When Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles and alternative rocker Matthew Sweet recorded an album of cover songs from the 1960s, they did not think they were going to be continuing the project. But two albums and many performances later, they are still at it, currently on a concert tour that will take them to the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Mass. on Nov. 13.

“We had so much fun on the first one, never thinking there would be another,” Hoffs said of the album “Under the Covers, Volume 1.” “We laughed when they put ‘Volume 1’ on it.”

Hoffs said the project originated at a charity event held at a small folk club in Los Angeles somewhere around the year 2004. She said Sweet was discussing producing a solo album. Then there was talk about them recording an album together and then the conversation morphed into them playing cover songs. Hoffs said the record label, Shout Factory, liked the cover songs idea and pushed for that approach.

“The songs are so great,” Hoffs said. “The onus of having to write great songs was taken off. We just had to sing them and record them.”

While they might have been recording songs that were familiar to them, Hoffs said she and Sweet learned a lot about the tunes that they were recreating. She said recording the albums and playing the music from them live has also given her two sons an appreciation of the music from those eras.

“You kind of see it from a slightly different perspective than when you are driving around in the car and hearing them on the radio,” Hoffs said. “It’s a music education.”

Hoffs said she had an idea that she and Sweet were on the same page from the beginning with the project when they each randomly made lists of possible songs for the first album. When they compared list, she said they each had an obscure song called “She May Call You Up Tonight” by The Left Bank on the list.

“We knew we were off to a good start and we had synchronicity on that record,” Hoffs said.

The first “Under the Covers” album, released in 2006, included that song and 14 others, such as “Cinnamon Girl” by Neil Young and Crazy Horse, “The Kids Are Alright” by The Who, “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue,” by Bob Dylan, “The Warmth of the Sun” by The Beach Boys and “Run to Me” by The Bee Gees.

Another one of the common songs on their list was “And Your Bird Can Sing” by The Beatles which was also included on the album. Hoffs said The Beatles were one of her biggest influences along with female singers, such as Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell and Patsy Cline. She also is into Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Byrds, The Mamas and Papas and folk/rock bands from the ’60s and ’70s which is evident on the “Under the Cover” albums.

With the next album, Sweet and Hoffs decided to focus on another decade of cover songs with some classics from the 1970s. With “Under the Covers, Volume 2,” the idea just kept snow balling as Hoffs said she and Sweet were thinking of more and more songs they would like to record. The new album that was released this year included covers of Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May,” Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain,” and Tom Petty’s “Here Comes My Girl,” among many others. It is also apparent that some other musicians like what Hoffs and Sweet are doing as Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and Yes’s Steve Howe joined them on covers of songs from their respective bands for the album. The fans also seem to have appreciated the effort of Sweet and Hoffs as the last album was on the Top 20 Sellers List at local music chain Newbury Comics, which is doing a ticket giveaway for the show in Arlington.

With their live concerts, Hoffs and Sweet will be performing the cover tunes along with some songs from The Bangles and Sweet’s solo career. While they usually play with full rock bands with their other projects, the cover songs and favorites from their respective careers will be played acoustically on their current tour which is billed as “Sid ‘n Susie.” Hoffs said she and Sweet, who were also part of the Ming Tea Band with actor Michael Myers in the “Austin Powers” movies, are good friends and have a good time on stage with their performances.

Hoffs and Sweet played some shows in September which Hoffs said were like rehearsals and question and answer sessions. During one of the shows, Sweet asked her if she knew a song they were about to play. Hoffs said she replied back, “Well, we’ve played it less than once.” She said their upcoming performances will be more like full fledged concerts and they have added a guitar player to enhance the entertainment for the audience.

“It’s really different from anything I’ve done before,” Hoffs said. “It’s vastly different from The Bangles. it’s very loose, very spontaneous.”

Hoffs said playing some of her Bangles songs acoustically brought kind of a shock to her system, but said it has allowed her to rediscover her songwriting.

“It was fun for me to play some of my stuff completely by myself,” Hoffs said. “It’s different than having the band.”

But she and Sweet have been receiving good reactions from the crowds at the shows that have been selling out.

“We have kind of a niche audience with this,” Hoffs said. “There’s Bangles fans. There are people who followed my solo career. There are Matthew Sweet fans. Some people like the combination.”

Hoffs said she and Sweet have written some original songs together, but said it is up in the air whether they will ever record them on an album. She is very busy, juggling several projects at the same time. She has also been playing some concerts with The Bangles recently and is recording a new album with that female rock band that was very popular in the ’80s.

“Matthew is a great writer, a great artist,” Hoffs said. “I really find him inspiring.”

The Regent Theater’s box office is located at 7 Medford Street, Arlington, Mass. Tickets are priced at $35, $30 & $25 each. Box Office Hours: Mon. thru Sat., 12 to 6 p.m., and one hour before each performance. For more information, visit www.regenttheatre.com or call 781-646-4849.

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