Emm Gryner
Encyclopedia
Emm Gryner is a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and occasional actress.

Biography

Gryner's childhood was spent in Forest, Lambton County, Ontario
Forest, Lambton County, Ontario
Forest is a small town located near Sarnia, Ontario in Canada. It is very close to the shore of Lake Huron and is part of the municipality of Lambton Shores and the county of Lambton.- Population :...

. Her father was of half Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 heritage and her mother was Filipina
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

.

Emm started her music career in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, working office jobs during the day while honing her live show in small, local clubs by night. Gryner entered her original song "Wisdom Bus" in a nationwide songwriting contest sponsored by Standard Broadcasting
Standard Broadcasting
Slaight Communications is a Canadian radio broadcasting company. The company was first formed as Slaight Broadcasting in 1971, when owner J. Allan Slaight acquired CFGM in Richmond Hill...

, and won. With the money from this prize, she recorded an album called The Original Leap Year
The Original Leap Year
The Original Leap Year is the second album by Emm Gryner, released in 1997 on Gryner's independent Dead Daisy Records.Gryner funded the album with prize money from Standard Broadcasting's National Songwriting Competition...

and released it on her own Dead Daisy Records
Dead Daisy Records
Dead Daisy Records is a Canadian independent record label, owned and operated by singer-songwriter Emm Gryner. Artists who have released material on the label include Gryner, In-Flight Safety, Daniel Ledwell, Hot One, Andrew Spice, Royal Wood and Noah's Arkweld....

. The album attracted the attention of Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes were an American alternative rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, initially active between 1980 and 1987 and again from 1988 to 2009...

 producer, Warren Bruleigh.

Bruleigh passed the album onto an exec at Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

 who signed Gryner. The result was Public
Public (album)
Public is the third album by Emm Gryner, released in 1998.The album, released on Mercury Records, was not a strong seller, and Gryner was subsequently dropped from the label after Mercury was acquired by Universal Music...

, a Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...

-inspired album that yielded a hit in Canada called "Summerlong." Several tours followed, with Ron Sexsmith
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...

, Bernard Butler
Bernard Butler
Bernard Joseph Butler is an English musician and record producer. He first emerged in the early Britpop era with Suede. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of his generation, as well as one of Britain's most original and influential guitarists...

, Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...

 and others.

After Universal Music took over Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

, Gryner was dropped from the label and returned to her own Dead Daisy Records. She released several albums, two of which went on to be nominated for Best Pop Album of the Year at the Juno Awards. During this time, Gryner moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 to write and tour. She also took a job singing and playing keyboards in David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

’s band. The gig saw Gryner performing with Bowie at Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...

, on Later with Jools Holland
Later with Jools Holland
Later... with Jools Holland is a contemporary British music television show hosted by Jools Holland. A spin-off of The Late Show, it has been running in short series since 1992 and is a part of BBC Two's late-night line-up, usually at around 11pm to 12 midnight...

and other venues around America and Europe. She appears on Bowie at the Beeb
Bowie at the Beeb
Bowie at the Beeb is a compilation album by David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three CD set, the third, bonus CD being a recording on at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre...

, a live album.

After leaving Bowie’s band, Gryner moved to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

 and released an album called Songs of Love and Death
Songs of Love and Death
Songs of Love and Death is the eighth full-length album by Canadian singer-songwriter Emm Gryner, released in 2005 on her independent label Dead Daisy Records....

which was made up of cover versions of Irish songs by The Undertones
The Undertones
The Undertones are a punk rock/new wave band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland, in 1975.The original line-up of the Undertones released thirteen singles and four studio albums — The Undertones , Hypnotised , Positive Touch and The Sin of Pride — before disbanding in July 1983.Music guide Allmusic...

, The Virgin Prunes, Horslips
Horslips
Horslips are an Irish Celtic rock band that compose, arrange and perform songs based on traditional Irish jigs and reels. The group are regarded as 'founding fathers of Celtic rock' for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international acts....

, Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...

, The Thrills
The Thrills
The Thrills are an Irish rock band, formed in 2001 in Dublin, Ireland. The band was founded by lead vocalist Conor Deasy and guitarist Daniel Ryan, guitarist and bass player Padraic McMahon, pianist Kevin Horan and drummer Ben Carrigan. Their big break came with their debut album, So Much for the...

 and others. Recorded in a house she shared with Kate McGarrigle
Kate McGarrigle
Kate McGarrigle, CM was a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, who wrote and performed as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle....

, the album attracted the attention of Irish media. Gryner found a champion in Pat Egan, a legendary promoter and manager based in Dublin, and he set up her first shows.

In 2005, Gryner signed Atlantic Canadian
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...

 indie band In-Flight Safety
In-Flight Safety
-External links:* official website*...

. The band went on to receive national acclaim, capture several awards and receive a Juno nomination for Best Video of the Year in 2007. Gryner subsequently signed Toronto songwriter Royal Wood
Royal Wood
Royal Wood is a Canadian pop music singer-songwriter/ producer, based in Toronto, Ontario. His classic pop style has drawn comparisons to Hawksley Workman, Ron Sexsmith, Randy Newman and Rufus Wainwright.-Early life:...

 and released his album, A Good Enough Day through Dead Daisy.

In 2006, Gryner released The Summer of High Hopes
The Summer of High Hopes
The Summer of High Hopes is the tenth album by Emm Gryner, released in 2006.In an interview with Q Magazine, Bono cited Gryner's "Almighty Love" as one of the songs he most wished he had written himself....

produced by Nathan Larson. The album was released in Canada and later in Ireland on the heels of a performance at Oxegen Festival.

Collaborations

Gryner also collaborated with Larson in the band Hot One
Hot One
Hot One is a US rock band formed in 2005. Its members are guitarist/vocalist Nathan Larson, bassist/vocalist Emm Gryner, drummer Kevin March, and guitarist Jordan Kern. The band is characterized by a glam rock/post-punk sound and overtly political lyrical content...

, which released an album that year. She is also a member of the collective The Cake Sale
The Cake Sale
The Cake Sale are a collective of mostly Irish musical artists including Swedish singer/songwriter Nina Persson of The Cardigans and Australian musician Nick Seymour of Crowded House....

, along with Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...

, Bell X1
Bell X1
Bell X1 are an Irish rock band from County Kildare in Ireland. They have released five albums which received much acclaim in Ireland.. They have represented Ireland in the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, received several major award nominations and headlined several festivals in their own country...

, Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and author who performs and records with The Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006 he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine.- Early life :Josh...

 and Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard is the Academy Award–winning principal songwriter and vocalist/guitarist for Irish group The Frames and one half of folk rock duo, The Swell Season...

. The collective is featured on The Cake Sale, a multi-platinum-selling Irish album with proceeds to Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...

’s Make Trade Fair.

In June of 2007, she collaborated with jazz pianist D.D. Jackson for an episode of the CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

 concert series Fuse
Fuse (radio program)
Fuse is a Canadian radio program, which airs on CBC Radio One and on CBC Radio 3's satellite radio channel. From March 25, 2007 to August 2008, the program was also aired on CBC Radio 2, becoming the only program which has aired on all three networks...

. She also appeared as a guest musician on vitaminsforyou
Vitaminsforyou
Vitaminsforyou is a Canadian electronic music project led by Bryce Kushnier, a pioneer of the “lo-fi bedroom electronics” genre of music. Originally based in Winnipeg, the band currently operates from Toronto....

's album The Legend of Bird's Hill.

Other work

Gryner played the angel in the music videos of "The Grace" and "Age of Consent" by Neverending White Lights
Neverending White Lights
Neverending White Lights is a Canadian music collaboration project fronted by Daniel Victor from Windsor, Ontario, and featuring several artists mainly from Canada and the United States. Daniel Victor performs all musical instruments, with most of his songs featuring guest singers...

, and had a small but important role in One Week
One Week (2008 film)
One Week is a 2008 Canadian film directed by Michael McGowan and starring Joshua Jackson, Liane Balaban, and Campbell Scott. The film debuted at the Toronto Film Festival on September 8, 2008 and was released theatrically on March 6, 2009....

, a film by director Michael McGowan
Michael McGowan (director)
Michael McGowan is a Canadian filmmaker who wrote directed the feature films One Week and Saint Ralph...

.

In the summers of 2007 and 2008, Gryner and Danny Michel
Danny Michel
Danny Michel is a singer-songwriter from Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.- Biography :Danny Michel was born in 1970 next to the "Smiles n' Chuckles" chocolate factory in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada...

 co-hosted the radio show Under the Covers
Under the Covers (radio program)
Under the Covers is a Canadian radio program, airing on CBC Radio One as a summer series in 2007 and 2008. Cohosted by musicians Emm Gryner and Danny Michel, the program plays and discusses classic musical covers....

, a show about cover songs, on CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...

.

Recognition by other musicians

Nelly Furtado
Nelly Furtado
Nelly Kim Furtado is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Furtado grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.Furtado first gained fame with her debut album, Whoa, Nelly!, and its single "I'm Like a Bird", which won a 2001 Juno Award for Single of the Year and a 2002 Grammy...

 named Gryner's album Science Fair one of her desert island discs in a VH1 interview, and David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

 named Gryner and Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Godspeed You! Black Emperor is a Canadian post-rock band which originated from Montreal, Quebec in 1994...

 his two favourite Canadian acts during a promotional interview for his Reality album. In the November 2006 issue of Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...

, celebrating the magazine's 20th anniversary, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

 frontman Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...

 recognized the track "Almighty Love" from Gryner's album The Summer of High Hopes as one of six songs that he wished he had written from the last twenty years of music. The American indie band +/-
+/- (band)
+/-, or Plus/Minus, is an American indietronic band formed in 2001. The band makes use of both electronic and traditional instruments, and has sought to use electronics to recreate traditional indie rock song forms and instrumental structures...

 covered the song "Summerlong" on the Japanese edition of their EP, Holding Patterns
Holding Patterns
Holding Patterns was the first release from +/- after it had expanded to a touring band. This was also the first major release from the group to feature songwriting and lead vocals by Patrick Ramos. Pitchfork Media's of the EP coined the term "lap-rock" to describe its marriage of electronic...

. The song "Angel" by Matt Nathanson
Matt Nathanson
Matt Nathanson is an American singer-songwriter whose work is a blend of folk and rock music. In addition to singing, he plays acoustic and electric guitar, and has played both solo and with a full band. His work includes the platinum-selling song "Come On Get Higher".-Early life and college...

 is written about her.

Personal life

Gryner, who now lives in St. Marys, Ontario
St. Marys, Ontario
St. Marys is a town in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Thames River southwest of Stratford in Perth County, and surrounded by the Township of Perth South. The town is also known by its nickname, "The Stone Town", due to the abundance of limestone in the surrounding area, giving...

, married visual artist Sean Odell in 2004. They have one child together, a son born in February 2010.

Discography

  • And Distrust It
    And Distrust It
    And Distrust It, released in 1995, was the debut album by Emm Gryner. It was released independently, and is no longer widely available. The last copies available through CD Baby were listed at a sale price of $45 each; CD Baby now lists the album as permanently out of stock.-Track listing:#...

    (1995)
  • The Original Leap Year
    The Original Leap Year
    The Original Leap Year is the second album by Emm Gryner, released in 1997 on Gryner's independent Dead Daisy Records.Gryner funded the album with prize money from Standard Broadcasting's National Songwriting Competition...

    (1997)
  • Public
    Public (album)
    Public is the third album by Emm Gryner, released in 1998.The album, released on Mercury Records, was not a strong seller, and Gryner was subsequently dropped from the label after Mercury was acquired by Universal Music...

    (1998)
  • Science Fair
    Science Fair (album)
    Science Fair is the fourth album by Emm Gryner, released in 1999 on Gryner's independent label Dead Daisy Records.Ironically, within just two months of its release, Science Fair had significantly outsold its major label predecessor, Public, despite its more limited independent label distribution...

    (1999)
  • Dead Relatives
    Dead Relatives
    Dead Relatives is the fifth full-length album by Canadian singer-songwriter Emm Gryner, released in 2000 on her independent label Dead Daisy Records.-Track listing:# "Parting Song" # "Mary Jill" # "Summerlong" # "Half Sorry"...

    (2000)
  • Girl Versions
    Girl Versions
    Girl Versions is the sixth full length album by Canadian singer-songwriter Emm Gryner, released in 2001 on Gryner's independent Dead Daisy Records....

    (2001)
  • Asianblue
    Asianblue
    Asianblue is the seventh album by Emm Gryner, released in 2002 on Gryner's independent Dead Daisy Records.Asianblue was nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the 2003 Juno Awards, but lost to Avril Lavigne's Let Go.-Track listing:...

    (2002)
  • Songs of Love and Death
    Songs of Love and Death
    Songs of Love and Death is the eighth full-length album by Canadian singer-songwriter Emm Gryner, released in 2005 on her independent label Dead Daisy Records....

    (2005)
  • The Great Lakes
    The Great Lakes (album)
    The Great Lakes is an album by Emm Gryner, “written, recorded, mixed, printed, hand-stamped, stapled, embossed, cut, burned and packaged especially for you by me [Emm]”....

    (2005)
  • The Summer of High Hopes
    The Summer of High Hopes
    The Summer of High Hopes is the tenth album by Emm Gryner, released in 2006.In an interview with Q Magazine, Bono cited Gryner's "Almighty Love" as one of the songs he most wished he had written himself....

    (2006)
  • PVT
    Public (album)
    Public is the third album by Emm Gryner, released in 1998.The album, released on Mercury Records, was not a strong seller, and Gryner was subsequently dropped from the label after Mercury was acquired by Universal Music...

    (2006) (originally issued as a bonus disc with The Summer of High Hopes, later sold separately)
  • Goddess
    Goddess (Emm Gryner album)
    Goddess is the eleventh studio album by Emm Gryner, released in February 2009 on Dead Daisy Records in Canada and Second Motion Records in the United States.-Track listing:# "Let it Snow"# "Goddess"# "Young As the Night"# "Empty Hole"...

    (2009)
  • Stray Bullets EP
    Extended play
    An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

     (2010)
  • Gem and I
    Gem and I
    Gem and I is the twelfth studio album by Emm Gryner, released September 21, 2010 on Dead Daisy Records in Canada and Second Motion Records in the United States....

    (2010)
  • Northern Gospel (2011)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK