To truly make a living performing music is the dream of most struggling artists. Unfortunately, this dream is often circumvented by day jobs and "real life" until a musician is forced to choose between his artistic desires and his ability to pay the rent. A musician is lucky when he can look back over a span of some 20 years, and realize that he has really earned a means of survival from his craft.

Such is the case with Dave SanSoucie, the York-based singer/songwriter and frontman of the Normals who pragmatically states, "I consider myself a 'blue collar' musician. I'm not famous or very well-known, but I do make a living at music. In fact, everything I've done in the past 20 years has been musically related in some way, even my day jobs. I don't have delusions of being a big star; I never did. I just love music and the actual art of it as opposed to the fame it can bring."

According to SanSoucie, he primarily earns his living as a soloist, but this was never really his intention. SanSoucie has worked both in the United States and in Europe, and, he explains, "I have always played in bands. It was never my goal to be a solo performer...just something I did on the side. But I eventually went full-time [performing solo] a number of years ago after having had enough of the full-time day jobs. That was the easiest way for me to make money and a living at music. I play about 150 to 200 solo shows a year and think of myself as a side musician, meaning, I've been a background vocalist or played guitar and mandolin in other bands. But in order to make a living, I've had to go solo."

In a way, the Normals, who feature SanSoucie on guitars and vocals, Sam Panther on drums, and Janis Wallin on bass and back-up vocals, began as a happy accident. [At press time, the groups was in the process of acquiring a full-time keyboard player, with Eric Snyder sitting in in the meantime.] SanSoucie explains that he always liked to assemble various local musicians to just perform out together and to have fun. "I'd get a group of people together, and we'd play old blues standards, funk stuff, original tunes...It wasn't anything I was pushing; it was just fun," he says, "but then I hooked up with Sam and Janis, and we started playing, and it was really cool. I realized it was going to be more than just me with some musicians having fun. We were a real band. We learned two hours' worth of music, booked some gigs, and have been writing songs since then."

SanSoucie says he has played virtually all types of music from funk to bluegrass, and he describes his current band as having a "roots-oriented funk rock" sound. "Sam and Janis come from the hippie, Deadish, Phish-type of background," he says, "but they really, also, lean toward jazz and funk. Our music is very improvisational, but also tight. It's not as meandering as some jam-type bands, but people who like that sort of thing generally like us."

Although the group is not as loose as some jam-oriented bands, SanSoucie says, "There is that thing where we'll go off on a song, but we always know what's going on, you know what I mean?"

SanSoucie says fans of the Normals come in all age ranges, yet, he wishes he could attract a larger following in the York area. Of his group's music, he states, "The younger kids into the nouveau-hippie movement like us, but we also appeal to people who are a little older who appreciate the blues. Of course, some people just don't get us while some people really dig us. York is an area that really wants to hear what it hears on the radio, and, sadly enough, radio is very narrow. I realize we're eclectic, and that can be confusing."

Performing as a soloist and also as a member of a band allows SanSoucie to delve into different musical styles, singing and playing techniques. Yet, he finds each equally enjoyable. "With the band, I'm a more aggressive singer, and the other people in the band are really good so I don't have as much responsibility. The band is a lot younger than I am, and that kicks me in the butt because they're so young and so good. Although I'm singing 99 percent of the stuff and playing guitar, it's just different because I have a rhythm section that kicks butt behind me."

He reflects on solo performing stating, "The cool thing about playing solo is that I get to mess around with a song's key or arrangement according to my whims, and I do this constantly to make it more interesting for myself. What I love about music is just that-that there's so much out there that can be done with it. In my career, I've played everything-bluegrass, funk. I've played alternative music, I've played country and straight up Chicago blues. I've always tried to do whatever I could and have fun with it."

As a solo performer, SanSoucie primarily plays much of the traditional and well-known singer/songwriter tunes, as well as his own material, but, he enforces, "I'm not one of those 'American Pie' singers...you know, the guys who only play the Eagles or Jimmy Buffet. Fortunately, I've been able to eke out a living doing songs I like." Songs SanSoucie prefers include the material of less-commercial singer/songwriters like John Prine, John Hiatt, Bruce Coburn and obscure Bob Dylan. "To make a living, I've had to play places where I have to know the Jimmy Buffet stuff, but I don't do that familiar stuff unless I'm asked to do it."

Primarily, SanSoucie and the Normals perform in the York, Harrisburg and Lancaster marketplace, but he also occasionally plays in Philadelphia. His main goal as a singer/songwriter now is to, perhaps, open for more established performers at some of the country's bigger folk clubs. Until then, though, he plans to remain in the area. "Here's the deal," he explains, "as a solo performer, where I really make the most amount of money, I've learned that if I have to travel two hours to make the same money in Philly as I would in Harrisburg, it doesn't always make sense. Unless it's a gig that makes sense career-wise, I try to keep my travel down. To go play in some bar or restaurant in Philly just to say I play Philly isn't practical."

SanSoucie is currently putting the finishing touches on a new CD. Although he is proud of the work he is doing with the Normals, he decided to record and produce a solo CD spotlighting just his own material. Surprisingly, this is his first CD. SanSoucie is no stranger to the studio, though, having produced and recorded a number of fellow musicians over the years. Even though, he admits that being both the artist and the studio technician is more difficult than he anticipated. "It's hard to divorce yourself from being the technical person and the artistic person. I may lay something down, and I'll get the sound I really want. I'll think this is great; I'm done. Then, I'll listen to it later and may realize that my performance wasn't the best," he explains. "Recording yourself is convenient and cheap, but it's not easy. It's really hard to be objective about yourself. I think it takes longer producing for yourself because you have to, sort of, live with the performance for a while. Initially, I'm just happy to have gotten through it. Then, two days later, I may notice mistakes I've made."

Luckily, SanSoucie's wife, Claudia, is also an accomplished musician and singer/songwriter, and he admits that he often uses her as a sounding board for his material and projects. The two seem to agree and disagree just enough to help each other. SanSoucie states, "We have tastes that are the same, but we also have tastes that differ. We're both strong-willed musicians with opinions that don't always mesh, but I think that makes for an interesting mix."

In his own way, SanSoucie is the very picture of a successful musician. By not striving for the highest pinnacle, he has discovered an undeniable niche for himself with the right amount of success that works for him. This combined with the camaraderie of a supportive spouse and creative friends seems to make SanSoucie a very content artist.