Susan SurfTone is a premier female guitarist in the surf subculture of indie rock n’ roll music.
Through an email interview, I spoke with Susan SurfTone about her childhood growing up in a working-class neighborhood outside of New York City, her early musical influences, and her experiences as a lesbian working for the FBI in the late seventies and early eighties.
Susan, thank you for taking the time to do this interview. Before I begin, congratulations on your new EP, “Dicey After Dark.” I really enjoyed the reverb-infused, rockabilly sound.
Thanks, Lindsey…very glad you like it!!
As a born and raised Californian, I was immersed in surf culture, and I can’t remember a time I wasn’t surrounded by artists such as Dick Dale and the Del-Tones, The Beach Boys, and The Ventures. You’re someone who grew up on the East Coast; when were you first introduced to the Surf Rock sound?
I first heard surf music on WTRY, an AM station out of Troy, NY, in the 1960s. WTRY played all the “teen” hits of the day, and I listened to it a lot. My guitar teacher in Hudson, NY, introduced me to The Ventures when he taught me to play “Walk, Don’t Run” when I was 11 years old. After that, I got one of those “Play Along With The Ventures” records and learned “Diamond Head” and a few others.
How did the music make you feel?
I felt happy – because I could play it. It was a fun and clean melodic guitar sound. It made me want an electric guitar.
At what age did you decide to learn guitar?
I was nine. It was right after The Beatles were on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time in February 1964.
Will you tell me a bit about the neighborhood you grew up in? What were you like as a child?
I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood in Hudson, NY, a small town about 3 hours north of New York City, right on the Hudson River. All the kids in the neighborhood who were around my age were boys, so I fit right in. I’m an only child, and I was very much like I am now fairly quiet, determined, smart, slow to anger, but not very forgiving when a line is crossed.
Who were some of your heroes and earlier influences?
Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Ventures, and to some extent, The Rolling Stones.
If you could choose only one album from your childhood to listen to over and over again, what would it be?
Elvis Presley, “Elvis’ Golden Records Vol.1”
What was high school like for you?
The classes were easy. I was in most of the school plays with leading roles, and I did well on the debate and speech team. I played tennis on the girls’ team. I knew I was gay and kept it to myself, but, of course, there was a girl in my class that I liked.
At what age did you realize you were a lesbian and attracted to women?
I was always attracted to women.
Did you come out to your family and friends immediately, or did you choose to keep your sexuality hidden? Please tell us a little bit about that time – what was that like for you?
When I was growing up in the 1960s and early 1970s, it wasn’t something you usually announced to anyone, especially in a small town in a blue-collar Italian-Polish family. There were plenty of signs, but it just wasn’t discussed. I just waited. I knew I would get out when I went to college, and then I could be myself. When a recruiter from Smith College came to my high school, I knew where my destination was.
Why did you decide to go to law school?
Between my junior and senior years at Smith (College), I participated in a Washington, D.C., summer intern program. I worked at the Federal Energy Administration, which became the Department of Energy. It seemed like the lawyers had the most interesting jobs to me. They made most of the decisions.
How did you decide to join the FBI?
I had graduated from Boston University School of Law, and the FBI was hiring. I didn’t want to work at a law firm. The FBI seemed a bit more exciting. I also wanted to work in Intelligence.
What was your most memorable experience?
At the FBI, I was eventually assigned to a Counterintelligence squad in NYC. My most memorable experience was the little undercover work I did.
Why did you choose to leave the FBI?
I decided to leave because I wanted to form a band and play in the NYC clubs. The Bureau didn’t approve of the idea. I also wanted to be more open about being a lesbian. When I was in the FBI, anyone from the LGBT community was not welcomed because we were deemed security risks. We could not be given the necessary security clearance if our sexual orientation was known. If we were found out, we were fired. I was tired of concealing who I am.
Do you feel like you made the right decision?
Yes, I made the right decision.
What are some of the differences (and similarities) between being a female in music and your experience as a female working for our government?
In music, I play in a male-dominated genre, and the Bureau is certainly a male-dominated environment. In both, a woman has to be twice as good as a man to get half the recognition, and when you get that recognition, many (but not all) of the men are not pleased about it. The more secure men, in both music and the Bureau, were helpful and supportive; many became my friends. In both, I had to learn to pay attention to well-meant useful criticism and disregard the negative comments designed to make me doubt myself.
Who are some newer female musical artists that you like to listen to?
St. Vincent. I like Lana Del Ray too. KT Tunstall comes to mind also. I just played “Black Horse and a Cherry Tree” at a recent gig in LA with my friend, Kristen Speller. I think she has it on YouTube.
Which do you think you have the most talent, intelligence, education, or persistence?
I think equal parts of the four. Talent and intelligence are gifts from a higher source, not to be squandered. The value of a good education was impressed upon me at an early age by my mother. She was right. But persistence is the most important. As a stranger told me after a disappointing show in NYC in the 1980s, “It belongs to those who stay in it”.
How has it helped you in your life?
No matter how difficult things got, I remembered what that stranger said to me, and it seemed like a sign not to give up. If one keeps going, keeps learning and improving, and is willing to take calculated risks, things do move toward the positive.
What’s the best compliment you have ever received?
“You can’t be that old!!!”
The best compliment is when people stay and pay attention to a whole set, when my songs get played on the radio, and the internet when a reviewer writes a good review. When a writer wants to write about me. When an interviewer wants an interview, when people want to read what is written, and when people actually read my political columns, to sum it up, the best compliment is the gift of someone’s time and attention to my work and my story.
What would you say if one of our young queer readers came to you asking what the most important thing for living a good life is?
Be true to yourself, and be mindful of others.
What do you look forward to now?
I am making a film – something I have never done before. I produced and performed in two acoustic shows at Kulak’s Woodshed in North Hollywood called “Hanging With My Sisters” with fellow female artists from the independent Grammy community. We are the non-household names. The shows were well-received, and fortunately, Kulak’s shoots video of the entire show, and the video is great quality. They record pro tools for the audio too. The footage is good enough for a film, so we are shooting the narrative portion in April, and then we’ll be editing what we have. It’s a new adventure!
Susan, thank you again for your time!
Thanks!! Great questions, and it was fun!!
