“Music is crucial to my survival! Survival Guide is one woman trying to shape her own place in this world as a musician,” says Emily Whitehurst, aka Survival Guide. Releasing her latest project ‘Request Hotline, Vol. 1.5’ (a.k.a. “RHV1.5”) via Double Helix Records, Emily is taking her past as vocalist for Warped Tour standouts Tsunami Bomb and extending her contemporary present as Survival Guide.
A 7-inch mini-album featuring two imaginative dance-party covers of AFI songs on Side A and two contemplative Misfits piano-serenade covers on Side B, RHV1.5 is a limited edition collection of 500 copies on randomly-colored vinyl. The disc gathers intriguing reworkings of AFI’s ‘Totalimmortal’ and ‘Girl’s Not Grey’ alongside the Misfits’ ‘Skulls’ and ‘Hybrid Moments.’ As the ‘Request Hotline’ name suggests, Emily invited fans to submit the songs that they would like her to cover and she chose from that collection. “AFI and Misfits are the only artists I had more than one request for from fans,” Emily explained. “I gave each band its own specific feel, then it seemed natural to me to group these songs and release them together.”
A taster for the 11-track, digital-only ‘Request Hotline, Vol. 2,’ which will be released on February 24, 2023, Volume Two features all songs from the 7” plus an eclectic array of further punk covers from Distillers to Sleater-Kinney, each with its own bold and unique Survival Guide treatment. “I definitely wouldn’t consider these ‘punk’ releases, though,” offered Emily. “As I’ve flipped almost all of the songs into different styles of music.”
An electronic indie-pop artist with a background in punk, Emily is the solo force behind Survival Guide. Her danceable tunes evoke a sonic birthday cake: alternating layers of Depeche Mode, Metric, Peter Gabriel, Metric, and Grimes, with vibrant melodies and vocals the icing on top.
A California native now residing in Texas, Emily’s music obsession began with Green Day, leading her to a dreams-come-true life of punk rock as she traversed continents fronting the band Tsunami Bomb as Agent M. Over the years, her music gradually shifted toward synth-pop in The Action Design, then further into the electronic indie-pop realm as Survival Guide.
Originally a duo, Survival Guide’s first album, ‘Way To Go’ was released in 2015. It was around this time when Survival Guide slowly, amicably yet painfully became a solo act, leaving Emily unsure of what to do next. Never having written or performed music alone, she considered everything from starting a new band to quitting music altogether. After a major geographical shift, an acoustic album, and some solo touring, she’s finally ready to return as a solo Survival Guide.
‘Request Hotline, Vol. 1.5’ can be purchased HERE. The full collection, ‘Request Hotline, Volume 2’ will be released on February 24, 2023, and features covers of Distillers, Sleater-Kinney, Green Day, and others.