Since our June 19 show at Pho Cao in Scottsdale, things may have seemed a little quiet on the Emma & James Music front.
We have not announced another formal show yet, and that has been intentional. Instead of filling the summer with performances, we decided to use this time to strengthen the businesses that support our creative lives, improve our full-band setup, write new original music, and prepare for a much busier live-music season.
Although we have not been onstage as often, we have certainly not stepped away from music.
Behind the scenes, this has been one of our busiest and most productive stretches. We have been building the foundation we hope will allow us to perform more frequently throughout the fall, winter, and spring.
Emma & James Music Has Been Building Behind the Scenes
The biggest thing occupying our time this summer has been our existing businesses.
Emma recently created a new app for Emma Mattison Fitness, our online personal training business. Emma specializes in functional fitness and holistic health, with a particular focus on helping adults over 40 build strength, improve mobility and maintain their independence as they age.
Creating an app is about much more than choosing a design and uploading a few workouts. Programs have to be organized, technology has to be tested, and every step of the user experience needs to make sense for the people relying on it.
Emma has also created a new website for the Academy of Superior Online Coaching, commonly known as ASOC.
ASOC helps personal trainers and other health and fitness professionals learn how to create and operate ethical online coaching businesses. The goal is to help coaches build services that are professional, responsible, and genuinely useful to their clients.
We are currently working with several new partners to expand ASOC and develop new opportunities for the professionals we serve. There are some promising things taking shape, although we are not ready to share every detail yet.
Both businesses require a tremendous amount of attention. They are also an important part of our long-term plan.
By improving our systems now, we hope to create more freedom to pursue live music when Arizona's busiest performance season returns. Sometimes preparing to play more shows means taking a season to make sure everything outside the music is functioning properly.
Staying Connected to the Arizona Music Scene
Even without a full concert schedule, we have continued getting out into the Arizona music community.
We have been attending and testing new open mics around the Valley for Desert Vibe Podcast. We visit these events as musicians and pay attention to the details other performers would want to know before attending.
That includes how sign-ups work, how much time each performer receives, what equipment is provided, what the room sounds like, whether parking and load-in are convenient, and how the venue treats the musicians who participate.
After each visit, I write an article reviewing our experience so other Arizona musicians can better understand what to expect.
We are calling this section What's Vibing in the Desert. Check out the directory for open mics and jams here.
The purpose is not to criticize venues or rank performers. We want to build a useful resource that helps musicians discover stages around the Valley and feel more comfortable walking into a new room.
Open mics play an important role in the Phoenix live music scene. They give new performers a place to begin, while also giving experienced artists an opportunity to test original songs, practice new arrangements, and connect with other musicians.
A small amount of practical information can make attending an unfamiliar open mic much less intimidating.
We also continue helping Desert Vibe Podcast with its website, marketing, merchandise, public relations and blog articles about the musicians and community leaders featured on the show.
That work keeps us closely connected to the Arizona music scene, even when Emma & James Music is not performing a formal concert.
Preparing for Future Full-Band Performances
We love performing as a duo, but some of our future plans involve a much larger full-band sound.
Throughout the summer, we have continued hosting rehearsals at our home approximately twice each month. Keeping the band active during a quieter performance period means we will be better prepared when new opportunities appear.
We do not want to receive an offer for a full-band show and then have to rebuild everything from the beginning. We want the songs, equipment, and communication between musicians to already be in place.
One of our biggest projects has been purchasing and setting up a digital in-ear monitoring system, commonly called an IEM system.
The system includes a digital mixer and a split snake that can connect with a venue's front-of-house sound equipment. The split allows the sound engineer to receive the channels needed for the audience mix while giving us separate control over what each band member hears.
Every musician can create a personalized mix through a cellphone or another connected device.
For example, our bass player may want to hear more vocals, less trombone, and a different amount of guitar. Instead of trying to get the attention of the sound engineer in the middle of a performance, he can make those adjustments directly in his own ears.
That change does not affect what another musician hears.
Traditional stage monitors can work well, but turning them up may create feedback or alter the sound for other performers onstage. With individual in-ear mixes, each player has much more control without disrupting everyone else.
At least, that is how it works once you understand how to operate everything correctly.
Learning Our New In-Ear Monitor System
Setting up a digital IEM system is no small feat.
Learning the mixer feels like buying a new computer without knowing where anything is located, except this computer has dozens of inputs, outputs, and routing options that have to be connected properly before it will function as intended.
Every microphone and instrument needs a channel. Every signal needs to reach the correct destination. The cables and split snake need to be labeled and connected correctly. Individual monitor mixes need to be created, tested, and saved.
There is also gain staging, equalization, compression, and signal routing to understand.
A mistake in one area can create a problem somewhere else, so this is not something we want to figure out five minutes before a show.
That is why summer has been the perfect time to learn it. We can experiment during rehearsals, make mistakes, and gradually understand what the system can do before we depend on it in a live environment.
The technology is impressive, but technology only improves a performance when the people using it understand how it works.
Helping Emma Hear Her Voice More Clearly
For us, the IEM system is about more than convenience.
Emma is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids in her daily life. Her hearing loss is hereditary and has also affected her father throughout his life.
This is one of the reasons we are investing so much time into getting the in-ear system right. It is not just about better sound. It is about making sure Emma can perform comfortably, hear herself clearly, and protect her hearing for the long term.
We are taking the time now so that when the busy season returns, we are ready.