By M. Sebastian Araujo

Art isn’t easy…or so they say. But for some it is more than Art or Music ….but a lifes work.
Sue Goldberg is one such Artist…Musician and a true creative soul. Ptown is where she has called home for many years.
Filling it with her groovy vibes and dulcet tones. Recently I had a chance to find out just what makes this woman Rock’n Roll…

What in this crazy old world affects what you do most?
The interaction of audience with the band directly affects what I do. Watching people’s reactions of joy and sadness when playing music that touches them the most truly moves me. For example, this past Friday playing a night of Bowie and introducing ‘Blackstar’, his newest release before he passed away, along with playing some of his better known stuff is so much a part of our collective heart and conversation with the people who attend our shows.
I’d like to think that it’s music that affects this crazy old world. But certainly big events that rock the world affect what I do. Even when playing in crappy straight divey bars, I can see the effect that music has on people as they come in to shake off the day’s damages.(Yes I’m paraphrasing the great Virginia Woolf!)

How do you feel that technology has changed the music scene these days?
Technology has completely changed the music business. Artists can no longer make money selling their music. There are now so many ways to download music; for example converting youtube videos to mp3s or streaming to listen. No one needs to buy it any more. The only way more successful artists can make real money is to tour.
There are many onstage changes too. Technology has made it possible to trigger sounds that would normally be played by people onstage or in a pit band. Now a drummer or keyboardist can make all those sounds by programming pads or keys. I like when music is created more organically.

If you could do anything other than what you do…what would that be?
Oh there are MANY things I could have loved to have done. When I was a kid the only other thing I wanted to be was a veterinarian because I love animals so much. But I always knew that music was IT. My whole family loved music, played music, performed, danced, etc. That being said, I’ve secretly wished many times that I had the personality, talent and looks to be a lead singer or an actor or dancer in theater. But haven’t we all had that secret wish?

Was there a shining lightbulb moment in your life when you thought of yourself as a musician?
YES. I was already a pianist/music director in theater, and there was this very palpable moment onstage. I was 19. The piano I was sitting at and playing in a show was on a rolling platform. I got rolled into place. A warm spotlight shone down angled from above, and the only other light onstage was focused on a singer sitting on the set. The song was Sondheim’s ‘Losing My Mind’. The moment was so beautiful and perfect. I suddenly felt like a puzzle piece that had been dropped into place. I will never forget it.

What is it about Provincetown that keeps Creative people like yourself either living there or coming back year after year?
Here’s what I know: I’m sure it is the beauty of this place; the water, the little streets, the salty air, the sand, light, the feeling of being in a really special place at the end of the world coupled with the sense that art is being made all over the place. Being part of this is truly exciting. Even if you’re only here for a summer doing the thing you love, you get to then walk outside and you’re in this magical place! I’ve only lived in and around Boston, and in Manhattan. I moved here 26 years ago, and can’t imagine living anywhere else. I don’t mind the big fish/small pond factor. Life is short. I just turned 60, and I get to do what I love. How many people can say this? I don’t care about money, which is fortunate because what I do does NOT yield a lot of it, but I don’t need much. I’ve found a way to live simply on a shoestring and it suits me.

To keep up with Sue and her Groovy Music Click Here:
https://www.facebook.com/susan.goldberg.961

Amid the flurry of snowdrifts and the piles of political (rather not say) …How cool it is to talk of music with someone who has lived it her entire life….and could do it anywhere but she chooses to do it in Provincetown. Heres hoping that like Sue groovy vibes that spirit of creativity will always thrive upon these crooked shores….