EMAY

EMAY had never intended to write her own music - she enjoyed listening far too much. From an early age, she gravitated to live music, even if it meant spending the evening at the wrong wedding reception. Emay found her first piano teacher by breathing down the neck of a lounge musician. She was invited to sit in with her, learning "Ode to Joy" that night.
While she has been compared to such illustrious female artists as Janis Joplin, Ani Difranco, Eddie Brickell and Joan Baez, Emay credits most of her vocal talent to listening to guys: Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Led Zeppelin. Her dedication to songwriting leads her to aspire to, one day, be as inspirational as Bob Dylan. At any given time, you could find *any* style of music in her CD player: Slacker Punk to Black Metal, Classical to Classic Rock, Turkish Folk to African Religious, Bellydance beats to hip-hop beats, Appalacian Roots to Roots Reggae, Electro-pop to 50's pop.
Emay currently sings for Colorful Speech (acoustic pop), sings and plays keys and bass for Avienani (ambient electronic metal), plays Darbuka and Darbeki for Ishtar (Bellydance Rock), and is pirate captain for an all-female pirate punk-cabaret act who does not, at the time of this biography, have a name.
While she is always looking for people to play with and for, her present path has her opening a 15th-century styled Near-eastern Coffehouse and World Music Lounge in Pittsburgh, PA: Your Inner Vagabond is scheduled to open for events in November, and will open for full-service desert and drink in December.