Little Girl, Big Voice

By Margo Frink

I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never been to the Barge Canal Coffee Co. in Hamilton, so, when Emilee Smith’s father, AJ, asked me to drop in and hear Emilee perform there recently, I thought, why not? I’m not a music critic by any stretch of the imagination. But I know what I like and I own a diverse collection from many genres.

As I was grabbing a cup of coffee and a sweet, Emilee had begun. I had my back to her as I listened and to me she sounded a bit like Natalie Merchant with soul. But her voice is much bigger than that, a deep, sultry alto.

Just 15 years old, Emilee said she picked the guitar up last year. She started with three songs on guitar, one inspired by the Goo Goo Dolls. She played very well for someone who just began a year ago.

Emilee’s real love is the piano and when she started I could tell she felt at home at the keyboard. She told me later that she began playing piano four years ago and immediately started writing songs. I was shocked. I know people who have played piano for decades and do not play that well.

The first time Emilee got up in front of an audience she was in sixth grade. She began performing in front of crowds last year, when she was just 14, and this summer Emilee performed at Hamilton’s Skyway Fest, The Utica Boilermaker, the Utica Music and Arts Fest, and was the opening act for rock legends Blue Oyster Cult at Fireworks Over Utica.

Emilee writes her own music and lyrics and what I was most impressed by is that she has all of her own pieces memorized.

Although we are years apart, we share something in common. When she said her favorite artist was Gavin DeGraw and thought most of the audience wouldn’t know him, I chuckled because Gavin DeGraw is also my favorite artist. She played one of my favorite songs by him, “Reason” and I think even he would have been impressed.

Emilee performed one of the most amazing renditions of Sam Cook’s “Change is Gonna Come.” She belted it out with confidence and seemed to lose herself in the moment.

Emilee said she was a weird kid, a dreamer and always in a fairytale land. Many of her songs reflect her childhood. Aside from her family, Emilee’s friends seem to be her biggest supporters and she wrote a song that included snippets of each one. It was personal to them and funny and they all seemed to enjoy it. She already seemed to know how to work a crowd.

Emilee told me that she improvises a lot at the piano, often changing it up as she performs. When she announced she would perform the classic “Over the Rainbow” I sort of cringed. I think I’ve heard the song so much that I became to dislike it. I was expecting a traditional version and that is not what I heard. It was fresh and soulful. She made that song her own and I don’t know of anyone who has made it sound more original. I was completely surprised.

After hearing Emilee play and sing Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” another of my favorites that she just learned, I was sold on her natural talent. Once the little girl with the big voice matures, watch out. It’s a voice to be reckoned with.

Emilee lives in Smyrna and attends Sherburne-Earlville High School. She enjoys art, swimming and drama, and is thinking about a career in art and of course, her music. Her dad, who also is her manager and operates the PA during performances, said Emilee would like to earn a spot on American Idol.

Emilee recently released an original CD with nine songs of piano and vocals. I bought her CD at the break, brought it home and listened to it then handed it over to my 21-year-old daughter. I haven’t seen it since.

For more information on Emilee’s music, call AJ Smith at (607) 627-6231.

2 Comments on "Little Girl, Big Voice"

Lauren on Thu, 5th Nov 2009 6:15 pm

I’m pretty sure your “favorite artist” Gavin DeGraw doesn’t have a song called Reason. You’re probably thinking of Meaning.

Margo on Fri, 6th Nov 2009 9:50 am

Yes, you are right. My mistake.

Little Girl, Big Voice

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