"An engaging performer..."
The Globe & Mail "One
of my favorite singers..." "Warm,
rich and emotional, Vinnick's gorgeous vocals ring with confidence..." "..you sing like
sun on snow..." Craig
Northey
"Her
powerful voice breathes sweet life into candid, personal and heartfelt
lyrics..." Capital City
"Suzie
Vinnick has a voice somewhere between Shawn Colvin, Rebecca Campbell and some
angel who guided you through a night..." "Inevitable comparisons to a young Bonnie Raitt are fitting, as she
moves easily through rock, country, pop and folk stylings." "Take
an amazing voice, add a pinch of youth, mix slowly with some of the finest
writing and instrumental talent around, and the recipe is complete."
THE BARE FACTS
Suzie Vinnick's star is
definitely on the rise. A singer-songwriter with great depth and versatility,
her debut album, Angel In The
Sidelines, met with enthusiastic reviews tagging Suzie as "one
to watch" on the Canadian music scene. Born in Saskatoon, Suzie is currently
working from her home base in Toronto. A new album is in the
works.
STARTING
OUT in Saskatoon, "Bud's" gave Suzie her first taste of stage performance and the
electricity of working live with other musicians. A restaurant by day and
blues club by night, Bud's provided the venue for a teenaged Suzie to get
involved in afternoon jam sessions.
The blues was Suzie's first musical
home, mostly because Bud's was the first place she could go to perform.
Playing live with seasoned musicians like Maurice John Vaughn, she developed a
powerful and emotive vocal style while also became a fluid and focused bass
player.
After meeting Tony D. in 1991, Suzie made a career
decision and moved to Ottawa joining Tony's "Cool Band". Her contributions to
Tony's 1992 award winning release, Dig Deep -- solid bass playing and
stunning vocals -- people sat up and took notice. It was also during this time
that touring gave her the exciting chance to jam with superstar, Bryan Adams
at the King Eddy in Calgary.
GOING
SOLO After two years of
musical adventures with Tony D., Suzie was feeling the need to spread her
wings and develop her own project. Although Suzie and the blues had been good
to one another, she'd never seen herself primarily as a blues artist. Suzie's
musical tastes and influences have ranged from her early love of Heart,
Supertramp and Rickie Lee Jones, to her current admiration for performers such
as Shawn Colvin, John Hiatt and Sting.
As well as wanting to grow
stylistically, Suzie aspired to write more of her own material. The result was
Angel in the Sidelines, which included nine original tracks. The
success of Angel made Suzie an artist in demand. She has toured the
club and festival circuits with the exceptional guitarist, Rick Fines (Jackson Delta)
and percussionist extraordinaire, Miche
Pouliot (Jann Arden, Bruce Cockburn & k.d Lang). She has performed for
Canadian Peacekeepers in Bosnia and the Persian Gulf, at the Festival
International De Jazz De Montreal, Toronto's Harbour Front Festival, the
Ottawa Folk Festival, Cultures Canada and a number of other venues around
Canada and the U.S.
A NEW
FOCUS
- One of nine featured singers invited to perform at the
Joni Mitchell tribute concert at the World Leaders Festival at Harbourfront in
Toronto on October 16th. Other artists on the bill included Jane Siberry, Marc
Jordan, Tuku, David Sereda, Ember Swift, Emm Gryner, Rebecca Jenkins &
Martina Sorbara.
- performed for Members and the Board at the Songwriters
Association of Canada's Annual General Meeting on May 4th.
- sang background vocals on three tracks on David Wilcox's new album "Rhythm of
Love"
- Sept. 2000 - sang on 3 tracks on Rick
Fines' new CD - "Live At The Harvest", recorded in
September 2000 at the 10th annual Harvest Jazz & Blues
Festival.
- July 2000 - bassist with Ellen McIlwaine at Harbourfront Centre in
Toronto
- April 2000 - featured songwriter at Bluebird
North, sponsored by the Songwriters
Association of Canada
- 2000 - The song "When You Lose In Love"
(Vinnick) was featured in an HBO movie entitled "No Alibi", starring Dean Cain
("Lois & Clark") and Eric Roberts.
- 2000 - "Here I Go Again" (Vinnick/Lister) was
featured in an episode of "Traders".
- 1998 - Performed for Canadian Peacekeepers stationed in Bosnia and the Persian
Gulf.
- 1999/1997 - nominated
"Women's Vocalist of the Year" MapleBlues Awards
- 1997 - CBC TV - Country Beat - video for
When You Lose In Love was aired
- 1996 - A Top 15 Album - Jurgen Gothe's
CBC Hitlist
- 1995 - Ottawa Vocalist of the Year
- 1993 - Ottawa Bassist of the Year
- 2001 -
Had three co-writes place in the 2000 Unisong songwriting contest: "No
Boundaries" (Vinnick/Magraw) came in 2nd place in the Environment/Human Rights
category; "I'm Not Gonna Cry" (Smith/Vinnick/Bynoe) and "Wish I Could Say
(What I Mean) placed in the top ten percent of all entries.
- 2001 - Kristi Magraw, Stu Lister (Lister) and I placed in the top 6
(out of 1500) in the Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI)
songwriting contest with our song, "All That I Ask For".
- 2000 – Won grand prize in the Northern
California Songwriters Association Songwriting Contest with the song "All That
I Ask For" (Vinnick/Lister/Magraw)
- 2000 – Was one of three runner-ups in
the Ontario Council of Folk Festival’s songwriting contest, “Songs From The
Heart” with the song, "All That I Ask For" (Vinnick/Lister/Magraw)
- 2000 - Had three co-writes place in the top
ten percent in the 1999 Unisong songwriting contest (out of 4200
entries). "All That I Ask For" (Vinnick/Lister/Magraw), "No Boundaries"
(Vinnick/Magraw), and "Crying A River For You" (Packham/Vinnick).
- 2000 - Won third place at Merlefest, a
songwriting contest in North Carolina with the song "All That I Ask For"
(Vinnick/Lister/Magraw).
- 2000 - Placed 4th out of 1200 in the Mix 99.9
Songwriting Contest with the song "Here I Go Again"
(Vinnick/Lister)
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