Susan Savia
Singer, composer and guitarist Susan Savia is a Buddhist/Taoist practitioner and Raw Foods Chef. Music, like everything else in life for Susan, is about being open to the truth. For her, this has meant that music was destined to be an inextricable part of her life, but something she must approach on her own terms. The result is original, evocative and peaceful music about love and awakening.
Susan grew up in a family of fire fighters in northern Virginia. She played piano by ear at age 5, and like all great singers, started in the church choir. Self-taught on the guitar at 14, Susan was asked to sing at weddings, funerals, folk festivals and parties. In the 1980’s, she moved to the Baltimore area and performed solo, and then as one-half of the popular folk/blues duo, Backseat Drivers. They entertained for about 10 years across Maryland, DC, and Virginia.
In 1997, Susan became interested in Buddhism. While browsing in a local bookstore, she saw a flyer for a Buddhist teaching in Baltimore and thought it would be interesting. She drove an hour to listen, not knowing what to expect, and was immediately drawn to the Dharma. Seeking peace of mind and spiritual awakening, she realized that Buddhism was the path for her and began to integrate it into her life. Working full-time at a local college, she still performed music occasionally, but was losing interest in singing. In 1999, she bought her first house in the country, started a new relationship, and decided “time to give up music and focus on those two things for a while. I never really expected to return to music.”
A vacation to Hawai’i in 2004 inadvertantly changed all that. Susan and her husband took a trip to the Big Island (“…Hawai’i is so inspiring!”), and upon her return home, she left her full-time job. She was asked to run for the State House of Representatives of Pennsylvania for the Green Party (being the only visible Buddhist in town, she was known around York as a leader and environmentalist.) She won 8% of the vote against an incumbent, successfully helping the Green Party maintain party status in Pennsylvania.
Following that adventure, she took some time to “figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up”. Everything seemed to converge: her healthy romantic relationship, the wonderful experience of Hawai’i, spending time watching nature, continuing her path toward awakening.
Music tugged at her heart, so in 2005 at the age of 51, she picked up her guitar and began playing again, but this time on her own terms. She started experimenting with open tunings, writing new songs and rearranging vintage music. (Susan has a passion for Post-Romantic Music (circa 1880-1915). She developed a unique style, pulled from past influences such as Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, David Byrne, Incredible String Band, The Moody Blues, Jazz great Tim Warfield, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and more. People embraced her new sound when she played out in tearooms and coffeehouses and assisted living facilities.
In 2006, Susan produced and recorded her very first CD, Cosmic Summer Sojourn. The debut CD was brilliantly engineered and co-produced by Rob Ziv (Eric Clapton, Aaron Neville, Celine Dion), culminating in an enchanting aural daytrip and an expression of awakening. The music is a mix of old and new; joy and love; spirituality and nature. The artistic anthology features Susan’s beautiful vocals and unique guitar arrangements. She offers her original music, anchored by some late 19th century songs uniquely re-arranged by her to sound current, all interlaced with the sounds of summer recorded in her backyard. One reviewer writes: “To me the most captivating parts of the CD are the tracks where your voice and that of the guitar are pure and allow me the most access to the poetry of your lyrics. Your artistic virtuosity both vocally and instrumentally are astounding: each alone would be rare.”
Susan is performing as much as possible and continuing to compose new tunes. She also just started a new Raw Foods Catering Business, VEGETE (stay tuned for more on that). Her CD, Cosmic Summer Sojourn, is already generating significant buzz, with requests for copies and interviews as far away as Eastern Europe and Australia. One song was chosen for a compilation CD, Chill Out: East Coast Version due out May 2007.
Susan believes the time is right for her enchanting, peaceful music. “I think people are ready to listen for subtleties -- many are longing for beauty, innocence, love -- the goodness that is all around and mixed into my music,” Susan states. “I love when they tell me ‘your music is so wonderfully gentle’ or ‘your CD is so relaxing’ or ’your voice is SO beautiful!”
With her incredible talents, original voice and the ability “to let go and become open to truth -- whatever it might turn out to be”, Susan Savia’s interesting journey will continue for a long time, and one that a lot of people will want to follow.