If you’ve never listened to Suzanne Vega you haven’t lived. The genius of Vega’s work is captured in Luka, a song she wrote from the perspective of an abused boy. One of the most gifted singers and storytellers of our generation is performing Saturday night at the exquisite Bijou Theatre on Fairfield Avenue. On September 25, Vega will release the fourth and final volume of her album series CLOSE-UP VOL. 4 SONGS OF FAMILY comprised of songs about folks closest to her including one of her earliest compositions The Silver Lady she penned when she was just 14 years old. For more check out www.suzannevega.com. For show tix, thebijoutheatre.com/films/suzanne-vega/. Suzanne discusses her folk-inspired music, career and influences in an interview with OIB.
Q. You are a study in resilience. When you started out major record companies failed to embrace your style as a commercial fit. Were you frustrated by the early rejection and how long were you willing to play it out?
A. I WAS NOT FRUSTRATED. I KNEW MY WORK WAS UNUSUAL AND I WAS GLAD MY MANAGER THOUGHT WE COULD EVEN APPROACH THE MAJOR LABELS. MY GOAL BACK THEN WAS TO MAKE A LIVING WITH MY MUSIC AND WE EXCEEDED THAT GOAL ALMOST IMMEDIATELY AFTER SIGNING. I WOULD HAVE “PLAYED IT OUT” FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE AS I FEEL THIS IS WHAT I AM MEANT TO BE DOING. HOWEVER I WAS ALSO A GOOD RECEPTIONIST AND OFFICE WORKER WHO KNEW HOW TO HOLD DOWN A DAY JOB!
Q. What advice do you have for young artists who are told there is no audience for them?
A. SHARPEN YOUR VISION, KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS. LEARN FROM OTHERS BUT DON’T MIMIC. WHAT DO YOU DO THAT NO ONE ELSE DOES? THEN DO THAT. DO AS MUCH SOCIAL NETWORKING AS YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH. AND UNLESS YOU ARE THE NEW WALT WHITMAN OR ALLEN GINSBERG: EDIT, EDIT, EDIT.
Q. I dare say no one before or since has penned a song from the perspective of an abused boy like you did for Luka. At the time was it just another song or did you think it would resonate as much as it has?
A. NEITHER. I THOUGHT IT WAS A SMALL PORTRAIT THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULDN’T UNDERSTAND OR LIKE. I DIDN’T REALIZE THAT SO MANY PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD WOULD IDENTIFY.
Q. Your marriage to lawyer/poet Paul Mills wasn’t exactly an overnight decision. He proposes originally in 1983. You accept his proposal on Christmas Day 2005, twenty-two years later. Are you always so quick to say yes?
A. HA HA. I DO EVERYTHING AT MY OWN PACE.
Q. When my stepdaughter Taryn heard you were coming to Bridgeport she was among the first to order tickets. Not that you’re long in the tooth, but is it a kick to know that you can inspire twenty-somethings?
A. I DON’T REALLY THINK ABOUT AGE MYSELF, IN THAT I LOVE OLD POETS AND NEW MUSICIANS, EMILY DICKINSON AND LAURA MARLING, BOB DYLAN AND MUMFORD AND SONS. I ACCEPT MY AUDIENCE THE SAME WAY. I GET 8-YEAR-OLD GIRLS WHO LOVE ‘THE QUEEN AND THE SOLDIER’, 35-YEAR-OLD MEN WHO ARE ATTRACTED TO ‘CARAMEL’, TEENAGE BOYS WHO LIKE ‘BLOOD MAKES NOISE’, OLDER PEOPLE WHO APPRECIATE ‘LUKA’ FOR THE SOCIAL COMMENTARY.
*** Not my cup of java, homie! *** Hope it sells out, though. ***