Val Emmich
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Val Matthew Emmich ( ; born 1979) is an American writer, singer-songwriter, and actor. He has had roles on
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's ''
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'',
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's ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
'',
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's '' The Big C'', and
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's ''
Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...
''. He is the author of ''
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''
bestselling A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, coo ...
YA book ''Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel'' and the adult novel ''The Reminders''.


Early life

Emmich was born in
Manalapan, New Jersey Manalapan Township (, ) is a township in western Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is centrally located within the Raritan Valley Region and is a part of the New York Metro Area. As of the 2020 United States cen ...
. He is of
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
, and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
ancestry. He attended
Manalapan High School Manalapan High School is a comprehensive four-year public high school located in Manalapan Township, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Freehold Regional High School District. The school serves stude ...
where he played soccer.La Gorce, Tammy
"A Rocker Who Rocks to His Own Beat (and CD)"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', December 2, 2007. Accessed June 8, 2008.
At age 15, he was diagnosed with
Lyme disease Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is a tick-borne disease caused by species of ''Borrelia'' bacteria, Disease vector, transmitted by blood-feeding ticks in the genus ''Ixodes''. It is the most common disease spread by ticks in th ...
and had to give up all strenuous activities. During this time, he learned to play the guitar and began to write songs. In 2001, Emmich and fellow musician Andy Gesner founded Artist Amplification, a program to help independent musicians and bands gain exposure to fans and the music industry.


Musical career

While attending
Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...
, Emmich performed with various bands, including Awake Asleep and Ben Trovato. His first band's name was Superband, and he got a demo into the hands of Andy Gesner, then promoting with New Brunswick Underground. Gesner put off listening to the demo because of the band's name, but put it in on a flight, and was hooked, starting their music collaboration. Superband changed names to Ben Trovato, and released one album. Emmich then formed a new band, Awake Asleep, with Gesner on Bass, releasing one album. After graduating from
Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...
in 2001 with a degree in American Studies, Emmich recorded an independent EP entitled ''The 15 Minute Relationship''. He then recorded ''Slow Down Kid'', a full-length independent album on Childlike Records produced by Wayne Dorrell. In November 2002, Emmich recorded his first music video, for the song "Shock", with his friend Matt Schumann, who went on to direct nearly all of Emmich's music videos. The video for "Shock" was featured at LA's Hype Fest and Toronto's NEXT Festival. Emmich recorded a video for his song, "Privacy Attracts A Crowd." The video was shot at his alma mater Rutgers University in New Brunswick, and at the night club
The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–1943), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders ...
in Asbury Park, NJ. The video appeared on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's ''
Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (commonly abbreviated as ''TRL'') is an American television program that premiered on MTV on September 14, 1998. The early version of ''TRL'' featured popular music videos played during its countdown and was also used as ...
'', making him the first unsigned artist to be featured on the show. He was then signed by
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
label Red Ink and recorded a new version of his ''Slow Down Kid'' album with four new songs, despite having already written and recorded an entire album of new material (entitled ''Scent'' and not released until ''Post Haste''). In 2005, Emmich moved temporarily to
Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, New York, Kingston. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The popula ...
and recorded another independent album, ''Songs, Volume 1: Woodstock'' which was released in 2007. The
Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...
sessions eventually became the independent studio album ''Sunlight Searchparty''. In 2007, a track from the album, "The Only One Lonely," won the best video category at the Independent Music Awards. After recording ''Sunlight Searchparty'', Emmich left Epic Records in 2006 due to artistic differences. In 2008, Emmich signed with Bluhammock Music. On May 27, 2008, he released his first single from ''Little Daggers'' entitled "Get On With It". The full album was released on September 23, 2008. Emmich's music video for "Get on With It" was nominated for a Best Video Award at the 2008 Independent Music Awards. He released '' Looking For A Feeling You Never Knew You Needed'' on September 21, 2010, in a digital only format. In June 2011 he announced his intention to use
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
to fund his next album and in just under 24 hours he reached his goal of raising $7000; by the end of the month he had reached more than $15,000. The album was produced by Jason Cupp and was designed to capture the feel of a live performance. On August 16 the album was released digitally to Kickstarter backers and was later released to the general public on October 11. Titled ''Aide Memoire'', the 10-track album was recorded completely live to tape. On August 28, 2012, Emmich released his album ''Bulldozzzer'' via
Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
free of charge. The 10-track album was kept secret from his fans until one week prior to its release. In 2015, Emmich began a side project called The Good Names Are Taken and released a self-titled 6-song EP. ''
The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' was the largest circulation newspaper in New Jersey. It is based in Newark, New Jersey. The newspaper ceased print publication on February 2, 2025, but continues to publish a digital edition. In 2007, ''The Star-Ledger''s ...
'' called Emmich "one of the finest songwriters in the Garden State, ndalso one of the most prolific."


Musical influences

Emmich has been influenced by a wide range of musicians including
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
,
Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...
,
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
,
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
,
Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...
,
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
,
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
,
R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...
, Bright Eyes,
Nada Surf Nada Surf is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1992, consisting of Matthew Caws (guitar, vocals), Ira Elliot (drums), and Daniel Lorca (bass, backing vocals). After initially operating under the name Helicopter, Caw ...
and
Paul Westerberg Paul Harold Westerberg (born December 31, 1959) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the Replacements. Following the breakup of the Replacements, Westerberg launched a solo career that saw him r ...
.


Acting career

Emmich began acting in 1997 to finance his college education. He got his start appearing in a television commercials for the
Got Milk? Got Milk? (often stylized as got milk?) is an American advertising campaign on television and YouTube encouraging the consumption of milk and dairy products. Created by the advertising agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners for the California Mi ...
,
Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...
and
AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
Wireless. He has also appeared in small roles in the television shows '' Ed'', ''
Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 23, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...
'', and ''
Hope & Faith ''Hope & Faith'' is an American television sitcom, starring Faith Ford and Kelly Ripa as Hope Shanowski and Faith Fairfield, respectively. Hope is a homemaker and mother of three and Faith is her sister, a washed up soap opera star whose chara ...
''. He appeared in
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
'' with
Tina Fey Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (; born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. Known for her comedic roles in sketch comedy, television and film, Fey has received List of awards and nominations received by Tina Fe ...
in the seventh episode of the second season titled "
Cougars The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, '' KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild ...
", ABC's ''
Cashmere Mafia ''Cashmere Mafia'' is an American comedy-drama television series which ran on ABC from January 6, 2008, to February 20, 2008. The series was created by Kevin Wade, who also served as executive producer alongside Darren Star, Gail Katz, Jeff Ra ...
'' with
Lucy Liu Lucy Alexis Liu (; born December 2, 1968) is an American actress, producer, and artist. Widely regarded as a trailblazer for Asian Americans in arts and entertainment, Asian American representation in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, she is t ...
and as a love interest of
Betty Suarez Beatriz U. Suarez is the protagonist of the American comedy-drama series ''Ugly Betty''. She is portrayed by America Ferrera, who won a 2007 Golden Globe Award and 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award for her portrayal of the character, as well as ...
on ''
Ugly Betty ''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...
''. In the summer of 2008, he shot his first film, playing the lead role in the independent feature ''Fighting Fish''. In 2014 he was hired by
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...
for their television ad campaign "your gateway to the world", created by McGarryBowen in New York. In this commercial Emmich has to respectfully mangle various languages as he travels the world on the airline. In 2016, he appeared as the recurring character, Alex, a guitarist with sticky fingers in the HBO series ''
Vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl ...
''.


Writing career

Emmich's debut novel, ''The Reminders'', was published by
Little Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily ...
in the US and Canada in 2017 as well as in the U.K. (Picador), Denmark (Politikens), China (Horizon), France (Mosaic), Israel (Kinneret), Italy (Piemme), Germany (Droemer), Brazil (Intrinseca), and Holland (Ambo Anthos). It is currently being developed as a film. ''The Reminders'' was well-reviewed and received mostly praise by critics. Popsugar called the book "Beautiful and beguiling, a story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it." The Star-Ledger said it was "A lovely debut novel exploring the bonds of friendship....enchanting....definitely worthy of being remembered." In the National Book Review, "The Reminders" was deemed "A charming debut novel....Like Nick Hornby, Emmich has a knack for avoiding the treacly and saccharine while finding magic in unlikely relationships." The novel was included in the best-of lists of Harper's BAZAAR, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, AM New York, and HELLO! Canada. On May 28, 2017, Emmich appeared on NPR's "Weekend Edition" to discuss the book with host Lulu Garcia-Navarro. In 2018, Emmich adapted
Steven Levenson Steven Levenson (born May 1984) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for ''Dear Evan Hansen''. Early life Levenson was raised in Bethesda, Maryland. He was raised in a Reform Jewish f ...
and
Pasek and Paul Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known together as Pasek and Paul, are an American songwriting duo and composing team for musical theater, films and television. While Pasek usually writes lyrics and Paul usually writes music, they share credit fo ...
's Broadway musical ''
Dear Evan Hansen ''Dear Evan Hansen'' is a stage musical with music and lyrics by Pasek and Paul, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and a book by Steven Levenson. The musical follows Evan Hansen, a high school senior with social anxiety, "who invents an important rol ...
'' into a
young adult novel Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...
. It was released on October 9, 2018. It debuted on the ''New York Times'' bestseller list at #2 for the week of October 28, 2018. On November 29, 2018,
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
and producer Marc Platt (father to ''Dear Evan Hansen'' star
Ben Platt Benjamin Schiff Platt (born September 24, 1993) is an American actor and singer. The son of film and theater producer Marc Platt (producer), Marc Platt and philanthropist Julie Platt, he began his acting career in musical theater as a child and ...
, who reprised his Broadway role in the
adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the p ...
) secured the film rights to the musical. Very little material from Emmich's novel adaptation is used in the film, which was scripted by Levenson and directed by
Stephen Chbosky Stephen Chbosky (; born January 25, 1970) is an American film director, screenwriter, and author. He is best-known for writing the bestselling coming-of-age novel '' The Perks of Being a Wallflower'' (1999), and writing and directing its 2012 fi ...
. The film premiered at the
2021 Toronto International Film Festival The 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, the 46th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held from September 9 to 18, 2021.Barry Hertz"TIFF planning ‘substantially bigger’ 2021 film festival compared to last year’ ...
on September 9, 2021, followed by a theatrical release on September 24, 2021.


Personal life

Emmich lives in
Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous
with his wife, who is a teacher, and their two children.


Discography


Albums

* ''Slow Down Kid'' (2003) * ''Slow Down Kid''
ony/Epic(2004) * ''Sunlight Searchparty'' (2006) * ''Songs, Volume 1: Woodstock'' (2007) * ''Little Daggers'' (2008) * '' Looking For A Feeling You Never Knew You Needed'' (2010) * ''Aide Memoire'' (2011) * ''Bulldozzzer'' (2012) * ''Whatever's Chasing You'' (2016) * ''Tizzy'' (2019) *''Acting the Optimist'' (2020) *''Mean'' (2021) *''Starburst'' (2022) *''Asleep in Your Clothes'' (2023)


EPs

* ''The Reception'' (2002), with
Hero Pattern Hero Pattern was an American rock band from New Jersey. History Hero Pattern was a four-piece rock band from Sparta, New Jersey. They play post-grunge and modern rock that draws inspiration the music of Elvis Costello and Tom Petty, and music ...
* ''The Fifteen Minute Relationship'' (2002) * ''Ton Papa'' (Vinyl) (2011) * ''Pack Your Bags, Pack Your Heart'' (2014) * ''Autobio: Part One'' (2014) * ''The Good Names Are Taken'' (2015) * ''Autobio: Part Two'' (2018)


Singles

* "American Girl" (2008) * "Snowy Day" (2009) * "Hard To Hurt Someone" (2011) * "Lately The Crazy" (2018) * "Party Mood" (2018) * "Cave" (2018)


Compilation

* ''Posthaste (2001–2012)'' (2012)


References


External links


Official website
* * http://www.valemmich.bandcamp.com
Official YouTube page

Official Street Team

Official Last.FM page

Interview with Val Emmich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emmich, Val 1979 births Male actors from New Jersey Singer-songwriters from New Jersey Living people Manalapan High School alumni People from Manalapan Township, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni American people of Italian descent American people of German descent American people of Russian descent 21st-century American singer-songwriters Actors from Monmouth County, New Jersey