THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

Hoffs continues to dance to the beat of a "Different Drum."

Windy City Times: Hi, Susanna. Has today been a "Manic Monday" for you?

Susanna Hoffs: It's not as manic as usual. I am really happy, so far so good. Usually they are, I have just given over to it now.

WCT: I have been a fan of your music for a long time. You have been playing guitar since your teens?

SUSANNA HOFFS: Yeah, even younger, since I was in elementary school. I loved to sing and I was a dancer. I just loved music. I tried piano but there was something kind of cold about it. Holding a guitar in your arms is just so warm. I was never formally trained. I don't read music. Just sitting around on the playground with friends and showing each other different songs, it came out of that tradition.

WCT: How did you meet the other members of The Bangles?

SUSANNA HOFFS: After graduating from University of California, Berkeley, I came back to L.A. and was interested in putting together a band. I put an ad in Recycler Magazine; it was sort of the Craigslist of its time. You could find a couch, you could find a band mate, sell a car, all kinds of things. Vicki and Debbi were in a band and had just fired the guitar player and we connected through the ad.

WCT: And you are still playing together. You just played [ recently ] at the Illinois State Fair. How did that go?

SUSANNA HOFFS: It was great. It was fun doing the show with Heart. It was a really good crowd and a good night.

WCT: You ladies should play for all your gay fans at our street festival next summer!

SUSANNA HOFFS: We would love to play! Give my agent a call and we will set it up. You know my mom is from Chicago? She's from Hyde Park. So I feel very connected to Chicago. It has changed since I was kid. It feels very sheik all of a sudden.

WCT: How did you begin working with Matthew Sweet?

SUSANNA HOFFS: I was a big fan of his music. I was obsessed with this record called "Girlfriend" that he had out. We met when we through Mike Myers when we formed a band during the Austin Powers movies.

WCT: You call yourselves "Sid N Susie because his middle name is Sid." How do you decide on a cover song to be put on one of your records, Under the Covers?

SUSANNA HOFFS: We were so influenced [ by ] the '60s and songs that we heard as little kids. The first record was '60s and the new one is '70s. To me, the '60s and '70s were sort of the golden era of rock-and-roll. It was the melding of pop, rock and psychedelic music.

WCT: You picked so many songs that to cover that I like, such as Blondie's "Dreaming" or Carly Simon's "You're So Vain."

SUSANNA HOFFS: Why, thank you! You have the deluxe version then.

WCT: It really sounds like a summer album. We need it here in Chicago! All we had was a "Hazy Shade of Winter" this past year.

SUSANNA HOFFS: It is sad that summer is coming to an end. Now I am back in that school grind with my kids.

WCT: I like the Austin Powers and Meet the Parents comedies that your husband, Jay Roach, does. Did you have a crazy experience when you met each other's parents before marriage?

SUSANNA HOFFS: That's a funny question. Our parents are from opposite sides of the country. My dad is a psychologist so maybe that influenced him with the movie.

WCT: You look amazing! What's your secret?

SUSANNA HOFFS: I do a lot of walking. It's fortunate that I can be outside all year round. Another thing is moisturizing. [ Laughs ] Music allows me to never grow up in a way.

WCT: Are you going to make "Under the Covers Vol.3?"

SUSANNA HOFFS: Eighties! I am finally ready to go back in time to that period. That was a fun time and there is a place in life for things that are just fun.

Working with Matthew has been very eye-opening. It has spilled over into my Bangles life with him producing our new record next year. We just started playing out and it is very intimate with just Matthew and I and acoustical guitars. We talk about the songs and encourage the audience to ask us questions.