news
pictures
If you could duet with anyone dead or alive who would it be?
John Lennon though I am still afraid of Yoko
Who are your musical influences?
Carole King, Ricky Lee Jones, Aimee Mann and most of all The Beatles
How do you write your songs? Do you start with the music or the lyrics.
Well I usually just start playing my guitar and a melody shows up...sometime complete with lyrics or a catch phrase. Sometimes I wake up at night with a melody or phrase in my head and I have to get up...lots of stuff just shows up in the shower and/or on the way to or from work. I have learned not to force it and just accept it when stuff shows up. I often will not know what a song is about until I am nearly finished with it. They always reflect something I'm going through, someone I know or have known, something I see. It's always something that evokes an emotion in me, sometimes sweet, mostly slightly dark.
Can you play any instruments, if so which ones and do you have a favourite.
Guitar and functional basic piano. I am no virtuoso but I can accompany myself respectably without a click track.
How did you get into music, was it from an early age?
I love melody and was always experimenting with sound. I would try to sing different parts of pop songs on the radio. I was also very shy so when my brother caught me singing into a hairbrush, I was humiliated. I was probably 9 or 10.
Do you have any musical training,
Not much. I know the basics about chords and the inversions and voicings but I never had the discipline to sit and study music theory.
Which of your songs are you most proud of?
Grammys, Wonderland and It's Love, all from my last CD Wonderland. I do like Chromium Man from the Romeo CD and Mexico from This Thing on the right day.
Where were you born, and do you still live there?
New Jersey, but I escaped a long time ago to live here in LA. I'm not always sure it's an improvement, depending on freeway traffic.
Where would you like to see yourself in five years time?
Retired, poolside and refusing calls from Madonna, Britney and Cher.
Six words that best describe you..
Happy, Sad, Hopeful, Mad, Simple, Conflicted (it's always a pair at the same time)
What's your favourite of all of your songs?
Hmmm that's like asking a mother who her favorite child is...
This changes weekly...
How long did it take to write and record the 'Wonderland' album
Probably about a year but it was spread out on weekends and odd days off. .I was writing without thought of creating another CD and probably spent about twenty hours on each song in the end, as and when time was available and ideas were showing up. I find I work better without intent. I let this evolve and it just became a theme that I went with.
What is the best Live / recording moment you've ever had
For a live performance it was at a big LA club to a full crowd. I opened the show with Mexico. When the intro ended and the full song swung in I could just hear and feel that it was perfect in every way. It sounded mighty, the blend was perfect, I could see and feel the audience react immediately and for one short moment it was all worth it. This is rare and even more unusual that I felt it while it was happening.
In the studio, probably recording Chromium Man for the Romeo and the Beauty Queen CD. It was tracked live at the The House of Blues in Encino, CA (Tito Jackson's old house). The band were all great players and the groove just worked...and anyone who knows this song knows about the brilliant guitar track by Jinsoo Lim (Macy Gray)...the song trails off into a long guitar solo and vocal improvisation...we were all in separate rooms but could see each other through the glass and I indicated to them to keep playing...we went on for about a minute and a half after the planned ending. I was SO happy
Where was your first public performance
8th grade graduation at Salt Brook school. I played a 12 string guitar and Steven Murphy played a 6 string acoustic while our class sang Blowing in the Wind. I am glad there are no videos of that!
cd tracklisting
wonderland
1 Wonderland
2 Almost Did It
3 Matters
4 Over There
5 Grammys
6 Waking Up
7 So Tired of You
8 After All
9 She's There
10 Losing My Way
11 It's Love
I think "Wonderland" is probably the best choice. It has received a great deal of airplay on college radio here in the US, was in the top 10 on Pulse Radio in England for almost 6 months, was chosen for a compilation CD in Australia (Sounds Like Café), it's been recognized in songwriting contests and seems to go over pretty well with all age groups. It is also the title track of the CD..... Susan Barth
biography
Although chiming guitars and eminently singable choruses make the music of Susan Barth instantly accessible, beneath an iridescent pop sparkle lies a dense shadowland of sad observations and regrets. This compelling alternative pop lends itself admirably to dramatic applications. The hit WB series, Smallville, has utilized Susan's music to underscore on-screen action and she's recently inked licensing deals with a trio of powerhouse companies who keep Hollywood supplied with songs. Her first two releases, This Thing and Romeo and The Beauty Queen earned accolades from Billboard, merit awards from ASCAP, and airplay on Los Angeles radio, and her newest, Wonderland, promises to extend her legacy of ever-evolving songcraft. Growing up in New Jersey, Susan acquired her first guitar from her brother who earned it by selling Christmas cards. Initially it was just that guitar and singing into a hairbrush in front of the bathroom mirror, but soon the music of Rickie Lee Jones and Carole King influenced her with its emotional resonance and then The Beatles catalogue began supplying a lifetime of ideas about crafting concise, harmony riddled pop songs. Skipping school to take the train into Manhattan revealed an alternate universe. "It was a far cry from the white bread suburbs where I grew up," she marvels. But California was even further. In Los Angeles, she committed herself to songwriting and began creating an ever growing catalogue of songs while developing a network of players from the bands of Rickie Lee Jones, Bonnie Raitt and Macy Gray, many of whom record and perform with her today. Although she is a talented performer who graces a variety of stages in Los Angeles, she prefers to leave her diva at the door: it's her belief that a well-written song, not the artist, should be the star. Her perspectives as a narrator are dead-on, but the lyrical landscapes she charts don't belong to her alone. "I might write from a diary I imagine is yours," she says, "and put myself where I think you are. It may seem I'm talking about myself, but I'm very possibly talking about someone else I know very well. It's you and me and a combination and then it's maybe just a little whimsical fantasy song." Susan Barth's songs remind us that pop songs can be both catchy and emotionally rewarding when they are crafted this well.
Artist
