First Avenue: What’s your name?
Emma.
FA: How did you end up selling merch for James Vincent McMorrow?
E: I do the album artwork, and I work with a lot of visual elements, and I was free. We’ve been going since January. We did Ireland, the UK, Europe, America, Canada at the beginning, and then there was festivals during the summer, then the loop all over again.
FA: What’s the most exhausting part of it?
E: I just think the constant moving and trying to remember where all your stuff is… Trying to not lose your toothbrush.
FA: What do you think of the States in general?
E: The people are lovely! There can be a grumpiness to some countries in Europe, but America’s awesome. Everyone’s so nice. And it feels like anything is possible here, as well. It really feels like you can do stuff and it’s in your grasp if you work for it.
FA: Huh. I can never tell how much of that is stuff we’ve been fed because that’s part of The American Dream™ or…
E: No, it *feels* like anything is possible… if you can get here.
FA: Do you get to see outside of music venues at all?
E: Sometimes we’ll take some time at the end of a tour, and we’ll get to see a city that way. But yeah, it’s pretty much like you get in, you go to the venue and you’re here for the day and that’s it. Or if you get to see anywhere it’s like—I think we’re stopping in… Glendrive [sic] tomorrow? I think there’s, like, a dinosaur museum in it and that’s it.
FA: You mean Glendive, MT?
E: Yeah!
FA: After catching up on sleep, where do you most want to go next?
E: We were in San Sebastián in the north of Spain over the summer. I’d go back. It has the most amount of Michelin starred restaurants in one area in the entire world. I’d eat. And get a bit warm. It’s SO COLD here! It’s… Baltic.
FA: What’s been the highlight of your year so far?
E: In terms of James or…?
FA: More you.
E: Well, I made a music video… two of them. I did “Gold” and “Look Out.” That was cool for me.
FA: What else do you think we should know about you?
E: Oh god me? Nobody ever asks about me. I don’t know. I’ve never had anyone ask me anything about anything before!
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Emma is a delight. Say hello, and be nice.
