|
  emale
salsa band leaders are hard to come by. Susie Hansen is
a world class modern day pioneer. She carries a popular
punch wherever she and her band perform.
Her virtuoso skills and groovy salsa (charanga) sounds
make her electric violin sound as if it was a natural
extension of a deep rooted Latin upbringing somewhere in
Cuba.
Her background, however, was not from being raised in a
Latin family, nor was it in Cuba, the Bronx, East Los
Angeles, Miami, or from any other Latin cultural
upbringing. As we're about to hear in her interview,
Susie's professionalism comes from her exceptional
ability to excel within new artistic challenges!
In her case, her artistic gift and talent has manifested
her into world fame within the Latin musical genres of
salsa, mambo, charanga, Latin jazz, and everything else
Latin.
The Los Angeles based Susie Hansen Latin Band is one of
the most popular salsa bands on the West Coast. Her band
is also a name to be reckoned with around the world,
with a few CD's in her belt. In spite of great success
in the salsa world, Susie is about as down to earth as
anyone can be, taking the whole thing in stride.
Her always upbeat, very pleasant and happy personality
is apparent as she arrives at our dinner table on this
beautiful Pasadena, California evening, in the famous
old town district. After a nice meal and conversation at
a Japanese establishment, we begin the interview.
Les Rivera: When was the Susie Hansen Latin Band
first established?
Susie Hansen: It was established at the end of
1989. I had been playing with Papo Conga. He and I had a
falling out at the time, but we had some gigs coming up
at El Floridita in Hollywood. I went to the club to
speak to owner Armando Castro and I explained that Papo
Conga and I weren’t going to play together any more. If
Armando wanted to continue using Papo’s band it was
fine, but I was not going to be there. So Armando gave
me my own gig, my first one under my own name in Los
Angeles.
I put together a band and we had gigs right from the
gate. Eddie Ortiz from Son Mayor was my lead singer for
the first year of my band. It was great!
I first came to Los Angeles in 1988. Within the first
year and half living here I played with Francisco
Aguabella, which was the first break I got. Then I
played with Bobby Matos. Next I played in the bands of
Long John Oliva, Candy Sosa, and Papo Conga.
I played with a lot of local guys whom I learned a lot
from, especially Joe Rotundi, the piano player. He and I
would practice together. I learned so much from him.
When I played with him in Candy's band, I taped all our
gigs and learned a tremendous amount that way too. So, I
was ready to do my own band. I had also had my own band
in Chicago doing bebop and straight ahead jazz for six
years, so I already knew how to lead a band.
LR: Susie, how did you get started in salsa?
SH: I got started in salsa in Chicago. In 1987, I
was playing with my own jazz band at an event in Grant
Park, called "Taste of Chicago." The band right before
us was Victor Parra and the Mambo Express Allstars.
Victor had a regular show on public radio for salsa,
charanga, mambo and so forth.
He played before us, and I confess I didn't pay much
attention. I was more concerned about such things as
getting our own sound correct. But he stayed and
listened to us! After our show he approached me and he
said that he had fired his violin player within the last
week and he needed a new one. Then he asked me to come
down and play with them on Monday at the Moosehead Bar
and Grill. I said, “What do I know about mambo?” He
goes, “Oh don't worry, you'll get it.” And I did! I went
down there and I just got it. I could play the music
right away, no problems with the rhythm, and no
questions about the harmonies or the chord changes.
The saxophone player would go (Susie imitating the sound
of the horn). He would play me a line and I would play
the same. So when I first got into it I just loved it
(happy smile)!
LR: Where did you learn to play the violin, and
why did you choose that instrument?
SH: Oh, I didn't choose it, my father did! I was
five when I started. My father was a member of the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, playing in that orchestra
for 38 years. He was my teacher and I loved to practice
and play. I was a very happy violin player as a kid. By
the time I was ten I was practicing three hours a day.
LR: You play the Zeta violin. What's the
difference between that and a regular violin?
SH: The Zeta has a solid body like the guitar. It
has no acoustic chamber, so there is no resonating air
in the body. It doesn't really propagate the sound
within the physical properties of the instrument.
The only way the sound is amplified or projected at all
is through the five pickups under the five strings. It's
a totally amplified instrument with no acoustic sound. I
like it, because you have no problem with feedback, it
has a nice even tone, and I really like the quality of
the sound of the Zeta. I have been playing it for almost
twenty years.
LR: You came from Chicago. How did you end up in
Los Angeles?
SH: I have two sisters. One was in New York and
one was in LA. I was living in Chicago in 1987 and I had
a steady gig at the Green Mill. The Green Mill was an
old established club there. I played every Tuesday for a
year and a half. When we lost that gig I was kind of
disappointed and unhappy. On the other hand I realized I
could take some time off, which I hadn't done because of
the busy work schedule.
I called my sister Joan and I said well, finally I can
take a vacation. First I am going to Boston, where I
went to school, and I am going to see some of my
friends. She said are you nuts? You never visit me! So I
said ok, I am coming to LA. Once I got to LA I wanted to
move here. Within three months I moved and I lived in
LA. Great (laughter)! After a few years, my other sister
moved to LA too. She plays viola in the studios, so were
all here now.
LR: Are your CD releases still popular and
selling well?
SH: Yes, I still sell a lot of the current one
all over the world, "The Salsa Never Ends." It's been
out two and a half years now. We still get airplay all
over the world. It's never been a real big seller, but
it has been a very consistent seller, ever since it was
released. We also get e-mails and fan letters from all
over the world.
My first CD “Solo Flight” didn't get as much attention.
But now it's rallying again, and we're selling a lot of
this CD. Just two years ago we had a minor hit in Italy
from one of the songs from the first CD, “Beautiful
Maria of My Soul.” And last week, a DJ from Italy showed
up at one of our dance gigs, and he said that we are now
very popular in Italy with the song, “La Salsa Nunca Se
Acaba.”
LR: Is there a new CD in the works?
SH: Yes, we're getting the music together for
that now.
LR: Do you dance salsa yourself?
SH: Oh yeah, I love to dance, "on-1" or "on-2"!
Salsa is the most joyous dance and music in the world.
When you go out to a dance place and you look at people
dancing, they all have a smile on their faces, no matter
how well or bad they dance. This is different from a
rock club or a disco, where people often have this look
of attitude on their face.
LR: Describe salsa music.
SH: Salsa is the world's most heartfelt music. It
appeals to people at so many levels. It's rhythmic and
it makes many people want to dance. Even people who do
not know how to dance are usually moving in their
chairs. It's jazzy, and it's got a sophisticated
harmony. It appeals to people at a level that's
intellectual in the same degree that jazz always did.
The music is evocative, making people feel the music in
their hearts. People respond to its harmony, the
wonderful rhythm and the heartfelt music.
LR: Have you performed live outside of the West
Coast, and where?
SH: I started my career in Boston, so I played
there. Then I moved to Chicago and I played there, with
my own band. Since I started my own band in LA we have
played throughout California, in Las Vegas, in Montana,
in Mexico, in New York City a couple of times, in New
Jersey. We toured in Toronto, Canada, playing at
festivals there last summer. We don't tour all that
much, but we do like to travel and perform.
LR: Hector “La Voz” Resendez, his beloved staff,
and his popular salsa radio show play your music and
your jingle every Saturday. Salsa and Latin jazz
enthusiasts love Susie Hansen. How did you become so
popular?
SH: (Laughter) He calls me the “Jazz Girl" (more
laughter)! See, that's what my car license plate says.
(Author verifies this is true). Hector is the greatest
supporter of local musicians. There are lots of radio
stations in this town which support Latin jazz and
salsa. They are full of great DJ's. But, Hector is
someone really special. You can always call him up and
get on his show. If you have something important to say
he will announce it for you. He is behind all the
musicians in such an important and valuable way.
I, in turn, have tried to give that back too. I support
his radio station, I contribute money to them when they
have fund drives, and I sometimes go down there to be on
the show for the fund drives. I wrote and produced that
jingle for them during the making of my first CD. Hector
loved it. He said it was a good station ID. People come
up to me from nowhere and they start singing "Sal-sa for
South-ern California, Canto Tropical", and they just
sing it to me (laughter).
Everybody on Canto Tropical has a good heart; Kathy "La
Rumbera" Diaz, all the guys on the show, from Pedrito
"Swing" Maldonado, Armando Nila “El Caballero Salsero”,
and Carlos "El Marinero" Montani, they all take care of
the musicians. We can't survive without that. They all
do this for the love of salsa.
LR: Is it hard to be a female bandleader in a
typically male oriented salsa artist world?
SH: That's an interesting question. It would be
hard for me to know, since I never had the experience of
being a male bandleader (smile). The truth from my
personal experiences is there are some Latino guys who
cannot deal with a woman in charge. But they don’t last
long in my band. They quit because they can't take it,
or else they cause too much grief for everyone and I
fire them.
So the guys who are in my band are normal, intelligent,
responsible guys who simply want to have good leader and
play good music. They respect me as a bandleader; they
always get paid what they’ve been promised. The
musicians get to the gigs on time and I take care of the
details. They know that they will always have other good
musicians to play with in my band. It took me a while to
get an entire band with no jerks, but I think any
bandleader goes through this, whether you are male or
female.
The fact that I am not a Latina may help me more than
hinder me. As a non-Latina I don't have to deal with
some of the embedded prejudices that Latinas are faced
with. The negative aspect of not being a Latina is that
some people may think what does a “white girl” know
about our music? Yet I have this music we love for so
long I've gotten past that attitude. People have
discovered that I can really play and I always treat the
music with respect, that I love the music. The whole
thing ends up not being a problem.
LR: What advice do you have for up and coming,
aspiring female bandleaders?
SH: My best advice for musicians when you're
young is to learn the music and the songs. Play with
people as much as you can. Get out there, sit in, be
willing to go to rehearsals, take the lessons,
transcribe, dig in, and get it! Learn how things work,
that's the most important thing. Then you'll have
something to offer to a band leader.
To bandleaders the most important advice would be not to
get into it if you're not willing to do the business.
It's too hard to have a band if you're not willing to
work to get it booked.
LR: How do you become a recognized name as an
artist?
I remember reading in college that persistence is
nine-tenths of the artist. Of course, the punch line is,
“but who wants to be nine-tenths of an artist?” So first
you have to know you have that musical gift. People have
to relate to the music that flows through you. But then
persistence is crucial. You have to practice, study and
play, get the gigs, and be persistent. Learn to write
and arrange music. You cannot sit back and wait for the
phone to ring or for people to come to you. Persistence
is the key factor.
Susie Hansen's website can be found at
www.SusieHansen.com |
