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| Candy Apple Blue - Prone To Panic (debut album) |
Back in late 2010, I was 39 years old, and Hoyt was 37. We've just returned to music-making after a 7-year hiatus from our craft. We collectively decided it was high time to get back on the horse and pursue our passion again! The dream was still alive in both of us. The clock was ticking, and we both knew that we weren't getting any younger.
Initially, we thought we would record demos of our original compositions and seek out major label-supported recording artists to shop our songs to. As the phone sat silent, I turned to Hoyt one day and said let's start another band and release these songs ourselves. He reluctantly agreed, knowing that neither one of us could sing our way out of a wet brown paper bag.
Admittedly, at the beginning, I was full of doubt. I was certain we would never be able to achieve the same artistic heights that we achieved with our first band, The Inertia Case. Especially without our trusted lead singer, Elton Lin, by our side.
We painstakingly learned how to use Pro Tools and got back to work composing. The musical landscape had changed so much since the late 90s. I knew that the internet had created a whole slew of new opportunities. New digital music distribution companies were launching, allowing indie artists like us to get our music on iTunes. At that time, YouTube was taking off! I loved the idea of shooting our own DIY music videos and uploading them to that platform.
The first fruits of our labor ultimately became our band's debut offering, Prone To Panic. It was raw. It was punky. It was unpolished. It was glorious. It was exciting to be making music again. Our local newspaper, The Pittsburgh Press, called our first offering "Avant-garde."
15 years later, I'm proud to look back and think of all that we've achieved on our own. Our music continues to be heard and embraced all around the world. We have a small but loyal fan base who genuinely care about us and the music we make.
And to think that it all started with an album that we appropriately titled "Prone To Panic!" because we were panicking that the best was behind us. Now I believe that the best is yet to come.
Sincerely, Carly Emerick
