{"id":20039,"date":"2020-11-24T23:57:30","date_gmt":"2020-11-25T06:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=20039"},"modified":"2020-11-24T23:57:39","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T06:57:39","slug":"susan-gibson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2020\/11\/susan-gibson\/","title":{"rendered":"SUSAN GIBSON"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Musician: <strong>SUSAN GIBSON<\/strong><\/h1>\n<h3>Video: \u201c<strong>Imaginary Lines<\/strong>\u201d<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/w9Hqn9q2eFQ\" width=\"660\" height=\"420\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>SUSAN GIBSON AT BLUE ROCK ALIVE! <em>COOL NIGHTS 2020<\/em> <\/strong><strong>THIS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27<\/strong><br \/>\nSusan Gibson had just left home for her third freshman year in college, but it was the first time she actually moved away from home. After her first Christmas home, she was emotional about going back to college and all that angst spilled out of her at her Mom\u2019s kitchen table. In those 15 minutes, her life was changed. The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) took Gibson\u2019s \u201cWide Open Spaces\u201d to No. 1 on the Top Country Albums charts in 1998 and made it one of the biggest country songs of all time\u2014and it earned them the coveted Best Country Album Grammy.<\/p>\n<p>Susan Gibson will be featured at the Blue Rock aLive! <em>Cool Nights 2020<\/em> virtual concert series this Friday, November 27. The series is \u201cfor the songs, for the artists, for all of us.\u201d You can buy a Season Pass for only $105\u2014and have a seat in the house by sending in your headshot. They will place the large headshot on a seat, so you will literally be <em>sitting<\/em> in the room.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20045\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20045\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20045\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-02-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-02-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-02-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20045\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Todd Wolfson<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Blue Rock\u2019s innovation, quality and creativity is evidenced in concerts produced with broadcast quality audio-video from their renowned Texas room\u2014streamed straight to you. Individual tickets can also be purchased for $25: <a href=\"https:\/\/bluerocktexas.com\/events\">https:\/\/bluerocktexas.com\/events<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Susan Gibson writes with unwavering honesty\u2014without boundaries and without any lines that crowd her or define her music. It allows her speak her truth and be fiercely independent.<\/p>\n<p>We talked with Susan Gibson about her songs that empower women and allow listeners to embrace their independence, her unconventional approach to songwriting, how hard work and determination continues to pay off, how she needs \u201cwide open spaces and room to make big mistakes\u201d and what helps her remain hopeful and content.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>SUSAN GIBSON <\/strong>Interview<br \/>\nwith\u00a0<strong><em>M Music &amp; Musicians<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>magazine publisher,<strong> Merlin David<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Tell us how the idea of \u201cImaginary Lines\u201d came to you.<br \/>\n<\/strong>\u201cImaginary Lines\u201d was a song I wrote with my friend, Jana Pochop\u2014who also made the video. She was my right-hand gal for 12 or 13 years. I had the idea and the first verse after a long tour she did with me. I was staring at those lines on the highway\u00a0and thinking that we all agree to respect those lines. Even though they are just painted on the road, we treat them as if they are concrete barriers. I brought the idea to Jana and we started brainstorming on all the other lines that are real and not real\u2014state lines, dotted lines. One day on our day off, we pulled out a couple of blankets at a park in Taos, N.M. and wrote this song together.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20044\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20044\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20044\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-03-Photo-credit-Dave-Hensley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"438\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-03-Photo-credit-Dave-Hensley.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-03-Photo-credit-Dave-Hensley-300x199.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20044\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Dave Hensley<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>What did you learn about yourself after recording 2019\u2019s <em>The Hard Stuff<\/em>?<\/strong><br \/>\nIt\u2019s my most recent album recorded with Andr\u00e9 Moran as the producer at The Congress House Studio in Austin, Texas. I learned that I really love getting to hand my raw songs to someone whose musicianship and perspective I admire. Taking my hands off of it\u2014not micro-managing the recording. I recorded my parts on that record with the bass player, drummer and Andr\u00e9 on guitar and then I left to go on tour. He would send me files of the tracks and we\u2019d talk about them, but sonically that record is mostly Andr\u00e9\u2019s interpretation of the songs\u2014and I love it. It came out so much better than if I was making every decision on it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Who originally inspired you to write songs? <\/strong><br \/>\nMy first songwriting hero was Shawn Colvin. I was learning to play guitar and had a friend that gave me Shawn\u2019s <em>Steady On<\/em> songbook with the tablature.\u00a0That record is my time machine. I loved that album. She\u2019s the first that I remember thinking\u2014I know something about her by listening to the songs. There was an exposure there that I didn\u2019t pick up on from anyone else.\u00a0Also, the alternate tunings that she used blew my mind and my guitar playing wide open.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20046\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20046\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20046\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-01-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-01-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-01-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20046\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Todd Wolfson<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>What songwriting tip would you like to offer? <\/strong><br \/>\nI\u2019m going to say this because I need to hear it: You cannot fix a blank page. I have not been writing a lot lately, especially given how much time and material there is to write about right now. I was just thinking about this when I was getting ready to talk with you. I was having a campfire in the back of my house and I cut some branches. I realized something about my songwriting that is similar to building a fire. Sometimes, I\u2019m trying to burn green wood. There\u2019s so much to write about\u2014the whole planet. There is always a lot, but this year seems particularly fraught with stuff to make you feel introspective\u2014with so much time for reflection. It feels like I have a ton of green wood sitting around. I\u2019m waiting for it to dry out a little, so I can light it and make it burn. That reasoning sounds good in my head, but the reality is\u2014if it wasn\u2019t that excuse, I would use another one not to write. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) But as soon as you get something down on paper, you can work with it. If you don\u2019t write anything down, you don\u2019t have anything to work with. I need to hear myself say that out loud so I can get to work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did the idea for \u201cWide Open Spaces\u201d come to you?<\/strong><br \/>\nThat was a total autobiography. I had just left home for my third freshman year in college\u2014although it was the first one that I had actually moved away from home.\u00a0I wrote that in a \u2018flurrious\u2019\u00a0(I\u2019m coining a new term here) 15 minutes at my Mom\u2019s kitchen table\u2014my first Christmas home from college. I went back to college without that notebook. My Mom later sent it to me along with a care package.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20043\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20043\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20043\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-04-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"989\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-04-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-04-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-04-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson-300x450.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20043\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Todd Wolfson<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Do you believe that your Mom sending you that notebook was all part of the big plan in your life?<\/strong><br \/>\nI absolutely believe we have free will, but we also have these little nudges that are so gentle (and some big shoves in the middle of your back) that you can\u2019t help but take a step forward. My Mom sending me the notebook\u2014provided a circle of that song bringing me the independence that I am singing about. The beautiful jelly-filled hole of that donut is my Mom finding that notebook that I\u2019d forgotten about and sending it to me in a care package\u2014when I was away at school. I felt better after writing those lyrics at my parents\u2019 home and so I forgot about it. It wasn\u2019t bouncing around in my head anymore. My Mom finding those lyrics and thinking, \u2018Huh! She might want to have this back\u2019\u2014that is amazing. I certainly wouldn\u2019t have remembered those lyrics.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You\u2019ve talked about this song for 22+ years. Is there something new that comes to mind?<\/strong><br \/>\nI have still yet to record that song by myself in a studio. I might now. I don\u2019t know. I\u2019ve asked Lloyd Maines to help me do an acoustic treatment of the song. It might be the best way to approach it\u2014because he\u2019s the one who started the ball rolling. There is a live version of the song, and that\u2019s my Dad yelling, \u201cCheck the oil.\u201d I don\u2019t like going back to listen to my recordings after they\u2019re done. You listen to it so much while recording that you\u2019re pretty much done with it after recording it. But because that\u2019s my Dad\u2019s voice on that live recording\u2014it\u2019s so special. For all the reasons why that song is special to me, that is the biggest thing. After my Mom passed away, he was at that gig. Dad has zero musical ability, yet he yelled it out right on cue. It just makes me smile because he nailed it. Old one-take Walt gets it done right there at the Bugle Boy in La Grange, Texas. \u201cWide Open Spaces\u201d was such a freak event. I equate it to shooting a basketball from Amarillo, TX and making that basket in Nashville, TN\u2014blindfolded, backwards, granny shot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Which Top 5 Musicians\u00a0inspired you to become a musician?<\/strong><br \/>\nNancy Sue Ellison Gibson, Shawn Colvin, Emily Saliers, Suzanne Vega, Bob Merkett.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What are your Top 5 favorite albums of all time?<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>Steady On<\/em> (1989) \u2014 Shawn Colvin<br \/>\n<em>Solitude Standing<\/em> (1987) \u2014 Suzanne Vega<br \/>\n<em>Great Big Boy<\/em> (1991) \u2014 Leo Kottke<br \/>\n<em>Blind Man\u2019s Zoo<\/em> (1989) \u2014 10,000 Maniacs<br \/>\n<em>Greatest Hits<\/em> (1973) \u2014 John Denver<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20042\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20042\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20042\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-05-Photo-credit-Dave-Hensley.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"501\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-05-Photo-credit-Dave-Hensley.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-05-Photo-credit-Dave-Hensley-300x228.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20042\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Dave Hensley<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>What instruments can you not live without?<\/strong><br \/>\nI have a Gibson, of course. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) I have an acoustic Gibson CL-35 and an acoustic-electric Gibson EC-30. I got it in 1998 around the time I got my first royalty check. I was in Amarillo, Texas at an authorized Gibson dealer, Randy\u2019s Music Mart. They only had 3 or 4 Gibsons. I bought it because they were Gibson and because it made my hair look good. It matched highlights in my hair. True story. Probably also because it made my butt look smaller. (<em>Laughs<\/em>)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us a \u201cpinch me\u201d moment when you thought \u201c<em>Wow, this is really happening to me!<\/em>\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Chicks (then, Dixie Chicks) opened for our band, The Groobees, at our CD release party in Amarillo, Texas in June 1997. They hadn\u2019t released \u201cWide Open Spaces\u201d yet, but it was on the horizon and it was such a surreal experience to share a show with them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where were you the first time you heard \u201cWide Open Spaces\u201d on the radio?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe first time I heard the Chicks\u2019 recording was when Michael Tarabay (Natalie Maines\u2019 first husband) had a demo of it. We sat at the back of his Suburban outside of Kyle\u2019s 88 Key Caf\u00e9 in Lubbock, Texas (now The Blue Light) and listened to it on a cassette tape. It just made me bawl. I couldn\u2019t believe it. But the first time I heard it in the wild (on the radio) was when I was out in California playing gigs. My, Yvonne Perea, was helping me get around because I\u2019m not suited for Los Angeles traffic. We were driving down Beach Blvd in Huntington Beach when the song came on the radio. I initially thought, \u2018this sounds familiar.\u2019 (<em>Laughs<\/em>) As soon as I heard the first line of the lyrics, I had a slight gasp. Then, we immediately rolled down the car windows and screamed, \u201cI love this song!\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20041\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20041\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20041\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-06-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-06-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-06-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20041\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Todd Wolfson<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>What is the best advice someone has given you?<\/strong><br \/>\nLloyd Maines told us to never get a tour bus and to hold on to our publishing as long as possible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the<\/strong> <strong>best advice you\u2019d like to give your teenage self?<\/strong><br \/>\nDon\u2019t start smoking cigarettes. Don\u2019t try to change the way you feel. I had a healthy way to deal with the way I felt\u2014that\u2019s what writing was for me. But I also had trouble with trying to change the way I feel\u2014smoking, drinking, eating, Amazon Prime, Netflix. All of that stuff. All of it is danger for me. I have to tell myself\u2014go ahead and feel it rather than avoid it. Don\u2019t try to change it. Just feel and write about it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why is playing at Blue Rock so special?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe place is gorgeous. Billy and Dodee Crockett have made it their mission statement, with every detail. Everyone who comes there feels welcome and received. Whether it\u2019s your first time or you always come there. They have an ethos about that place. The mission of Blue Rock is a one-on-one sense of openness. If I had that place, I\u2019d be so protective and territorial. I probably wouldn\u2019t let anyone come there. (<em>Laughs<\/em>) But they are so welcoming. And they do these types of events so others can experience community.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you remain hopeful in this strange and unique socio-political time?<\/strong><br \/>\nI talk to my niece and nephew and they always make me feel better about the future.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where can new fans get more info and stay updated?<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.susangibson.com\/\">www.SusanGibson.com<\/a><br \/>\nInstagram: @susangibsonmusic<br \/>\nTwitter: @susannng<br \/>\nFacebook.com\/susannng\/<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_20040\" style=\"width: 670px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-20040\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-20040\" src=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-07-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson.jpg\" alt=\"Susan Gibson-07 - Photo credit Todd Wolfson\" width=\"660\" height=\"440\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-07-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson.jpg 660w, https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Susan-Gibson-07-Photo-credit-Todd-Wolfson-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 660px) 100vw, 660px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-20040\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit Todd Wolfson<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Musician: SUSAN GIBSON Video: \u201cImaginary Lines\u201d \ufeff SUSAN GIBSON AT BLUE ROCK ALIVE! COOL NIGHTS 2020 THIS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27 Susan Gibson had just left home for her third freshman year in college, but it was the first time she actually moved away from home. After her first Christmas home, she was emotional about going [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20048,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7725],"tags":[12460,12459,12457,12458,12461,12462,12463,8271,12432,11644,11616,9481,12464,11385,12465,12466,12467,6603,9490,9112,12468,12469,12470,9755,12417,8467,9271,11646,11799,12471,12472,12473,7957,12474,7376,11689,7566,3010,12475,7978,12476,12477,6920,12478,12479,4092,12480,12481,12482,12483,3616,12484,12486,12487,12427,12488,12489,12485,12490,12491,12492,12493],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20039"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20039"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20047,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20039\/revisions\/20047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}