8.27.2013

Come September

"Autumn's ashes, summers embers on the sidewalk come September and suddenly I can't remember any lessons learned." -Anais Mitchell & Rachel Ries, "Come September"

Howdy, dearest Cuenicorns--I hope you haven't melted yet. We just barreled through 3 shows in 8 days--gotta keep those Terrible 2s of mine on their toes! Thanks STL, for coming out and seeing us do our thing. We had a great time and got to play with some folks we'd never played with: a pop-punk band from STL named Home & Away, a rockabilly group out of KC called The Electric Lungs who TOTALLY rock, and a newer group from around STL called Joeboy & Djibouti (their frontman was the male half of the Spot Ons).

The third show of the run was especially great for 2 reasons: we got to play with Irene Allen (holy shit you guys--that voice), and we got to raise money for a recently established non-profit in our city called Cowboy Angel Network. It was set up in memory of the late, great Bob Reuter, who can only be under-described as a great musician, photographer, radio DJ, vinyl collector and storyteller. I had the good fortune to be asked by Bob to play a Bob's Scratchy Showcase at Pop's Blue Moon a couple years back. There's an official memorial and showcase to his many forms of work coming up in the beginning of September, so if you're in or around St. Louis, I highly recommend checking it out. And regardless of where you are, if you've never heard Bob Reuter's Alley Ghost, treat yourself to a little rock'n'roll.

Speaking of cool shit going on around STL, we're back at Venice Cafe in September on the 12th. Usually we're there the first Thursday, but it just so happens to be Venice's 25th anniversary the first week of September, so stop on by there and drink to 25 years--you know they've got all kinds of cool things and fun bands planned for the week too. And then join us on the 12th along with the Psychedelic Psychonauts and Bumblebee Bob Kamoske. $3 cover, ages 21+, starts around 9 pm.

Still truckin' on recording--Mean Girl Blues is shaping up quite nicely. It just keeps growing too! The guest list is at 10 different musicians, including of course the Terrible 2s Dave & Steve. More to come!

Stay cool, Cuenicorns.

-Suzie Cue

6.19.2013

New Music and A Call For Help!

Greetings, sweet Cuenicorns:

More work on the next album "Mean Girl Blues" continues. In fact, I had the first rehearsal with the cellist this evening, which went SO well. There are 15 tracks total on the album. In fact, I just posted the 2 instrumental tracks on the album for free download on Bandcamp and Soundcloud. Enjoy them! But more importantly, THEY NEED TITLES.

This is where I need your help. Suggestions are being taken. And I think I just decided that the person(s) whose suggestions are picked gets a free copy of the first album and a few stickers mailed to them. Yes, I'm bribing you. Your title suggestions can be sent via private message on the Suzie Cue Facebook page OR emailed to me (Suzie) directly.

Enough about me though for a minute. While I'm excited about the aforementioned little contest/free download, that's not the call for help I was referring to in the title of this post. (disclaimer: I don't get serious very often, so my apologies for the rare serious, sad moment we're about to have.) A couple of friends of ours (Suzie and the T2 fellas) have recently experienced the loss of their newborn to a genetic disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta. They are accepting donations to help cover living expenses and the like. More information and a donation link here--please help if you can. They are a wonderful couple, both of whom contribute greatly to our amazing community of artists and musicians here in south STL city. They are truly in our thoughts and we wish them strength through what is surely an immensely difficult  time.

Okay, back to casual silliness and fun times, right? Cool; thanks for obliging me there. Some fun shows coming up:

- Wed. June 19 (yes, TODAY!) at Pops Blue Moon (STL). More details here or in the previous blog post.
-Sat. June 22 at Heavy Anchor (STL). More details here or in the previous blog post.
-Fri. July 5 at MoKaBe's Coffeehouse (STL). Free, all ages. 9-11p. I'll be playing solo, but am leaving an open invitation for musicians to come sit in with me on this one.
-Thurs. July 11 at Venice Cafe (STL). Solo w/ Jordyn Crawford. Doors at 9, show at 9:30 pm. $3 cover, ages 21+. We'll probably each play 2 sets, so music'll be going the whole evening--stop on by!

One last thing to leave you with: I uploaded the cat rap I wrote, Fresh Step, to Bandcamp as well. You can listen for free or download it for a buck. Enjoy the utter silliness!

Kittens & unicorns, my friends.

-Suzie Cue

5.29.2013

Holy June, Batman.

June: Seriously?! Already! Damn, y'all - the time's just flyin' by.

I have a few shows worth catching if you're in or around STL in the month of June. They are:

-Thursday, June 6 at Venice Cafe. The Terrible 2s will be backing me up, and Ellen the Felon and Les Gruff & The Billy Goat will play too. $3, 9 pm. Ages 21+.

-Saturday, June 15 at Mangia Italiano. T2 will be backing me up, and Miss Molly Simms is playing too. No cover, 11 pm. Ages 21+.

-Wednesday, June 19 at Pops Blue Moon. I'll be solo, and Brown Bottle Fever and Drown Fish (the other band I'm in) will also play. $3, 9 pm. Ages 21+.

Saturday, June 22 at Heavy Anchor for the Movers & Shakers Dance Party. T2 will be backing me up, and Letter to Memphis and Mikey Wehling & The Reverbs will play too. $5, 9 pm. Ages 21+.

Work on the next album is going well - all of my guitar, vocal, and piano parts (yes, PIANO! Not even a toy one!) are all tracked, and we're preparing for the drums and bass to get recorded next. My friend Bryan Ranney of Following the Water even laid down some sweet mandolin sounds on "Common Sense Over Sushi!", and there's definitely more guest surprises to come. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, come to a show if you're nearby, buy a download or even order a real copy of my first CD on Bandcamp. Most importantly, go find some new music. Support local and independent bands. If you want some suggestions, here's some of what I've been rockin' out to lately:
-Boreal Hills
-Middle Class Fashion
-Bruiser Queen

Go stimulate their economies and shit. That wasn't supposed to be a euphemism, but it sure did sound like one, didn't it?

Kittens & Unicorns,

Suzie Cue

4.30.2013

Record the Record

Greetings, sweet Cuenicorns:

Sorry for the lag in updates, but I have actually been surprisingly busy! I'm midway through a fun little project (that's bigger than intended, as all good projects are): merch suitcase 2.0! Here's a sneak peek at some of the progress:


So there's that fun little art project. But the much bigger deal is that I've been recording quite a bit this month - I've laid down guitar and vocals on 12 of the 15 tracks for the next album, "Mean Girl Blues" already. I've also got the final recording of the cat-themed rap song (see last blog post for clarification). Two of the songs are previously unheard for the most part, since I play piano instead of guitar on them. And 2 others (also unreleased) are real bluesy old scratch track guitar recordings that I thought would be cool to throw in the mix - these I decided not to re-record, since the magic is truly in the old recordings themselves. You'll see. This damn thing might actually be finished this year. I did not see that coming, dudes. The hard part now is getting everyone else to record their parts - gonna be a few friends filling out the sound on this one, including my ever-sassy back-up band, the Terrible 2s.

I also just bagged another monthly gig in south city STL, 3rd Wednesdays at Pops Blue Moon. It's a cool little place, very cozy and friendly, music every night, and cheap drinks. My kind of place, for sure. That starts in May on the 15th, with Mt. Thelonious and the Psychedelic Psychonauts. I'll have the T2 backing me up on that one - gonna be a great show. It's a 21+ bar and there'll be a $3 cover, if you're in the area.

Speaking of monthly gigs, the next show at Venice Cafe (STL) is this Thursday, May 2. Just 2 bands, rather than the normal 3 this time - I'll be going it solo, and my good friends the Bottoms Up Blues Gang will be joining me. HIGHLY advised that you attend this one. The RFT once said of the BUBG: "If you haven't heard of the BUBG, you're either dead or in jail." You should probably come if you haven't seen 'em - your imminent future does not bode well otherwise, according to local sources! Totally worth the $3 when the RFT makes it seem so damning not to, right?

Designs are in the planning phases for one/some/all these things: buttons, koozies (how do you fucking spell that?!), T-shirts. That is literally all of the news I have, though. Sorry that was so anticlimactic.

Can you believe we used to sign notes in middle school "TTFN"? 12-year-olds do some weird shit, man.

Kittens & unicorns (I've made such progress clearly),

Suzie Cue

4.03.2013

New Tunes

Hello, my dearest Cuenicorns (that's my name for y'all now). It's spring now, right? Close enough!

It seems like every year around this time, I ended up crappin' out a couple o' new songs - hatching them might be a better metaphor? It's pretty gross, either way. Let's digress from this Circle of Life shit, shall we?

NEW SONGS is really what I'm getting at. If you came to the show at Plush this past Saturday, you saw two new tunes. And there's an even newer song that isn't recorded or ready for a live audience yet, which you've heard veiled references to if you follow me on Facebook. I'd like to introduce you to all 3 of these new tunes. My favorite part about all 3 of these songs is that there's NO GUITAR on any of them. WHOA. Different and stuff.

The first is called "3 Realisations" and I've played it about 3 times live now. It involves a telephone receiver converted into a microphone and a loop pedal. The song is actually about 5 years old, and you can listen to the old recording of it (without all those cool aforementioned things) here.

The next, which I debuted at the Plush show, is (tentatively) called "Type Write To Me." I sing and play my toy piano (named Ramyaj and hand-painted by me a few years ago) that I've owned since early childhood. It's nice to be able to bring the little guy onstage finally - though I've been playing it on a few Drown Fish songs for quite some time now. Anyway, it's a whimsical little waltzy number; I dig it.

And the last one, unheard but spoken of on the Internets, is titled "The Fresh Step." It is one of my Kickstarter reward songs. Those that have frequented my open mics are familiar with the ridiculous beats built in to my keyboard - it uses the most ridiculous one I could find. I also use my "cat keyboard" - a children's toy keyboard that looks and does exactly how/what you think it looks/does. Oh, did I mention it's a RAP SONG? Yeah, it's pretty awful/awesome. I can't wait to make a video!

I'll be playing the first two of these 3 songs at the show at Venice Cafe this Thursday (9 pm; $3) at my monthly mash-up show. I'll be playing first, then Lawrence & The Lion, then Old Capital Square Dance Club. Come and say hi if you're in STL.

The next show will be at Nico in the Delmar Loop on Wednesday, April 24. There's no cover for that one, and Guitardog (a super-group of talented STL area dudes) hosts and will also perform.

Stay in touch, check out the other pages on the site, and come to a show!

Kittens & unicorns,

Suzie Cue

3.28.2013

Upcoming: Saturday at Plush; April at Venice Cafe

Greetings!

I had a great time at SIU Carbondale last night - what a cool little city! Real nice folks, too; can't wait to go back and play again in C-Dale. Had a blast walking around the square, and we especially enjoyed ABC Liquor (drive-thrus, dudes) and Long Branch Cafe. We even met a music shop owner who knows our guitar technician extraordinaire, Dave Anderson! What're the odds?!

This Saturday (March 30) will be the big show we've been looking forward to for months: I'll be opening for Great Isaac (their singer/guitarist is Steve, my man-partner and T2 drummer). This will be their first show since the tragic loss of their drummer, Casey Kell last September. I've had the privilege of sitting in on a couple practices to hear their new songs, and HOLY SHIT. You should really come to the show, guys. Langen Neubacher & The Defeated County and The Union Electric will be playing as well; both are phenomenal STL bands. There's a $5 cover for the show, but all of it goes to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, so it's worth it. And if you haven't been to Plush (in mid-town STL), you're missing out on some delicious sweet chili sauce and the best little meatloaf cupcakes the Midwest has to offer.

Thursday, April 4 will be a great show, too: the monthly mash-up at Venice Cafe, of course! This time it's me (solo), Old Capital Square Dance Club (a misnomer, perhaps - a surprising lack of square dances, actually. Still awesome, though), and Lawrence & The Lion (my first time seeing them live - can't wait!).

You can find all of these fine STL bands I've mentioned on Facebook, by the way. And you should!

I'll post some C-dale photos for you folks - there's some good stuff. Speaking of Facebook, there's a post on the Suzie Cue FB page from C-dale re: sitting on Katy Perry's face. You should definitely go check that and the accompanying photo out.

Thanks for reading; stay in touch, folks!

Kittens & unicorns,

Suzie Cue

3.19.2013

The Times, They Are A-Changin'

Hey folks!

Hope you're all recovering just fine from St. Patrick's Day festivities. Some updates to the calendar:

-SHOW ADDED: Wed 3.20 Stag Nite at Blank Space w/ Gallo (CA). 9 pm, $5. I'll have the Terrible 2s with me!

-CANCELED: Open mics at Livery Company. So don't head down there hoping for a weekend open mic, 'cause there ain't one!

This Saturday (March 23) I'll be celebrating the beginning of Spring in true South City fashion--playing at a good ol' block party. Come see me at 4:30 pm at Halfway Haus for their 2nd birthday festivities. Cole Adams and Jen Norman will be playing too. Day-drinkin', anyone?

Next Tuesday (March 26) will be MY FIRST SHOW IN CARBONDALE, IL. Tell your friends! It's free and open to the public. 7-9 pm (2 sets) at the SIUC Student Center in the Roman Room. This is a solo performance.

The show of shows will be Saturday, March 30 at Plush (STL). Great Isaac is headlining their first show, back from a long hiatus, with a new drummer. I'll be opening up (solo), then Langen Neubacher & The Defeated County will take the stage, then The Union Electric and finally Great Isaac. $5 cover; all proceeds go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The monthly shows at Venice Cafe just keep getting better and better, too! They're the first Thursday of each month, and it's me and 2 other random STL bands/artists--often who have never played the venue before. April 4 will be myself (solo), Lawrence & The Lion, and Old Capital Square Dance Club. 9 pm; $3 cover; ages 21+.

Come say hi at a show! Sign up for the email list while you're here. Tell your friends about the music, buy an album, and most importantly: keep supporting independent artists!

Kittens & Unicorns,

Suzie Cue