Susan Tedeschi
Tone Cool Records’ recording artist Susan Tedeschi is a person in flux. She was nominated for a Grammy for her album, Just Won’t Burn, and is a repeat winner of the Boston Music Awards. She is a touring artist who will be crisscrossing the nation this summer. On stage, her powerful vocals project her power and charisma. Speaking to her, her quiet voice is peppered with a New England acceptance. For more information visit susantedeschi.com
FEMMUSIC: Describe your songwriting technique.
ST: There is no one way (laugh). Sometimes I write ’em in the car. Sometimes I write ’em sitting down with the guitar. Sometimes I write at the piano. I write in my head. I write with other people. There’s all different ways to write. So I don’t write just one way, but I’m sure do have little techniques that I don’t really know about. I don’t know how to describe it.
FEMMUSIC: How has your family influenced your musical development?
ST: They’ve been very supportive and given me a lot of advice on how to deal with people and the business of it. Not neccessarily the business of the music industry, but business in general. As well as given me support on my bands and things like that. I don’t know if they’ve given me huge influence in the style so much. Maybe my dad turned me on to something when I was young. People like Dylan, and Buddy Holly and people like the Everly Brothers. They’re all sorts of people. It’s just hard to collect a huge amount of the stuff I was turned on to, which is pretty much what I do now. I was turned on between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two I’d say. That was through college and playing out at clubs.
FEMMUSIC. You just mentioned Dylan, Buddy Holly. Those are more rock influences. How did you get into the blues?
ST: Well those are the people my dad turned me on to. I went into blues when I discovered them on my own, later on. I was probably about twenty, twenty-one. Somewhere around there when I first started to sit in on blues jams, and places like that. Be turned on to lots of different types of blues. I didn’t realize what blues was. I thought it was all a certain style which I liked, but it wasn’t totally moving me like when I heard Little Walter for the first time. Magic Sam, Otis Rush. They all move me in different ways. I don’t know. (laugh) A lot of people have influenced me. It’s also been a lot of people like Mahalia Jackson. Gospel singing has also influenced me a lot as well. Lots of different things influenced me. Etta James, Johnny “Guitar” Watson people like that too. Bob Marley.
FEMMUSIC: You’re doing extensive touring this summer. What do you get most out of touring?
ST: A band. (laugh). A steady band I guess. I just love playing on the road. I just love playing in front of people and I like getting that back I guess is always amazing. You know it’s always a really good feeling. Just to play for people and get support.
FEMMUSIC: You were nominated for a Grammy this year. How did that feel?
ST: It felt interesting I guess. It felt good.
FEMMUSIC: You’re working on your third album now. How is that process going?
ST: Slowly. We actually recorded about fifteen tracks but I got to redo the whole record.
FEMMUSIC: What? Why?
ST: Because people are thinking it’s going to be some…I don’t know. Some record. Special record. Whatever. Instead of just puttin’ out a record. I don’t know know. I just doing what everybody’s telling me to do. Whatever.
FEMMUSIC: I noticed that you and Tom Hambridge did a lot of work in Just Won’t Burn. Are you also doing a lot of work with him on this album?
ST: I was doing a bunch of work with him. That’s when we recorded the fifteen tracks. That’s one of things I think they wanted to switch possibly. When I say “they” I mean the management, and whoever. Throwing in concepts. It’s not that they don’t want to work together. It’s just that…I don’t know. They’re trying to move away, a little bit, from whatever that was. Which, I thought, since it worked, usually go with stuff that works but….
FEMMUSIC: What would you like to see changed most about the music industry?
ST: (thinking) Hmmm. Thing I’d like to see most changed…I guess the way in which music is promoted and sold. Maybe putting a little more emphasis on music and less on visuals.
There just seems to be so much “packaging” that goes along with the industry that, sometimes, I think, can be a little much. You know, everybody’s going to look at differently.
FEMMUSIC: As a woman in the music industry, have you ever been discriminated against?
ST: Well not directly…Well maybe once directly I was told I couldn’t do a gig ’cause I was white. But, other than that, I think pretty much, no. Just normal discrimination that everybody deals with every day. If you’re a woman, or if you’re young things like that. I’ve dealt with stuff like that off and on and some discrimination. Nothing real heavy.
Usually reporters always ask me, “So, did anyone ever ask you, ‘You’re a white blues girl. Anyone ever ask you why you’re singing the blues?'” “Anyone ever thought it was weird that you’re white?” So that’s one thing that’s pretty funny. I get that a lot. Color has nothing to do with music. They are always going to be people who discriminate no matter what it is. If you’re different. No matter how you’re different. So it’s pretty crazy.
FEMMUSIC: What advice would you give to an artist just starting out?
ST: Make sure that you really love to do it. You really set goals for yourself. What is it that you want to get out of it, out of playing music for a living. Not just planning that you’re gonna makes lots of money because that isn’t how it works. (laugh) Plan on being broke for a good five or ten years. Then maybe making some money, eventually.
Then it depends. It’s a lot of things. It’s timing. It’s talent. It’s a lot of things. So just don’t beat yourself up over it. If you love to play music, play music. But if you don’t, and you want to make a lot of money. Be a plumber or whatever.
If you have a calling for music you’ll know. Then it’s something much more than money. Much more than glamour, and fame unless that’s what you want to…There’s other people that do that but that’s not my intention. I’d rather be poor and play all the time and not be famous than be rich and be a dick. (laugh) Whoah!
It’s a very difficult thing. I’m actually trying to figure out for myself what I want from it. I just always love to sing. My whole life. It’s always something that I’ve always really tried to not take for granted and realize that it’s just a beautiful gift I love that I enjoy that has done a lot of great things for me but at the same time, if I couldn’t physically sing tomorrow. That would be horrible. That act of it. But if I had to come off the road, that’s not so horrible. (Laugh)
You also need to know when to do things for the right reasons, and not to burn yourself out. It’s tough. You’ve really got to stay true to yourself, and listen to yourself, and don’t listen to anyone else ’cause everyone else is going to want you to work all the time because, you know, that’s how they make money. There’s a lot of people involved. Warn people about that I guess.