{"id":7592,"date":"2014-04-29T19:32:16","date_gmt":"2014-04-29T23:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/?p=7592"},"modified":"2014-04-29T19:41:40","modified_gmt":"2014-04-29T23:41:40","slug":"quick-q-a-with-susan-werner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/2014\/04\/29\/quick-q-a-with-susan-werner\/","title":{"rendered":"Q & A with Susan Werner"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kathy Sands Boehmer<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Susan<\/a>
Susan Werner (Photo: Bob Yahn)<\/figcaption><\/figure>I\u2019ve always considered Susan Werner to be a musical chameleon. Her wide range of musical styles is mind-boggling. She cruises effortlessly from sensitive singer-songwriter ballads to classic rock wedded to string quartet accompaniment to gospel-tinged politically charged anthems. You never know what to expect from Susan Werner\u2026and that\u2019s why I think she\u2019s absolutely brilliant. Her latest CD, Hayseed,<\/em> is thematic and as you may guess from the title, it has something and everything to do with farming. Susan\u2019s first-hand knowledge of what it\u2019s like to live on a farm puts her firmly in the tractor seat, and her songs are filled with truth, hope, cynicism and humor.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been said that you\u2019re one of the most bold and creative forces on the acoustic music scene today. When you start a new project, do you set out to do something entirely different than anything else you\u2019ve ever done before?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, the fact that you\u2019re even asking this question makes me happy \u2013 makes me think I have some kind of reputation for this. Let\u2019s call it artistic \u201cpromiscuity\u201d or \u201crestlessness\u201d \u2014 and that\u2019s a reputation I like very much.<\/p>\n

By changing up your musical genres and subject matters, are you challenging yourself to move outside your safety zone?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Safety? Why would anyone get up off their couch to see someone play it safe? This is the circus, here\u2019s the trapeze. Net? What net?<\/p>\n

We can assume that you, having grown up in Iowa, have a lot of background knowledge about the subject matter of your latest CD, Hayseed. Did you live on a working farm? Did you have regular chores? Did you enjoy it, or were you one of those kids who couldn\u2019t wait to get off the farm? <\/strong><\/p>\n

My folks own 140 acres an hour west of Dubuque, and that\u2019s where I grew up. We had hogs, dairy, corn, soybeans, and chickens, and farming was and is and always will be a beautiful way of life. But I was also restless \u2013 so \u2013 yeah I couldn\u2019t wait to get to the big city. I hated all the chores except driving the machinery \u2014 tractors are like very big slow sports cars \u2014 all the power \u2014 none of the speed \u2013 but the view is pure poetry, amidst all the dirt and grain flying around. It\u2019s just you and miles and miles of prairie.<\/p>\n

Has your opinion about farms and farming changed over the years?<\/strong>\"Susan<\/a><\/p>\n

My folks were self-sufficient farmers \u2013 ate what they grew and sold the surplus \u2013 until around 1975, when everything went industrial and chemical. The recent movement to restore sustainable farming and to secure the safety and purity of our food supply is so thrilling to me on so many levels, personal, political, artistic \u2013 and Hayseed is my way of cheering that movement on.<\/p>\n

I love the fact that your fans were incentivized to help make your recording with unique gifts like signed ears of corn (How did that work? Were they dried ears? Did you write on the husk or the kernels?) and by donations to farm charities?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I signed index cards and then punched holes in [them], then tied the index cards to the ears of corn with twine from the barn. I tried writing on the corn and the husks, but those didn\u2019t work out. The big mistake was going back by the creek to pick the largest ears, wanting to impress everybody with what was dad\u2019s best year ever with corn. But shipping a half pound ear of corn costs a LOT at the post office. I should have picked smaller ears.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit organizations \u2013 Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES), Practical Farmers of Iowa, and The Land Institute \u2013I could go on and on and on about the quality of what they do and the integrity of their vision and efforts on behalf of agriculture. The short story is \u2013 anyone reading this should take comfort [in knowing] that there are many, many good people fully committed to innovative and healthy agriculture across the nation, and especially out here in the nation\u2019s breadbasket, which might be where we need it the most.<\/p>\n

Tell us about working with Crit Harmon on this CD. Was this your first time working with him? Why did you think he\u2019d be a good fit for you and for this particular project?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Crit is a songwriter himself and always puts the storytelling first. And Hayseed is stories and characters from rural America. Crit, having lived on a farm in Missouri himself, I just knew he\u2019d get it. Plus, he said right away, \u201cI know the business end of a honey wagon,\u201d honey wagon being farm slang for manure spreader, and there you have it. That\u2019s your guy.<\/p>\n

If you had to choose one song from each of your CDs to represent your musical legacy, what would they be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI Can\u2019t Be New\u201d from the same CD, \u201cKicking the Beehive\u201d from the same CD, \u201cWhy is Your Heaven So Small\u201d from The Gospel Truth<\/em>, \u201cCity Kids\u201d from Hayseed<\/em> \u2013 something like that.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re not writing songs, playing music, or touring, what do you like to do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I swim. I walk. I bike. I go to the gym. That artistic restlessness is probably part of my general inability to sit still \u2013 which I\u2019ve come to see as a kind of gift. I\u2019m trying to make it into a gift, anyway.<\/p>\n

Can you tell us anything about your work on the Bull Durham musical? How did that come about for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The lead producers heard the songs from I Can\u2019t Be New<\/em>, songs I wrote to sound like theater songs from the 1920s, and they asked if I\u2019d ever considered writing a musical. I said, \u201cNo,\u201d which was the total truth. Then they mentioned the possibility of me writing the music and lyrics for Bull Durham<\/em> and I about fell out of my chair. What a great story, what great characters, with sports and sex and humor\u2026It\u2019s a thrill, the whole thing. And as a songwriter, I have to say, to see your songs choreographed \u2013 that\u2019s IT; I never want to write another song again that isn\u2019t choreographed. Mind-blowing.<\/p>\n

Are you a big baseball fan?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, but unfortunately I\u2019m a Cubs fan, which is just, just tragic. We Cubs fans have become like Czech playwrights: We wax philosophical about our misery, but that doesn\u2019t relieve the misery.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the time frame for the production of the play? When can we expect to be able to see it and hear the songs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It goes up at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta this September for five weeks. After that, eyes are on New York.<\/p>\n

Visit www.susanwerner.com<\/a> for more information on this uber-talented artist.<\/p>\n

\"Kathy<\/a>Like many of us, Kathy Sands-Boehmer<\/strong> wears many hats. An editor by profession, she also operates Harbortown Music, books artists for the Me and Thee Coffeehouse in Marblehead, Massachusetts, serves as vice president of the Boston Area Coffeehouse Association (BACHA) and is on the board of directors of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA). In her spare time, Kathy can be found at local music haunts all over New England. This and many previous Q & A interviews are archived at www.meandthee.org\/blog <\/a>and www.everythingsundry.wordpress.com<\/a>, as well as in the Features section of AcousticMusicScene.com<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Photo of Susan Werner on AcousticMusicScene.com<\/em>‘s home page by Bob Yahn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Susan Werner has never been one to adhere to just one musical style. A gifted singer-songwriter, who accompanies herself on both guitar and piano, she is known for her musical versatility and for her witty repartee during live performances. The Iowa native, who now calls Chicago home, has been delighting concert and festival audiences for two decades. Kathy Sands-Boehmer recently spoke with the classically-trained artist about her latest CD, Hayseed, and more.<\/p>\n

[To read Kathy’s Quick Q & A with Susan Werner, click on the headline.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[4370,4369,2633],"class_list":["post-7592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-articles","tag-bull-durham","tag-contemporary-singer-songwriters","tag-susan-werner","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7592"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7607,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7592\/revisions\/7607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticmusicscene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}