“[Choffel] impressed me more than any I’ve heard here with a unique sound equal parts Beat poetry, smoky soul grooves and indie-pop eccentricity. Think Feist meets Erykah Badu, with a hint of Tex-Mex seasoning.” – Jim DeRogatis, Sound Opinions
AUGUST 27, 2024 (Austin, TX) — “Birds have become my spirit animal – they help connect me to nature, which is always healing,” says Austin singer-songwriter SUZANNA CHOFFEL about her new song, “BIRD BY BIRD,” out today. Inspired by the New York Times best-selling Anne Lamott modern classic, Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life, Choffel wrote “Bird By Bird” for her stepdaughter, who was dealing with overwhelming mental health struggles of depression and anxiety.
“It’s a book about creative writing, and it starts with a great introduction with a story from Anne Lamont’s childhood about her brother being overwhelmed by a research paper on birds he had put off until the night before it was due,” Choffel explains. “Her father ends up telling him, ‘Hey, it’s okay, let’s just take it bird by bird.’ I loved that way of thinking about overwhelming projects.”
“When I sat down and wrote ‘Bird By Bird’ for my step-daughter, she was struggling with depression and anxiety, and I was always trying to get her to get out of her head a bit and realize all of life is just taking one thing a time, one step at a time, one issue at a time. This lyric represents what I was sharing with her. Bird by bird and stone by stone, we can piece this world together / you don’t have to be alone.”
Most humans need to hear this sentiment at some point as we burrow deeper into virtual connections at the expense of tangible experiences (a subject she addresses further on her forthcoming album, Bird by Bird, out on September 27).
“After I wrote the song, I started to notice birds more in general – not sure if I manifested that or it’s just this phase of life where you suddenly become a bird nerd. The mantra of ‘bird by bird’ or ‘little by little’ has helped me in my work and life. I picture a flock of birds and then zero in on just one. It helps.”
Bird By Bird is produced by longtime Choffel friend/collaborator David Garza, co-producer on Fiona Apple‘s GRAMMY®-winning album, Fetch the Bolt Cutters. Drummer Amy Wood and bassist Sebastian Steinberg perform on the album and its title track, recorded at the famed Sonic Ranch in West Texas; guest contributions on Bird By Bird (including violin by Warren Hood and Carrie Rodriguez) were recorded at Austin’s Cedar Creek Studio.
Choffel already had a reputation as a singer-songwriter and performer who glides among genres, eagerly exploring too many influences to fit neatly into any category. Bob Marley, Lauryn Hill, and Mary J. Blige are significant inspirations, along with hooky, Madonna-ish dance-pop, Brazilian music, Stevie Wonder, and her Mexican heritage.
Performing professionally since she was 14, Choffel has won several national songwriting competitions and earned a 2009 Austin Music Award for Best Indie Band. Of her season three stint on The Voice, Rolling Stone writer Jessica Hopper noted, “[she’s] one of the only singers on anyone’s team … who had the sort of voice you’d want to listen to for an entire album.”
SUZANNA CHOFFEL – TOUR DATES:
Aug. 31 She Rises International Music Festival Taos, NM
Sept. 7 3TEN ACL LIVE Austin, TX
Sept. 28 State Theater Austin, TX
Oct. 3 Waterloo Records Austin, TX
Oct. 10 McGonigel’s Mucky Duck Houston, TX
