One of the first places Irene Soderberg ever performed was at Hamburger Mary’s in Hillcrest. She worked as a bartender at Mary’s back in the early 1990s, mixing music in with her drinks. Better than Cocktail, Soderberg’s combination of song and witty banter quickly became her signature. After three albums, that signature has become her livelihood – a path, she says, that was both unexpected and a dream come true.

“Music really is my life,” she said. “It’s always been in my life and in my heart.”

Soderberg got her start while bartending at another Hamburger Mary’s, in Hawaii, in the early 1980s. It was there that she first developed her skills – and her first following – as a highly entertaining songbird bartender. “That’s what made me successful,” she said. “Whether I was bartending or singing, much to the chagrin of all the boy bartenders, I made more [tips]. I racked it up.”

She was soon offered an equity contract, which led her to the San Jose Repertory Theatre, where she performed in Godspell until moving to San Francisco in April 1987.

“I worked for a bar called The Bear, in the Castro,” she said. “I did the same thing – I sang behind the bar and started working on my music. I did half of my AIDS benefits there when I first started. People say, ‘She never said no’. If anybody asked me to do anything, I did it. I’d perform for them.”

Her first performance ever was at one of these San Francisco AIDS benefits in 1988. Called “Men Behind Bars”, the benefit had her playing the fairy godmother. “They asked me to be the fairy godmother and I said, ‘Great’, and they said, ‘Do you like to fly?’ and I said, ‘Sure’. So they put me on a wire 40 feet above the stage, and that’s basically how I started!”

Performing cabaret songs and standards, Soderberg’s eclectic shows are peppered with audience parlay, song parodies and character sketches, including the fairy godmother, May West and Ethel Mermen. Everything from disco to a parody of Madonna is framed by down-to-earth, soulful song.

Soderberg’s talent for impromptu and ad-lib with the audience is legendary. She opens each show by passing out “Ask Miss Irene” cards that allow the audience to request songs or ask questions. “I don’t believe in ever being mean to anyone,” she said. “Some people rip everyone to shreds, and some people do it really nicely, but I don’t believe in doing that. I do believe in teasing everyone, but it’s all about spreading the love.”

Her mix of comedy, song and banter has gained her an avid following, particularly in Palm Springs, where she has been performing “Blame it on Midnight” for 10 years.

“I’ve always been a stubborn girl,” she said when asked about her unique show structure, “I only like to sing what I like to sing. Diversity of music has always appealed to me.”

Having her finger on the pulse of the GLBT community has lent itself well to her preferred musical format. “The focus has always been, and remains, on fun,” she said. “It has expanded from more comedy to more musicality, just as I’ve grown as a performer.”

Part of that growth is addressing current events as part of her routine. In her shows at Bourbon Street this month for example, Soderberg references a letter Bette Midler recently sent to the Bush administration, giving her opinion of the proposed federal marriage amendment.

“The focus is on entertainment, but I’m also a topical kind of girl,” she said. “It’s important to address what is going on socially. I have my own little whimsical and sometimes perverted twists on things, but it’s timely and timeless at the same time.”

When not performing in Palm Springs, Los Angeles-based Soderberg performs at various venues and benefits around the country. She now has more than 400 songs in her repertoire, and said she will soon surrender to the cruise ship market, but only the GLBT-friendly cruise lines, Atlantis and Olivia.

Despite her stage antics, Soderberg would not classify herself as a diva.

“It’s really hysterical, because people call me a diva all the time, but there are two sides to that term – one negative and one positive,” she said. “I say, ‘Come up with your own assessment’. Lots of times in my show, I say ‘It’s all about me!’ But people who know me know that that is not coming from an arrogant place, that’s just part of the act and part of the truth. Sometimes only the truth is funny.”

Irene Soderberg plays at Bourbon Street, March 13, 20 and 27, at 9:00 p.m. Call (619) 291-4043 for more information.