Guy Hoffman

Guy Hoffman (born May 20, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a drummer and vocalist, formerly of such bands as Oil Tasters, BoDeans, Violent Femmes and Absinthe. He is a composer for such films as "Field Day" and a founding member of Radio Romeo.

Life

Guy Hoffman began playing drums at the age of nine. He developed skills in music and art under the direction of Eddie Allen, Sylvia Spicuzza, LeRoy Augustine and Joe Ferrara within the Shorewood public school system. From 1972 to 1976, Hoffman concentrated on watercolor painting and drawing under professor Laurence Rathsack in the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) Fine Arts programs. He also played popular music with local bands at live music venues throughout Wisconsin. From 1977 to 1978, Hoffman studied graphic art with Leon Travanti and graduated from UWM with a BA in fine art and visual communications. He is married to actress, poet and filmmaker Jeanne Marie Spicuzza and has a daughter, Whitney Hoffman.

Music career

Hoffman was a founding member of The Haskels, a band in Milwaukee's thriving punk scene. He soon found acclaim as a founding member of Milwaukee band, the BoDeans, best known for "Closer to Free," theme song for the television drama "Party of Five". Hoffman can be seen drumming in BoDeans videos for the songs "She's A Runaway" and "Fadeaway." He reunited with BoDeans singer/songwriter Sam Llanas to form the band Absinthe.

Hoffman joined the Violent Femmes in 1993. Two versions of "Blister In The Sun," the Femmes' signature song, were recorded with Hoffman for the "Grosse Pointe Blank" soundtrack CD in 1997. Hoffman appears with Violent Femmes in motion picture concerts and television productions such as "Woodstock '94," "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch," and "VH-1 Hard Rock Live." He has performed on numerous music videos and late-night talk shows in the U.S., UK, Canada, Europe and Australia. In 2005, Hoffman's contributions were included on two Violent Femmes reissued CD/DVD compilations.

Hoffman plays drums on the CD "Jeanne Spicuzza". The track "Let the Mermaids Flirt With Me" appears in the movie "Field Day".

In 2005, Hoffman formed Radio Romeo, a Los Angeles-based rock band.

In 2006, he returned to performing shows with Violent Femmes in Southern California. Their latest CD, "Archive Series No. 2 Live In Chicago Q101", showcases the trio's unique, unplugged as it were, acoustic approach, with Hoffman on snare drum and backing vocals.

Discography

*"Oil Tasters" (1980)
*"Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams" (1986)
*"New Times" (1994)
*"Woodstock '94" (1994) CD and VHS
*"Rock!!!!!" (1995)
*"Grosse Pointe Blank: Music from the Film" (1997)
*"The Great Lost Brew Wave Album" (1997)
*"A Good Day To Die" (1998)
*"Viva Wisconsin" (1999)
*"Freak Magnet" (2000)
*"History in 3 Chords" (2001)
*"Something's Wrong" (2001)
*"Jeanne Spicuzza" (2001)
*"" (2005)
*"Permanent Record - Live & Otherwise" (2005) DVD
*"" (2006)
*"Radio Romeo" (2007)

External links

* [http://www.radioromeo.com/guyhoffman/ Guy Hoffman's homepage]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0428531/ Field Day]