Interview: Post-Hardcore band Emery Reveals Behind the Scenes of their latest album 'Rub Some Dirt On It'

Emery’s Devin Shelton chats with Concert Crap about their newly released album, Rub Some Dirt On It, touring with Norma Jean and thoughts about Gen Z bringing emo back.

Concert Crap: Thank you for the opportunity to speak to us and taking the time out of your schedule. Congratulations on the new record, Rub Some Dirt On It. You dropped some tracks off the album on Spotify so we all got a taste of what’s in store. Can you tell us what motivated you to release this album now? Is there an inspiration behind the album?

Devin Shelton: Well, we actually released the live version of the album in the fall of 2021 to the Emeryland community, but wanted to put more behind the album in terms of push and marketing. We ended up re-recording all the vocals and adding some layers before having it mixed and mastered for the studio release. We wanted to capture a special energy by recording it live to audio and video, which has been lost over the years. In addition to the recording style, we allowed ourselves to write a little more simplistically so that we could achieve our goal and create something that felt real, live and raw. The title and theme of the album was pulled from a saying we always heard growing up…rub some dirt on it. When we fell and scraped our knee or something like that, our dads would say that phrase meaning, you’re tougher than you think you are. Get up and keep moving forward. Don’t let your hurt, mistakes or past define your future.

CC: Speaking of inspiration, what band/artist influenced you to become who you are today?

DS: It’s definitely a culmination of bands, artists and styles from Queen, Michael Jackson, Nirvana, Weezer, Foo Fighters, Pedro the Lion, Sunny Day Real Estate and more.

CC: Are there any new artists you’re currently listening to right now?

DS: Bahamas has been a big one for me.

CC: Do people really ask you if you’re gonna cuss in an Emery song? What is the story behind the title of your song, “People Always Ask Me If We’re Gonna Cuss in an Emery Song?”

DS: Haha…they don’t always ask, but it has come up. With the podcast (BadChristian), many fans listen and hear us curse on the podcast so they would sometimes ask about that. We just thought it would be a funny inside joke.

CC: Once upon a time, we had a social media outlet called MySpace back when The Weak’s End and The Question debuted. I remember the track “Walls” was blasted on every emo kid’s page. What are your thoughts about emo making a comeback with Gen Z?

DS: It’s cool for sure. For us, a band that has been together for 20+ years, it’s exciting to see a resurgence in this genre. I think it’s great that our scene can continue to get the artistic recognition it deserves.

CC: You have an upcoming tour with Norma Jean, Tell me a little about that. Have you ever been on the road with them before? Is this your first tour since the COVID-19 lockdowns? What are you looking forward to?

DS: Yes, we know NJ well. We’ve played lots of shows with them over the years. We thought it would be cool to team up with some of the other “godfathers” of Tooth & Nail/Solid State for Labeled Fest. Great guys and a great band. This is our first full band tour since before COVID. We have done several acoustic weekends and a few festivals, but this will be our maiden voyage since early 2020. Looking forward to the live show energy. There’s not much like it.

CC: As we mentioned earlier, you guys have a new album coming out soon and I did get a chance to listen to it. What is your favorite moment being in the studio while recording Rub Some Dirt On It?

DS: Well, we didn’t really have any studio time with it other than when we later overdubbed the vocals for the studio version. We recorded the entire album live at first and that was an amazing experience. It was a very intense but fun environment that I will always remember fondly.

CC: Is there anything else you would like to share with us?

DS: Nope that’s it. Thanks.

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Interview by Christine Rios