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AcoustiCool originals with a Tropical Twist!!
1990 In Orlando, Susie used her knowledge of Reggae and Island music to play with a company called "Island Breeze Affiliates". They were headed up by Glen Barclay, and would provide Island music for conventions and pool parties. She did this for a year.
1990 At the same time she started playing for an all-female reggae band based in Tampa called "Lioness". The leader Teri Owens wrote most of the material, and they did some recordings. Teri played acoustic guitar, Susie played electric guitar, Gracie played flute, Nazari played keyboards, Jody played bass, and Sandie played drums.
1992 Susie joined forces with Pierre Denizard-guitar/bass, and they formed "Melange".
An originals band that fused Haitian Compa with Jamaican Reggae, and threw in a little Soca for good measure. They were joined by Eddie-Drums, Laude-keyboards/vocals, Tilo-percussion, Curdis-Congas, Chelita-Vocals, Santa-Vocals/DJ, Adrian-Vocals/DJ, Ralph-Lead guitar/vocals. Susie and Pierre swapped Bass and Guitar for various songs.
Melange 1992
Adrian-Vocals, Eddie-Drums, Ralph-Lead Guitar,, Laude-Keyboards, Curdis-Congas, Chelita-Vocals, SusieCool-Guitar/Bass, Pierre-Guitar/Bass
1997-98 Still in Orlando, Susie was asked to sub for the Bass player of a band called "Version". She had to learn 3 hours of material in 2-1/2 weeks!!! The band played oldies, and Jamaican standards, and top 40. The band consisted of Sonny-guitar/vocals, Victor-Vocals/percussion, and Suzy-keyboards/vocals (2 brothers and a sister), the brothers had been in a high profile band in Jamaica called the Mighty Vikings, and the sister had been in the first all-female band in Jamaica, "Ingrid Chin and the Carnations". Then there was Glenda on keyboards, and a drummer. The bass player came back for a while, and then got ill again. so Susie was called in again, and went to Charlotte to play for the Jamaican independence week-end.
1999 Susie joined the Open Mic circuit, playing solo at the Borders bookstore in Winter Park, where Paul Gerardi hosted on Mondays.
She met some very good friends who were also musicians, namely Vick DeGiorgio, Stuart Hall, Jeri Simpson.
She formed informal groups around the name "SusieCool and Friends"
They played around town, and quite a bit at Appletons, a restaurant in Lake Mary. At this time they were playing SusieCool originals. The line-up was Susie on guitar/vocals, Chelita on backup vocals, and Vick on Bass.
2002 SusieCool started playing on the festival circuit (small stages of course). Namely the South Florida Folk Festival in Broward county. They played for the 2002, 03 and 04 festivals. The main core of the band was the Monday Night Music Club's faithful members, Vick DeGiorgio, Stewart and Susie. They took on the name "SusieCool and the Coolottes". They were joined by Serina Jung on vocals, and Mike Dale on drums the first year of the SFFF.
The second (And by far the coldest) year they had Lisa Firestone and Asli Goncer singing backup, and Paul Gerardi on the djembe drum. In 2004 they had the vocal talents of Mandala, and Bill Wuerfel played conga drums.
Her originals have been very well received by the central Florida audiences. Please visit any one of the mp3 sites on this home page.
SusieCool and the Coolottes
Vick DeGiorgio-Bass, SusieCool-Guitar/Vocals/Songwriter, Stuart Hall-Guitar/Mandolin, Mandala-Vocals
Jane Gang Unleashed
L to R - Jane, SusieCool, Asli Goncer, Stevey ~Z~
WANTED: The “Jane Gang Unleashed” - Asli Goncer, Stephanie Barker “Stevey ~Z~”, and SusieCool for fearlessly blending their various musical styles to create memorable melodies, meaningful lyrics, and melodic harmonies for an acoustic experience that evokes a wide range of emotions. Beware, they are not your average plain Janes!
This trio blends thought provoking story songs in an Acoustic Alternative/Soft Rock style from Asli; uplifting and soul stirring songs in an Folk-Rock/Adult Contemporary (FRAC) style from Stevey ~Z~; with fun and quirky songs in her own AcoustiCool ReggaeLypso style from SusieCool. All the members of the group are multi-instrumentalists and vocalists, which enables them to perform full, rounded, smooth musical arrangements textured with beautiful harmonies providing a soundscape that an audience will not easily forget!
So who is Jane? Jane was Asli's guide dog who always thought everyone who came to the house came to see her! Stevey once made the comment that “we are Jane’s gang”, and the name stuck! The fact that “Jane” is used as the generic name for woman worked too. Unfortunately, Jane passed away in 2019, but we kept the band name in her honor.
The Jane Gang was originally formed as a group of female songwriters that encouraged and challenged each other to advance their songwriting craft. Over time the group began to provide backing vocals and accompanying instruments on each other’s songs and started to perform as a band. The Jane Gang was Unleashed!
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