It didn’t quite work out the first time I tried to get Emily Zisman to be on the Singacoustic Bay Area show. I reached out to Elaine Ryan, a great local singer-songwriter here in the bay area and I got a response that she is already booked for the date and recommended I reach out to a friend and fellow singer-songwriter named Emily Zisman. I loved reading the first sentence of her bio on her website as it describes Emily as “Lyrical philosopher and storyteller of the contemporary human experience”. I remember the first song I heard was Two Fools and I was immediately taken by the lyrics and her gentle voice and her singing style. I kept listening to her songs and watching her videos. Oh man, I was so excited I found such a great singer-songwriter for my first Singacoustic event in the San Francisco Bay Area. I sent Emily an email, and I waited for a week to hear back and that did not happen. I sent another email, waited, and decided to move on.
I followed Emily Zisman on Facebook, and I kept listening to her tunes while working in my home office. I was searching for good singer-songwriters for the Singacoustic Oakland on December 2nd and while surfing on Facebook I saw a post by Emily Zisman Music that she is playing an acoustic show in San Francisco with the one and only Chris James, the headliner for the Singacoustic Bay Area and I said to myself, what???? Wait… Chris from Chris James and the Showdowns is playing an acoustic show with Emily Zisman. What???? I’m going to the show.
I arrived at the Blush in the Castro District in San Francisco, and upon entering I was met by Chris James. He was surprised to see me and asked what on earth am I doing there. I replied that I was there to see Emily since she hasn’t returned my emails. They were both on a break, Chris turned and introduced me to Emily and I was so excited that I finally had the chance, not for an email reply but to speak with her personally.
Emily Zisman was so sweet, she apologized for not responding to my emails, I guess they just ended up in her junk mail folder, and who cares, I’m talking with her. We talked for a brief moment and I was sad to learn that she had already sung “Two Fools” in her first set. It was time for her second set, I grabbed a beer and sat down to listen to one of my favorite local singer-songwriters. Emily opened her set with another favorite song of mine called Leaving California. I was humming and singing the tune (perhaps a bit louder than I should’ve) and how could I not? The song tells you that it is impossible to leave California because “there is something in the water, in the air, in the graaaaaass, in the ground, keeping me around”.
Emily Zisman agreed to perform in the Singacoustic Oakland, I had to move dates around her schedule just to make sure she’s available.
From the email trading between the stars of the Singacoustic Oakland, Emily Zisman, Erik Yates, and Tom Rhodes I learned that Emily knows Erik from an east bay singer-songwriter group and that Tom and Erik have collaborated much between them. And, isn’t that the idea of Singacoustic? Well, I’m a true believer that Collaboration = Growth. The entire concept of Singacoustic is to connect local singer-songwriters with fans globally and one can not achieve success without collaboration. The last song of the show was a complete wow. Erik Yates invited his Bass player, Bryan Hone and the four did an amazing song called “Over The Finish Line”. A true story that Tom Rhodes experienced while running a marathon in the North Bay, but that is another story.
It was an absolute pleasure to have Emily’s phenomenal talent on the show. Emily Zisman is such an amazing singer-songwriter with a voice that touches your heart and lyrics that speak to you and I’m truly grateful for her performance.
Thank you Emily Zisman for being a big part of Singacoustic Oakland. It’s been an honor and a privilege to have met you. You are a STAR! Cheers!
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