VIBING WITH VEGA
Catching up with the New York folk-rock songstress Suzanne Vega...
New York based Suzanne Vega has always had that rep of being a folky, soft voiced waif with a guitar who sings about small blue things. But she really transcended that genre (and rep) long ago. “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” may be her biggest hits, yet she’s excelled in the so-called “alternative” genre with 99.9F Degrees, taken on Frank Sinatra’s songbook, written plays, and collaborated with a breathtaking range of artists.
In short, she’s a songwriter and storyteller who can travel the world while challenging and entertaining audiences. Over the last several years, she has re-recorded and re-released 60 of her best known songs, many of which she performed during her debut in Hong Kong.
Here’s what she had to say during an interview I did with her in advance of that show…
How does it feel to come to Hong Kong (for what I believe will be the first time)? Will you adjust your show to suit the Hong Kong audience? What can the audience expect to hear?
VEGA: I am working on the set list now with Gerry! Gerry Leonard, guitarist and musical director. We will do old material and maybe some new material since we are in the recording studio now.
It’s interesting that you’ve been re-recording much of your past work and releasing it again. I’m assuming that you’re doing it for ownership purposes,but has this also given you the opportunity to re-interpret and re-assess those songs?
VEGA: Yes I get to reinterpret them but most of them are faithful in spirit to the originals. My intention was to strip away the production of all the decades, so people could really hear the songs. Any songs I didn’t like any more - I just didn’t record them.
(One of Suzanne Vega’s biggest hits was “Luka”, about an abused child but based on her own experiences. The 1987 single enabled the singer to be a minor international star.)
You’ve had so many different facets to your career. How do you feel when you play music from your debut now...or for that matter, from a release like 99.9F? Does it have a different meaning now?
VEGA: I can always call up the original emotion - the alienation of “Cracking” or romantic yearning of “Some Journey”. There’s more distance but I can always bring myself back to that moment and feel it again.
Some audience members might not realize that you’re a published author, wrote a play and have also been a recent columnist at the New York Times. Do these experiences lend themselves to you telling more stories while onstage, or do you stick to the songs?
VEGA: It’s more the other way - I’m a good storyteller onstage and this has led to writing assignments! I always tell a few stories on stage to explain what the songs are about.
For that matter, how does it feel to write those articles for The New York Times?
VEGA: It felt pretty good - I have been out of practice in my blog writing, so I was happy to be asked to do it again.
(“In Liverpool”, off her fourth (gold selling) album “99.9F”, is debatably one her most enduring and classy songs, and is prominent during her live sets to this day).
You’ve often been perceived as a female folk artist and comparisons have been made to Joni Mitchell. But you’ve actually always embraced new technologies, producing partners and remixes. Did you do this because you didn’t want to be pigeonholed, or is it a constant sense of seeing what the possibilities could be?
VEGA: My mother was a computer analyst in the 1970’s, so I was raised around computer and new technologies - I have always liked the idea of mixing the acoustic guitar with whatever is new.
If you had to pick one album, or a few songs that have the most meaning for you, what would you choose and why?
VEGA: Of my own? “99.9F Degrees”. I have always loved the energy of this album. It was when I met Mitchell Froom, who became my husband and I love the work we did together.
Recently, you’ve also been reinterpreting some of Frank Sinatra’s songs. Tell us about it and might some of these songs appear in your show?
VEGA: Yes it’s possible that we could add “Mack the Knife” to the set list! We’ve talked about it. This was a show celebrating Frank Sinatra in Central Park to benefit the City Parks Foundation.
(Suzanne Vega performs and talks to British music host Jools Holland on his show last year.)
Of all the artists you have encountered/performed with/interviewed during your career, which experiences have been the most satisfying artistically for you...and why?
VEGA: I loved playing with Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead in the eighties. He was a spiritual man and that was a great moment in time. I loved my interview with Leonard Cohen - he was flirtatious and funny. I cherish my conversations with Lou Reed. I often find Sting very inspiring.
As an artist, how is social media helping or hindering you today? Do you feel you’re embracing it, or is it a hindrance?
VEGA: I embrace it - it helps me to maintain an audience these days, and tell everyone when there are new projects. I also get to express myself on my Facebook page with my photography.
You’re apparently recording a new album. Any hints as to what it will sound like?
VEGA: Hard to describe something you’re in the middle of! It’s kind of folk and rock at the same time. Some of the songs have an old fashioned quality.
What do you want to see and experience while you’re in Hong Kong?
VEGA: I’ve heard the Man Mo Temple is beautiful, and it’s been recommended that I go to the Tian Tan Buddha! And maybe some shopping…and of course, taste the dim sum.
And if you were to give us a 24 hour eating/visiting/doing tour of Suzanne Vega’s favorite places in New York, where would we go?
VEGA: I love the Metropolitan Museum of Art! One of my favorite places - and on the weekend they have a lounge on the balcony where you can get a martini. I love going to Central Park around the reservoir, through the Shakespeare Garden and down to Bathsheba Fountain. Just a couple of places I like.
POSTSCRIPT: Following her debut concert in Hong Kong (which was a solid, sold-out retrospective of her best known songs), Vega has gone on to release three new albums, culminating in her 10th release last year called “Flying with Angels”.
Suzanne Vega Live
July 25th, 2013
Star Hall, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong
Encore: