Secret Emchy Society

***From the first notes of the lead-off track to Secret Emchy Society’s new album, Gold Country / Country Gold, you realize that you’re not in Kansas anymore. It’s a gothy, spaghetti western version of “Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly Fond Of Each Other,” written by Latin country musician Ned Sublette but popularized by Willie Nelson. It’s also widely recognized as the first LGBT-themed mainstream country song by a major artist. Par for the course if you know Cindy Emch’s previous work. As the First Lady of Queer Country, she is known for her distinct voice and ability to blend Americana, California Country, Hellbilly, Goth, and Honky Tonk, spinning radically distinctive tales from her singular perspective. Emchy’s not only a highly regarded musician in the Bay Area—nominated three times for Best Local LGBT Band by Bay Area Reporter—but she’s also a seasoned student of the history of LGBTQA musicians dipping their toes in genres that have always been “off-limits” for non-hetero participants. She was the founding editor of Country Queer and still hosts Gimme Country’s popular Emchy’s Outlaw Americana show. "Gold Country / Country Gold from Secret Emchy Society is brilliant, delicate, and fucking hilarious. If you think Emchy is a country singer, she is. If you think she’s a poet, she is. The breadth and depth of her lyrics are astonishing. The album itself revolves around how people pull together and come apart, it’s about being human and the rollercoaster that involves. She evokes dramatic mood swings throughout the entire release, from lost love, to the pandemic, to fucking and drinking whiskey all on the same album.”—Patrick Haggerty (Lavender Country)