Out the other day, while browsing through the canned food aisle, I found myself singing along to the shop's stereo system.
It was the Jamie Warren song The World According to Susie, a catchy little number about a girl with big dreams, a big personality and a sunny attitude. You will have heard it, too, but you probably didn't realize the subject of the song is our own Susie McGregor of Highland Music Multimedia.
Daughter of a Scottish musician, McGregor stepped onto the stage at eight, belting out the hits of Patsy Cline in her dad's country band, which played in and around the cities of Port Coquitlam and Vancouver. Recognizing talent when they heard it, her parents nurtured and encouraged their progeny with vocal lessons, exposure to various music styles and competitions.
At 14 McGregor was the winner of the first ever PNE Talent Search.
That put her into her first recording studio and they made a video for the song, too. ("It was a horrible song," she laughs.)
McGregor started writing songs as a pre teen and by 14 was collaborating with other musicians and playing in her first band. Six years later, McGregor could be found packing houses in musical comedy restaurants all over Vancouver, Port Coquitlam and Delta.
In the early '90s, I spent four interesting years on the road, and continued to record," she expands. 'In '96 I met up with Andy again (we first met in 1990 when I arrived at his studio door to demo some songs) and decided it was time to record my first full CD."
Andy is Andy Lorimer, touring keyboardist of the rock band Prism, yet another star in our Comox Valley midst. In 1998 the pair played the coast to coast radio tour to release McGregor's single 3000 Miles. The endeavor was a wild success, with more than 50 stations picking up the song.
The Warm Feet Tour delivered the warmth of McGregor's voice as well as a truckload of McGregor brand socks. "I autographed thousands of pairs of socks...." she remembers.
In 2002 a family crisis put Susie's music on hold. Grieving the unexpected loss of her mother she found it difficult to perform. Susie stepped away from the stage and toward motherhood and teaching.
Using her experience in the music industry and her first hand knowledge of what resources would benefit an emerging artist, Susie offers vocal instruction from her studio in Comox.
By examining and explaining vocal mechanics, McGregor leads her students on a rewarding voyage of musical self-discovery.
"I'm constantly inspired by local artists, my students, my friends, and my long time favourites (Barbra Streisand, Jann Arden, Anne Murray). I love empowering my students and watching how proud they are of themselves, I also really enjoy encouraging them and helping them to understand many aspects of music and the industry surrounding it," she explains.
Susie's passion for teaching and music has expanded to co-ordinate the popular Valley Idol competitions and the Vancouver Island Music Business Conference, invaluable opportunities for those dreaming of entering the music industry.
Students begin their 10-week course with the discovery of voice as an instrument and vocal exploration, followed by learning the language of music, accompaniment, vocal technique and the ins and outs of the business of music.
Space in this highly individualized course is limited and it fills up very quickly. For more information, contact Susie at 250-339-1604 or e-mail susie@vimbc.com.