Milwaukee–based alternative pop artist Micah Emrich will be releasing his new single “Maybe Hell is a Better Place?” on March 1 on all streaming platforms.
Following the release of the song, on March 8 Emrich will also be releasing a music video directed by Nicholas Kohnhorst and shot by Brandon Stearns.
Music has played a pivotal role in Emrich’s life ever since he was young. Emrich said that his father was a touring artist before becoming a pastor at a church while his mother was the worship leader.
Emrich said it was hard for him not to fall in love with music. He was always heavily involved in music and his siblings were as well but out of all his them, he was the one who stuck with it.
“When going to church I guess I wasn’t as drawn to the religious aspect of it, but I was super drawn to the music,” Emrich said. “I ended up playing drums in the church band and cello in the orchestra, I sang a little bit in choir, too.”
Emrich released his first song when he was 15, which started with him singing or rapping over an instrumental beat. Later on, he eventually began releasing music with him playing an acoustic guitar as well.
Four years ago, when Emrich was 22, he was working at a metal shop and made the decision to pursue music as a professional career.
“I remember I went back to my parents’ house and I was playing guitar and I had an epiphany moment while I was covering a song I always covered growing up. I was like, ‘Why the hell am I not pursuing music?’ that was my a-ha moment,” Emrich said.
From that moment, Emrich found a studio to record his music at and has been recording music on a professional level ever since.
“I would show up to the studio covered in oil with my work boots on and I’d go in the booth and lay it down. My songs ‘Ms. Parker’ and ‘Closure’ all came together within that part of my life,” Emrich said. “Going straight from work to the studio was crazy.”
Being an artist in Milwaukee has been a catalyst for Emrich’s success, having played at events like Summerfest and Marquette’s spring concert in the past.
“I have a lot of friends that came to Milwaukee and that’s what made Milwaukee really attractive to me and I think that’s something that’s really powerful nowadays, to be somewhere where you have a pipeline,” Emrich said. “I have a support system here and it’s been great to see the support of the city.”
Emrich said that “Maybe Hell Is a Better Place?” paints the picture of feeling defeated, feeling like anywhere or anything is better than your current situation. His newest song came together after freestyling the first verse of the song.
“My guitarist Matt Lacey lives in Nashville now, but he had a gig, so he was in town, so we were kind of jamming and he started playing the chord progression of the new single and it just happened in a freestyle way,” Emrich said. “We kind of paused and we were like ‘Woah, that’s a song.’”
Emrich describes his newest project as progressive, meaning it changes completely from beginning to end when it comes to the rhythm and overall style of the song.
“You go in and it’s a very vulnerable stripped down acoustic song and by the end of the song you kind of get flipped on your head and it’s this angsty, rebellious, alternative rock song by the end of it,” Emrich said.
Emrich said that his newest release is relatable while challenging the question of “Is Hell really the worst place?”
“The whole video is me in a ballroom alone for the majority of it and as the song goes on you see people starting to dance around me, all minding their own business almost as if I’m not there,” Emrich said. “I feel like that paints the picture a lot without saying too much.”
By the end of the video, as the song turns into an alternative rock song, everyone begins to mosh pit and dance with each other.
“Maybe Hell Is a Better Place?” will be available everywhere on March 1 and to watch the music video visit Emrich’s YouTube account.
This story was written by Sofía Cortés. She can be reached at [email protected].
