Rock•-and-roll (räk''n rol') ; noun; popular music usually played on electronically amplified instruments and characterized by a persistent heavily accented beat, repetition of phrases and often country, folk and blues elements.
A page torn from the dictionary can’t begin to define the spirit of rock and roll exuded by Toronto native Suzie McNeil and her sophomore solo effort, the fittingly titled Rock-n-Roller. Loaded with eleven tracks that run the gamut from the insatiably catchy first single "Let’s Go" to the chugging, break-up ball-buster "Free," Rock-n-Roller is the product of Suzie’s fierce attitude, independent spirit and furious determination to have the voice of a strong woman heard.
"Usually, a woman singing rock has to have an element of strength or balls to her. Are people scared of that? It’s hard to say," Suzie says. "I think a lot of times men especially want women to be soft and gentle, and not all of my songs are like that. But I couldn’t do it any other way."
Co-writing the entire album with long-time musical cohort Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe), Suzie harnessed the true power behind her voice. Suzie found herself melting through the shyness and vulnerability she had once felt as a songwriter. The result is Rock-n-Roller, an album packed with songs that reveal Suzie to her core as a lover, a fighter and a rocker.
Suzie was the last woman standing on the pressure-filled Rock Star: INXS and has gained a wealth of experience singing back-ups for P!nk, a duet with Clay Aiken, being a featured vocalist on Buckcherry's new release, starring in the Toronto production of We Will Rock You, entertaining the troops in Afghanistan, and being a featured judge on YTV's talent search series: The Next Star.
Suzie’s song Believe has been featured on many network TV series including The Biggest Loser, Beauty & The Geek, The Hills, Oprah Winfrey’s The Big Give, and So You Think You Can Dance Canada. Believe has also been featured in Toronto’s theatre, as well as having been chosen by Bell Canada to be the official 2010 Olympic Inspired song and video. www.bell.ca/believe. Suzie was nominated for a 2008 Canadian Radio Music Award, a 2008 Best New Artist JUNO award, was a featured performer at this year’s Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame Awards, and was just awarded The Canadian Independent Music award’s Favorite Pop Artist/Group of the Year. Suzie attended Lorne Park Secondary School in Mississauga which gave her the foundation to achieve all that she has done.
"I think rock and roll has always remained a pretty genuine, real style of music," she insists. "It’s something that’s been around for years and years and has stood the test of time. You can’t fake rock ‘n’ roll. You can try. But you can’t."
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