Suzanne Sheridan Music

Well, we are up to the night of the Concert itself. This was a dream come true for me and the rest of the band. We all wanted it to be the best we ever performed these songs, and we knew the stakes were high which made it even more dizzying. Having been very sick the week before, it was my challenge to get to 100% by the night of the concert. I did that so, for me the rest of it was being present to the music and being with the amazing musicians i had picked to do this music with me.. I started performing this music at Sunday Services, solo, …then Ruth and I were a duo for a while then Ruth and Marshal and I were a trio, and then Bob and I were a Duo, then Bob and Marshal and I performed for some fundraisers and then the magic number 4, of all of us together, gave us the synergy that the music asked for and finally at this concert, the music took off… it soared on its own wings… and we are the recipients of that wonderful end result.. this AMAZING CD.. i say that after listening to it unmixed, mixed for over a month, and then as a CD for months after that, and still the music seems fresh and alive. That is something. 

Yes, we came through with flying colors. Everyone there in the audience felt the magic of the music, the fact that we were recording this live from ONE performance, which we were told after the concert, was hardly ever done anymore. They informed us that on Tour, people would record all performances and take the BEST from each night.. we had only this one opportunity and we were able to go full tilt and get the job done.  The set list was inclusive of 21 songs, and we used 15 on the final CD. The night was a blur, but i recall Rozanne was out front with Lisa, taking donations to the Post Polio Health Organization and donations to the band, and Rozanne and Lisa came up with a PRE SALES FORM that people could prepay for their CD that we would deliver to them when the final mix was done.. Well, it was sure gratifying to see all those people loving the concert so much that we pre-sold over $1000.00 of CDs before we even had a product. That is how i knew people want to hear this music.. and it gave me courage to move ahead with our plan to play out everywhere there were people who remembered this great music and don’t get to hear it much anymore. They were almost as caught up in it as the performers.. and we just felt that the instrumentation and the balance in the digital live feed was just perfect.  Unfortunately, Joni has the symptoms of the Polio she contracted as a child so we know that  her music needs ambassadors. We want to do that for us, the fans and for Joni. We love Leonard’s work as well and feel it is in balance with Joni’s work and Jennifer Warnes  work who is well – known for singing his music on the FAMOUS BLUE RAINCOAT Album. We know from those examples, that  it sounds great being sung by a woman.. so the recipe was created.

So, after the concert our original plan for mixing off the soundboard was scrapped and Chris Brown took the lead in his studio and we mixed all the final tracks in DP, which gave us the best possible sound  from what we had recorded. It was such a great experience working with Chris, being a musician himself and having won a Grammy  Award for Paul Winters recording live in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC, I knew that i was in great hands. We sat together a few times, maybe five, and we finished it in time for the CD Release Party on December 2nd at our Carriage House in Westport, CT.

What a day, the CDs were selling, the food was great and everyone was there to support us .. it was such a high and we knew that more people would want to know about this deep, feeling-full music that defines an era. Joni and Leonard were lovers for a short while and yet, their music is so entwined and glorious together even today, that we wanted to bring them back for this tribute to their immortal work. So, now we have this website http://www.suzannesheridanmusic.com and i can keep everyone updated as to what transpires as we move forward with  our bold plan.  My friend, Prill has taught me that it is important to do at least one bold thing a day. Here is our Bold Plan.

OUR BOLD PLAN

Our plan is to begin performing a tour in small Theaters and Concert venues along the Northeast  and as part of Step One, culminating in Canada where i did my first live show Solo, a few summers ago at the Piggery Theatre in North Hatley, Canada.. the show was warmly received then , and now that we have the other musicians, Bob Cooper on brilliant piano and keyboards, Ruth on Flute, Sax Barritone Sax and Clarinet as well as some background vocals, and Marshal Rosenberg on percussion, this is a recipe for great nights of music and fun. Then to perform again in different venues on our way back to Connecticut.

Step two of our Bold Plan, is to perform in great venues throughout  Europe, including France, England, Ireland and other places where our music would be well-received. I lived in Paris for a year while studying Philosophy and tons of French, and would love to get back there and perform to that Gem in Europe. We are looking for someone to help get us booked in these places… So, if you would like to help us in any way please reach out to us .You will find that we are open and receptive to finding the best help to get us out there big time !! Want to be a part of that ??

Thank you .. .Suzanne at blog post #2

Posted in How it all happened...

Voices Cafe – Westport, CT

I was at the Board Meeting where Voices Café was given the green light to get the professional equipment that would allow them to go professional. Have professional sound for the concerts. It was a great day for all musicians and music lovers. At that time, I was looking into different studios to do a Tribute Concert worthy of the music of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. As I was shopping around, I started asking a question – “Would it be possible to use the Sanctuary and the recording equipment that the UU Church just purchased to do a professionally recorded concert good enough to be recorded “LIVE?”

Step 1
I was at a gig with the band at the Huntington Street Café and Peter Atkins, a great fan of ours, said what do you want to have happen next .. I told him about the idea of recording the music with Voices Café equipment and he promised me that he would bring it up at the next meeting. He had several conversations with them and they realized that this could be good for them as well if we could create a paradigm for performers seeking to record and give them an example of what that would sound like with my concert. After many conversations with Tim Wilson, I was clear that this would be possible and a very good thing to explore further in discussions with Dave Rabens, Tim Wilson and the band as well as Rozanne. We knew we needed a professional sound person at the board, additional microphones would need to be rented and I wanted to bring in Marshal Rosenberg, who we had performed with at high profile gigs and we just loved what he brought to the sound. So, after kicking around a few dates, September 22nd was the date all band members were free, the UU Sanctuary was available and Dave Rabens was available to do sound. YEAH !! Yes, Step one was completed. The date, the place the band, equipment and the engineer were set.

Step 2
Now I needed to create a budget for what this was going to cost from beginning to end, including the making of the 500-1000 CDs, the cost of musicians and an Engineer. Also arrange for additional equipment to be available for both sending sound out to the audience and recording it without effects. ie: Renting microphones, wires and cables to meet the need of isolating sound as much as possible for a cleaner recording. For example Voices had four microphones but we needed about 14 – The Percussionist alone needed 5 condenser microphones.

Then we needed to make sure we had the right amps
Direct boxes and gear to get this job done…
Refreshments and food for the band before performing

Creating an easy to use Order form to pre-sell CDs before during and after the concert – This was done by Rozanne and Lisa Olson put the finishing touches on it so it was easy to look at and easy to fill in… and it was colorful and fun!

So preparation was key. I must have had 20 conversations with Tim about what to expect and how it would be set up. In retrospect, I would advise that you create a sound plot, which shows where on the stage each performer will be situated and what their individual sound requirements are for each musician so that aspect of the show is considered way before the performance.

Then there were daily rehearsals for me, Suzanne and a Set List with Keys and Tempos for each song sent out the band.

CDs of the band rehearsal sent out to each musician and one-on-one rehearsals with each musician who had the time to go over songs. Bob and Ruth and I sat down to map out our parts and keys etc.

Second Blog installment coming soon…
Signing off Suzanne on November 26, 2012

Posted in How it all happened...