My Cousin, The Emperor- 9th IMA Alt. Country Song Nominee

THE INDEPENDENT MUSIC AWARDS
Nominee Spotlight- ALT. COUNTRY SONG

VOTE FOR MY COUSIN, THE EMPEROR IN THE 9th IMA VOX POP POLL NOW.

(Interview with Jason Reischel)

BAND NAME: My Cousin, The Emperor

WEB SITES: www.mycousintheemperor.com, facebook.com/mycousintheemperor, myspace.com/mycousintheemperor

ARE YOU SIGNED OR SELF-RELEASED? Self-released.

HOMEBASE/COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Brooklyn, New York

ALBUM NOMINATED SONG IS ON: A Long Way From Home

ARTISTS ON THIS TRACK: MCTE (Jason Reischel, Terry Quire, Chris Gogan, Alex Wyatt)

WHERE WAS SONG RECORDED? Brooklyn, New York

WHERE IS YOUR MUSIC AVAILABLE? Our debut album, A Long Way From Home, is available on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, eMusic, Napster, and at our live shows. Free live recordings are available on our Web site.

WHICH GENRES BEST DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC? Alt-Country, Alt-Pop, Americana

WHAT’S THIS SONG ABOUT? I was once on tour as a solo singer-songwriter across the US. I was living in North Carolina at the time. We were in Montana, and my friend was fly fishing. I was sitting on the river bank, enjoying the scenery when I realized how far we were from North Carolina. The song just kinda wrote itself from there. Those are my favorite songs, the ones that just come out of nowhere complete and with little effort.

WHY DID YOU SELECT THIS TRACK TO SUBMIT TO THE IMAs? It is the title track to our new record. It has been getting good reviews and seems to be a crowd favorite.

WHAT UNUSUAL INSTRUMENTS OR TECHNIQUES DID YOU USE ON THIS ALBUM? We recorded this track live in the studio. Actually, we recorded the entire record live. It’s just two guitars, bass, drums, and vocals. Nothing unusual at all, just a great performance captured in a take or two.

DID FANS HELP FUND THIS PROJECT? No, the project was completely self-funded.

WHO IS SITTING IN YOUR AUDIENCE? Our audience is pretty diverse in many aspects. Because the music is not easily pigeon-holed by genre or style, it attracts a wide range of music fans. We seem to appeal to all ages from 14 to 64. If you like Rock, Country, Folk, Blues, Jamband, melodic Pop or love songs, then there will probably be some of our songs that you like. Live, we are very high energy. But, we do occasionally play acoustic shows to demonstrate our softer side.

WHAT MAKES YOUR FANS UNIQUE? I guess they are unique because they like us.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO PLAY? Juanita’s in Little Rock, Arkansas, Joe’s Pub in New York City, Monkeytown and the 12 Bar Club in London, England.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE BAND’S MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? I think our record release at Joe’s Pub was probably the most fun we’ve had so far. It’s such a great NYC room, and it’s nice to sell it out.

WHAT’S IN THE WORKS FOR 2010? We’re looking to release three or four EP’s this year.

FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS….. a business.

WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS? My definition of success is being able to play music without having to worry about a day job or where the rent money is coming from.

WHAT’S ON YOUR IPOD THAT WOULD SURPRISE YOUR FANS? Duke Ellington & Rosemary Clooney’s “Blue Rose.”

NAME SOME ARTISTS YOU ARE CHAMPIONING:
Jaymay
Avi Vinocur
The Stone Foxes
Casey Shea
Midlake
Lauren Molina