Photo by Rebecca Wilson
Boasting one of pop's most beloved voices, Susanna Hoffs was born and raised in Los Angeles with an ever-present soundtrack of '60s music. She loved to sing and play guitar, going on to study dance and art in college. Stirred by punk and new wave, Susanna started her first band with David Roback (Mazzy Star) while at UC Berkeley. Upon returning to L.A., she placed a want ad which led her to Vicki and Debbi Peterson. In December 1980, they met in the garage of Susanna's parents' home and a band was born. Blending ’60s garage rock, lush harmonies, and jangly guitars, the Bangles became a seminal band of the ’80s with a string of hits from three platinum-selling albums. Over the decades since, the Bangles continued to tour and release LPs.
In 1991, Susanna released a pop-heavy solo album, When You're a Boy, followed by her eponymous LP, which was met with critical praise. After working together in the Austin Powers films, Susanna and Matthew Sweet released three volumes of their acclaimed Under the Covers series. In 2011, she released Someday, a retro modern solo set that was a stylish homage to the '60s pop that she grew up on. Most recently, she worked with acclaimed producer Peter Asher on her album The Deep End. Susanna has collaborated with Rufus Wainwright, Tom Petty, Chris Martin, Mike Campbell, Jack Antonoff, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, Aimee Mann, Andrew Bird, Jon Brion, Maya Rudolph, and many others.
Susanna released her first novel “This Bird Has Flown” in April of 2023. The New York Times called it the “smart, ferocious rock-star redemption romance you didn’t know you needed.” NPR called it “a love story — and a valentine to music.” It was a Los Angeles Times bestseller.
Hi-Res Photos
Photo by Jonathon Kingsbury (Click for Download)
Photo by Jonathon Kingsbury (Click for Download)
Long Bio
A founding member of the Bangles, a solo artist, and a collaborator, Susanna Hoffs boasts one of pop music's most striking and beloved voices. Born in Los Angeles into a creative family, Susanna grew up in the company of writers, thinkers, painters, and filmmakers with an ever-present soundtrack provided by the Beatles and other artists of the 1960s. As a young girl, she loved to sing and play guitar, going on to study theatre, dance, and art at University of California, Berkeley.
The Bay Area music scene was in full bloom during her college years, and Susanna was stirred by the punk rock and new wave movements. Transformed by seeing the last-ever Sex Pistols show and the Patti Smith Group at Winterland, Susanna started a band with David Roback as a way to express and explore their shared passion for the darkly beautiful aspects of music, theatre, photography, and art. The collaboration — dubbed the Unconscious — recorded “I’ll Keep It with Mine” and “I’ll Be Your Mirror” for the iconic Rainy Day album in 1984 and served as a precursor to Roback's work with the Rain Parade, Opal, and Mazzy Star.
Upon graduating and returning to L.A., Susanna placed an ad in the Recycler which led her to sisters Vicki and Debbi Peterson. On a fateful night in December of 1980, they met in the garage of Susanna's parents' home and it was love at first rehearsal... they were a band. The girls hit the club circuit hard, signing to Columbia Records in 1983. Blending ’60s garage rock, lush harmonies, and jangly guitars, the Bangles became a seminal band of the ’80s and ensured their place in rock and roll history with a string of hits — including “Manic Monday,” “Walk Like an Egyptian,” “In Your Room,” “Eternal Flame,” and “Hazy Shade of Winter” — from three platinum-selling albums — All Over the Place, A Different Light, and Everything. Over the decades since their heyday, the Bangles have continued to tour and release records (2003's Doll Revolution, 2011's Sweetheart of the Sun, and 2014's Ladies and Gentlemen... the Bangles compilation).
Stepping away from her work with the Bangles, Susanna released two solo albums in the 1990s which featured collaborations with an impressive array of musicians including Jon Brion, Mick Fleetwood, John Entwistle, Jim Keltner, Mark Linkous, David Lowery, and Petra and Rachel Haden. In an effort to capitalize on the Bangles' momentum, Columbia Records put Susanna straight to work on a pop-heavy solo album with 1991's When You're a Boy (produced by David Kahne). Five years later, her eponymous 1996 release (produced by Jack Joseph Puig) brought the singer closer to her musical roots than she'd been in a long time and she was met with critical praise for the effort.
After working together as members of Ming Tea in the Austin Powers film trilogy, Susanna and Matthew Sweet formed Sid 'n Susie, releasing three volumes of their highly acclaimed Under the Covers series, culling tunes from the '60s, '70s, and '80s. The magical blend of their voices, combined with a roughly hewn power-pop sound, has turned the Sid 'n Susie project into a cult favorite, as well as a critics' pick.
In 2011, Susanna stole away to the studio to capitalize on a burst of creative energy sparked by the presence of a new songwriting partner in Andrew Brassell, an indie musician from Nashville. The collaboration resulted in her third solo project, 2012's Someday (produced by Mitchell Froom). Painted with catchy-as-anything melodies using a palette of horns, flutes, and strings, Someday conjured up an era when melody was king, all while remaining ever-fresh and contemporary. The retro modern song cycle served as a stylish homage to the 1960s pop sounds that Susanna grew up loving.
She followed that up in fairly short order with two stripped-down EPs, From Me to You and Some Summer Days in 2012 and 2013, respectively. A couple years later, she collaborated with Jack Antonoff on “I'm Ready to Move On/Wild Heart Reprise” for the Bleachers' Terrible Thrills, Vol 2 LP. Susanna has regularly appeared on film soundtracks, as well, including Bombshell, Meet the Parents, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, A Dog Named Gucci, Red Roses and Petrol, and others.
More recently, Susanna enjoyed the honor of inducting the Zombies into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, singing with Chris Martin on Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince, performing with Tom Petty when he was named MusiCares Person of the Year, and appearing at the 2014 Stagecoach Festival. Being part of Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's Portlandia Live, Mike Campbell's Merry Minstrel Circus, and a variety of shows at Café Largo in tandem with Aimee Mann, Andrew Bird, Jon Brion, Maya Rudolph, and others, has renewed and inspired her for live performances, and she now looks forward to playing shows in intimate settings where she has the freedom to pull her favorite songs from her entire discography, as well as some choice covers. With special guests stopping by to jam with her, each show is a one-of-a-kind adventure for both her and the audience.