The ‘Round The Campfire Interview Series is Pop Break’s preview series, curated by Lead Music Writer Andrew Howie, for Summer Camp 2022.
For this latest edition of my ‘Round the Campfire interview series, we look at a group playing Summer Camp for their very first time: Booth Blues with Anika Emily. Featuring tight original songs, spicy collaboration, and a genuine enthusiasm for life and music, if you’re looking to check out some new music this year at the festival, look no further. Please enjoy this deep dive into how they came to be, their thoughts on working together, and creating a sustainable environment for a flourishing local music scene.
Andrew Howie: Bring me up to speed with regards to your origin story. How did the band come together, both as the main four of Booth Blues, and how did the collaboration with Anika start? Essentially, how did your separate paths come together?
Tyler Wood: Booth Blues got its start when Noah and I met while working at Jimmy John’s. We bonded over a shared love of the Grateful Dead and Phish (if you can imagine that). We recorded and released ‘Edison Sits in the Dark’ in the following months. It was really just kind of him and I being like, ‘I wonder what music we can make together with extremely limited resources (as far as recording equipment and instruments are concerned).’ While we were doing Edison, Noah and I started to kick around the idea of starting a band with more than two members.
He told me he knew some musicians through the local theater scene. So, shortly after Edison came out, Jake and I went over to Noah’s place and jammed on the back deck for the first time. It didn’t take long for us to decide to do a (mostly) acoustic cover of ‘Use Me’ by Bill Withers and release it on YouTube. This was happening at the same time that the world was locked down due to COVID-19, so it was rare for all of us to be able to get together at the same time.
I think it may have been sometime in June 2020, maybe May, when the four of us all got together for the first time. That day, we actually recorded quite a few early versions of some songs that ended up on ‘Something New.’ I’m not totally certain but it also may have been the first time we all played with Anika–even if it wasn’t, she was definitely there. At some point after that jam session we all figured it would be pretty cool to keep playing together and maybe release some of what we do. By the end of June of 2021, we had released ‘Something New,’ started playing gigs and backing up Anika for some of hers, and started the Open Jam at NOLA’s Rock Bar.
Tommy Howie: I was the last one brought on for the band. I had met Noah and Jake when we did our production of THE ALIENS at The Station Theater, so we were good buds and knew that we could all work together well. They were asking me if I wanted to be a part of Booth Blues, which is a group Tyler and Noah had formed separately. Out of all the performing arts avenues I’ve gone down over the years, I’ve never been in a band, and it’s the thing I wanted the most; I was always just too nervous. In any case, they were looking to expand, wanted a key player, and Noah and Jake thought of me! Only person I didn’t know was Tyler, but after I learned he was a Deadhead and knew about Ween, I knew we’d be fast friends–and we were! I happily joined.
Anika Emily: I have a long background in music, starting with choir and theatre at a young age. I started playing my own music around the Champaign-Urbana community in 2017, performances at the Canopy Club open mics and other small venues in town. In 2021, I took over co-hosting the open mics with Jake, and after playing solo for a few years, I began doing all of my sets with Booth Blues backing me up!
AH: So this is your first year performing at Summer Camp; what excites you about playing this festival?
Noah Larson: I had certainly heard of the jam band glory of Summer Camp growing up here, but had always been too busy in the late-Mays in college to go. It wasn’t until last year that I finally went to catch my new favorite live band, Ween, and I just had a feeling about the place. The whole band met up at the Ween set, and when one of us jokingly throwing out, “oh we’ll definitely be here next year”, we didn’t realize we were accidentally manifesting the opportunity to do so in 2022. I certainly couldn’t be more excited to be performing at Scamp, and especially with as hard-hitting as this lineup. To be playing our first festival on the same lineup as Cory Wong, Keller Williams, Joe Russo, Little Feat, it’s just an absolute dream.
TW: For me, it’s being on the same lineup as some of my musical idols. I’ve actually only been to Summer Camp once and it was last year for Ween. I just love the jam scene though and all of the genres that it overlaps with, so a festival like Summer Camp is basically heaven for me.
TH: For me, I’m excited because hearing about Summer Camp was what got me interested in music festivals in the first place. Plus, it’s a Midwest fest!! It’s very cool to be playing a festival that draws a bunch of people to OUR neck of the woods. I went last year and got my face rocked by Ween, and knowing that I’m going to be playing at the same festival that some of my favorite bands have played at is just so excellent. Being one part of the huge melting pot of genres and artists is an honor. I’m immensely proud to be playing my first Summer Camp with this group of friends–wouldn’t want anyone else up there with me.
AE: I’ve been to Summer Camp for the past six years as an attendee, a volunteer, and an employee, and I couldn’t be more excited to add performer to that list! All of these different experiences have made Summer Camp feel like home to me in many ways, and I often refer to it as my favorite festival. Wherever you are, the people around you are nothing but kind and supportive, and I can’t wait to play for them myself this year!
AH: Without giving away any surprises you may be saving, what can fans expect from your collaborative set?
TW: For Booth Blues I’d expect some funk, some jazz, some blues, all with a hint of psychedelic rock. We definitely like to stretch our legs too. An Anika Emily set definitely has more hints of pop, but some of her originals are pretty bluesy, some are fast and kind of funky, and some are these awesome almost alt-rock tunes. She also picks great songs to cover so there’s a chance for that as well.
AH: If I’m correct here you basically formed within the context of the pandemic. Did you find that that had any effect on your approach to songwriting or collaboration?
NL: Yes, this incarnation of the group with the four of us has only been together since June of 2020. Our first meetings were on the deck in the back yard of my parents’ house; we continued to get together at least one weekend per month, until the weather turned too cold for us to comfortably play outside. By this point (October of 2020) we had already started recording the album, bringing my computer and recording equipment all outside with us, and we had started to form bit of cohesion and band identity, but it was nonetheless very difficult to capture the feeling of playing together through recordings as the winter of 2020 set in.
Throughout all this, Tyler had been my coworker, so we had been seeing each other at work so often that we had basically been part of each other’s circle; his roommate at the time had joined us as a producer, so we were able to get together to work on the post-production of the album, pretty early on in 2021.
AE: Before the pandemic, I was honestly pretty scared of collaborating; I felt like I might lose control of my music by working with other artists. After lockdown, I was so eager to spend time with other people in a musical setting that I welcomed any opportunity to collaborate, and I am so thankful I started working with Booth Blues. They have added a whole new layer to my music that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve alone, plus they’re the greatest guys ever and are so fun to make music with.
TH: I think it actually ended up being quite a gift to us. With life shutting down, we had time to just hang out and jam. Had time to talk about our aesthetic, our music influences, etc. Had time to work on listening to each other, jamming together, without an audience. It really helped, at least in my case, to free myself from preconceived notions and just let myself play with wild abandon. We would do these Zoom jams; the four of us in a Zoom room and each of us would improvise a jam for the other three. It was great and, I’d argue, necessary, to still be able to play music with and for each other. It shaped my approach to music–not that I ever took music for granted, but I think I understood on a deeper level the therapeutic nature of music, the joy it brings me and others. As soon as I got a message from someone in the band: ‘Zoom sesh tonight?’ I’d be grinning from ear to ear. It really helped ensure that every minute I’m on stage, I’m counting my blessings, I’m feeling lucky to be with my friends, making some music.
AH: You’ve all got some experience running the open jams and open mic nights at the Canopy and NOLA’s. What has this taught you about working within a local music community and trying to foster a real space for people to come play?
TW: My main takeaway from Open Jam is that we have a ton of talented musicians in the Champaign-Urbana area. As far as running it, a lot of that credit goes to Noah and Jake as well as the staff at the Canopy Club. I mean, I can stand behind the board and control the levels, but that’s only if Noah and Jake can’t; one of them is doing it the majority of the time. Also, Jake had experience hosting an open mic prior to us starting up Open Jam so he’s also filled that role for us.
AE: I think the main thing I’ve learned from this experience is that community is everything, and most of your opportunities will simply come from meeting the right people and making a good first impression by just being yourself. This being said, I’ve also learned that not everyone is going to like or appreciate what you do, but the important part is that you love what you’re doing and you love the community you do it for.
NL: This goes back to the collaboration aspect for me; I was so stoked that there has been a renewed interest for people to come out and see, or participate in, these Open Jam Nights we’ve been putting on at NOLA’s Rock Bar and then the Canopy Club. Jake had the most ‘hosting’ experience of the group, having filled the role at some open mics, but I’d say we’ve all come into our own a bit with that now. It’s always fun to throw down a fun set as the house band and then get up sporadically with other people who either have been showing up so you already have a rapport, or meeting someone new, or a whole new band, and having them get up and rock the place for a while! It’s nice to have a place to workshop some of our new material, but I’ve always thought of it as a celebration of music and an invitation to others to come catch a little bit of this feeling we’ve all taken to so much.
AH: Anika, do you find your approach to music differs when playing with Booth Blues as opposed to a solo set?
AE: I think I definitely approach music differently. My writing style has been constantly evolving, and now when I’m writing I find myself thinking about how the song would sound with the full band rather than just myself on guitar and vocals. I also find that it’s easier to work on my stage presence in general when I’m in front of the band because I feel so much more confident when I have this little musical family around me. I’ve become much more comfortable with moving my body onstage, singing in ways that I may have been scared to before, and connecting with the audience on a more personal level, so I’m excited to take our shows this summer to a whole new level! Overall it’s been a life-changing experience and I can’t wait to see where it goes from here!
