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What do The Temptations, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, guitar pedals and Diet Coke have in common?

For Emily Wolfe, they’re four pieces of the childhood that helped shape the artist she would become. The Temptations gave her an early lesson in songwriting, passion and the power of a great hook. Are You Afraid of the Dark? opened the door to horror and the adrenaline she still chases onstage. Guitar pedals became an obsession, a creative playground and a way to keep chasing the sound in her head. And Diet Coke? That one became something much bigger than a favorite drink.

Along the way, Emily talks about the unlikely combination of Motown, classic rock and emo that helped shape her sound, the first guitar pedal that changed the way she heard her instrument, the thrill of finally finding the right tone, and what it’s like to create music with someone you once looked up to.

Four choices. Four pieces of childhood. One room that tells Emily’s story.

The Best of The Temptations

Emily Wolfe – Power

Emily Wolfe – Lips (feat. Eagles of Death Metal)

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The Room We Wanted!

Emily Wolfe: How The Temptations, Nickelodeon Horror, Guitar Pedals & Diet Coke Shaped a Rock Original

Emily Wolfe has spent more than a decade carving out her own space in rock music, earning a reputation as a formidable guitarist, songwriter, producer, and performer. She has shared stages with artists including Tool and Yungblud, played drums for Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem, and collaborated with Eagles of Death Metal’s Jesse Hughes. With her powerful guitar tones and unmistakable approach to rock, Wolfe has built a career around following her instincts rather than fitting neatly into anyone else’s expectations.

But what happens when you trace those instincts back to childhood?

On The Room We Wanted, Wolfe joined Brian Colburn and Jay Sweet for a trip through four formative influences: The Temptations, Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark?, guitar pedals, and Diet Coke. What emerged was more than a collection of nostalgic favorites. It was a look at the curiosity, creative experimentation, and unfiltered passion that helped shape the artist she is today.

The Sound: The Temptations and the Foundation of a Rocker

It might seem surprising that a guitarist known for grinding riffs, fuzzy tones, and hard-hitting rock would point to The Temptations as a foundational musical influence. For Wolfe, however, it makes perfect sense.

Her mother loved Motown, and that music was a constant presence throughout Wolfe’s childhood. The Temptations played in the family minivan on the way to school, doctor’s appointments, and just about everywhere else. Her mother also introduced her to the group’s biographical television movie, which became one of Wolfe’s favorite films.

The songs stuck. So did the lessons hidden inside them.

Wolfe remembers recognizing the power of a great hook, the snap of the rhythm, and the importance of putting something immediately compelling at the beginning of a song. To her young ears, The Temptations offered a blueprint for how music could work. Their melodies and arrangements established a standard that she continues to appreciate as a songwriter.

Her musical education didn’t stop with Motown. Her father introduced her to classic rock while they washed the car, playing artists such as Creedence Clearwater Revival, James Taylor, The Guess Who, Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath. Meanwhile, her sister brought emo music into the mix.

Those three musical worlds helped form the foundation of Wolfe’s sound: the hooks and rhythmic precision of Motown, the power of classic rock, and the emotional intensity of emo.

The Temptations also taught her something that goes beyond song structure. Wolfe was particularly fascinated by David Ruffin’s commanding performance style, especially a scene in which he takes control of the microphone in the group’s biographical movie. Ruffin’s confidence and willingness to own the stage left a lasting impression.

Wolfe admires performers who can reach a point where they stop worrying about what everyone else thinks. For her, part of the challenge of performing live is finding that same freedom — allowing herself to reach a deeply passionate, even edgy place without holding back.

That pursuit continues to shape her career.

Her appreciation for The Temptations has also evolved alongside her understanding of recording and production. Today, she listens closely to the drums, the arrangements, and the way the recordings achieve so much with relatively little production.

The result, she believes, is a timeless sound in which the quality of the song matters more than the technology used to capture it.

Ultimately, The Temptations represent more than a musical influence for Wolfe. Their story of artistic evolution, their passion for making music, and their ability to balance sweetness with rawness mirror the journey she hopes to follow herself.

The Screen: Are You Afraid of the Dark? and the Thrill of the Unknown

Before Emily Wolfe was navigating the unpredictable world of live performances, she was sitting on the living room floor with her sister, waiting for the next episode of Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark?

The anthology horror series became her gateway into the genre. She remembers playing outside with friends until dark, then heading inside to watch the show with her sister, popcorn and remote control at the ready.

The appeal wasn’t simply the scares. It was the anticipation, the atmosphere, and the ritual of gathering together to see what might happen next.

Wolfe loved horror movies, although she admits that there is a limit to how much gore she can handle. What she really wants is a film that gets under her skin and stays with her long after the credits roll. A genuinely frightening story, she explained, can leave her thinking about it for days.

That attraction to fear has an interesting parallel with her life as a musician.

Performing live means accepting that something could go wrong at any moment. An amplifier might fail. Her voice might give out. The unpredictable nature of the experience is both terrifying and exciting, and Wolfe finds that adrenaline exhilarating.

In that sense, the appeal of Are You Afraid of the Dark? went beyond childhood entertainment. It offered an early introduction to the thrill of stepping into the unknown.

The show also gave its young audience something a little different from conventional children’s programming. Wolfe appreciated that it didn’t feel as though it was talking down to her. Its stories offered a glimpse of a darker, more complicated world while still giving her the safety of watching from the living room.

Some episodes were better than others, she acknowledged, but the experience as a whole remained special.

That combination of curiosity, suspense, and the willingness to see what happens next fits neatly with the artist Wolfe has become. Whether she is exploring a new musical idea or stepping onto a stage, she seems drawn to experiences that leave room for the unexpected.

The Stuff: Guitar Pedals, Obsession, and the Search for the Perfect Tone

If The Temptations helped establish Emily Wolfe’s musical instincts, guitar pedals gave her a way to experiment with them.

Wolfe estimates that she owns around 100 pedals, with a collection that leans heavily toward fuzz. Over the years, she has tried countless combinations, learning which characteristics she likes and how different effects can work together.

Her approach is less about finding one magic piece of equipment and more about discovering what happens when individual elements interact.

Take her song “Power.” The guitar sound heard on the track was built using seven different pedals. Wolfe described the process as layering several tones that might sound less impressive individually but become something special when combined.

She experiments with settings, changes the order of the pedals, and adjusts the balance until the pieces come together. She compares the process to cooking: sometimes you keep adjusting the ingredients until everything tastes right.

That experimentation is one of her favorite parts of recording.

It also reflects a lifelong tendency to become deeply absorbed in whatever interests her. Wolfe doesn’t simply collect equipment and leave it at that. She has taken pedals apart to investigate their components and understand how they work. The more she learns, the more questions she finds worth exploring.

And all that experimentation has taught her that price doesn’t necessarily equal quality.

Wolfe recalled spending hundreds of dollars on boutique pedals, only to discover that a much cheaper pedal, including an inexpensive Behringer unit, delivered the sound she actually wanted. Her experience has made her skeptical of the hype surrounding expensive equipment.

One exception is the Strymon Flint, a reverb and tremolo pedal she considers a standout in her collection.

Her enthusiasm for equipment also extends to the people and businesses behind it. Wolfe expressed appreciation for independent music stores, particularly the personal attention they offer musicians who are still finding their way. She sees a similar value in independent record shops that support artists early in their careers.

For someone who spends so much time searching for the right tone, the importance of experimentation and community makes sense. Great music doesn’t come from expensive equipment alone. It comes from understanding the tools, trusting your ears, and being willing to try something unexpected.

The Taste: Diet Coke and the Art of Knowing What You Like

Some childhood influences become part of your creative identity. Others become part of your everyday routine.

For Wolfe, Diet Coke is both a long-standing obsession and a defining personal preference. The enthusiasm is difficult to miss: she even has “Diet Coke” tattooed across her knuckles.

Her devotion isn’t merely about liking a particular drink. It reflects a broader tendency toward brand loyalty and knowing exactly what she wants.

Wolfe explained that she plays Epiphone guitars exclusively because she loves the brand and its products. Diet Coke inspires the same kind of commitment. When she asks for one at a restaurant and is offered Coke Zero instead, she doesn’t consider them interchangeable.

It’s a small detail, but it reveals something familiar about the way Wolfe approaches her interests. She doesn’t necessarily want the closest available alternative. She wants the specific thing that appeals to her.

That same conviction runs through her approach to guitar tones and songwriting. She is willing to spend years exploring equipment, testing combinations, and refining ideas until she finds something that feels right. She doesn’t simply settle for what someone else says should work.

Even a favorite soft drink becomes a window into that personality: once Wolfe knows what she likes, she knows what she likes.

And while the Diet Coke tattoos provide an obvious conversation starter, the story behind them is less about a novelty and more about the delight she takes in the things that make her happy.

From Childhood Obsessions to a Career in Rock

As the conversation turned toward the connections among her four choices, Wolfe found herself looking at The Temptations in a new light.

She described the group as representing artistic evolution. Their story had its ups and downs, and their career unfolded as a continuing process of learning. Wolfe sees something similar in her own musical journey.

She wants her music to have the qualities she hears in The Temptations: timeless songwriting, simplicity, rawness, sweetness, and moments of darkness. She admires the way those elements can coexist without losing the character that makes the music distinctive.

But when asked which of her four choices best represented her as a person, rather than simply as a musician, Wolfe returned to guitar pedals.

There was still so much to uncover, she explained.

That answer brings the entire conversation together. The Temptations gave her a foundation and a model for musical expression. Are You Afraid of the Dark? helped nurture her appetite for suspense and the unknown. Guitar pedals gave her an endless laboratory for experimentation. And Diet Coke offered a wonderfully straightforward example of her ability to embrace the things she loves without apology.

At first glance, those four choices might seem to have little in common. Together, though, they paint a picture of someone who is curious, passionate, detail-oriented, and comfortable following her own instincts.

Emily Wolfe’s career continues to evolve, and she remains eager to learn. That may be the most revealing connection of all: beneath the powerful guitar sounds and commanding performances is an artist who is still exploring, still experimenting, and still searching for the next thing that makes her stop and say, That’s it.

Sometimes the roots of an artist’s identity aren’t found in one defining moment. They’re scattered across the music played in a family minivan, a scary television show watched with a sibling, a collection of effects pedals, and a favorite drink.

For Emily Wolfe, those pieces form a room that tells a much bigger story than nostalgia alone ever could.