Simply SIx: Susan Cattaneo

Susan Cattaneo is from New England.


1. For many artists, they cite a defining moment for themselves when they knew they wanted to be a singer.  For many it was the appearance of Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show, to another generation it was the Beatles’ appearance on Sullivan half a decade later.  Is there such a defining moment for you?

The moment that set into motion my desire to be a singer actually didn’t happen at a concert of a star performer but happened closer to home. I am as the youngest of four kids, and the sister that is closest to me in age is a talented singer of musical theater. She is six years older than I am and was my idol growing up. Watching her up on stage and being swept away by her voice was my inspiration and created the driving force behind my desire to be a singer and performer.

2. When you’re not creating music what are you listening to?  Who are some of your favorites?

I love listening to a wide range of performers in lots different genres. Some of my favs include Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Raitt, Little Big Town, Emmylou Harris, Kim Richey, Peter Gabriel and U2.

3. What would you say is your greatest moment so far as an artist, either on record or live?

When I went in to start recording my latest cd, one of the first songs I worked on was Just Like It Was Texas. The track was a full-blown country ballad with lots of instrumentation, and I went into the studio and sang it in a brash, strong and powerful way - woman as “survivor” of love. As I was driving around with the rough mix in the car, I confess I hated the way the song sounded. It was coming out harsh and strident, and I even thought of dropping it from the album.

Then, one day, I sat down with the lyrics and tried to remember why I had written it. The hook had come from an old boyfriend’s love letter that began with, “Dear Susan, You drove cross my heart just like it was Texas”. Remembering this, I decided to change my entire approach to the song and make it a quiet and simple love song. We pared back a lot of the instrumentation, and I re-sang it in a gentler, more intimate way. As a singer, I am always thinking about singing properly, with as much technical proficiency as I can muster. This time, though, I interpreted the song not for perfection, but for emotional connection. The song came to life for me at that moment, and it transformed the way I sang all the other songs on the album. This moment has changed the way I perform these songs live as well. I feel like it’s opened up a whole new world of connecting to my music and therefore, my audience, and I am so grateful for the experience.

4.  Do you believe music can change the world or is just something to listen to?   How much can music influence current events?

I think the power of music is immeasurable. I most definitely believe it can change the world. I was recently reading a book on the ways that music can be used as pain therapy, and how people’s recovery from an operation can be quicker and less painful if music is part of their recovery program. I think music can motivate and comfort. It can set the mood for any occasion, and I think it can speak for causes in ways that speechmaking and politics can’t. A personal experience: When 9/11 happened. I was nine months pregnant with my daughter, and we had lived in Manhattan for eight years before moving to Boston, so watching those events unfold in our old home town was particularly hard. I had a lot of conflicting emotions - here I was welcoming new life into the world, at a time when so many lives had been lost. I remember hearing Springsteen’s The Rising soon after, and that album beautifully translated my feelings of grief and hope. I listened to it a lot during that year and found that it contained light as well as shadow, which echoed how I was feeling and comforted me at a time when I needed it.

5. How has technology affected the music industry?  How has technology affected your career as a musician?

In my opinion, technology has been a godsend as well as a curse to the music industry. On one hand, technology has given artists the ability to record songs and reach out to the people globally through sites like Facebook and Twitter. Also, technology has given us the ability to make our own quality music at home instead of having to rely on a studio every time.

On the other hand, as a teacher and lyricist, I am seeing a shift to produced tracks that may be finely crafted sonically, but that have minimal lyric content or creativity, and I’m concerned that this is more than just a current trend.

As an artist, I confess I have been reluctant to join the techo- world, but I do find many ways to make it work for me. First of all, I probably should have been a doctor, because my handwriting is atrocious, so once I could write and edit lyrics on the computer, it changed my world. Also, I love the ability to create a song and get it in some recorded form immediately. I also really like being able to write from a drum loop and to manipulate music to expand or contract sections and then be able to play them back immediately.

6.  Now for my Barbara Walters question:  If you were a pair of shoes what type of shoes would you be?

Definitely, a pair of black ostrich Lucchese cowboy boots. I think they’re hip, sexy, classic yet honkytonk…all adjectives that I hope apply to me and my music!