Suzanna Choffel
General Info
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Genre: Indie / Pop / Soul
Location AUSTIN, US
Profile Views: 321229
Last Login: 5/7/2013
Member Since 6/28/2005
Website suzannachoffel.com
Record Label What's a record label?
Type of Label Unsigned
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Bio
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Members
musicians i am happy to currently play with can & may include Johnny Vogelsang (bass), Laura Scarborough (vibes/accordion/synth), Brad Houser (bass/bari sax/bass clarinet), Michael Longoria (drums/percussion), Eddy Hobizal (Rhodes/keys), Rob Hooper (drums), Tom Benton (upright bass), Ed Jarusinsky (drums), Matt Hubbard (wurlitzer)...just depends on the time and the place. and sometimes you might just get some solo Zanna! -
Influences
*specifically, a meshing of Patty Griffin, Ani Difranco, Mazzy Star, Erykah Badu, Fiona Apple, some say Sting (vocal stylings), also Esthero, Carla Bruni and i've had some Nelly Furtado comparisons, and Sade (which makes me happy). *metaphorically, the time right before a storm hits...the smell of rain, pressure in the air, warm breezes, electrical skin tingling...sexy. -
Sounds Like
Stream
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Suzanna Choffel Videos

Suzann Choffel - "Archer" (featured in Dell and Windows 7 Advertisement)
Suzanna Choffel - "Animals" (live at SXSW 2010 on
Suzanna Choffel - "Raincloud" (live from ME-TV Studios)
Suzanna Choffel - "Hey Mister" (live from ME-TV Studios)
Music
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10 Songs | May 24, 2011
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12 Songs | Jun 10, 2010
Comments
Shows & Events
No upcoming shows/events
About Suzanna Choffel
Bio:
"...Suzanna's learned from some of the greats about phrasing, playing
around with delivery and beat, singing the emotions and the words rather
than merely the melody. She slots nicely alongside Norah Jones,
Madeleine Peyroux and Fiona Apple."
Steve Hochman, Los Angeles
Times.
Suzanna Choffel is from Austin – born and raised. But shake the stereotype of
Texas singer/songwriter like a snow globe; with influences that range from
Erykah Badu and Paul Simon to Bebel Gilberto and Marie Daulne, Suzanna is as
unique as the maelstrom of snow inside the glass ball.
“I’m influenced by a lot of different things. I listened to World music in
college, Reggae and Brazilian music and African music . . . I love jazz, I
love hip-hop, I love pop. I love a really sweet story or emotional kind of
experience and that’s what I strive for in my songwriting…visual lyrics and
a strong melody, where the music is able to move people.”
Suzanna’s music is difficult to categorize. Rock music critic Jim DeRogatis, sums
it well: “equal parts beat poetry, smoky soul grooves and indie-pop eccentricity.”
Whatever the descriptors may be, she has a distinctive sound for an artist from
Texas, but it is still Texan.
“Texas music is soulful and rootsy. Whether it’s rock, pop, blues, folk or
country, it always has a raw feel to it and tends to have a sway and a
swagger. I believe that comes from the heat. A lot of southern music
shares that element, but Texas is unique in that it has a bit of the west,
too, and the influences of our neighbors south of the border.”
Suzanna captured the big musical heart of Austin with her independently
released debut album, Shudder & Rings. Margaret Moser, the grand dame of
the Austin music scene and music editor of The Austin Chronicle, dubbed her
Austin’s "Next Fun Fearless Female Rock Star.” Driven by the single, “Hey
Mister,” and a YouTube hit for the video of “Raincloud,” Suzanna wrapped-up
three-years of promoting and touring for the album by winning the Austin Music
Award for “Indie Artist of the Year” in 2009. Along the way she also won top
honors in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, International Songwriting
Competition, and the FameCast competition.
On her upcoming album, Steady Eye Shaky Bow, Suzanna weaves a rich
tapestry of colorful emotions and delivers, lyrically and musically, on the new
voice in town promise of her debut. The album’s title is taken from, “Archer,” a
lamenting song of disaffection wherein she sketches her lover with a “steady eye
but a shaky bow,” and then calls him out, “you shot too low.” “Animal” continues
on the theme of vexed love, “First you win my heart, then you tear it apart! You're
a liar, that's what kind of animal you are.”
“I’ve noticed in some of my songs there’s kind of like a theme of struggle
against something . . . your own personal independence in a relationship,
your own struggle with some of your own habits. I would say bittersweet
kind of describes a lot of my lyrics because they’re sweet, but they always
have a dark side to them.”
Suzanna’s musical signature comes from the staccato rhythm of her guitar and a
tone that harmonizes in perfect accord with her sweet smoky voice. Her band, a
rotating line-up of Austin all-stars, rounds it out with the jazzy chops and funky
rhythms that comes from years experience. The core group is bassist Johnny
Vogelsang (Bob Schneider, Soulhat); vibes/accordion/synth player Laura
Scarborough (Lila's Medicine, Ohn); and saxophone/clarinet player Brad Houser
(New Bohemians, Boombox, Critters Buggin').
"They've been in some of the best bands in Austin over the last 15, 20
years. So when I first got with this band, I was super-nervous until it
became apparent they liked playing with me. My name's on the marquee –
'Suzanna Choffel' – but the music includes everyone. We're a band.”
While putting the finishing touches on her new album a nice surprise fell into
Suzanna’s lap in the form of an unwitting on-screen appearance in the
documentary film, Catfish. Suzanna is heard and seen in the film via a YouTube
clip of her sultry performance of the Jimmy Driftwood classic, “Tennessee Stud.”
How the video made it into the film is as intriguing as the plot line itself but suffice
to say that she got hooked into the movie on the web in a twist-filled true story of
the filmmaker’s personal tale of a virtual relationship.
Steady Eye Shaky Bow is due out in February 2011. It was produced in Austin
by Danny Reisch, whose recent work includes White Denim and Bright Light
Social Hour.
Suzanna Choffel – Selected Press Quotes
SXSW 2009 Performance Review (March 2009) Jim DeRogatis - music
critic (Chicago Sun-Times, NPR Sound Opinions) ”Hard-to-pigeonhole
singer-songwriters are a dime a dozen in Austin, but Choffel, a big winner
at the local music awards Wednesday, impressed me more than any I've
heard here with a unique sound equal parts Beat poetry, smoky soul
grooves and indie-pop eccentricity. Think Feist meets Erykah Badu...”
The Next Fun Fearless Female Rock Star (Nov. 2008) Austin
Chronicle cover story - Margaret Moser “Choffel has much in common
with Austin's classic female singer-songwriters – Eliza Gilkyson, Shawn
Colvin, and Sara Hickman – as well as the modern rung with the likes of
Terri Hendrix, Shelley King, and Carolyn Wonderland. Her smoky voice
bears a resemblance to Edie Brickell, the 1980s MTV sweetheart from
Dallas who ruled as the Texas songbird of indie rock. Choffel's own
willowy soul developed while she was still a stripling. It's more than
enough to serve notice that she's, quite literally, moving from the small
stage to the big one."
Performance Review (March 2008) Famecast.com - Steve Hochman (Los Angeles Times, AOL Spinner.com) said of her performances,
“Suzanna’s band has a really distinctive and attractive sound. Most
importantly, here's a strong song and performer, sassy and saucy.
Suzanna's learned from some of the greats about phrasing, playing
around with delivery and beat, singing the emotions and the words rather
than merely the melody. She slots nicely alongside Norah Jones,
Madeleine Peyroux and Fiona Apple.”



















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Tim Cheatle 
2 years ago
10 of 1404MoreHello Suzanna, Thanks for the add.
Definitely not cold. How about a little Nancy Griffith . . . with an extra measure of beat, sway and attitude?
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Out EXclusive @ Beatport on Guilhotina Records:
ELAPS - SEMPER FI ep
Elaps is a long time DJ and music producer, dedicated to Techno and its styles between, who has already shared decks with the best DJs and international artists and with amazing talent for music creation. His skill are very well apreciated here on this awesome EP, including the amazing remixes from Miche & Mirzinho, Omega Drive and the spanish DJ/producer Diego Herrero!
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Are you able to or going to release the shows via DVD/CD combo from Momo's in Austin, TX and live from ME-TV Studios in Austin Texas. I love you live versions of the songs especially Hey Mister and Tennessee Stud. It's hard to find live versions (especially tennessee stud) to put into my ipod. :D
A new fan and respectfully,Samuel
Out EXclusive @ Beatport on Guilhotina Records the V.A. GR-C003:
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Hey Friends!
I have just set up a facebook fan page... If you could check it out that would be amazing. If you like it then 'like' it.
Thanks.
Alex
http://www.facebook.com/alexgibsonmusic
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