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.”

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.

Record Label:

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