Suzanne Vega is appearing at The Ark on April 16 at 8 p.m. performing “Old Songs, New Songs and Other Songs.”
“I titled it that because when people come to a show you generally expect to hear the old songs,” Vega said. “But I wanted to know that we are also doing new ones, and that were trying them out, so people who are interested in new material should come see this particular show because it has a different flavor and quality than other shows. We’re trying things out. There may be things that work. There may be things that don’t work. So you may never hear them again. So its kind of a unique moment in time to come and check out what I’m doing. But then you can also have the satisfaction of hearing old songs and possibly a couple of deep cuts from certain albums.”
Vega’s music has been considered to be contemporary folk or neofolk.
“I think there is an element of truth to being called neofolk or contemporary folk,” Vega said. “I mean I think of it that way because my one instrument is the acoustic guitar. So that’s my root. And that is what I keep going back to is a certain narrative, as a songwriter, way of working with the acoustic guitar. But I also like to play around, I like to experiment. I do some songs that are like rock and roll, or some that are kinda like jazz.”
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The interview was interrupted momentarily by the East Coast Earthquake on April 5. But Vega continued the interview extremely composed afterward.
Vega: I don’t let that description, uhm (noise and then pause)
I’m sorry the whole building is shaking.
Current: Oh, where are you?
Vega: I am in the city (more noise)
Vega, ah, (Pause), I think we may have just had a little earthquake.
Current: Oh my goodness
Vega: Uhm, (pause) Well, it stopped now, so I’ll keep talking (chuckles.) Jeez.
Uhm. It was more significant than say when the subway rumbles, so, I think, wow. Let me get back. Uh, where was I?
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“I don’t let that description dictate what kind of song I write,” Vega said. “But if I want to write a song like ‘Caramel,’ which is sorta bossa nova, I just go and do it. But then I generally return to form.”
Her current tour, with a Midwestern emphasis, will also reflect her musical variety as well.
“Well, I usually do a group of the older songs right up front,” Vega said. “Yeah, I do old songs right up front because it puts everybody at ease. These are songs that they know. And then we’ll probably do some very new things. Probably a set of three in the show. And then we sorta ramp it up a bit and then we usually end with the two hits. And then we do a variety of things for the encores, maybe we’ll do another new song, maybe we’ll do a cover or two. But that’s the general outline.”
Vega has been consistently and successfully songwriting, making albums and performing for over 40 years.
“I still have a lot I want to say,” Vega said. “The process is very very slowly. I have some ideas and images I wanted to do as a child and as a teenager. And I still want to do them. So I feel like I’m still learning to be a better performer. Learning to tackle certain subjects. As I get older the subjects that I write about change. I’ve never written any songs about romance and love. But now that I’m older, I don’t know, there’s just so much to write about.”
Vega also credits her long-time accompanist Jerry Leonards for his support, who will also be performing.
“Jerry Leonard is my musical director, and he is also my accompanist,” Vega said. “He’s the band. He has a unique way of orchestrating the songs. He does all the production even though the only instrument he is playing is the guitar, but somehow through the switch pedals and the technology, the two of us have worked on these arrangements that are very dynamic. And so we can play huge festivals and we can also play very intimate venues. And we sorta tailor it to the situation.”
Vega also recalled various influences she has had in her performing and writing.
One influence was Lou Reed.
“Seeing Lou Reed changed my way of writing,” Vega said. “I felt he was very blunt and very truthful in his writing and I became sorta infatuated with going back and watching him perform over and over again. And this gave me the feeling that I had absolute freedom in my writing. I could write about any things, any subject, nothing was taboo as long as I felt a connection to it.”
Some classes at her alma mater, Barnard, also had a large impact on her.
“It (Barnard) did influence me up to a point,” Vega said. “Some of it was material that I was reading. But really it is more the theater. Things that I learned in the theater department there. A course called ‘The Dramatic Monologue’. And this is a very exciting course to me because I learned that you could create a character and speak through this character. And that’s what I’ve done through a lot of my songs.”
Another course taught Vega to be more extroverted.
“A course that I really loved was a course on Musical Ensemble Theater which I never thought I would be that kind of person that would take a musical ensemble theater class but the teacher was brilliant. Her name was Shirley Kaplan and she was just really gifted at bringing out people, especially people who were very introverted like people like me. So I learned so much in her classes,” Vega said.
Vega still considers herself an introvert but loves to perform.
“You know how some people jump out of airplanes for a thrill? I would never do that,” Vega said. “This (performing) is my way of having a thrill. Is putting myself on the stage and talking to strangers.”
Vega also views writing and performing as generally two separate entities.
“They’re separate,” Vega said. “Generally, writing is one process and then performing them is another. Over the years I’ve gotten used to going from one to the other. But in the beginning, I remember thinking, Wow this is.. think I spent two years in my teens, writing songs, and then I felt very, very self-conscious when I came out to sing them. And in fact it felt like I was doing something very fake. You know the effort to perform them was very foreign to me. But over time, I got used to it. You know it’s called putting on a show. It’s called learning to perform.”
She stated that many of her new songs were influenced by the pandemic.
“In this batch of songs, I have a post-Covid landscape,” Vega said. “That’s what I’m interested in right now because I’m living it. Covid hit New York very hard. So that’s affected everything.”
Vega is familiar with Ann Arbor has performed at the Ark before as well.
“Yeah, I’ve played the Ark,” Vega said. “Oh, I love it. The audience is great. It’s great. It’s very familiar. I’m really looking forward to coming back.”
This tour also focuses on the Midwest to a large degree, including Grand Rapids, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
“I’m happy to get out there and play new stuff and especially know that its coming,” Vega said. “They have no reason to complain if we jam a bunch of new things right into the middle of the set. They will enjoy that. Yeah, I’m looking forward to it, especially the Midwest. This tour really focuses on the Midwest of America. So it’s going to have its own special flavor.”
Suzanne Vega. The Ark. 316 S Main St, Ann Arbor. April 16 at 8 p.m.
Donna Marie Iadipaolo is a writer, journalist, and State of Michigan certified teacher, since 1990. She has written for national publications like The Village Voice, Ear Magazine of New Music, Insurance & Technology, and TheStreet.
She is now writing locally for many publications, including Current Magazine, Ann Arbor Family, and the Ann Arbor Independent. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where she graduated with an honors bachelor’s degree and three teacher certificate majors: mathematics, social sciences, English. She also earned three graduate degrees in Master of Science, Master of Arts, and Education Specialist Degree.
