Larry Suess

Suess was born into a large family in St. Paul, where he learned to love harmonizing with his family when he was just five. After learning “keys” on church organs and developing his vocal skills in choirs, he heard Elvis and was hooked on rock, soul, blues and R&B. Larry taught himself how to play the guitar, and was soon sought after by several rock and pop bands that vied for the strength of his vocal powers, as well as his mastery of keyboards and guitar.

During his high school and college years, Larry spent several years playing with well-known Minnesota bands, one of which opened for such major artists as Santana and Elton John while on tour, and was inducted into the Minnesota Rock/Country Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

Larry became a solo act in the 80's to hone his original music which started coming fast and furious. Years of piano club appearances grew his ability to spontaneously interact with the crowd, to cover just about any style of song, and gave him a venue to offer his original tunes in different settings and styles.

Suess has performed in a variety of venues from rock clubs, outdoor festivals, elegant jazz piano lounges and European resorts. He’s at home playing keys, guitar and singing lead vocals for the several bands of which he’s a long-standing member, but he really shines solo. He recently finished recording Still A Minstrel with all of his own original material, featuring an eclectic mix of Rock, Pop and R&B served up with a slight twist of lilting Latin-numbers.

Suess’s songs would be impressive enough if they were simply wonderfully crafted, radio-ready gems. But there’s an actual story behind Still A Minstrel’s pop-inflected melodies, bedrock rhythms and introspective lyrics. After college, he found himself at a personal crossroads and took a trip through Europe. He followed the path of a true minstrel and toured the streets of Europe as a “busker” (a street musician) for four months. He found that his lyrics, arrangements and melodies came to him more spontaneously if he relied on his own internal “soundscapes” and expressed the music he felt within himself without interference from outside influences. He created his truest, most expressive music against the backdrop of nature’s rhythms in his personal musical expressions of hope, longing and introspection.

He’s recorded that music on Still A Minstrel, which has been described as “a melodic, progressive hybridization of rock, folk and jazz…..soaring songs of love, longing and wonder that shine harmonically”. His CD is exhilaratingly joyful. Those fortunate enough to have already heard “Still A Minstrel” describe it as “uplifting”, “eclectic”, “polished”, “straight from the heart”, and “feel-great music”.

Suess says

“Waves of sound have changed me, saved me, given me release, and helped me find career and purpose. Like ocean waves that roll on for great distances, the inspirational and restorative waves of music can be passed on.”

Larry Suess plans to continue passing those waves on – his second CD of original songs is already in the works!