Suzzy Roche is a singer/songwriter/performer/author and founding member of the singing group The Roches. She has recorded over fifteen albums, written music for TV and Film, and toured extensively for thirty years across the U.S. and Europe. Zero Church: an unusual collection of prayers (a collaboration with Maggie Roche) which was developed at Harvard’s Institute on the Arts and Civic Dialogue was originally staged at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, and has been performed around the country. Suzzy has been an associate member of The Wooster Group; the experimental theater company based in New York City, and performed with them off and on for years throughout Europe. Her children’s book Want To Be In A Band? (Random House) was published in February 2013. Wayward Saints (Hyperion/Voice) is her first novel and was a selection of the Spring 2012 B&N Discover Great New Writers Program. Suzzy and her daughter Lucy Wainwright Roche have just released a brand new recording Fairytale and Myth, their first collaboration.
"VERDICT A great read for fans of The Roches; there are definite allusions to and pokes at the music industry here, from an insider's perspective. Themes of insider/outsider, despair/inspiration, faith, abuse, and acceptance/rejection are all addressed-with finesse. A well-done first outing; Roche handles sticky topics with grace."
—Library Journal
"Doesn't everyone want to be in a band? Suzzy Roche, one of the trio of sisters constituting the Roches, explains to young readers how to go about making a musical dream come true. Speaking directly to her audience ("Are you one of those kids who likes to make noise?"), she keeps readers' attention with her folksy, friendly voice and story…Encouraging (about not giving up even when your instrument is hard to learn), honest (about stage fright), and realistic (about disagreements among band members), Roche's story will entertain a wide audience -- not just those looking to start a band."
—Horn Book
Want to Be in a Band? by
Do you want to be in a band? Well, here's how! First, bug your two older sisters to start a band, and then beg them to join. (It helps if they already know how to sing and play guitar.) Then there are some tricky parts, like getting over STAGEFRIGHT and practicing until the tips of your fingers ache and playing gigs at not-so-big-time music clubs. At least, that's the way our little sister narrator explains it in her "guide" on how to start a band, based on the real-life experiences of author Suzzy Roche.
Wayward Saints by
From a folk-rock legend comes a tender, comic story of family, music, and second chances. Mary Saint, the rule-breaking, troubled former lead singer of the almost-famous band Sliced Ham, has pretty much given up on music after the trauma of her band member and lover Garbagio's death seven years earlier. Instead, with the help of her best friend, Thaddeus, she is trying to piece her life together while making mochaccinos in San Francisco. Meanwhile, back in her hometown of Swallow, New York, her mother, Jean Saint, struggles with her own ghosts. When Mary is invited to give a concert at her old high school, Jean is thrilled, though she's worried about what Father Benedict and her neighbors will think of songs such as "Sewer Flower" and "You're a Pig." But she soon realizes that there are going to be bigger problems when the whole town--including a discouraged teacher and a baker who's anything but sweet--gets in on the act. Filled with characters that are wild and original, yet still familiar and warm--plus plenty of great insider winks at the music industry--Wayward Saints is a touching and hilarious look at confronting your past and going home again.
