susan gibson: singer-songwriter

October 11, 2010

Hello Friends!!

JPo & I have talked about me needing to write a newsletter for quite a while now, & I’m not sure why I haven’t done it yet… Laziness? Probably, but you know the feeling of knowing you should call that friend & you’ve let it go so long, so you don’t even know how you would catch up with each other after all that time? That’s how I’ve felt about writing this newsletter… Where do I start?

Well I guess I’m not going to start at the very beginning, I’ll start with today. We are in our Gulf Shores, AL hotel room in the middle of a tour of the Southeast US, which incidentally, feels a lot like the very beginning of my adventure as a touring musician. With the exception of Eddie’s Attic in Decatur, GA, (awesome venue) we have gone to all new towns, all new venues on this tour. It made me realize that I had kind of taken for granted all the time I have put into playing music, gathering fans (one at a time, sometimes ?) in familiar venues through out Texas and the West & Midwest. For the first 6 years of my career, I was in the Groobees, so I knew there would be at least 4 other people at the show, even if they were onstage with me. It was the like security of always having someone to sit with in the cafeteria, if you follow me. (& I hope you do… twitter.com/susannng ?)

Then, I was on my own for a while or when I was really fortunate, I had someone like Eleanor Whitmore, Michael O’Connor or Marian Brackney to gang up on our audiences with me. Lately, I have been playing more solo shows, especially when I’m traveling out of state, but I haven’t had to face these new towns alone. By now, hopefully, you’ve had at least one opportunity to meet Jana Pochop, aka, JanaPo, aka JPO, aka Good Cop Pochop. First and foremost, Jana writes beautiful songs. That was apparent when I first met her. But what I have learned over the 2 years that we have been working together is that she has passion and earnestness that translates into everything she does whether it’s setting up the merchandise table, updating the website pages, booking tours, or finding an orthopedic surgeon to fix my broken arm. Yes, she has done all those jobs and even makes short films about some of that stuff. She has added a mix of creativity and motivation and a bunch of laughter to every day that we have worked together. She is a booking agent that knows how long the day can get when you have to make an 8 hour drive before you play a 3 hour show. Because she is there for every mile and actually shows up at the venue instead of just sitting behind a computer screen or phone (well, she does that too, but it’s usually in the passenger seat going 65 miles an hour) I think she creates a real “we’re all in this together” atmosphere when it comes to the way that we do our business. Club owners know that she’s not just making demands, knowing that she’ll meet them at the venue and do whatever she can to make it a successful evening for every one involved. She’ll pack up the gear so I can spend more time talking to a new fan. She’ll walk the dogs when I need a potty break so bad that goose bumps are breaking out on my arms. She’ll drive the miles when I absolutely have had enough of the road. And I always have someone to sit with in the cafeteria. I’m so grateful for Jana Pochop. And I’m not just saying all of this because she’ll be the one to send this newsletter out to my email list ?.

I want to thank all the folks that have come out to the shows, taking a chance on a new songwriter and all of you who have been with me for years. I promise I won’t let it go so long between phone calls. I hope to see you at a show real soon. We will be in Texas for the rest of 2010 & then conquer the rest of the world (or at least Italy~wanna come along?) in 2011. Stay tuned & in-tune!

Sing~cerely,

SuSANG!