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Ukelele plays lead role on singer's new album
By John Benson
Having respect for the disrespected is sort of how singer-songwriter Emily Hurd, who makes her Youngstown debut Friday at The Lemon Grove, came to love the ukulele, which she used to write the material that makes up her new album, “Long Lost Ghosts.”
It needs to be pointed out that until recently in the music world, saying you wrote an album on the ukulele was tantamount to saying you used a kazoo.
“I know — people think that it’s just kind of a joke instrument, but it’s making its little comeback,” said Hurd, calling from Chicago. “I wouldn’t have known about it, but Eddie Vedder did a whole album with a ukulele, and Ingrid Michelson got big with the ukulele. People are doing this. People wonder what makes a good song and why certain songs come on a jukebox in a bar and it makes the whole bar want to sing along, right? The deal is, it’s something that’s really simple and catchy. There’s nothing that can write catchier music than something that’s small and doesn’t lend itself to complication.”
Uncomplicated songwriting was exactly what Hurd was looking for when last year she got a herniated disc in her neck that kept her from playing the piano. After a friend of hers put together the four-string, guitar-like instrument, Hurd was off to the East Coast for a songwriter sabbatical. So how did the ukulele affect the writing process?
“The instrument in itself brings you to a place of, I guess, honesty and happiness and folkiness,” Hurd said. “It was difficult for me to go to my go-to kind of sassy funk thing I had done in my previous album. It just lent itself to that, and I kind of went with the flow.”
After writing on her own, Hurd returned home months later with 100 song ideas, which were pared down to an album’s worth. Feeling healthy, she added piano and other elements to the material, while also keeping the ukulele on some tracks. The result is blues-tinged “Irreparably Yours,” the languid “Easy Call” and the uplifting “My Favorite Part.” Hurd said her favorite song is the title track.
“It’s about traveling for love and ending up choosing yourself over love,” Hurd said. “It’s kind of an empowering, optimistic album about why we make the choices we make. It’s about realizing there is a reason and you can always put yourself first, and that usually doesn’t fail you. It’s not selfish at all. I tried to do something for the bigger picture.”
Considering Hurd will be playing Youngstown the day before St. Patrick’s Day, does this mean she’ll swap out her normal Hoagy Carmichael cover for a few Celtic-flavored tunes?
“You know, that’s actually a really good idea,” Hurd said. “I will figure out something to do that’s Irish. I have a huge Irish play list in my iPod, so I’ll learn it on the road and will play something that is brogue-y. I have a great deal of respect for Irish music, no doubt.”