Vincent Neil Emerson has quickly solidified himself as one of the most endearing young voices in Modern Country/Americana. Entering a genre drenched in tradition and guitar prowess, Emerson found the middle ground between honoring the past and pushing the sonics forward. His latest creation, 2023’s The Golden Crystal Kingdom, is the artist’s most expansive album to date. Emerson intertwines his poetic songwriting lined with vivid imagery with sparse yet palpable arrangements. His gentle approach to the subject matter of his songs is juxtaposed by his gruff vocals, making for a uniquely introspective outing held together by Emerson’s ability to pen moving narratives.
Glide had the recent pleasure of sitting down with Vincent Neil Emerson to discuss The Golden Crystal Kingdom, his writing process, and working with Shooter Jennings. Check out our full conversation below.
The Golden Crystal Kingdom has been out for a few weeks now, how does it feel to have these songs out in the world?
It’s very relieving, it’s pretty nerve-wracking leading up to the release but it feels good.
What was it like putting the album together? Are there any key memories that stick out from the recording process?
Working with Shooter [Jennings] was really cool. I stayed at his house when we were making the record and we just hung out all day. It was really cool to get to know him.
How did the relationship with Shooter start? What sort of influence did he have on the record?
I met Shooter when we were on a couple of festivals together. I guess he was a fan of the last record I put out (2021’s Vincent Neil Emerson) which was produced by Rodney Crowell. He approached me at the last festival we did together and he said he liked the record. We formed a friendship after that and then got in the studio to make this record. The biggest influence he had, aside from producing the record, was the vibe. Just bringing the good vibes to the studio and making me feel comfortable, he feels like a cousin to me so it felt natural.
What is it like selecting a producer to work on a record with?
Well, I haven’t made enough records to make that call yet. I’ve just been lucky to work with the people I have. Shooter on this record and Rodney on the last, the producer have a big influence on how the record goes so it helps to have a good one.
You tell a lot of stories in your lyrics, are there any true stories on any of your records? Where does the songwriting process start for you?
As artists, we don’t live in a vacuum. Everything I know comes from the things I hear and see. Sometimes the story is personal, sometimes a song can be from what I imagine someone else’s perspective might be. There is a lot of me in the record but there’s also my imagination and I try to weave in other people’s stories as well.
The Golden Crystal Kingdom feels very stripped-down and personal, do you feel vulnerable releasing these songs?
I think the last album felt a little more vulnerable, it was very personal. I had a song on there about my father’s suicide and some other really personal things so this one felt a lot less vulnerable actually.
What sort of guitars were you using on The Golden Crystal Kingdom? Do you get sentimental about your instruments?
Man, I’ve got like 20 guitars at the moment and I love every single one of them. I grow bonds with instruments I come across but I can let go of them pretty fast, I buy and sell guitars. On the album, I had a Martin D-18 Golden Era, it’s modeled after the 1934 D-18, which was the acoustic I used. For the electric, I brought a Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman. John Schreffler Jr., who played guitar on the record, had a Telecaster or Stratocaster he used. I played some leads on the record, like on “The Man From Uvalde ”, where I used a Les Paul Black Beauty, so it was a fancy Les Paul. It was a Murphy Lab Custom kind of deal.
Do you have a dream guitar?
My dream vintage guitar would have to be a 1952 Telecaster or a pre-war Martin D-28.
Where does the title of the album come from?
I just want people to take away whatever they want to from the record and the title fits within that. It’s my way of naming this fictional honky tonk, it is like an amalgamation of all these different places I’ve performed in over the years.
Speaking of performing, your 2023 tour is wrapping up soon, what was it like being on the road?
We went everywhere this year, it was crazy. We went coast to coast and did a lot of shows and stayed real busy. It feels good to finally be home though.
Home for you is Texas and your final dates of the year are homecoming gigs. What is it like coming home to perform and playing at historic venues like Antone’s?
We’re selling out the hometown shows now which feels good. It’s always a good feeling to come home and have that big warm welcome waiting for you.
What are your favorite songs from the new album to perform?
I really like doing the title track. We’ve been ending the sets with “Little Wolf’s Invincible Yellow Medicine Paint”, which has been the stand-out track for us live, that one feels really good.
Was the tone of The Golden Crystal Kingdom predetermined? Is there a point in your writing process when you enter into “album mode”?
I think it happens differently every time, it’s kind of random. I don’t have a tried and true tested method of doing anything so it’s different every time. This time, once I got about five or six of the songs written, I had an idea of what it was going to sound like. It was leaning towards a rock and roll sound so I kept that in mind when we went into the studio. Shooter is a big fan of rock music as well so it all worked out perfectly.
What was it like sequencing the album?
I just tried to put the songs in order the best way I knew how. I tried to check off a list of things I like about the sequencing of records. I wanted to start the album off with “Time of The Rambler” because it’s kind of a different sound than people are used to hearing from me. It’s more of a folk-rock sound I guess, I don’t know what you’d call it but it’s definitely not a honky tonk song. I wanted to make sure we did something different for the first song because I feel like people really judge a record off on the first song.
Do you listen to other records while recording your own? What did you listen to while working on The Golden Crystal Kingdom?
I listen to a lot of different things every day. I really like the band Fleet Foxes, a lot of old blues music, a lot of folk and country music. I was listening to a lot of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, and Gram Parsons.
How do you feel you’ve evolved as an artist since your last record? Did your approach to music change at all?
Definitely, the first album was more of a honky tonk, country album. The second album felt like more of a folk album to me, the songs are a little more personal and vulnerable. The new record has elements of both of those genres in there so just folding in the new louder sounds of rock music, that’s where I feel The Golden Crystal Kingdom sets itself apart.
The concept of a Rambling Man pops up across all your albums, but on the latest, it feels like that chapter is coming to a close. Is that how you feel and how would you personally define a Rambling Man?
Whatever it means to anyone, it means to me. I’m a traveling musician and the difference between how people like me live now and how the original guys were living is that we’re on more of a schedule. Things are very laid out for me, I have to be here then there on time. Before I started making music into a business, I traveled a lot, across the country a few times so I felt like more of a rambler then. There is that romanticized vision of what a rambler is like Jack Kerouac’s On The Road and that’s kind of what I was thinking of when I wrote “Time of The Rambler”.
I also wanted to ask about “The Man From Uvalde”. What was it like writing about such a recent tragedy? Was it more about coming to terms with your feelings or did you have to separate your emotions from the writing process?
Songwriting should involve every and all of your emotions, so I didn’t shut that off. It hit close to home, literally. Uvalde was very close to where I was living at the time and I have a child. This is something I felt strongly about so I wanted to write about it.
With the album being out and the tour coming to a close, how are you feeling about it all? Have you had a chance to process your year?
I got off the road the other day and I’m moving into a new house so it’s constant work. I’m also a father so I’m always busy. Looking back on the year, it feels really good man.
When did you first pick up the guitar? Do you remember the first song you learned to play?
I don’t remember the first song but I must’ve been about 17 or 18 when I first tried to play. I didn’t really stick with it until I was 19, I started diving into old folk music and finger-picking music like Merle Travis and Doc Watson. I listened to a lot of old folk and blues music and that’s where I learned to play the guitar. Songwriting went hand-in-hand, when I picked up the guitar I knew songwriting was why. I didn’t want to be a singer who interpreted other people’s songs so I wrote from the beginning. The first song I ever wrote and kept is a song called “7 Come 11” and it’s my tribute to Townes Van Zandt. I kind of wrote it about and for him, that one is on the first album. My buddy Charley Crockett cut a version on one of his records as well. I must’ve been about 20 or 21 when I wrote that one.
Do you remember your first concert? Did it influence the way you perform now?
I didn’t really go to shows before I started playing music. I was kind of broke so I spent most of my time working or trying to work on something else. The first show I probably went to was opening for someone or an open mic.
