[Andy]  [Vanessa]  [Sue]  [Damon]

Susan Larsen

HELLO, MY NAME IS SUSAN LARSEN (NOT CHRIS). I WAS BORN IN RENTON WA. AND RAISED IN KENNEWICK WA. I AM THE BASS PLAYER FOR BELL. YOU MIGHT SAY IM THE ROOKIE OF THE BAND IN MORE WAYS THEN ONE. FIRST OF ALL, I JUST JOINED THE BAND IN EARLY AUGUST OF 97. AND UNLIKE MY BAND MATES I'VE ONLY BEEN PLAYING FOR EIGHT YEARS. I STARTED WHEN I WAS TWENTY (YOU DO THE MATH TO FIGURE MY AGE). IT ALL BEGAN IN THE SUMMER OF 1989, A BIG YEAR MUSICALLY FOR SEATTLE AND THE BEGINING OF A MUSICAL OBSESSION FOR MYSELF. ONE DAY, IN AUGUST, I WAS HANGING OUT WITH MY FRIEND PAULA, SHE ASKED IF I WANTED TO BE IN A BAND WITH HER. KEEP IN MIND NEITHER ONE OF US KNEW WHAT THE HELL WE WERE DOING. I WAS CLUELESS ON HOW TO PLAY BASS. THE PIANO LESSONS I TOOK FROM AGES 5 TO 7 REALLY DIDNT DO ME MUCH GOOD. AND THE GUITAR LESSONS I TOOK IN THE FIFTH GRADE DID'NT TEACH ME ANYTHING OTHER THAN HOW TO PLAY DELTA DAWN AND TUNE A GUITAR, WHICH BY THE WAY I SUCK AT IT (I WOULD BE LOST WITHOUT MY STAGE TUNER). AT THAT TIME PAULA SORT OF KNEW HOW TO PLAY BASS, BUT DIDNT KNOW HOW TO PLAY GUITAR. WE DIDNT GIVE A SHIT, IT WAS PUNK ROCK. WHERE ALL YOU NEED IS AN INSTRUMENT, A DESIRE TO PLAY AND SOMETHING TO SAY. SO WITH A FIRE IN OUR BELLIES WE SET FORTH TO BECOME "MUSICIANS". AS IT TURNED OUT, I ONLY PLAYED WITH PAULA FOR A SHORT WHILE. SHE HAD ANOTHER MORE SERIOUS PROJECT, A HARDCORE BAND CALLED WHIPPED. I ON THE OTHER HAND STARTED PLAYING WITH AS MANY PEOPLE AS I COULD. I WAS IN THIS BAND FOR A WHILE WITH A GUY FROM MY WORK (I'LL CALL HIM DICK TO PROTECT HIS IDENITY). IT DIDNT LAST VERY LONG. I FOUND OUT THAT DICK WANTED A FEMALE BASS PLAYER BECAUSE SMASHING PUMPKINS AND SONIC YOUTH HAD ONE. SOMEHOW DICK THOUGHT THE KEY TO SUCCESS WAS HAVING FEMALE BASS PLAYER AND A BLONDE ONE TO BOOT. I WAS MORE OR LESS KICKED OUT OF THE BAND FOR REASONS I WONT GO INTO. SO MUCH FOR THE BLONDE FEMALE BASS PLAYER THEORY. DICK OPTED TO A MALE BASS PLAYER. NEEDLESS TO SAY DICK AND HIS BAND FAILED MISERABLY. LAST I HEARD DICK STARTED SMOKING CRACK THEN MOVED BACK TO SPOKANE. GOOD RIDDENS. IT DIDNT TAKE LONG FOR ME TO GET OVER DICK AND HIS BAND OF IDIOTS. WITHIN A MONTH I WAS ASKED TO JOIN A BAND CALLED RAG WITH TRACEY HARTLE ON GUITAR, BENNETT ON DRUMS AND CHRISTINE SANGUIST ON VOCALS. SOON AFTER I JOINED CRISTINE QUIT AND WAS REPLACED BY TAM (I CAN'T REMEMBER HER LAST NAME). WE FAIRED QUITE A BIT BETTER THEN MY FIRST BAND. ALTHOUGH LIKE MOST BANDS, THERE WERE SOME SEVERE COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS. RAG WAS TOGETHER FOR ABOUT 2 YEARS WE PUT OUT A COUPLE OF CRAPPY DEMO TAPES AND A 7" (I DIDN'T PLAY ON) PUT OUT ON "MINT TONE RECORDS". WHEN RAG BROKE UP TRACEY AND I DECIDED TO KEEP PLAYING TOGETHER. WE STARTED A NEW BAND WITH DRUMMER MARIA MABRA (FORMERLY OF CAPTAIN ENEMA AN THE RABBID COSMONOTS). WE CALLED THE BAND SHUG. NAMED AFTER A CHARACTER IN AN ALICE WALKER NOVEL. SHUG STARTED OUT AS A THREE PEICE, THEN ABOUT 6 MONTHS LATER PAULA JOINED. SHUG WILL ALWAYS HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN MY HEART. I HAD SOME OF THE BEST AND THE WORST TIMES OF MY LIFE IN THAT BAND. IF WE HAD THE CHANCE TO DO SOMETHINGS OVER, WE PROBABLY WOULD. SHUG WAS TOGETHER APPROXIMATELY 4 YEARS. WE PUT OUT A SPLIT CD WITH A BAND FROM S.F. CALLED COCKPIT. THE CD IS CALLED SHUGG V COCKPIT (DONT ASK ABOUT THE EXTRA "G" IN SHUG, IT'S A LONG STUPID STORY). THE CD WAS PUT OUT ON THE NOW DEFUNCTED "BITTER SWEET RECORDS". WE ALSO PUT OUT A SPLIT 7" WITH SPOKEN WORD BY CHRISTIEN STORM AND HER PROJECT "HEART OF A DOG" ON PAULA AND OUR FRIEND KELLY'S OWN LABEL "VAGUE VINYL". SHUG PLAYED THEIR LAST SHOW ON JUNE 20, 1997. IT SUCKED..... I HAD A WHOLE 3 DAYS OF RECOVERY TIME BEFORE I WAS APPROACHED BY BELL. ACTUALLY THEY APPROACHED MARIA (SHUG'S DRUMMER), THEN MARIA TOLD ME. SHE GAVE ME VANESSA'S PHONE NUMBER AND TOLD ME TO CALL HER. I PUT IT OFF FOR ALMOST A WEEK. BEING IN A BAND IS LIKE BEING MARRIED TO 3 OR 4 OTHER PEOPLE (DEPENDING ON THE SIZE OF YOUR BAND). SO IMAGINE BEING IN A BAD MARRIAGE WITH 3 OR 4 OTHER PEOPLE, THEN YOU FINALLY BREAK UP. GETTING MARRIED AGAIN IS NOT SOMETHING YOU WANT TO DO RIGHT AWAY. SO AGAINST MY BETTER JUDGEMENT AND MARIA'S PERSISTANCE I CALLED VANESSA...... I GUESS I COULD DRAW OUT THIS BIO BY ANOTHER COUPLE HUNDRED WORDS OR SO BUT I WONT. THE END OF THE STORY IS I JOINED BELL BECAUSE 1. I REALLY LOVE VANESSA'S LYRICS. 2. EVERYONE IN THE BAND IS VERY KIND AND PATIENT. 3. I LOVE PLAYING IN THIS BAND. 4. EVERYONE SEEMS TO HAVE THE SAME GOAL. "TO WORK HARD, PLAY WELL, AND HAVE FUN." I HAVE NO REGRETS. THE END.

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