How do I even begin…First I’m just very grateful for so many things happening with the direction of my  music. I’ve learned, over time, that the BAR SCENE is a lot of fun, but it never was my style. One of my favorite places I’ve performed, was Eddies Attic in Georgia and I’ll tell you why, because it was focused on the Musician and their Original Works. This is so very very important to what I do…tell stories, lyrically charge up, create images, cause something to stir around.  So meanwhile, back here in Minneapolis, there are places I’ve played like The Loring Bohemian Cafe, and The Fine Line Music Cafe etc…All focused on the music, the musician, the art of it all.

As I have always loved this type of performance, I’ve still been getting bookings in local bars and also through my travels to other parts of the country. As the evolution of my career turns and twists, I’ve met some amazing musicians…. Steve Kimmel being one and Steve Crooks, being another, that I have had the pleasure of performing with, in my own home not all that long ago. Both such seasoned and accomplished musicians and both such an honor to perform with.  Since this, Steve Kimmel who also works with Heart of the Beast Theater has been generous in giving me two tickets to a show near the end of March, where I will have the honor of doing a very short performance.

The University Avenue Project

has been kind enough … due to the request of Wing Young to perform a 30 min set

at the Dancers Studio in St. Paul! 

REALLY looking forward to this, since I was asked to do this, a couple weeks ago.  One of the photos, featured my song “Don’t Let it Die”…in a series that Wing Young had featured in St. Paul, on a 40×40 foot billboard, along with other local musicians from the Twin Cities, and considering how many brilliant minds reside in this great city, it’s an honor to have been chosen.  If you are from the area, I hope you find a chance to make an appearance. I will be performing at 5:30pm….

I’ve been collaborating with musicians still, and still have several works in progress with Boris Van Luger that I’m looking forward to completing.  I am currently working on my latest CD as well….although funds are necessary, this is also a work in progress.  I do accept donations to help fund the release, the hard copies as well as getting the digital copies heading in the right direction, iTunes, Amazon etc…these things are not free. I would love to get into a studio at some point, and also I’m dealing with two very slow computers, and hard drives that are filling up very quick with the higher quality recordings I am doing in my home studio. I’m also paying for my website as well as my stream, so that I can broadcast. My guitars both need the frets redone and a few minor adjustments to keep them in good working order.  For those of you that have donated, you are such a wonderful help in contributing to what I Love Doing and what I have an insatiable desire to continue doing. Keep it coming, every thing has a place with my passion in life, and everything is in dire need of upgrades and repair from time to time.  You can donate anytime, just by going to my website Suzen JueL . We are also working on membership benefits, to those who care to do a monthly donation…I’ll keep you posted on that!

Secretly, someone informed me that I was a ‘preferred musician’ on the Second Life Grid. Now truth be told, I forget myself, often, and often feel frustrated with where my  music goes sometimes and where I perform. I was pleasantly surprised to find I was listed as ‘one of many favorites’….as well as 9 other FANTASTIC Musicians….it’s not a contest and it’s not about who is BEST, it’s just about being a favorite, for whatever the reasons may be. For example, I LOVE Grace McDunnough, one of the other favorites, according to the poll Hamlet Au who has been covering the SL Music Scene since I can remember.  Took me back to some of our first interviews, over 5 years ago!  SO if you get a chance to check the article out (linked on Hamlets name) and you’re feeling the love, feel free to give me your THUMBS UP!!! I appreciate all the support I get from my fans, and feel free to pass it on to your friends, I’ll never have enough fans, but I will always be grateful for everyone of you, your support has always been well taken and so much appreciated!

I’m excited! Collaborations are always a good thing, and in the era of technology, we have so many opportunities to reach out and connect with people that live oceans away from us. A few years back, I started to dual stream with a friend of mine in Second Life, ‘Ricardo Sprocket’ or Rich Petko. He had introduced so many musicians from around the world, to some simple ways to dual stream…meaning, that everyone who is tuned into the stream we use to broadcast a live performance, hears us as if we were in the same room. In fact, often that is what newer people in Second Life think…Eventually I was hooking up with various musicians for the dual streaming…I would perform and they would do a lead guitar while I played or harmonies on vocals.

The first person on the stream…gives their stream info. to the 2nd person on the stream. That person, is the main Broadcaster. The first person begins and the 2nd person hears everything as if they were in the same room. However, the first person can not hear the 2nd person. Make sense? It’s actually much simpler than it sounds. Anyway..more opportunities came along outside of the realm of SecondLife. Phil Rossi, Linus Radford and currently am dual streaming in second life with Tukso Okey who plays a MEAN Acoustic Blues! We do this every Thursday at Living ROom #13. The benefits of this include reaching a bigger audience. Their fans come to see them, yours come to see you…imagine the possibilities with this!  The 2nd person on the stream is the one who can record the stream, live…that way you can listen back to it and hear what the other person is doing…it only gets better!

Boris Van Luger, a musician from Switzerland that I met about 2 years ago on TheSixtyone.com and I have been working on little things, ideas here and there. About a month or so ago, he asked me to write something for a video he was working on ‘Stories from Pain’ and so I sent him some words..which he used at the end of this video…and now, it’s “lover”…a song I wrote a couple years ago…This guy is pure genius, no doubt about that, and we talked about the song Lover. Thinking how great it would be for Boris to do his version of my song…a couple days later, in an email was the song…Lover-retake. I was in awe..No words..he wrote “Put your vocals on this and send just your vocals back to me, I will do the rest’…WOW. Now I wasn’t quite expecting this…So it’s the newest project here with me. Not that it’s hard for me to lay down a vocal track, but it’s doing my own song, to someone else’s interpretation of my song…it flows just like my original…but Boris put some very sweet sounds in his retake, Big bending lovely guitar sounds among other instruments..percussion etc.

BIG Gratitude here…and how the whole world can connect through social media websites such as T61. Reverbnation. Youtube and now UVUMI.com is sweet as well! (I like it MUCH better than T61). I just wanted to share that. I realize I haven’t been keeping this updated as of late, and I thought I’d fill you in on some of the tastier things that have come my way. My hopes and goals here, are to continue such wonderful collaborations. Making music is my passion in life, writing lyrics and the biggest compliment ever, is when another  musician, wants to do your song.  There are about a half a dozen musicians doing their own interpretation of my song Lover…and each one brings a certain sweetness to how they do it. Such BIG LOVE to them for asking, and for taking it to a whole new level of perception.

I’ll keep you posted, and perhaps even upload part of this completely remarkable experience…there is more to come.  If you get a chance, stop by Living Room #13 for Dirty Thursdays at 4pm PST (SLT).

Much love, peace and bright pretty stars!!! -

-Suzen