Guy Hoffman (born May 20, 1954 in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

) is a

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums. Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...

and

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, formerly of such bands as

Oil Tasters The Oil Tasters were an early 1980s band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the United States. The band comprised bassist and vocalist Richard LaValliere, saxophonist Caleb Alexander, and drummer Guy Hoffman. The trio, founded on Milwaukee's East S ...

BoDeans BoDeans is an American rock band formed in Waukesha, Wisconsin who came to prominence in the 1980s. The band's sound encompasses multiple rock genres, including roots rock, heartland rock, and alternative rock. The band's biggest hit to dat ...

, Violent Femmes, Absinthe and Radio Romeo. He is a composer for films such as ''Field Day''.

Life

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 The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

(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 arts A category of fine art, graphic art covers a broad range of visual artistic expression, typically two-dimensional graphics, i.e. produced on a flat surface,Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in fine art and visual communications.

Music career

Hoffman was a founding member of the Haskels and Oil Tasters, bands in Milwaukee's punk scene. He was an original member of the Milwaukee roots rock band

and performs on their 1986 debut album '' Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams''. Hoffman appeared in videos for the BoDeans songs "She's a Runaway" and "Fadeaway". In 1998, he reunited with BoDeans singer/songwriter Sam Llanas to form the band Absinthe and released ''A Good Day to Die''. Hoffman joined Violent Femmes in 1993. Two versions of "Blister in the Sun", the Femmes' signature song, were recorded with Hoffman for the '' Grosse Pointe Blank'' motion picture soundtrack in 1997. Hoffman has appeared with Violent Femmes in various concert films and television productions, such as " Woodstock '94," ''

Sabrina the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...

'' and VH-1's ''Hard Rock Live'', as well as several of the band's music videos. Hoffman also designed the cover for the Femmes' 1994 album '' New Times''. Hoffman plays drums on the CD ''Jeanne Spicuzza'' (2001). The track "Let the Mermaids Flirt With Me" appears in the 2004 short film ''Field Day''. In 2002, he was replaced in the Femmes by returning original drummer Victor DeLorenzo. In 2006, Hoffman formed Radio Romeo, a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based rock band, who released their self-titled debut album the following year. He also appeared on Violent Femmes' 2006 live album '' Archive Series No. 2: Live in Chicago Q101''. In 2022, he composed music for the film, '' Night Rain''.

Discography

With Violent Femmes *'' New Times'' (1994) *'' Woodstock 94'' (1994) – various artists *'' Rock!!!!!'' (1995) *'' Grosse Pointe Blank: Music from the Film'' (1997) *'' Viva Wisconsin'' (1999) *'' Freak Magnet'' (2000) *''History in 3 Chords'' (2001) – various artists *'' Something's Wrong'' (2001) *'' Permanent Record: The Very Best of Violent Femmes'' (2005) *'' Permanent Record: Live & Otherwise'' (2005) *'' Archive Series No. 2: Live in Chicago Q101'' (2006) With other artists *The Haskels – ''The Haskels'' (1979) *Oil Tasters – ''

'' (1982) *

– '' Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams'' (1986) *Various artists – ''The Great Lost Brew Wave Album'' (1997) *Absinthe – ''A Good Day to Die'' (1998) * Jeanne Spicuzza – ''Jeanne Spicuzza'' (2001) * Radio Romeo – ''Radio Romeo'' (2007)

References

External links

Guy Hoffman's homepageField Day
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Guy American rock drummers University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Musicians from Milwaukee Living people 1954 births Violent Femmes members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers BoDeans members Drummers from Wisconsin