Without Susie Roberts, there would have been no Ominous Folk and no stage shows.
I first met Susie through environmental activities in Stroud, and we were both regulars at Piranha Poetry. When I started putting together a Stroud mumming side I asked if she might be interested, and she was. There was some singing involved, and Susie expressed an interest in doing more of it.
At that point, Hopeless, Maine music was a trio called A Cup Full of Tentacles (Nimue Brown, James Weaslegrease, Tom Brown). There had been some singing at events, but there was no momentum and it wasn’t that strong a sound. Adding Susie to the mix changed everything.
Susie is an excellent harmony singer, and her innovative arrangements brought new life to the material. As a consequence of her involvement I felt emboldened to have a go at writing a show, and it rolled out from there. It helped considerably that Susie drives and was willing to drive to events. Prior to that, Hopeless, Maine had been dependent on public transport and there are a lot of places it isn’t easy to get to without a car. Her driving also made it possible for me to keep doing events during the years when I was very ill. Unreliable blood pressure and public transport do not mix well.
Susie brought her own brand of humour to the project, and a longstanding enthusiasm for goth music. It was thanks to her that Keith Errington ended up writing a song about Annamarie Nightshade. She’s also contributed to Hopeless, Maine theatricals at events and to the online festivals.
Since the autumn of 2023, health problems have meant that Susie hasn’t been able to do gigs. James and I would have tried to keep Ominous Folk going had she been up for it, but it wasn’t viable as a project without her.
For those of you who enjoyed the music, we are exploring a new project that won’t be Hopeless, Maine related – Carnival of Cryptids is shaping up rather well, and is likely to be a larger and more anarchic group. We very much hope that Susie will be able to come and sing with us later in the year.
