Thursday, March 15   8:00 p.m.
Light Bar   (408 Congress Ave)

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  Suzanna Choffel - Hey Mister
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Put it like this: Suzanna Choffel's music is comprised of some beautiful things that can be found in styles such as folk, R&B, hip-hop, and jazz. The genre thing just isn't working out for her. Her rich, sultry voice could easily be heard over straight rhythm & blues or an old folk song, but her music stretches outside these boundaries-adding modern twists to traditional methods. That being said, if folk music is literally that-music for the people, a simple & heart-felt music that bleeds raw and speaks a million pictures in a few verses, then yes, her music is folk. But she plays an electric hollow-body that comes out more jazz than folk, more funk than rock. Tired of the "strum-strum-strum" she found so many singer-songwriters over-abusing, she began to use her fingers as drumsticks, developing a percussive picking style that lended rhythmic variation to her melodies.

Her vocal stylings reflect that of the many R&B and jazz singers she admired as a youngster, but over the years she has interwoven the smooth silk with a bit of scratchy wool taken from Latin chanteuses and folk singers. Lyrically, she builds metaphors and clever rhymes that hint at some great desire, frustration, or revelation that we have all experienced in some form or fashion.

Wherever she performs her music, people take notice immediately. As one audience member told her "Most of the time, I walk into a club and the music is so assaulting I just want to leave. Your music is so welcoming I couldn't help but stay". Choffel (pronounced "show-fell") was born and raised in Austin, TX where she has performed live since the age of 13 at venues such as Saxon Pub, Momos, and Antones. She performs both solo and with her band which consists of drummer Eldridge Goins (Patrice Pike, Carolyn Wonderland, Wendy Colonna) and upright bassist John Thomasson (Matt Nathanson, David Garza). 2006 has been a big year for Choffel as she was chosen to perform at South Park Music Festival in Colorado, was selected as a showcase performer for the Southwest Regional Folk Alliance Conference, and is releasing her debut album Shudders & Rings this fall. The album is a beautiful marriage of folk, jazz, Brazilian, and pop stylings, featuring lush guitar, vibraphone, subtle beats and haunting vocals. Choffel plans on touring in the early spring of 2007 to promote her new album.