LOS ANGELES (PRWEB) June 25, 2019
Susan SurfTone came to the attention of surf music fans in 1995 as the leader of Susan and The SurfTones with the release of her first CD, “Without A Word” by Gee-Dee Music, Hamburg, Germany. Her innovative brand of retro yet modern surf guitar blending surf with 1960’s garage music, some British Invasion and a touch of 1970’s punk kept her in the limelight with two more releases for Gee-Dee Music followed by a record deal with an Italian label, OmOm Music.
The former FBI Special Agent who had worked counterintelligence in New York City found herself often referred to as the “Queen of the Surf Guitar” as her band continued to record and tour in Europe with live appearances in their upstate New York home base. A move in 2001 to Portland, Oregon brought more recording on her own label, Acme Brothers Records and west coast touring.
An avid reader of rock biographies Susan learned the power of reinvention from the stories of masters like David Bowie and Madonna. In 2011 Susan stepped away from her band, learned the bass by playing along to Beatle records, picked up enough skill on analog keyboard to record and teamed up with producer Steve Kravac, also a world class drummer, and became Susan SurfTone. Her groundbreaking 2011 CD “Shore” set the tone for several more instrumental recordings that began to branch out beyond the beach.
2016 brought another change for Susan when she started to sing on her EP, “The Magician.” An original song, “Little Bit Lied To,” written by Susan in the 1990’s with a Buddy Holly influence gave Susan the perfect vehicle to enter the world of vocals. A reluctant vocalist Susan was pleasantly surprised when the song and subsequent video directed by 2019 Academy Award nominee Skye Fitzgerald was well-received by music reviewers and fans. Susan continued to play instrumentals but now combines them with vocal songs on her releases. A highlight was Susan’s 2017 EP salute to Elvis Presley, “2nd To One.”
A move to Los Angeles in 2018 led to the current reinvention of Susan SurfTone. Finding herself in a community of LA musicians who favored acoustic music over rock bands she once again saw the need to make a change. Not having picked up an acoustic guitar in about twenty years Susan got herself a zebra wood acoustic and began to perform her retro rock vocal songs in a series of shows she produced at Kulak’s Woodshed in North Hollywood with other female performers from her community.
The shows proved popular and Paul Kulak provides expertly recorded video to all who play at his venue.
Susan took the video from the Kulak’s shows to Brent Rogers at Rex Post in Portland OR where she had recorded some of her EPs and made the “Little Bit Lied To” video with Fitzgerald. A review by the experts led to the conclusion that a film could be made with the video.
In 2019 Susan teamed up with Joanne Lazzaro, Kristen Speller and Kama Ruby, all performers in the Kulak’s shows to make the video-on-demand film, “Hanging With My Sisters” which features live acoustic performances from all four musicians along with unscripted stories about their varied musical careers. (Acme Brothers Records http://www.acmebrothersrecords.com Runtime 63 minutes)
“To The Crossroads And Back” is Susan’s first acoustic recording in her 25 year plus musical career. The eight song EP spans Susan’s retro rock years as well exploring a new direction. The first four songs offer acoustic versions of Susan’s retro rock best including “Little Bit Lied To” and an original surf instrumental from the Euro tour days. The second four tunes take a new approach with a full embrace of acoustic music. “Ghost of a Ghost,” a vocal song, weaves together Robert Graves’ poem “Outlaws” with a true story. The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, a favorite from Susan’s live show, gets a full acoustic treatment. Two original instrumentals round out the EP.
“To The Crossroads And Back” is available from CDbaby and can be found on outlets such as iTunes and Spotify. https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/susansurftone16
For more information about Susan please visit http://www.susansurftone.com
