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Meet Suzie Chism

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzie Chism.

Suzie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in a small agricultural community in the desert of Northern Nevada. Maturing simultaneously with the technological advances of file sharing and the world wide web, my first stages were neighborhood shows on my trampoline, leading worship at my family’s Baptist church, and solos in the school choir. My rock band in high school played exactly one show.

Through the process of my parent’s divorce, I relied heavily on writing poetry, short stories, plays and songs as outlet for my confusion. I graduated top of my tiny class, and studied Vocal Performance and English for only 2 semesters at the University of Nevada Reno before my vocal coach and professor critiqued that my voice was ‘too pop to be classical, too country to be pop, too rock to be country, and yet I sing the notes, on time.’ I could receive a passing grade, but would never be the shining student, and if I needed a true challenge, this was not the place. No one knew what to do with me. Did perhaps I have my own songs, she wondered?

Writing music has always been a thing, THE thing, and an autobiographical thing-for me. At 19, I began writing, playing, and booking shows, like a showcase in New York. I still don’t know if the showcase was a scam, but I did it, and felt was doing it! Music made me feel alive, and listening to music (The Beatles!) made me FEEL ALIVE, but I didn’t feel that in Reno. So I moved to Nashville in 2010. It only took so many barstool songwriter nights to crave to play real shows, to showcase real songs. I formed a three-piece rock band called Moseley in 2013. In Moseley, I wrote all lyrics and songs, sang and played electric guitar. We scored our dream producer for a full album, toured until we finally shed the greenery, and then the band fell apart. Exactly one day before I would have been signing my first major publishing deal, my bassist said she wanted to settle down and have a family, and the company withdrew their offer. I was devastated when asked if I had a catalog of my own songs outside of the band to submit for consideration, and I didn’t. Not anything cohesive that I could show anyone anyway. I was so angry with myself, and that I had spent the last four years playing the same nine songs and making no money. That would never happen again, I promised. I lived in Nashville for eight years, 4 of which I worked at a take-out window ringing up cheeseburgers. Although we had played with huge bands and knew the label folk, it didn’t happen and I felt lost.

I didn’t feel ready to BE Suzie Chism, the artist, yet, after Moseley. I didn’t know what that meant. But I had songs! I started a project with my best friend, an engineer who had worked on the Moseley record and could play with me, too. We called the band SUP (Suzie Under Pressure) and I took it as an opportunity to learn about recording. Smoking a hard-to-score Nashville spliff on a humid porch-swing night, he asked me (in my 20’s) “What will 40-year-old Suzie be doing? Do you want to be a producer?” I am forever indebted to this pivotal conversation. It was SO left field. I knew I loved writing and playing electric guitar, and singing! but it didn’t seem possible it was time to be considering these things. This budded the beginning of a deeply vulnerable stage of learning for me. The week of SUP’s first 2016 show, I found out my then-boyfriend was cheating on me, and shortly after, I dislocated my shoulder. I had JUST made the decision to persevere, man! I suddenly couldn’t play guitar, and I began noticing shocking and unhealthy thought habits conditioned by my sociopathic ex that were prohibiting me to recognize genuine adoration and intention both personally and professionally. I wanted to make up for lost time. I wanted an abundant love and a hardworking career immediately but flailed defensively in execution on all fronts. I tried, but I didn’t trust myself, and I made that everyone’s problem. I could not speed up time to heal emotionally or physically, and so I had to sit with it. I was hurting, and too, I was unhappy that I could not do what I loved. Unable to play guitar, I borrowed a friend’s synth and I wrote my first song Socio (now released as Suzie Chism) with one arm and the other in a sling. Although I kept on best I could considering, I felt useless self-worth was depleted. I wasn’t holding my weight in my relationships or music, and my Nashville chapter closed with a free fall.

I moved to LA, in August 2018 and It took only HOURS of living here to discover I was not the California Dream my partner had in mind. I was cornered into a decision to make music on my own in a new city on nothing but gut instinct, and so I have, but I was so disappointed. I had finally gotten better and it didn’t make a difference; I had come so far what? For many of my first months in Los Angeles, I could not wrap my mind around this feeling of abandonment, which had initially begun my love for writing when my parents divorced many years ago. Truthfully, I went into autopilot at my day job, where I am a personal stylist, and cried every commute there and every commute home for six months. No strict LA schedule could entice rest or appetite, and I truly did not give a fuck. I was a manic creature of the underworld living on fashion, tequila, and 80s rock. No one knew when I came and went, or what I would or could do with my time. I was and am alone. The only, and I mean ONLY way I knew to survive was to write through it.

So I wrote every day, no exceptions. There is no writer’s block if there is work ethic, and though there was hardly a will to live, there was a will to write. It took only a few months for show offers to begin, and better every time. I found excitement in my day to practice my songs and use my knowledge of fashion from work to put on a show! I love styling my live show looks, or promotional looks, too. I love day-dreaming of incredible merchandise with my lyrics or designs on them that I would *actually* wear. I began to plan for global domination…write the song, play the song, record the song, sell the song, perform the song, travel the song, and brand the song accordingly. In dreams, you will lose your heartache, indeed.

Currently, I am living in the moment of my new story in LA, writing my feelings in real time and performing them locally (for now!) It is a process. At first performing as a one-man band with a drum machine/guitar/synth combo, and now with a band, I am out for heart blood. Now that I am older (just having celebrated my 30th,) I find that I know myself well and can project an image of myself into my performances, detaching performer from player so that I can be present. This is the most exciting achievement of my career only possible through experience and time, which help me to appreciate my new age.

At home, I spend countless hours obsessing, perfecting lyrics and melodies, trying to say it like it is for the listeners going through it. I play guitar for hours every day. I owe it to Music to give a shit because Music is my friend: I have neglected it and smothered it, given it my fullest attention and starved it from my love; it responds, either way. It has been my quietest listening ear and my loudest voice, -two things I struggle to control in ‘the real world.’ I have excelled and buckled under the pressure of the unspoken obligation, to tell the truth as an artist, which can be isolating and intimidating. Ultimately, I feared owning “Suzie Chism” the artist because it would take major self-reflection, self-discipline, and acceptance, yet I found myself Suzie Chism all along here in Los Angeles.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
If my life is not difficult, I will make it difficult. I am no stranger to bad luck or self-sabotage. I chose a career path that will beat you down while stroking your ego; it is a dizzying and enticing world, and it doesn’t pay very well. I have gone all-in for music, and have missed out on a lot of life with friends and family to be performing, or to put myself in opportunity’s way. I have been treated poorly or differently in music for being a woman, for sure, at times. But really, I struggled for a long time to share my music with my family, or anyone, because it might make them uncomfortable to know so much about me.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I am an artist-songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist. I have been playing rock music for the majority of the last eight years, but love writing pop music as well if the project is right. I truly love crafting a song to make it “sound like it feels” in regards to the lyrics, and that is my goal. I am known for having “a rock voice,” cool guitar tones, and songs that will get stuck in your head (sorry!) I get categorized with other women who push limits- like Debbie Harry, Lana Del Rey, Gwen, and Dolly, and I love the company. My music is very personal (often sad) and very unique to my influences and style. I never say no to an idea I might have outside of the scope of sound people expect of me; if that is what I feel like writing, that is what I write. My voice as a writer is consistent whether the song is in the style of Snoop Dogg or Queens of the Stone Age. I work hard to write good songs, that make you think if not feel. In the end, I want to be a classic, not a trend, and can only do that with honest, thoughtful music.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Ultimately the cosmos of luck even out. Luck is surely a factor, and being in the right place at the right time is tale as old as time, but putting yourself in opportunity’s way with the work to back it is how anything has ever unlocked for me. There are magic artists and bands who breathe and it’s music; there is even star-quality that surpasses the need for talent -you can’t see those things in yourself to know if you’ve got it, so keep working. The most productive seasons for me involve working hard internally for the project but also giving back and supporting the creative community; on a night I forced myself to break from writing and see a show, I met an amazing show promoter who has given me fantastic shows in LA. And yes, it’s true, my unlucky-in-love nature has given me several albums worth of material and counting.

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Image Credit:
Heather Shane

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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