wrote a Western and it's a sleeper,” – a song which the listener must seek out and when they do, and it connects, their minds are blown. The song is amazing! I’m sure Dylan fans are thinking “Welcome to the party,” but that bootleg track felt like a gauntlet being thrown down, ha. So, I wanted to try to write a longer form song about Cosimo de’ Medici and his exile to Venice – and “Firenze” came to life.
In the studio, we kept the sessions to just Bob, Tim and me to minimize the risk of COVID. I had been working on another project and decided to record “Firenze,” and a few weeks later I wrote and we recorded “Roma.” In the studio, it all just clicked. I felt a shift in the energy of the music we were making and in some cosmic or divine way I felt the universe was putting me on a path. I basically decided to abandon the album I had been working on and focus purely on these Italian / history-inspired songs I was feeling called to write at that moment. I also hoped that in some small way I could bring people in Italy a moment of happiness amongst the great suffering they were experiencing. I thought about their economy and how much they depended on tourism and thought if my music connected with travelers maybe they would return to Italy and invest not only their dollars but their time making beautiful memories there.
What social issues are you most passionate about?
The social issue I am most passionate about currently is climate change. It affects all of us living on this planet. On my first trip to Venice in 2017 I saw "Support," an art installation by Lorenzo Quinn as we floated by on the Vaporetto and it really struck me. I thought a city of such profound beauty will be lost to the waves if we all don't start taking climate change seriously. A tragic fate that future generations will only be able to read about but not experience La Serenissima in their lifetimes. It would be a major loss for civilization. It's ground zero for what will eventually happen to most major cities built by water. Please visit it while you can still enjoy its beautiful architecture, food, and wonderful people who call it home. One organization that is helping with restoration efforts is Savevenice.org and you can read up on how the Venetians are adapting and trying to save their city with their groundbreaking Mose Project.
How long did you work on 'Love Italy'? Was it an easy process for you?
We worked on it for about two years. We had the original five-song EP mixed by Alan Douche at West West Side Music and my wife and I went to Italy to shoot some footage for the music videos. I came home and was sad that we were back in upstate New York, winter was coming, and we were no longer in Italy. I don’t want that to come off the wrong way–it's just how I felt at that moment. I was listening to the EP and just felt like it needed one more song. So, one morning after my wife was sick of hearing me talk about wanting to just book flights and go back, I picked up my acoustic and wrote “Florence in the Fall.” I knew it had to be on the EP, which meant additional costs and we were already over budget. But I followed my intuition and I’m happy I did because the EP feels more balanced with it on there. It also became the first single and is a fan favorite!
How do you know when a work is finished?
When I'm burned out on it! We got to the second round of final mixing and mastering and it was very difficult to tell the difference between the tracks. When the EP was done – or so we thought – I reconnected with Shelly Yakus and told him about the project. His ears and expertise led to more fine-tuning and remixing, and towards the end I just had to leave it up to fate and trust Bob, Tim and Shelly. But I’m so glad that I did, because listening to the final EP now I am really proud of what we accomplished.
Can you write what was your best performance in your career? How do you remember it?
I’m still waiting to have it! If you happened to catch me playing live in my late teens and early 20’s, it probably was hit or miss. Like many young musicians, I would drink to ease my nerves. I never really enjoyed the spotlight, and for that reason, I wasn’t at my best.
How do you find yourself in the music business? When you started out in music, did you know it would be like this?
I’m still looking for the door! Technology has changed everything so dramatically in my lifetime; I could never imagine releasing a record and people all over the world having the ability to listen to it that day on their phones and computers. My wife and I recently watched the documentary “Meet Me in the Bathroom,” which brought back a lot of memories of what life was like before tech took over – before 9/11, before COVID-19. Much love to all those New York bands that inspired me at the time and made me proud to be from NY playing rock ‘n’ roll.
Who is your favorite musician?
That’s tough. I don’t really have a single favorite musician. There’s too many! My favorite musicians outside of the people I’ve played with…
Guitarists - Keith Richards, George Harrison, Steve Cropper, Mick Taylor, Eric Clapton.
Pianists - Nicky Hopkins, Chuck Leavell, Billy Joel and Elton John.
Bass players - James Jamerson, Paul McCartney, Darryl Jones, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Carol Kaye, John Paul Jones.
Drummers - Ringo, Charlie Watts, Levon Helm, Jim Keltner, John Bonham, Hal Blaine, Howard Grimes, Al Jackson Jr.
Singers - Mick and Keith, John and Paul, Tom Petty, Levon Helm, Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bob Seger, David Ruffin, Al Green, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Plant, Bob Marley and Bob Dylan!
What are your plans for the future?
My plans right now are to finish recording my follow-up EP in the next few months and get it released this fall. I have some songs that are in line with Love Italy and include historical references or stories, and a handful of other songs that I’ve written over the past year. I’m really looking forward to getting back in the studio with the guys as well as working with Shelly again!