Page 12 - BiTS_11_NOVEMBER_2020

THE BiTS INTERVIEW: EMMA WILSON

BiTS: Hi Emma. Tell me something about yourself and how you got into music.

EW: Gosh! Well, I was always singing and whistling as a little child, always making sounds and
noises and my dad used to say 'what's that little tune?' and sometimes I didn't know, or it was a
cartoon, or it was something from the Pink Panther or Bod or something and I was always very

musical. At primary school, they let me be in the choir
and then at secondary school they let me be in the
choir and I just was so into music and singing. I
was really lucky that when I was 16, 17, I got to
join a local band in Teesside, and it went from
there really. I just continued being in bands

and exploring music and learning new songs.
Then ultimately, I put my own band
together, which was quite a leap of faith but
has been a lot of fun.

BiTS: Was there music in your house when

you were a kid? Did your family listen to
music?

EW: Most definitely, yes. My
parents, my mother's a big Dickie
Valentine fan. That's going a long

way back but an incredible, really
great singer, so we had a lot of Dickie
Valentine. My dad was into everything
from Miles Davis to the Beach Boys
and I've got older siblings, two
sisters and a brother who were a few
years older than me. There was vinyl

all the time. We had a big record
player in the house and a lot of the day surrounded playing all the vinyl records, yes.

BiTS: Tell me something about putting the band together. Did you run auditions, or how did it
happen?

EW: No, I've never really been one for auditions. I've never really had the need. I've been quite
lucky that I've known people and created a bond with them or seen them play and asked them to
jam. You don't really audition, do you? You'll know about this. You sort of jam and see if there's a
spark or you're finishing notes at the same time and stuff and I was really lucky. I've had different
line-ups, but the only reason the line-ups have changed is because people either changed their
lifestyle and they'd go out of music, or they'd go with a different band or they go solo. At the

moment I'm really happy with my line-up. I've got three fantastic guys working with me. Adam
Featherstone on drums, Al Harrington on Guitar and John Daniel on bass and Alessandro Brunetta
on harmonica and keyboards. I'm really fortunate, but I'm always open to guests. We sometimes
include the fabulous Pipe Brothers who front the band The Mentulls. That's their own. They're like

12