The world is filled with terrible clichés. And the cliché that is ringing all too true right now for the friends and family of Susan (Powers) Sykes is the one about the good being taken before their time.

_{Photo by Hans Ferguson}
Susan Sykes (left) and Jaime Manser.

Susan, a well-loved member of the Tucson music scene, lost her battle with breast cancer on August 2. She will be remembered through a special benefit, Songs For Susan, on Wednesday, August 24 at multiple local venues. Proceeds will go to breast cancer screenings, treatment and programs as well as her medical expenses.

In her short, but full, 46 years on the planet, Susan became permanently entwined in the Tucson music scene that she had come to love. Though she was a familiar name and face to many Tucson music lovers, there are of course, many who don’t know who Susan was.

Her sister, Jennifer Powers-Murphy remembers, “She was tall, blonde and beautiful with a brilliant sense of humor. She was compassionate, curious and possessed a keen sense of fairness, and for all of her 46 years, a champion of the underdog.” Perhaps that affinity for the underdog was what drew her to punk.

Many people might be surprised to hear that Tucson had a booming and colorful punk scene in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s – it hosted a few great clubs, which are legendary to those who remember them. Susan was a promoter for one of those clubs – Pearl’s Hurricane. She must have had a million stories from these times. Benefit organizer and Susan’s longtime friend Jamie Manser (of The Downtown Tucsonan) hinted at one involving Susan spilling coffee on the one and only Frank Zappa at a party when she was with local musician/legend Howe Gelb. Jamie remembers free spirited adventures with Susan; drinking margaritas in Mexico… “Clandestine escapades when we were trying to heal broken hearts” ... Susan’s motorcycle trips. She clearly was more adventurous and bold than the average woman.

Gelb, who remained good friends with Susan after dating her in 1980-81, is devastated by not being able to make it home from tour in time to see her before she was gone. “It sticks like a knife in my belly. I adored her,” he said. “She reminded me of Lauren Bacall – she was so very sweet and very funny.” He remembers how she had an incredible gift for making others feel instantly at ease around her. “She would have me up at her house with her mom and older sister Jen. We would all play a lot of Scrabble. They made me feel better during the Reagan years. That was a big deal then.”

He also admired her ability to persevere and take the adversities of life with a healthy dose of humor and humility when most people would be feeling sorry for themselves. “I remember one time she had an operation, (though I’m) not sure why now,” Gelb said. “She would show me how she could pull the stitching thread from one side of her rib to the other. (It) cracked us both up. She was wonderful woman.”

Susan moved away in 1981 after meeting her husband, Jeffrey Sykes, at a U of A concert. Susan chose to return to her Tucson hometown when she lost Jeffrey in 1995 and had lived here ever since, even working at The Tucson Weekly for several years. She learned that she had cancer only earlier this year.

_{Photo by Jaime Manser}
Susan Sykes and Dan Rylander.

I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Susan personally, but we knew many of the same people and hearing the words of her close friends and family gives me the sense that she would be incredibly proud of the wonderful talents and efforts coming together to remember her and fight breast cancer.

After hearing the news of the benefit from Manser, I sent out an e-mail to local musicians and was surprised at the quick responses I received. Some of the volunteers didn’t even know her personally, either, but we’d all heard wonderful things about this brave woman who lived her life so fully.

Songs for Susan can do many things for many people; it can help contribute to the prevention and cure of breast cancer, it can be therapeutic for the people who knew and miss Susan, it can bring people together for a positive purpose and of course, it can keep Susan’s memory alive. Though it sounds like someone like Susan will be hard to forget.

“She loved books, movies, music, long and lively conversations, people, animals, art, travel, family and friends,” Powers-Murphy recounted. “I miss her so much – there are no words.”

Songs For Susan

Wednesday, August 24
$5 wristbands get admission to all participating venues, available in advance at The Rialto Box Office, Plush and Biblio Bookstore or at the venues on the night of the performance.

Plush – 340 E. 6th St.
8 p.m. – Ozlo
9:15 – Downtown Saints
10:30 – Tony and the Torpedoes
11:45 – The Carnivaleros

Club Congress – 311 E. Congress St.
8 p.m. – Maggie Golston
9:15 – Campo Bravo
10:30 – Al Perry and the Cattle
11:45 – Fourkiller Flats

The Rialto Theatre – 318 E. Congress St.
8 p.m. – Creosote
9:15 – Howe Gelb
10:30 – Chris Burroughs
11:45 – Sunday Afternoon

Surly Wench Pub – 424 N. 4th Ave.
8 p.m. – Blind Divine
9:15 – The Deludes
10:30 – The Solace Bros.
11:45 – Great American Tragedy

Sharks – 256 E. Congress St.
8:30 – p.m. Motel
10:00 – The Stellas
11:30 – Seven to Blue

O’Malley’s – 247 N. 4th Ave.
8 p.m. – Bombs for the Bored
9:15 – George Squier Orchestra
10:30 – Greyhound Soul
11:45 – La Cerca

Heart V – 61 E. Congress St.
8 p.m. – Cathy Rivers
9:15 – Midriff Crisis (a bellydancing troupe)
10:30 – Lagoon
11:45 – Nowhere Man