Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Interview and album review: Susan Gibson’s New Dog, Old Tricks

By Andrew McElwee

Tony Arata. Bob DiPiero. To the average listener, these names may seem a little ambiguous. But reveal they wrote worldwide smashes such as Garth Brooks' The Dance or Blue Clear Sky by George Strait, respectively, and their association takes on a whole new meaning.

That's essentially Susan Gibson, the woman responsible for penning the Dixie Chicks' hit "Wide Open Spaces." With the Chicks' incredible harmony and instrumentation, the title track and album went multiplatinum, selling in excess of 16 million copies. Both songwriter and band have reaped the benefits ever since.

But for Gibson, it was just business as usual. This blonde troubadour shows no signs of relenting anytime soon, and her reasoning is simple.

"I love to play. I love to travel," commented Susan. "It's a really good way for me to relate to people, when I don't always relate to them one on one."

Growing up in Amarillo, TX, Susan discovered her penchant for songwriting while learning the acoustic guitar. She composed her first song at a church retreat during her freshman year at West Texas State University (now known as West Texas A & M). Her continuous improvement on the six-string fueled her natural writing ability; with each new chord progression came a new set of lyrics.

That led to a successful four-year stint with alternative country band The Groobees, as well as two successful solo albums, Chin Up and Outerspace (the latter of which contains "Wide Open Spaces").

And now, with the release of her third studio album, New Dog, Old Tricks, Susan Gibson revisits songs from her youth, infusing them with a little more wisdom, a lot more acoustics, and some masterful engineering by Walt Wilkins.

"My Best Feature," a song whose title has invariably surfaced in that classic pick-up line, answers the question another way: that the artist's best and worst qualities make up the real deal, and that's enough to be satisfied. It's about finally accepting yourself the way you are, and tossing aside self-conscious behavior.

Another unforgettable track, "Last of His Kind," tells of a soulful 56-year-old who rediscovers his long-lost talent for performing. It's the kind of song that makes you want to get your master's degree at sixty, or convince your neurotic girlfriend on her birthday that the 30's are the new 20's. Definitely one for the young at heart.

In that sense, it's easy to see why playing for the masses has always been Gibson's forte.

"I've always been more comfortable [performing] live than recorded," remarked Susan. "It's like a big, prolonged childhood for me. It's fun, it's social...it really brings people together."

Well, for someone who relishes the live performances, it's a safe bet that her show at the Granada Theater in Dallas will prove to be a real winner. That, or her acoustic gig at 8.0 in downtown Fort Worth, November 26th.

If anything, New Dog, Old Tricks is about not taking yourself too seriously, and feeling young despite the lines on your face. Or, to borrow a line from Jimmy Buffett, growing older but not up.

For more information on Susan Gibson, including tour dates, visit her web site at www.susangibson.com.

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