We had the good fortune of connecting with Emily Maddox and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Emily, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I first graduated music school I was working a lot and really hustling – at one point I was teaching piano and drum set private lessons for the first part of my day, then working part-time booking events with Litus Music Entertainment, and gigging at night most days of the week. Over time I moved into focusing on working full-time with Litus Music Entertainment and performing. For me, balance is all about making sure I’m prioritizing what I value and creating space in my calendar to do that. Every year, I audit my calendar and look to see what I want to do more and less of and to be sure I’m not filling my time with things that aren’t moving the needle towards my goals.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
For years I’ve been gigging as a drummer with a variety of bands and a few years ago, I started singing more backup vocals in the groups as well as writing and releasing my own original music, one song at a time. It was both cathartic to share and really fun to go through the process of each song from conception to release. It felt like a natural progression in my musical development while still a new challenge for me to be writing the songs and also singing/drumming on them.

I released my first album, “Timelines”, this past November. The songs vary across a number of genres and while that’s outside of the norm, I ultimately decided it was the most authentic for me at the time to release the album in this way. I wanted my songs to focus on the lyrics and music telling a story and creating a feeling rather than feeling confined to push a song to a certain genre for a marketing purpose, especially since as a newer original artist I am sure my style will develop over time.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Definitely Lagniappe for a fun wine night with great variety of live bands, Chèvre for incredible sandwiches, Versailles for iconic Cuban food, Wynwood area for cool art and shops, and the beach of course!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First and foremost I’d have to thank my parents, who took me to countless private music lessons and concerts throughout my childhood/early adulthood and were very supportive of me pursuing a degree in Jazz performance. I know not everyone has parents that are as supportive of that choice or maybe just don’t want to listen to a drummer practice in the house everyday! I also have to shoutout Amy & Pablo Landi, the owners of Litus Music Entertainment, who I’ve known and worked with for about 8 years now. Both of them have contributed enormously to my personal and business development over the years and I consider them family as well.

Instagram: @emilymaddoxdrums

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@emilymaddox?si=7zRcMi5cjDMdtErV

Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3CsBmO99cnngxmQSgMrmom?si=Ti98mmrOSAy_6uSerM3FMA

Image Credits
Nat Santander
Alejandra Libertad/Litus Music Entertainment

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