Emilie Autumn's got a seriously bold message: "Fight like a girl." Certainly, like most strong statements, it can be taken the wrong way, but Emilie Autumn is touring the world to prove it's packed with positivity.
Growing up as a classically trained violinist, she always knew that performing and creating music went hand in hand. She soon realized she didn't fit the "classical musician" mold, and went on to pursue a musical career on her own terms. Years later, and with five albums behind her, Autumn's next goal is to bring her story to the theater stage in London and then around the world.
In a recent interview with the New Times, Emilie Autumn discussed empowerment, her new tour, and what it means to Fight Like a Girl.
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New Times: How's the tour been so far?
Emilie Autumn: Ridiculously amazing. It's been another planet. It's nothing like anything that we've ever done. It just so completely wonderful. It's the last step before this thing becomes the full blown musical production, and I think you can really tell, from beginning to end that it's a theater piece.
I'm really proud of how the audiences have been reacting to it because they're so good. They just rock out and freak out, and have the best time at the parts that they're supposed to. They cry at the parts they're supposed to. They're quiet at the parts that they're supposed to. It's beautiful. Somehow over the years we've developed this theatrical audience that knows exactly what to do and enjoy going to all these different places with us.
The musical is set to premiere in London. Why the choice to do it overseas versus the States?
That's the plan. A couple reasons. First, that is where the majority of the story is set. It's in London. It seems like it makes sense for the home base to be that. And secondly, as much of the wonderful time that we're having performing and touring in the U.S., I'm still significantly more popular in the U.K.. It makes sense to premiere something like that in a place where I'm pretty much guaranteed. An endeavor like that is basically like opening up a restaurant. A vast majority of them are going to fail. [laughs] So, I would like to do around three months there, and then bring it over to New York or something, and then tour with it.
Not that you don't have such a dedicated fanbase in the States, but why do you think there is such a difference between here and overseas?
You're sweet, but it's true. There is such a difference. I think it's because, well, I've been told since I started, that I should probably begin in Europe, the UK, overseas somewhere. It was simply because they were more accepting of things that are more eccentric, or at least I'd been told anyway years ago. Low and behold, it's totally true. And the deal is really that scenes that we have here, it's not that we don't have the audience, the scenes are, not that I'm a Goth-y act, but I appreciate all those different scenes and genres that are fringe like Gothic, industrial, here are still very underground. Over there, they're practically mainstream. That's why it pretty much is.
And also, when I think about it, America is just too fucking big. To go anywhere where things are condensed like they are, that's going to be better for anybody. When people want to conquer the states, it's a big deal. That's why everybody from Europe wants to go over to the U.S., it's a grass is greener situation. But really, that's why it can be such a challenge here in the States because the U.S. is just so huge.
