Jessica Szczepanik Loves Her Music, And Her Job

Cathy Miller will be writing a periodic series of profiles called “Even Musicians Have Day Jobs”. Up first introducing Jessica Szczepanik.

By Cathy Miller

Some artists won’t own up to having a day job, as if it’s an admission of failure. In reality, if you’re not Taylor Swift or The Rolling Stones, a day job liberates the musician from the pressure to earn a living wage through their craft.

With Warren County’s abundance of toe-tapping troubadours, why not get the real scoop right here?

InsideWarren.com recently spoke with Jessica Szczepanik, vocalist with her band The Emulators. Yes, she’s a musician. Yes, she has a day job. No, she is not conflicted about either.

“For the first time in my life I have found a job I love and an organization I am proud to be a part of,” she said. “In my younger years, I always dreamed of being a full time vocalist and found it difficult to have to work a different job during the day.”

Since then, she’s been able to incorporate any personal musical project into her day job. She recalled, “My band has been the focus of several fundraisers for previous occupations.” And now? “My job is great, and being able to perform in my band has been an amazing hobby – one that always clears my mind and allows me to enjoy and explore my creative side.”

Originally from East Brunswick in Middlesex County, Jessica has lived in Washington almost seven years. She works for Prevention Connections, a department of the Family Guidance Center of Warren County. After a merger with another organization, as of January 1st, they became The Center for Family Services.

She said, “I’ve been the Director of Prevention Services for almost a year but have worked there a total of three years.” There’s no problem balancing her employment commitments with The Emulators’ obligations. Jessica realized, “As we get older, the band interferes more with with my bandmates, who have families and children, than it does me.”

No matter the musical project, Jessica has always held a day job, always in New Jersey. She was a high school English teacher for seven years; the Director of Huntington Learning Center in Springfield; a Program Development Manager/Grant Writer/Fundraising Coordinator at Inroads to Opportunities, a nonprofit in Roselle, and when she first came to Washington she worked at Get a Grip & More for three years.

Jessica first sang with a band at 14 years old.. She joined a variety of choral groups in high school and college, but had no formal training beyond that. Twenty six years ago she started an all female alternative rock band named Lucky. Afterwards, she and some friends from high school started another rock band called Standby. She began to pursue opportunities to perform in Philly and NYC, as well as Jersey.

“I was in a touring Southern Soul/Reggae band called Steadfast United and traveled along the East Coast to play gigs. After that, I was in a Reggae/Traditional Ska band called Death in the Arena playing in the tri-state area. Currently, I sing in my 80s cover band, The Emulators.”

Jessica is a vocalist. Her voice is her instrument. To be clear, she needs neither sticks nor pick, pedals nor strings, just a couple cords…vocal cords! Occasionally she may pick up a tambourine. However, in every band, she has always had a part in writing lyrics or the music overall.

When pressed about her musical influences, she said, “The first band that influenced me was my cousin’s band The Royalties, an incredibly popular ska band in the local NJ scene when I was 14.”

There were myriad other NJ/NY/Philly/European ska, punk and 80s bands, including Inspecter 7, Madness, The Pietasters, World/Inferno Friendship Society, Gogol Bordello, The Brimstones, Mephiskapheles, The Specials, The Skatalites, Byron Lee & the Dragonaires, Laurel Aitken, The Scofflaws, The Pilfers, Eastern Standard Time, The Police, Depeche Mode, The Smiths, The B-52s, The Cure, Tears for Fears, and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – all of whom she still enjoys.

From the age of five, Jessica was exposed to the soundtrack of the 80s, thanks to her mother, a huge 80s music fan. “I’ve been listening to 80s music and ska music proactively since I was 14. I also went to the 80s music/dance club QXT’s in Newark from the time I was 18 years old.”

She founded the Emulators 11 years ago. They played their first show in January 2011. Described as NJ’s premier anti-glam 80s cover band, Jessica divulged, “We cover all varieties of 80s tunes – synth pop, dance, punk, alternative, rock.”

All covers?

“All covers, no originals,” she confirmed. “My favorites to cover are Depeche Mode, Devo, Madonna, Men at Work, Joy Division, Roxette, and Tears for Fears.”

She recalled one of her favorite Emulators’ shows. “It was an outdoor porch gig, ‘Porch Fest’ in Cranford, with the entire community visiting a variety of homes (and their porches) to watch live bands. Multiple people commented that as they were walking over to watch us play they thought they heard piped in music. They had no idea it was a live band performing, and not the original artist recordings. That is a huge compliment for a cover band! We’ve also enjoyed our outdoor gigs at Donaldson’s Farm. The crowds are always super receptive and ready to dance, sing and even come up on stage to sing when we play.”

Sounds like a lot of fun!