Keeping it all in Perspective

By Connie Strong

Every once in awhile a story comes along that restores your faith in mankind.  Those seem to be harder and harder to come by as times get tougher; but when Susan Gibson left The Bugle Boy on February 13, after her performance there, she was involved in an unfortunate incident that led to one such story.

Leaving La Grange, Susan was in a car crash that broke her arm in three places and dislocated her elbow. With no health insurance to help defray medical expenses, a touring schedule that would have to be partially cancelled, and an inability to play her guitar, things looked bleak.

In the true Southern style of neighbors helping neighbors, what started out as disastrous, turned into something much more palatable. Lane Gosnay, Elizabeth Wills, Walt Wilkins and a host of other friends, fans, and fellow performers came to her rescue in ways that, she says, will leave a lasting impression on her.

“The response is something that I have been absolutely amazed with, but not surprised by, because these people are people that will help anybody they meet who needs help.”

On Saturday, April 10, The Bugle Boy held a very successful benefit concert for Susan. Headlining there with her were Walt Wilkins and the Mystiqueros and Jana Pochop who, in her time of need, Susan says, “became an army of one.”

Music lovers enjoy the songs, purchase the tickets and albums, attend the concerts and support the artists. But once the songs have all been sung and the lights go out, little thought is given to the artists with regards to their personal lives. And most probably, no one has ever thought about the fact that, while the professional spotlight may seem to be an enviable place to be, there is no real job security in the case of a crisis—and no medical insurance.

Susan was working on an album, “Tightrope,” that was to be released in the spring. Because of the accident, its production was halted and the release date postponed until fall. Even though she was back on the road by March 6, she is still unable to “carry” a show by herself. She has had to reduce her performance schedule, cancelling all of her East Coast shows.

“It’s one thing to perform in front of those who know your work, and support you unconditionally. But you don’t want to make a first impression when you’re not at the top of your game.”

Reduced schedules equal reduced income. Add to that mounting medical expense, and it creates a serious personal and financial crisis for the artist.

And yet, Susan has managed to maintain a joie de vivre. Always maintaining a sense of humor is one of the things that have helped her through the healing process.

She states, “Humor is a great way to keep your perspective on things. It really is good medicine. If you can laugh at something, it takes all the scariness away.

“For instance, in the same batch of mail, we got the ER bill, the surgeon’s bill and a plaque for Entertainer of the Year from Texas Music Hall of Fame! Receiving that plaque on the same day as the bills was like, ‘Here. Here’s the ice pack to place on the other two major jabs that came in my mailbox!’”

On April 11, Susan performed in Luckenbach, and another benefit is scheduled for April 18 at Gruene Hall.  There is a real sense of “family” when it comes to members of the Austin music scene. If there’s a benefit, people are always willing to lend a helping hand.  “There are a lot of us that can’t take out our checkbooks to help somebody, but we can donate our time and our talents. It’s a real grassroots, personal type of campaign to take care of each other.”

Susan is passionate about playing the iconic dancehalls of Texas, like Gruene Hall and Luckenbach. She explains, “You can’t play a bad note because there are just too many good ones that have been played there before. You get the sense that all of that history has been absorbed in the wood. It’s an honor to play there; you stand on the shoulders of the giants. The floors are worn, but those places have character– and they bring that character to your performance.”

Luckenbach is presenting shows with the female artist in mind called, “She Writes, She Sings.” Susan says, “Abbey has done a great job promoting female singer/songwriters. Aside from having the big shows out there on Friday or Saturday nights with the solid, traditional guys like Jerry Jeff Walker, she has really brought fresh blood into the mix by having a different kind of thematic performance going on. It’s been really fun to be a part of that experience.”

But on Saturday night, Susan toned it down a bit, playing a more subdued venue at The Bugle Boy as opposed to the rowdy dancehall scene. She loves both venues, but says there’s something special in what Lane has created.

“You adjust and adapt to the place you are playing and Lane sets you up to be an honored guest. That makes you want to do your best.

“Lane has such a great venue there. She treats it so respectfully and she is militant about getting respect for the songwriter… She’s a staunch advocate for a respectful, attentive crowd. You don’t have to have theatrical-type songs. You can do your softer stuff and it comes across because you are allowed to be subtle; you’re not competing with anything else going on in the room. There are only a handful of venues like that in the country.”

Susan describes what she terms as “the elevator effect” of performing in front of large crowds: “I’m not going to make eye contact with you, and you’re going to pretend that I’m not here.” She says that never happens at The Bugle Boy.

“With so many of my songs, I need to be able to make eye contact with the people. That’s where I recognize what lines resonate with them. You don’t get that at a larger venue; you don’t get that opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with 30 people at the same time.  It’s a great playground to refine what your show is like.”

Funny. Grateful. Humble. Three words, aside from talented, that probably best describe Susan Gibson.

Although she wrote the title track for the Dixie Chicks Grammy-winning album, “Wide Open Spaces”—and even though they invited her onstage when they accepted their award, she is very modest in discussing it. She places the credit where she feels the credit belongs: to the performers that brought her words to life.

She describes the Chicks as “a gracious group of people who wanted to recognize me as the writer of that song.”

Susan states, “It was a really great song, but it was an awesome group of artists that performed it. That song would not have had the impact if it were done by [a different artist at a different time]. It was an absolutely magical blend of good artists and good timing. They were so sincere with it. They sang the lyrics as if it were something they thought of, and they did it so beautifully.”

The bottom line is this: Susan’s spirit is intact, held together by a bit of luck, a ton of friends, lots of fans and a musical community that has risen to the occasion to support one of their own.

She says, “Nobody died, my arm will heal and hopefully I’ll keep the perspective gained from the [incident] — and I will carry that with me when I’m back 100%. I won’t lose sight of anyone who helped me.

“I’ll be there for them if they ever need me, for sure.”

If love and music are universal languages, then Susan’s experience has taught us all to speak with a little bit more compassion, and never lose sight of that wonderful joie de vivre.

You can support the work of The Bugle Boy with an online donation to The Bugle Boy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Tags: Artist Interview: Susan Gibson, Conversation with the Artist

This entry was posted on Friday, April 9th, 2010 at 1:38 pm and is filed under Artist Interviews, Connie Strong. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.