70's
tunes in the key of makin' love !
What happened
was...It was supposed to be a one-time thing.
A lark. A goof. We were an indie-rock/pop
band called the Gentle Readers, and we wanted
to do a whole show of cover songs --songs
by other artists from the 60's and 70's. So
we named ourselves after a friend, Susi French,
and added the "Connection" not only
for the purpose of arousing intrigue (as in
'what kind of a connection?') but to display
our Faye Dunaway-esqe sensibility. We had
three albums out of our own, and we all sort
of harbored feelings of distrust at the least
in any musician who put on a rented tuxedo
(or worse yet, owned one) and played limp
versions of mediocre songs for money. It seemed
like selling out.
But we grew up in the 70's and always loved
the music and so with reverence in our hearts,
we learned a group of songs, and people came
to our show, and they sang along, and everybody
just really had a great time. What began in
2000 as a one-time-only event has blossomed
into our main deal. We're The Susi French
Connection full-time now, and in addition
to our twice-a-year shows at Eddie's Attic
in Decatur, Georgia, we've started playing
weddings and parties of all sorts.
Our lineup of two guitars, keyboard, bass
guitar, and drums is augmented by our fabulous
background singers The Baguettes. From the
beginning it has been the extraordinary harmony
singing of Mary Rutt and Becky Shaw that makes
the whole dang deal. Singer Susan Fitzsimmons,
guitarist Lee Cuthbert (that's me - I'm the
disembodied internet voice), drummer Linda
Bolley and bassist Greg Partridge have been
performing together as the Gentle Readers
for many years, and keyboardist Allen Broyles
is our newest member.
The Susi French
Connection song list includes disco, classic
country, rock and pop hits by everyone from
Donna Summer to Neil Diamond to the Bee Gees,
Abba and many others.We now think that maybe
all the good songs have already been written
(which is why we gave up writing our own).
If you're a little too hip for a "wedding
band," (and believe me, I never thought
I'd play in one) if you want to hear great
songs played by a rock band and not a lounge
band, and if you like a little witty banter
(we've known each other too long), then you're
at the right Web site. If you don't have a
superlative time at a Susi French show, you
must be an evildoer. That's all I can say
about it.
|
