susie wilkins’ blog

It's been a while since my last post... Lots has been going on.. mostly lost in the wonderful world of function gigs until I go to the States (I have bills to pay...).. Heading off at the end of this month for a showcase and other bits and pieces which should be interesting..

In the meantime I had an awesome gig at The Troubadour last week.. Really good fun.. Played with a fantastic double bassist called Richard Sadler (who plays with Jono McCleery a lot) and a guitarist called Bruce Knapp.. It was the best gig I've had in ages (in fact it's the first originals set I've done since the tour).. I closed the set with 'Fast Food' which for those of you who don't know it (it'll be on my new album) is pretty much a rant about the industry. More specifically about how female artists aren't really tolerated in the mainstream unless they're singing about love, or flowers or something similar. Anger is only tolerated if it's a song about losing a boy. Or something like that. So anyway... at the end of the set, I got some nice compliments, but two particularly amused me. The first compliment also came accompanied with some 'advice' that if I get bitter I 'shouldn't talk about it'.. the other compliment was 'I loved Wasted Time it broke my heart but the last song was too vitriolic'. Now before anyone jumps in and says I can't take criticism, I must say, fair enough.. everyone's entitled to their opinion... BUT.. it's interesting to me that both 'compliments' were merely reiterating the lyrics in the song:

'don't get angry..just stay pretty..'

..weren't they listening to what I was saying...?.. I don't know when it happened in music, but it seems artists aren't allowed to express themselves honestly anymore. When I'm happy, I write about it. When I'm sad I write about it. When I'm angry I write about it. Seems people don't like the angry bit.. It doesn't mean I'm an 'angry person'.. it just means I was angry when I wrote the song... which I will quote from again if I may..:

Take the self out of self expression
Then will I have something that you'll buy?
I'll be a puppet with no thoughts or feelings
And sing about love
Cos that's all we need...

If artists have to censor their emotions to make music that's palatable to the masses then I might reconsider my career choice...  Has everyone forgotten Patti Smith..? One of the most iconic figures in music, and yet she's pretty pissed off a lot of the time...  I reckon if someone offered her the kind advice at the end of a gig to 'stop being bitter ' and to sing more 'pretty' songs she'd probably gob in their face... Go Patti...

'.. these bitches are just too lame to understand
Too goddamned grateful to get this job
To know they're getting screwed up the ass
All these women they got no teeth or gum or cranium
And the way they suck hot sausage..' - Patti Smith - 'Piss Factory'

Patti_smith

I thought I'd post this for fun. I can't decide whether I love it or hate it.

Hotel_roughmix

susie wilkins

2 comments

I'm back home in lovely Shoreditch and I'm bloody freezing.. I am also facing the reality that I am utterly skint after the tour and I'll have to get a real job... *sigh*...

The gig in Vienna was absolutely fantastic.. a great way to end the tour... Birdland is a beautiful venue, and it was great to play in a club again and actually be able to see people's faces... the sound was great and Erich Zawinul, yes Erich Zawinul loved it and wants me back. So that absolutely made my night... We spent the rest of the evening drinking champagne, kindly purchased by Antonio's wife, and watching a crazy/drunk lady dancing madly to all of Joe's set (including the slow songs...)...

So I would recommend touring to all musicians.. all in all a great experience, so long as you don't expect to be rich and famous at the end of it.. :-).. I am a lot less scared of singing to HUGE audiences which is a bonus.. let's hope I get the chance to sing to some huge audiences again...

Cokebottle

So the past week has pretty much been like a holiday with the occasional gig.. I shouldn't complain really.. Italy is beautiful, and I've been eating the most incredible food... The downside has been because I omitted to fill in a mythical form called an E101, I couldn't get paid for the shows.. AND through someone's masterstroke of scheduling, we had to go onstage 5 minutes after doors, and play to pretty much empty theatres... we were essentially background music while everyone took their seats, with all the house lights on.. which kinda sucked... having said that, the audiences who were in their seats were kind and appreciative..I will just have to call the whole thing a character building exercise.. :-).. I dunno, I've become accustomed to playing packed 1200 seater venues now, and having everyone's attention... maybe I'm just spoiled.. :-)

Yesterday we had a mammoth 12 hour train journey from Rome to Vienna.. Thank god for plugs on trains.. we watched The Wire all the way here.. :-).. and of course admired the incredible view... I love travelling by train.. Relaxing, and pretty much stress free... although for some weird reason the steward in the buffet car refused to heat up a Frankfurter for me so it was Pringles for dinner again.. until of course we got to the Hilton, and I thought what the hell.. let's get room service... I love hotels.. :-)

We're playing at Joe Zawinul's Birdland tonight, which I am so excited about... it's a smaller venue, and it's in the hotel, so I can stay in my pyjamas pretty much all day... yes!!

And it's home time tomorrow...

Trento

It's official. I love Germany. The audiences were fantastic everywhere. I was pleasantly surprised as I had always assumed Germans would be pretty much like English people.. you know, we're a reserved lot.. :-).. But actually, they were exactly the opposite.. As I said in my last blog, Hamburg was great.. The show in Berlin was very different - it was a sit down audience again, so they were quiet and attentive for the most part, which takes some getting used to.. BUT, after every song, the response was awesome.. shouting, cheering, applause.. seriously, what a friendly audience.. it made it so much easier to sing... I've now started making a point of running out to the CD stall at the end of my set, and again at the end of the show, so I can sign CDs and talk to people.. oh and also give people buying Joe's CDs the beady eye, in the hopes that they might buy mine too.. the strategy seems to be working.. :-)..

So.. after two great shows in Germany, I was beginning to feel like I'd conquered my nerves.. until we got to the Phonixhalle in Mainz.. ohmygod it is HUGE. Seriously I have never played in such an immense venue in my life.. So all my nerves suddenly came back, which was added to again by a quiet seated audience.. You know, it's funny at gigs in London I always complain about people talking through my sets, but when you get the exact opposite it's kinda weird.. I was half hoping a few people would start chatting, but no... I had a concert hall filled with people silent and staring at me.. *gulp*.. but again, like the audience in Berlin, they were fantastic, and I sold more CDs in Mainz than I have done anywhere else... so yes. I love Germany. I can't wait to go back with my own tour...

We left for Zurich on Friday, and had a gig the same day... We were playing a beautiful venue called Kaufleuten.. It felt a lot smaller than the venues in Germany.. (I say small, I think it was 1100 capacity or something).. We were on earlier, and had to play a shorter set.. I felt myself rushing through it.. I think I sang well, but my performance was decidedly flat.. Oh well.. You can't have a great gig every time.. I hope at least one or two people went away enjoying what they heard.. The upside of Zurich was I had the best meal of my life after the show. I almost wept it was that good...

We took the train yesterday from Zurich to Milan, which was an experience in itself. I never did the interrailing thing when I was a kid, so I feel very fortunate that I'm able to do it now. The journey took 5 hours, and during that time I didn't pick up my book once. I just stared out my window. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. What a great way to spend a day... We're in a lovely hotel in Milan called Hotel Windsor.. very central, and free internet.. yes!!! We were also very excited when we read the thing saying the minibar was free too.. only to discover it's filled with water. hahahahaha oh well... We went out for dinner last night, but of course found ourselves wandering around for ages cos nowhere opens until 8pm... We specifically went to a place that's well known for its Risotto Milanese.. my god how delicious it was.. And I may have gone back on my no red wine on tour promise.. well.. I am in Italy after all..

Really looking forward to the gig tonight.. Biggest venue so far... 1700 capacity.. *MEEP*...

Bored2

What an amazing gig we had last night.. The crowd in Hamburg were unbelievable... I loved the venue - it kinda reminded me of the Borderline, but much bigger.. I also liked the fact we had a later stage time, so by the time we went on, the place was absolutely rammed.. Definitely the friendliest most receptive audience we've had so far, and I sold loads of CDs.. I have unfortunately grown a humongous zit on my chin. I put it down to two sleepless nights in a dodgy one star hotel. I look a bit like Spinal Tap when they were covered in cold sores. Gross, but very rock. Thank god for makeup...

Off to Berlin today...

Bored1

I'm in an internet cafe in Hamburg trying my best to make sense of the keyboard... so typing is taking me twice as long...

The gigs in Amsterdam were great, although the crowd were the noisiest I've ever sung to in my life... The Paradiso is a beautiful venue with a great atmosphere, but I suspect any acoustic act would find it quite difficult to play there... Having said that, the people I could see near the front were very attentive, and I got lots of rowdy cheering at the end of songs, which was very cool... I put it down to being the support, although apparently Joe had similar problems with the noise.. having said that, for me it was just like playing to a London crowd, so I felt like I was at home.. :-).. I find totally silent audiences quite unnerving... And I LOVE Amsterdam... so laid back and civilized. What a beautiful city. I wish I lived there...

Our train journey to Hamburg was eventful to say the least.. On our way to Osnabrueck we felt a bang, and our train suddenly juddered to a halt.. It turns out someone jumped in front of us. In the middle of nowhere. Horrible. We sat there for two hours while the police cleared the scene. Luckily we didn't see much other than the coroner taking things out from under the train and putting it into a bag filled with stuff I don't really want to think about.. RIP whoever you are.

We finally got going, but were too late to make our connecting train. So we found ourselves in a place called Bad Bentheim waiting for another train to take us to Osnabrueck. I was suddenly struck by the fact that I speak no German whatsoever, which is problematic to say the least. Eventually we got on a later train to Hamburg from Osnabrueck. Antonio suggested we live dangerously and sit in first class. Which of course I found totally unnerving, and apparently there was a look of pure fear on my face as the ticket lady approached. Who of course, sure enough told us to move. I made a speech to Antonio about being law abiding at all times, and he called me the Alan Partridge of music. '..I don't like criminality. I will not break the law. I'll say that now...' 

So here we are in Hamburg. Staying in a charming one star hotel with a nautical theme in the red light district. I'm knackered, but looking forward to the gig tonight...

Amsterdamflat

 our pad in Amsterdam...

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Brussels feeling very contented.. We had an amazing gig last night, and I have made the startling discovery that I sing way better without any kind of alcoholic substance passing my lips before the show.. Which is very weird to say the least.. I think I got into the habit of always having a glass of wine before a gig, and it always seemed to work for me - taking the edge off my nerves and all that.. But this tour has brought with it a whole new level of nerves, which all singers out there will know seriously screws with your voice.. Another thing that really screws with your voice is alcohol - it drys your throat out like nothing else, and its usual calming effect disappears if you have nerves that just won't be calmed. So... as a result I had a terrible show in Dublin - nerves, exhaustion, and the big mistake of knocking back a big glass of wine before I went on stage.. what a terrible mistake.. The audience were lovely, but I felt I had no control over my voice.. really quite disappointing...

SO.. come Sunday night in Shepherds Bush, I really felt I had to bring it all back with a great performance.. and thank god it was awesome.. it really was a big help I had so many friends there.. and my mum had flown in from the States.. so there was a great atmosphere, and I loved it.. I knew when I saw the huge grin on my manager's face afterwards that it was a good one.. :-)..

We took the Eurostar to Paris the next day, and luckily courtesy of my auntie and uncle had a great flat to stay in in the latin quarter.. The gig was at a beautiful venue called La Cigale, and the audience were great... I'd half expected Parisians to be like a London crowd.. you know.. too cool for school.. but they were so friendly, and made me feel totally at ease.. although because I am a MORON I decided yet again to have some wine before I went onstage.. So again I really felt like I wasn't at my best, although hopefully it didn't show.. I got some nice compliments on the Metro afterwards, which did me the world of good.. :-)..

Plasticchair

it is my belief that every dressing room should have a yellow plastic chair..

We took the train from Paris to Brussels the day after the gig.. our hotel is actually lovely and very comfortable, although it's next to a gay sex cinema.. I haven't checked it out yet.. :-).. Anyway I decided to try an experiment last night.. I went on stage stone cold sober, and for the first time I felt truly confident, and shock horror, my voice gave me no trouble.. no croaks, no phlegm, no bum notes.. So for the duration of this tour I am giving up wine... now that my friends, is amazing...

Off to Amsterdam today.. it's a day off... YAY!

So I am sitting in an internet cafe in Dublin and I am knackered.. the lovely B&B I booked just happens to be above a bar.. good choice (NOT)... hoping to get some sleep at some point today before the show tonight...

Our first night in Cardiff was great... The audience were a lot more receptive than I thought, and it was a lot less scary than I'd expected it to be.. in fact I loved it.. and I managed to sell a few CDs too.. And having been on tour for two days, I'm now not quite sure how bands manage to be excessive and indulgent on the road... I think if I got pissed every night my voice would be gone by Monday.. I'm knackered just from one show, a couple of car rides and a flight to Dublin.. maybe I'm just getting old..

We did manage to wander out to a pub last night, where I was greeted by amazing live folk, and the most delicious Guinness I have ever tasted in my life. It really does taste different here. I have never enjoyed an evening in the pub so much.. I wish London was a bit more like Dublin.. there seem to be a lot less people trying to be cool.. it's just laid back, great live music everywhere... bliss...

Oh dear god I'm playing Shepherds Bush Empire on Sunday.. wish me luck...

Pale

Hey everyone...

Sorry it's been a while.. I've been a busy bee working on some new material for an EP which we were planning to record sometime this month, but we've had to put it on hold, cos I'm going on tour... I've been confirmed as the support on the European leg of Joe Jackson's tour, which includes a venue I have always wanted to play - Shepherds Bush Empire. Yes. Shepherds Bush Empire.. *MEEP*..

Here are the dates - please come down to one wherever you are if you can...

27th Feb - Cardiff Point - Cardiff
29th Feb - Olympia Theatre - Dublin
2nd Mar - Shepherds Bush Empire - London
4th Mar - La Cigale - Paris
5th Mar - Ancienne Belgique - Belgium
7th Mar - Paradiso - Amsterdam
8th Mar - Paradiso - Amsterdam
10th Mar - Fabrik - Hamburg
11 Mar - Schiller Theatre - Berlin
13 Mar - Phonixhalle - Mainz
14 Mar - Kaufleuten - Zurich
16 Mar - Teatro Ventaglio Smeraldo - Milan
18 Mar - Auditorium S. Chiara - Trento
19 Mar - Auditorium Rome - Rome
21 Mar - Joe Zawinul's Birdland - Vienna