Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzanne Gladstone.
Hi Suzanne, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hello, my name is Suzanne Gladstone and I am a singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist and voiceover actress, but today I will be speaking about my music journey.
Music has always been very important to me since I was a child. I remember listening to music that touched me and truly feeling the emotions of the lyrics, sometimes crying. I would listen to CD’s, tapes and the radio and write down the lyrics if they were not in the cover and sing along with the artist. I used to sing with my grandmother on my father’s side occasionally when she would take me and my siblings out for dinner. I think she is who I got my voice from. Around the age of 12 I think I realized I might have a good voice and I would practice all the time to artists like Mariah Carey and Céline Dion and I loved a lot of different styles of music, especially country and oldies. I also attended church every Sunday and it was a big part of my life. Obviously when attending church you hear music and I always loved singing whenever I had an opportunity or with the young women’s group. There were some really beautiful songs that I loved to sing and I performed a few solos in church, although at that moment in my life I was very nervous and it was very scary for me as I was a pretty shy girl who didn’t have that many friends and pretty much stuck to myself. I realized around the age of 12 that I could write poetry and I used it to write down my emotions and release the pain and any feelings I had because I really didn’t have anyone to talk to when I was young. I was taken away from my parents at the ripe age of 5 and lived with an abusive aunt until I was 8 years old and then from there moved in with my grandparents who were raising 7 of my siblings, now there are 10 of us altogether, but at the time they were raising 8 of us. I never had a real mother or father or anyone to comfort me or tell me that I was good or that I should pursue my singing or anything like that, so I had to just do it because I loved it and because it made me feel good and helped me to release hard emotions. In my 20’s I found karaoke to be the best way to work on my stage presence and practice in front of people because it was nerve-racking for me and scary but it was also something that gave me great joy to face my fears. I loved singing so much that it was worth it. When I was around 23 years old the people I sang karaoke with raised some money for me and my boyfriend at the time to fly to Denver, Colorado and try out for American Idol since I had missed the audition in San Diego but I did not get through. I don’t think I was quite ready back then as I was still very shy and did not feel confident, but I still put myself out there and I did it even though it was very scary. For a while there karaoke was pretty much my only outlet, but I would make my own karaoke CDs at home, and I learned to sing the songs in the key that was comfortable for me and that way my performance was better and I was not straining. There was a short time when I was 16 where I took a few months of singing lessons and that definitely helped me out, but I did not keep taking the lessons because at that time I didn’t really have the drive to do it. It wasn’t until about my 30’s that I was living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and there was a band tryout and I felt like I was confident enough to do it and try out. I ended up getting the spot and I sang in the band for a few months, but I was not really doing any vocal lessons at the time and I was straining my voice and the drummer was really loud and he was pretty hard on us and he ended up firing me from the band. From there, I ended up starting a duo, probably about a year or so later. He was a keyboardist and singer-songwriter and at that time I could not play guitar, but I put my writing to use and he helped me turn my poetry into songs and we released some of them on a CD, but not publicly. That duo is where I gained more confidence being on stage as we would perform around San Diego after we moved here and we performed at the La Valencia for a couple years. We harmonized and sang a lot of oldies music. A few years later I separated from “McGonigle & Gladstone” and wanted to start writing my own songs my own way and ended up releasing some country singles and learning the ropes of how to write a song. Then about a year later I learned how to create my own music singing over tracks that I bought and I would record myself and create demos. Me and my boyfriend at the time then went to a studio in Orange County and hired professional musicians to perform on my songs, and I released my album “Dreamer” but I first released them as singles and from there I created my own album called, “Let’s Stand Together” that I recorded at home over tracks and recorded one take vocal tracks over pre-recorded tracks that I had bought. About five years ago, I started teaching myself guitar and after about 1 year, I was already performing gigs and I was still very new but I wanted to get enough confidence to start performing solo as I was playing out as a duo and I wanted to make a name for myself. So about 3 years in, I started performing solo gigs and as a duo and trio as well. We performed at the Beatles fair in San Diego a few times and all around San Diego County. I was also performing as a solo acoustic artist at various venues and learned to have more confidence. The whole time I was learning guitar I was posting videos and growing my social media following as I was learning and now I do it on a daily basis. I try to post every day. My next goal is to possibly start a band around my original music and also perform various covers. I am very focused and dedicated to my passion projects and I look forward to what the future has to hold. I also started painting about 4 years ago and got pretty good and expect to start trying to promote my art more as well and sell it. About a year ago I started doing voiceover work for an AI production company and they make various films that are streaming on Roku, Apple TV, fire stick TV and more! It’s been a great experience learning to put myself out there and chase my dreams.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it has not been a smooth road. Most of the time when you are doing something you love there are always going to be challenges. During those challenges, you will realize that the people that you expected to support you end up fading away. You will get heartbroken. The main challenge was simply putting myself out there even though it was uncomfortable and having other people place their opinions on me. Hearing feedback was hard sometimes. When you are just starting out, you are not even sure what exactly your sound is or your style or anything and so you kind of have to just keep doing it until it eventually falls into place. For me, writing music was not simple. I was great at lyrics but it took me a while to figure out the ropes on creating songs. I never thought I could learn guitar or be able to sing while I was playing guitar but I truly wanted to learn, and I put a lot of time and attention into it which eventually made me better and better. It didn’t take long until I was performing publicly. Sometimes you just have to push yourself out of your comfort zone and truly put in the time and effort to grow. Most of the time you are not going to be great at something when you first begin, but it’s all about the drive, the passion and the dedication towards the things that you love. My life situation at the time was extremely difficult and by putting my mind into something that drove me to keep going, it helped me to overcome my darkest challenges. My childhood was far from easy and I mostly had to learn everything on my own and have my own willpower to go towards the things that I loved. I had many people doubting me and even making fun of me I’m sure as I was first learning, but I eventually got better and now I get praise from professional musicians all around the world. If you have a passion towards something just keep going. You have to block out the noise and believe in yourself no matter what. The most valuable things in life don’t come easy, they come with hard work and dedication and you have to prove to yourself how badly you want it each and every day because nobody else is going to chase your dreams for you. The things you focus on the most become your reality so if you want to be a rockstar, you have to wake up every day with that in mind and put the work into the direction you are wanting to head in. Learning an instrument is not something you can simply buy and learn overnight. It takes practice and hours and hours of dedication every single day for years. If you don’t show up for yourself, then nobody else will. If you don’t believe in yourself, then nobody else will either. You have to prove it to yourself and you have to trust your intuition that your dreams can be a reality no matter what any debbie downer tries to tell you. Like I said in the previous question, I didn’t have any support and I never had anyone telling me to chase my dreams or that I was great or that I should continue doing what I love. Most people think it’s childish and silly to have dreams as an adult, but they are just living in a matrix system meant to keep people separated from themselves and I would say most people are just miserable only following what is socially acceptable and that is why they are so angry and miserable. I have overcome many challenges and obstacles in my life simply because I believed in myself and I have the drive and the passion and dedication to keep going every single day and not give up on myself or my dreams. There were many times I wanted to give up and that I could have given up and even to this day I still have days where I lose faith and hope but it’s up to me to keep going forward and not give up. Giving up is the easiest thing you can do. I’ve never liked “easy”. I’ve always been a hard worker, so I’ll keep going no matter what.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Well, I am a singer-songwriter, guitarist and I perform my original music and a wide range of covers from 50’s-00’s. I perform as a solo artist as of now. I think I’m known for my social media presence. I like to make videos of my performances and add fun filters and stuff to make the videos stand out from the others.
I am proud of myself for how far I’ve come, knowing that a few years back I used to be extremely shy about talking on camera or posting videos but now I am more confident, and I tend to speak out on topics that others might find hard to discuss such as narcissistic abuse and relationship issues.
I think what sets me apart from others is that I try to bring awareness to abuse and promote self empowerment. I don’t just push my music, I have something more to say. I want to empower women and others to have self-love and stand up for what is right. I’m proud of myself for overcoming very toxic relationships and being able to still follow my dreams even though I’ve gone through hell and back. I’m proud of myself for continuing to grow even though I could’ve given up years ago. I’ve proved to myself how strong I am while also trying to empower others to do the same.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I would just say learn to follow your heart and trust your intuition. Learn not to trust people at face value as some of the worst people can be the most charming but behind closed doors can become monsters you never want to meet. Watch out for the red flags of narcissistic abuse and learn to value your own mind and opinions. Be strong in your own mind as that is the first thing that they will try to use against you. Self-love and self empowerment is the only way to get through the hardest times. The people that you think are the closest to you can sometimes be your worst enemies. Just because you are related by blood does not mean that they have your highest interest at heart. Sometimes the people closest to you can deter you from your dreams and truly sabotage your life. You have to learn to separate yourself from the crowd and become strong on your own. It is the only way to survive in this harsh world. Never give up on your dreams or let someone tell you who you are or what you can achieve or cannot achieve as most people are only projecting their own failures onto you and trying to deter you from your dreams because they are jealous or do not want you to be above them in some way, which is completely ridiculous because we are all special in our own right and have our own unique gifts to offer. Not everyone is meant to see your vision or understand your vision. It is planted in you for a reason and you need to learn to trust it. If you have the passion, then you really need to have the drive as well to follow through because nobody is going to hand you your dreams on a silver platter. It takes work and dedication. Even if someone did hand you your dreams on a silver platter you have to want it and continue to work to keep it going or you will eventually burn out. Do the thing that makes your heart light up and makes you get out of bed in the morning. The thing that puts a smile on your face and brings you joy. By doing the things that you love and enjoy you are also spreading that positive energy outward and inspiring others to do the same. Don’t become a slave to society. You have 1 life to live, live it well. Be authentically you and authentic in your actions.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.SuzanneGladstone.com
- Instagram:@Suzanne_Gladstone_Music
- Facebook:@SuzanneGladstone
- LinkedIn: SuzanneGladstone
- Youtube:@GladstoneSong
- Other: ReverbNation@SuzanneGladstone
Image Credits
Suzanne Gladstone
