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Suzie
Rocks!
Suzie McNeil was one of the final four out of 15 contestants, and the last woman standing, in a recent televised competition for lead vocalist of the rock band INXS. At the end of November, McNeil and other singers who appeared on Rock Star: INXS go on a month-long tour of North America. McNeil will be taking a break from the tour one night to perform at the Women's Blues Revue on Nov. 26 at Massey Hall at 8 p.m. Also appearing at the WBR are Salome Bey, Shakura S'Aida, Roxanne Potvin, Lee Aaron and Dione Taylor.
Suzie McNeil used to be a little-known local performer, however, during a recent televised competition for lead vocalist of the rock band INXS, McNeil suddenly acquired fans throughout North America.
The soulful singer from Mississauga had the distinction of being one of the final four in the competition, out of 15 contestants, and the last woman standing. Although J.D. Fortune, from Oakville, was declared the winner of the 12-week reality television show Rock Star: INXS in September, McNeil's achievement on the show has clearly given her quite a career boost.
In late September, McNeil returned from Los Angeles to perform at a "fan appreciation night" at Toronto's Revival Club, which has a capacity of 500. It was an all-ages event for which the admission charge was $5. After the show, McNeil wrote in her website blog (www.suziemcneil.ca): "Saturday show at the Revival Club was SOLD OUT. Thank you to everyone who expressed their interest and support. The lineup to get in was a long one, but patience paid off as everyone who was there did eventually get into the show."
At home, McNeil found herself in the spotlight of local media. Along with appearances
on CITY-TV, Global Television and CH TV, she was interviewed on CHUM-FM and performed on
air with Toronto guitarist Sean Cotton accompanying her. She has also spent much time in
Los Angeles — she celebrated her 29th birthday there recently — meeting with "lawyers
and managers," she says, and talking to well-known songwriters who may contribute songs to
her first CD.
At the end of November, McNeil and other former contestants from RS: INXS go on a month-long tour of North America. She'll be taking a break from the tour one night to perform at the Women's Blues Revue on Nov. 26 at Massey Hall at 8 p.m.
A versatile singer, McNeil has a special affinity for the blues. "I enjoy singing the blues because it's so passionate. It's the one kind of music where I can totally let go of myself into the music. It's such a simple form of music but such a raw form of music. It's where music comes from... it's the essence of music." she says over the telephone from Los Angeles.
"I find it to be the most therapeutic music that I sing. Especially with this experience with this show (RS: INXS), I really learned what my attributes are... I mean I know I had them in me, but when you're constantly getting compared and having to rise to the occasion, you learn what you're good at, and one thing that I can carry with me that I have a lot of belief in about myself is the passion that I carry on to the stage. Blues is the perfect venue for that passion."
Up until McNeil auditioned for RS: INXS, she sang with several bands, did session work, sang commercial jingles and wrote songs with Cotton. One of the songs she co-wrote won this year's Mix 99.9 National Songwriting Competition. She also performed with some of the best musicians playing locally, including Ronnie Hawkins, Jeff Healey, Garth Hudson, The Pie Guys (at Toronto's Blue Goose) and Jerome Godboo. About four years ago, Godboo and McNeil performed a few memorable gigs together at local clubs; the music and energy the two of them produced at the now-defunct Blues on Bellair was intoxicating.
At the time McNeil auditioned for RS: INXS, her main source of income was a successful touring ABBA show, ABBAMANIA. It was good money, she says, and working on the show taught her the ins and outs of being on the road. Recalling a show in Florida, she told www.rockband.com: "This wall of energy from the crowd that came off them — I thought I was going to faint. I was really surprised at how much people get into it. But then again, it's a show that's easy to get into. It's kitschy, over-the-top fun. There's nothing deep or hard about it."
A journalist friend of McNeil's suggested she audition for RS: INXS. McNeil says nearly every Toronto rock singer was there. The day after her audition, McNeil, who was on tour with ABBAMANIA in Arizona, received a call from a representative of the show asking her for a callback. She couldn't make it, but they gave her the option of sending a video instead. "They liked it," she exclaimed over the telephone from Los Angeles. "I got it. I couldn't believe it."
RS: INXS, created by the producer of the reality television show Survivor and the creator of The Apprentice, Mark Burnett, premiered in July, with three shows each week. The first show of the week was a "reality" show, with the contestants sequestered in a mansion, the second show featured performances and during the third show contestants were eliminated. At that show, the three singers with the least number of votes from the home audience performed an INXS song and then INXS would decide whom to send home.
"The elimination show was very nerve-wracking. I was in the bottom three a lot, so I actually sang more on that whole series than anyone else," McNeil says. "They edited me in a way that I didn't look very good in the first show, so I had a rough start. It was a roller-coaster for me. It really challenged my self-confidence in a very deep way, but at the same time, I learned so much from that. My skin became very thick, which I'm very thankful for."
The show "opened up a bigger platform of opportunities for me to be able to get my music out there because there are already people who are fans and there are already supporters for me," McNeil says. "Definitely, it's a dream come true as far as it being an overnight opportunity factor."
But even without her success on the show, she says, she would still be singing. "I want to enjoy life, have a good time, and I always want to be making music and I always will be, no matter what. With this situation, I've been lucky as far as having that music reach a few more people than it would have beforehand."
—Ruth Schweitzer