Emm Gryner (born 8 June 1975 in
Sarnia
Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes w ...
, Ontario)
is a Canadian-Filipino singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author. She has released 20 albums as a solo performer, and has collaborated with artists including
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
and
Chris Hadfield.
Early life
Gryner's childhood was spent in
Forest, Ontario
Forest is a community in Lambton Shores, Ontario, Canada, near Sarnia and Lake Huron in Lambton County. It has a population of 2,876 (2011 Census) and a land area of .
Community
Forest's high school, North Lambton Secondary School. This fac ...
. Her father was of half Irish heritage and her mother was
Filipina
Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...
.
She started to learn piano at age 4, picked up
bass around age 14, and later took up guitar as well.
Gryner attended
North Lambton Secondary School in
Forest, Ontario
Forest is a community in Lambton Shores, Ontario, Canada, near Sarnia and Lake Huron in Lambton County. It has a population of 2,876 (2011 Census) and a land area of .
Community
Forest's high school, North Lambton Secondary School. This fac ...
. Following high school, she graduated from
Fanshawe College
Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, commonly shortened to Fanshawe College, is a public college in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. One of the largest colleges in Canada, it has campuses in London, Simcoe, St. Thomas and Woodstock ...
's Music Industry Arts program in 1995.
Gryner has two brothers, Tony and record producer and musician
Frank
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curr ...
.
Career
Gryner started her music career in
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, where her original song "Wisdom Bus" won a nationwide songwriting contest sponsored by
Standard Broadcasting Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object t ...
. With the prize money, she recorded an album called ''
The Original Leap Year'' and released it on her own
Dead Daisy Records. The album attracted the attention of
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
, who signed Gryner to a recording contract.
Gryner's first release on Mercury was 1998's ''
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
'', a
Britpop
Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...
-inspired album that yielded a Canadian hit called "Summerlong." She was nominated for the
Best New Solo Artist Juno Award in 1999.
Bowie Band
Also in 1999, Gryner was asked to join
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
’s band as a backup singer and keyboard player. The gig saw Gryner performing with Bowie at
Glastonbury Festival, on ''
Later with Jools Holland'', ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'', and other venues around America and Europe. She appears on the live albums ''
Glastonbury 2000'' and ''
Bowie at the Beeb
''Bowie at the Beeb'' is a compilation album by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, first released in 2000. Originally, it came in a three-CD set, the third, bonus CD being a live recording made on at the Portland BBC Radio Theatre. Later ...
'', as well as ''
Toy
A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...
''.
Solo career
After
Universal Music
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
took over
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
, Gryner returned to her Dead Daisy Records label, releasing several albums, including ''Girl Versions'' and ''Asianblue'', which were both nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the
Juno Awards
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of ...
.
Gryner released ''
Songs of Love and Death'', an album of cover versions of Irish songs, in 2005. The album attracted the attention of Irish media, and Gryner appeared on programs like
The Late Late Show during her subsequent tour of Ireland.
Between 2006 and 2020 Gryner released 11 albums, 4 EPs, and a "Best of" compilation with two unreleased tracks. ''
The Summer of High Hopes'', produced by
Nathan Larson, was released in Canada and later in Ireland on the heels of a performance at
Oxegen Festival;
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
' Siobhàn Long said it was "the distilled voice of an original". In the November 2006 issue of ''
Q'',
U2 frontman
Bono recognized the track "Almighty Love" as one of six songs that he wished he had written from the last twenty years of music.
Her 2014 album ''Torrential'' was called "superb pop" by
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...
' Tony Clayton-Lea.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
Gryner released the singles "Stronger Someone", in support of
Bluewater Health Foundation, and "All Love All The Time" with
Rob Wells, as well as the album ''Just For You'', a collection of jazz standards.
Space Oddity in space
In May 2013, Gryner arranged and performed piano on astronaut
Chris Hadfield's cover version of David Bowie's "
Space Oddity
"Space Oddity" is a song by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album ''David Bowie''. After the commercial f ...
". The music video for the song features Hadfield on the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
and is considered the first ever filmed in space.
Fanshawe College presents an annual Emm Gryner and Chris Hadfield Music Industry Arts Award to a Year 2 student in the School of Contemporary Media who demonstrates "a keen interest
..in the creative and technical aspects of the music industry
ndleadership characteristics with respect to his or her classmates, faculty and staff, as well as exceptional creativity and dedication".
Other collaborations
Gryner collaborated with Larson in the band
Hot One
Hot One is a rock band formed in 2005. Its members are guitarist/vocalist Nathan Larson, bassist/vocalist Emm Gryner, drummer Kevin March, and guitarist Jordan Kern. The band is characterized by a glam rock/post-punk sound and overtly political ly ...
and appeared on the group's self-titled album in 2006.
She is also a member of the collective
The Cake Sale, along with Gary Lightbody of
Snow Patrol,
Bell X1
The Bell X-1 (Bell Model 44) is a rocket engine–powered aircraft, designated originally as the XS-1, and was a joint National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics– U.S. Army Air Forces–U.S. Air Force supersonic research project built by Be ...
,
Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter (born October 21, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and author who performs and records with the Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006, he was named one of ...
and
Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top te ...
. The collective is featured on ''The Cake Sale'', a multi-platinum-selling Irish album with proceeds to
Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair.
In 2011 Gryner formed
Trent Severn with
Dayna Manning and Laura C. Bates. Their debut self-titled album was released on Gryner's
Dead Daisy Records label in 2012, followed by Trillium (2015) and Portage (2017).
In 2014, Gryner assembled the band Trapper with
Sean Kelly (on guitar), brother
Frank Gryner (on guitar), Jordan Kern (on bass) and Tim Timleck (ex-
Universal Honey
Universal Honey is a Canadian power pop band. The band released seven albums.
History
The group was formed in 1992 by bassist Johnny Sinclair and singer/guitarist Leslie Stanwyck, both formerly of The Pursuit of Happiness. They were joined by gu ...
on drums), playing "1980s-style melodic hard rock." In May 2015, Trapper opened for Brit-rockers Def Leppard on 3 Canadian tour dates in Montréal, Ottawa and London, Ontario. Gryner had met and become friends with Def Leppard lead singer
Joe Elliott
Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...
when she toured as a backing singer with
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
.
Other work
In 2008 Gryner acted and sang in ''
One Week'', a film by director
Michael McGowan. In the film she sings
Un Canadien errant "Un Canadien errant" ("A Wandering Canadian") is a song written in 1842 by Antoine Gérin-Lajoie after the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–38. Some of the rebels were condemned to death, others forced into exile to the United States and as far as ...
; she also contributed her song "Blackwinged Bird" to the soundtrack.
In the summers of 2007 and 2008, Gryner and
Danny Michel
Danny Michel is a Canadian songwriter and producer.
Highlights
Between 2006 & 2015 Michel performed over 70 times as the musical guest on Stuart McLean's ''The Vinyl Cafe''.
In 2008 "''Feather, Fur & Fin''" landed on the ''Playlist for the Pl ...
co-hosted ''
Under the Covers'', a
radio show about
cover song
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s, on
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...
.
In October 2016 Gryner starred in ''Joni Mitchell: River'' at the
Grand Theatre in London, Ontario along with
Louise Pitre
Louise Pitre (born January 1, 1957) is a Canadian actress in musical theatre. She performs on Broadway and in Canada. She is best known for her role as Donna Sheridan in the ABBA-themed musical '' Mamma Mia!'', which earned her a 2002 Tony Award ...
and Brendan Wall. The play and performers met with positive reviews: in the
London Free Press Joe Belanger commented that "her vocal range, the emotional qualities of her voice and its sound
relike a touchstone to Mitchell throughout," and Mary Alderson wrote that "she is stunning in her a capella numbers."
In September 2021
ECW Press released Gryner's book ''The Healing Power of Singing: Raise Your Voice, Change Your Life (What Touring with David Bowie, Single Parenting and Ditching the Music Business Taught Me in 25 Easy Steps)'', described as "part study in the art of singing, part guide to finding one's voice, and part memoir." The book became an Amazon bestseller in 2022.
Dead Daisy Records
Gryner's label, Dead Daisy Records, also released the debut records for
Atlantic Canadian
Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces and territories of Canada, provinces located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atla ...
indie band
In-Flight Safety,
Daniel Ledwell Daniel Ledwell is a Canadian record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is married to singer-songwriter Jenn Grant.
Music career
In 2008 Ledwell produced his debut solo album, ''Two Over Seven'' in his home ...
, Andrew Spice, Cicero, and Toronto songwriter
Royal Wood
Royal Wood is a Juno-nominated Canadian musician and record producer based in Toronto, Ontario. To date, he has released eight studio albums, three EPs, and one live record.
Biography Early life
Wood was born John Royal Wood Nicholson and rais ...
.
Discography
* ''
And Distrust It'' (1995)
* ''
The Original Leap Year'' (1997)
* ''
Public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...
'' (1998)
* ''
Science Fair
Science and engineering fairs, hosted by schools worldwide, offer students the opportunity to experience the practices of science and engineering for themselves. In the United States, the Next Generation Science Standards makes experiencing the ...
'' (1999)
* ''
Dead Relatives
''Dead Relatives'' is the fifth full-length album by Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or a ...
'' (2000)
* ''
Girl Versions'' (2001)
* ''The Winter'' (EP) (2002)
* ''
Asianblue
''Asianblue'' is the seventh album by Emm Gryner, released in 2002 on Gryner's independent Dead Daisy Records.
''Asianblue'' was nominated for Pop Album of the Year at the 2003 Juno Awards, but lost to Avril Lavigne's '' Let Go''.
Track listing ...
'' (2002)
* ''
Songs of Love and Death'' (2005)
* ''
The Great Lakes'' (2005)
* ''
The Summer of High Hopes'' (2006)
* ''
PVT'' (2006) (originally issued as a bonus disc with ''The Summer of High Hopes'', later sold separately)
* ''
Goddess'' (2009)
* ''Stray Bullets''
EP (2010)
* ''
Gem and I
''Gem and I'' is the twelfth studio album by Emm Gryner, released September 21, 2010 '' (2010)
* ''Northern Gospel'' (2011)
* ''She's Gone: A Hall & Oates Tribute EP'' (2012)
* ''The Best of Emm Gryner'' (2012)
* ''FrostPop'' (EP) (2013)
* ''Torrential'' (2014)
* ''21st Century Ballads'' (2015)
* ''Calmphonic'' (2016)
* ''Aonarán'' (2016)
* ''Slant'' (EP) (2017)
* ''Only of Earth: Days of Games'' (2017)
* ''Just for You'' (2020)
* ''Business & Pleasure'' (2023)
[Nick Krewen]
"Emm Gryner talks healing, life coaching and her new album ‘Business & Pleasure’"
''Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...
'', December 8, 2022.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gryner, Emm
1975 births
Living people
Canadian pop guitarists
Canadian pop pianists
Canadian women singer-songwriters
Canadian women guitarists
Canadian people of Irish descent
Musicians from Ontario
People from Sarnia
Fanshawe College alumni
Canadian musicians of Filipino descent
Women bass guitarists
Canadian women pop singers
20th-century Canadian women singers
21st-century Canadian women singers
21st-century Canadian pianists
21st-century Canadian bass guitarists
Second Motion Records artists
20th-century women pianists
21st-century women pianists