SUSIE BERGHOEFER

Susie was born in the 60’s.  (No, she is not, as it has been rumored, the missing Woodstock baby.)  As an infant, she would cry as the local garage band would practice and wake her from her slumber…who knows, maybe she just wanted to join?  That garage band went on to become Santana!

Susie’s first piano lessons came at 5 years of age, and by the time she was 10, she was hired for a professional children’s choir as a soloist.  With this group Susie sang at Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, and many fairs and festivals.  Susie was interviewed by Jessica Lange about this time and made appearances on the Sunday Show and Today Show.  Also at this very busy time in her life Susie bought her first flute (with help from Daddy) using her allowance and gig money.

At 15, Susie joined a folk group called “Apple Whine” where she sang and played one of her dulcimers (yes, Susie also found the time to learn the dulcimer).  They played at the L.A. County Fair and various festivals.  In high school, she enrolled in all of the music classes she could:  Concert band-flute, Pep band-piccolo/flute/student conductor, Jazz band-keyboards/bass, Beginning Band-2 yrs-Student Teacher, Drama Club-Band (used in musicals),   Marching Band-2yrs flute, 2 yrs Drum Major.  Yes, she was pretty much a “band geek” even with the big glasses, but without the lifestyle represented in the movie “American Pie!”  And, on top of those activities, she would still play the piano 1-10 hours a day! 

After high school graduation, Susie enrolled at the local college majoring in music.  To pay tuition Susie became a true “industrial musician” polishing new pianos for Colton Piano.  At 19 she went on tour with her flute in the college symphonic band playing in concert halls up the coast with the tour ending at the San Francisco Symphonic Hall.  She was also in a flute quintet playing classical music with an alto flute.  At 20 she decided to go to trade school to become a piano technician, the closest one was in Sioux City, Iowa!  While there, she became an interstate lounge lizard-ess playing at Max’s piano bar, and the Radisson Hotel in Nebraska.  When she returned to California, she went back to Colton Piano as a Piano Technician, and played in local clubs and lounges.

At 22, Susie got married and for the first time in her life music took a back seat as she went back to college majoring in child development with a minor in music.  Her friends and family talked Susie into playing in a band with local musicians.    She found that it was fun!

A few years later, Susie went on vacation to Hawaii to do some studio work with her flute.  While at the studio, a member of the local symphony asked her if she wanted to sit in with the Hawaiian symphony during a rehearsal.  She was offered a paying position with a first performance the very next day.  Susie declined, even though she enjoyed playing classical music, being in a band was much more fun!

Susie’s first “band” gig was at a high desert pub where she met Sammy Alvarado and Steve Mitchell; they hit it off from the start!  (Note: the lady leading this group was the inspiration for Karaoke Queen!)  Subsequent to that performance, Susie has performed in many bands, playing many styles of music from:  Southern Rock, Blues, Country, Surf, Gospel, R&B, Progressive Rock, New Age, or whatever kind of music is presented to her.  Her philosophy is to enjoy what you play and if you are not having fun, why do it! 

A few years later Susie, while still claiming to be 29 (yea, right!), joined up with a 6-piece group called “MainStream”, where she met up with her “partners in musical crime”, Steve and Sammy.  A few years later the group became a four piece and it remains so to this day. 

Susie did, however take a 3 year break from music to become a mommy.  Kevin and Susie are proud of their identical twin girls, and the twins are practicing daily in hopes of becoming future band members!  (You may see them at a MainStream performance, they need LOTS of work, but they look really cute!) 

When returning to the music scene, Susie, who had moved away after her kids were born, started to play with different groups from the Inland Empire and L.A. areas.  These groups were all talented but they were not MainStream.  In a strange twist of fate, Susie was telling a friend how much she missed Steve and Sammy, and was sad that the group was no longer together.  At that exact moment, her cell phone rang and it was both of them calling to tell her that they wanted to get the group back together!  It was strange that she just happened to be in the same city they were, and her instruments were in the car!  It was a sign to start rocking with her best friends again!