Suzy Wilson

In this interview with Suzy Wilson, we discussed: 

• Songwriting
• Performing with Paul Stanley of KISS and Robin Zander of Cheap Trick
• Being confident on stage
• And more

---

Cris Cohen:
In various interviews you have talked about how you were initially introduced to hard rock in your sheltered upbringing. But what I'm most curious about is what was it was about hard rock and metal that made you gravitate toward it?

Suzy Wilson:
I don't know what it was, but I just know that, after I started listening to it, it was like, I really like this. I like all kinds of music, but that's what I most closely identify with. When I write music. That's typically how it comes out.

Cris:
What is your songwriting process?

Suzy:
Typically I write all the lyrics and I have an idea about what I want the song to sound like. Then I talk with my collaborator, Norman Matthew. He will come up with a riff and I'll go, “Yeah, that's kind of it.” We go through a process.

Cris:
When you convey kind of what you're going for, how do you do that? Do just describe it in general? Do you reference other songs? Do you hum a few bars?

Suzy:
All of that. I try to describe it to them. If they're not quite getting it, I might have them listen to a couple of songs that I'm kind of thinking about. But sometimes people get too literal about that. It's the vibe that the song is giving off (that I am going for). I don't want it to be identical to that song. 
I've done this before with other people. I'd give them like two or three different songs. And they are like, “But they're completely different songs.” 
“Yeah, but they all have the same vibe to me.” 
Other than “vibe,” I don't know how to describe it. There is just something about the songs that are common to me.

Cris:
Yes. And you've worked with some heavyweight musicians. I'm curious also about how often they kind of run with an idea and even take it to a new level that you didn't initially think of.

Suzy:
I definitely did with Joe Vitale. We kind of just let him run with it. 

Cris:
And regarding this self-titled EP, what was the most challenging song to bring to fruition?

Suzy:
I'm not sure that any of them were any more challenging than the others. You know, it's a creative process. Sometimes things take longer than you really want them to take. But that's just the nature of how things go.

Cris:
With your vocals, you have a kind of a calm confidence. Some people, when they get into the hard rock space, the vocals get kind of impatient. They are desperately trying to grab people's attention. But it's like you kind of strut into the room rather than run into the room so to speak. How long did it take to develop that?

Suzy:
That's another good question. I think I've always sung like that. It's just my personality or something that's different.

Cris:
So your onstage persona and offstage persona are pretty much the same?

Suzy:
I think they are. Also, I know it is kind of a weird thing, but I don't get stage fright. I'm more nervous about the performance after it's over than I am before or gearing up for it. I don't know why. I guess because at that point there's nothing I can do about it.

Cris:
You've worked with some heavyweights, Paul Stanley (KISS), Matt Starr (Ace Frehley, Mr. Big), etc. What have you learned from those experiences?

Suzy:
I've played with Cheap Trick a couple of times and Nancy Wilson (Heart) as well. Most of the “rock stars” that I've worked with have been very down to earth. Cheap Trick was one of the first ones that I performed with. And Robin Zander is one of my idols because he has such an amazing voice and I had already told the people that were with me that I was going to be a total fan girl. I really thought that I would just lose it over getting to meet one of my idols. And he was such a nice person and just so down to earth that that didn't happen at all. We had a nice conversation. I wasn't screaming or any of the things I had envisioned. They are so “normal” that you forget about that. You just think of them as a person. Suddenly Rob Halford from Judas Priest is just Rob. He was really a sweetheart.

Cris:
In terms of working with these people who have influenced you, you said in another interview, “It's about taking what influences you and turning it into something that represents you,” which I thought was a great summary of it all. What I'm wondering is how much of that process is natural and unconscious and how much of it is a conscious effort?

Suzy:
I think a lot of it is unconscious. I think Leon Russell was one of the greatest songwriters and especially lyricists. He could take something very complex and make it at least seem very simple. His lyrics are not real flowery. There are not tons of metaphoric sayings, at least not obviously metaphoric. So I myself try not to overdo things when I write. And it's not like I sit down and go, “Oh, I want to write a song that sounds like a KISS song or a Cheap Trick song.” Some of them may end up being that way, but it's not something I consciously start out to do.

Cris:
A lot has been made of the fact that you are launching your career later in life than the average musician, especially the average hard rock musician. What advantages have there been to launching your music career in your 60s as opposed to your 20s?

Suzy:
Well, I kind of started in my 50s, but I'm still working on it in my 60s. I think that I don't take things personally. If somebody doesn't like what I do, I don't care about that. I'm happy with what I do. There are other people out there that like what I do. I've learned that I can't control other people's opinions. I just have to do what I do. And if other people don't like it, then that's their issue. That's not my issue.