Meet Susan Lucas | Artist & Creative

We had the good fortune of connecting with Susan Lucas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Susan, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
As a creative in Los Angeles, or perhaps in any large city, I think one of the most important decisions you can make is how you treat yourself within your own business. It’s about knowing your own boundaries and honoring them. Recognizing where you should invest your energy and pulling back and protecting it when situations or people don’t feel right.

With entertainment it is initially tempting to think that everyone could possibly help your career but I think the truth of this is city is that you find greater success when you are specific with who share your vision with. You truly can do so much on your own and empower yourself with free tools and resources so that when it does come time to make investments you can make the best move for you. Especially as a musician, I’d say one of the larger challenges is to make sure that you don’t get pressured into playing shows that require you, the artist, to pay out the booker. To not get scammed into investing into fake marketing and to make sure to work and collaborate with people who truly support and help expand your sound.

Times are shifting and Indie artists truly are learning how to keep the rights over their art, business and to call the shots.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Every industry has their challenges, in entertainment I think it’s important to keep an incredibly strong mindset…If you don’t truly believe in what you’re creating and working towards then the process starts to become defeating instead of inspiring. Lately, I find that one distinct challenge is having people process that although I am mainly a Musician and Artist I am also a producer, writer, creative director, actress and business woman. It isn’t until the work is completed that people really understand that you can work hard and be dynamic in this field, especially as a woman. I am incredibly passionate about story telling so when it comes to learning how to tell and build stories I want to learn every aspect. People love to place people in boxes…I prefer to shatter glass ceilings…for some, it’s confusing but I’m more invested in the work than trying to explain how my mind operates.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I don’t make it out too often, I am a bit of a homebody but if I am going out it’s usually one of these places…Hotel Cafe, Black Rabbit Rose Hollywood or wherever an Acoustic Sessions night is happening. There is nothing like live music or a live show whether it is music or theatre or comedy. In terms of great food and drinks in this city, I think that’s all everywhere and we’re very lucky to have great food and culture brewing in Los Angeles. I will however give a shout out to Pine & Crane Taiwanese Cafe in Silverlake area. They’re truly authentic and delicious and super cute…which lets be honest, is just fun. As an Asian American woman, I truly appreciate that lil spot in Silverlake. If not eating Taiwanese food, I’m probably drinking a $7 oat milk latte from Alfreds or speeding way to much money on an Erewhon smoothie…but hey, my body is my instrument so I treat it like a temple.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m beyond grateful for my community in Los Angeles, I’m lucky to truly have worked with some amazing creators. In terms of shows and bookers in this city, Acoustic Sessions and Writers Block are top notch in my book. I love how playing a show with them is about the atmosphere, music and community. I would also love to shout out Hotel Cafe, that stage is home and their engineers always take great care in helping run the show smoothly.

Creating the music is also such a sacred process and I would definitely love to give my core music family a shout out…Marc Solomon, Nick Rosen, Kerry Hart, Korey Keys, Hannah Ureste, Sherome Petty, The Sonic Writers, HenHouse Studios, Angela Parrish…these are just a few of the incredible people I get to work and create with.

I’m in the process of organizing all my volumes of work for release as well and truly want to thank my friends and family for all the incredible support they have to offer.

Instagram: @justsuzen

Twitter: @justsuzen

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgTp9VhMm1Vptmj_2SmKO2A

Image Credits
Nikki Rodriguez, Gianni and Susan Lucas