Pygmalion Local Focus: Interview with Emily Otnes

I was able to briefly meet with this up-and-coming artist from Urbana after she ran into her apartment, out of breath, coming straight from a rehearsal with her band, The Weekdays, where they were putting the final touches on their set for the upcoming Pygmalion festival where she will be opening the free show at the Krannert Art Museum at 8:15 pm.It immediately became clear that this was a very pivotal time in this 19 year old's career. Since she was 15, she's been writing and performing songs about her family. She's always loved music, saying "it's always been a constant in my life, everything else with school and other things are variables and constantly changing." Perhaps this is because of her compulsive personality type, but it is exactly that kind of personality that has propelled her musical career recently.Having always been a solo performer, she seemed to insinuate a desire to grow her sound and her style. She wasn't exactly sure what her genre will become, but she's sure having a band to back her will help her reach her goals. She explained "there's only so much you can do as a girl with a guitar. You're limited, there's only so much movement and energy you can create when you're up there alone." She noted her favorite style as the jazz/pop era in the '60s and that we can expect "a little sassyness" from that genre to come out on stage at Pygmalion.While discussing the local music scene, she commented on how "open and close everyone at the university was, especially with your own age groups." Going deeper, I inquired whether the music scene at UIUC was part of the decision making process, which was when she admitted her original dream was to go to Belmont University in Nashville, though she was sort of "afraid to chase her dreams" because it seemed "incredibly hard to stand out among everyone who is trying to do the exact same thing as you." But as she continues grow and develop herself musically, she seemed to hint at possibly going after that dream once again, but had no concrete plans to do so. I continued to ask about how serious she actually was about her current status as "musician," but she just laughed it off and said "it's still all for the fun," but seemed cautiously optimistic as she mentioned her upcoming album.The future of Emily Otnes is as exciting as it is uncertain. Perhaps it is her "compulsive personality" that makes it so, but after stating that Major Lazer was the show that she was most looking forward to seeing, she seemed to hint at expanding her horizons towards electronic music, possibly singing the hooks for other artists on campus, though no information could be disclosed on the topic.What could be disclosed was that she had a single coming out with her band within the next day called "Don't Call Me Darling" that potential fans should be on the lookout for, and that the audience should expect new sounds from the budding artist with more variety and a lot more energy. This being her second time playing Pygmalion festival, she is a hardened veteran and promises to entertain and surprise those who have heard her perform in the past. As for pizza recommendations, she claims she eats at Manolos way too often and would suggest, "for anyone trying to get really fat, really quick, give their BBQ meats pizza a try."