Last article I started off with a statement about how lucky I am to have received two gifts with the marriage to Alyson. This time I want to highlight Eddie.
“When I married my wife now of more than 17 years I made more than just a vow to her. I made a vow and thanked her for my gifts with purchase like at Nordstrom’s, for bringing Kelli and Eddie into my life. I had been raised largely by my step-father Bob Dare, who not only got me interested in building pool but taught me street smarts. I have always hoped that someday Kelli and Eddie will have similar thoughts about me.”
Eddie Emery was born with music in his soul. From his Uncle B, who started playing in the Officers Band of the Navy post Pearl Harbor and later a big band called Memphis Bold. Eddie followed Uncle B to master the Trombone in a path from Elementary School, Middle School and to win the Louis Armstrong award in Jazz I at Los Alamitos High School. It was his musical talent that got him into Berklee College of Music in Boston. Yet he quickly realized that a Music Production and Management degree would open more doors for him. I can still picture him closing his eyes with intense passion when he nailed an improvisational piece in a jazz number that he would perform.
Eddie too was unwavering about how much he is at home in SoCal. So much so that he landed a growing position with Surfdog in Encinitas. They manage many notable bands and labels. It has been an eye opening experience for Eddie to really get the feel of the behind the scenes perspective of what it takes for some groups to make it and others to not. Alyson and I had the honor to be front and center for the Brian Setzer Rockin’ Rudolph show in LA. Eddie’s mom and I had fun swing dancing thanks to Eddie.
Cheers, JZ
A Note from Eddie Emery
Music has always been a large part of my life and luckily my friends and family have always supported me as I pursue my passion as a career. Realizing that there wasn’t a huge market for professional trombone players I decided to direct my focus onto the business side of things to help facilitate other artists follow their passion as well. After graduating from Berklee I started interning at Surfdog Records to learn the ropes and was eventually brought on full time as a production assistant. Surfdog is a multi-faceted entertainment management company that helps artists with whatever they might need assistance in (manufacturing product, designing merchandise, routing tours, or digital media management). It’s a small company (only 6 people), but it has allowed me work on different aspects of the music business to gain a bigger picture of the industry. The commute has been crazy going from Long Beach to Encinitas every day, but the relationships and insight of the business I am gaining have been worth every trip. In the future, I hope to own my own business so Surfdog has been a great place for me to witness firsthand what goes into building a business and being a part of a professional team. Being able to work for/with artists that I grew up listening to has been a surreal experience and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.
Cheers, Eddie