~ Inside Out Australia

Pint sized New York rocker Suzanne Vega was recently in Melbourne. She joined Same Same’s Pete Dillon for a chat and a glass of wine.

Audiences will remember iconic mid and late eighties tracks like Tom’s Diner, Luka, Marlene On The Wall and Left Of Centre. But you have been recording and playing ever since?
Thank you – yes, I have been playing a lot of festivals and writing Beauty And Crime, my newest album. It was six years between releases so I had time to contemplate the new material and to find what the motivation was.

How has your music changed in the last 20 years?
I use more technology; play with other musicians, and with different producers, as well as having learned more about music in general.

You graduated from the New York High School of Performing Arts, the school that was the basis for Fame, in dance. Do you still dance?
Privately, yes. I trained for ten years as a professional dancer so there is that compulsion there, but once I started performing, I realised that it was the music that made me want to dance.

Do you have to limit yourself? Does there have to be a singular focus?
I think you have to, if you want to be successful in one area. I have devoted myself to my music, which is a difficult thing to do.

Your lyrics are quite poetic.
I have a passion for poetry so I guess that is where that comes from.

Who are your influences?
Dylan was my major influence – we all wanted to be like him at the time, but Leonard Cohen was another strong influence – his lyrics were so intimate and personal. I think every girl in New York that was writing at the time wanted to be like Laura Nero who was my great influence. I looked up to her like a big sister.

You were, in some senses, an overnight hit in the mid 80’s? Is that a fair assumption?
Back then I guess I did not see that. I was 27 and had been writing for thirteen years and did not think that it was overnight. But, I managed to sign with a big label rather than a smaller, independent label and was with them for eighteen years. So I guess my success was very sudden from there.

Are you surprised with your success in Australia, given that your lyrics are quite Upper West Side of New York?
I am gratified for the success I have had here. This is my third tour in Australia and I love it here. I write about things that are not just local, but on the other hand, I think the more local you write, the more universal those songs become. I tend not to write about things that are trendy, more a varied subject matter. I write about issues that are 100 years old, or perhaps in the future.

Suzanne Vega’s new album Beauty And Crime is out now through EMI Music.