Kristian Hoffman
Encyclopedia
Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Nina Kiriki Hoffman is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror writer.-Profile:Hoffman started publishing short stories in 1975. Her first nationally published short story appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction magazine in 1983...
.
History
Singer/songwriter Kristian Hoffman first emerged during the late 1970s as songwriter and keyboardist for New York City cult favorite the Mumps, and was also an active figure in the No WaveNo Wave
No Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
, performing alongside the likes of Lydia Lunch and the Contortions, and playing keys and singing on the James White and the Blacks LP Off White
Off White
Off White is a 1979 No Wave album by James White, also known as James Chance.-Side one:# "Contort Yourself" – 6:15 # "Stained Sheets" – 5:51# " Heat Wave" – 3:55...
http://www.discogs.com/James-White-The-Blacks--James-Chance-The-Contortions--James-White-The-Chance-White-Box-Set/release/524977. As a member of Bleaker St. Incident, with Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer who first gained prominence in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan...
and Robert Mache, he spearheaded the "anti-folk" movement. Concurrently he was in the lounge rock band The Swinging Madisons http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=swinging_madisons, and was the original musical director for Klaus Nomi
Klaus Nomi
Klaus Sperber , better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona....
, writing many of Nomi's best known songs http://www.answers.com/topic/eclipsed-the-best-of-klaus-nomi[].
Hoffman later played in Kid Congo Powers' group Congo Norvell http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3494000033.html. By the 1990s, Hoffman was performing regularly as a solo artist; in 1993, he issued his debut I Don't Love My Guru Anymore, followed four years later by Earthquake Weather. For the remainder of the decade, Hoffman worked with Dave Davies
Dave Davies
David Russell Gordon "Dave" Davies is an English rock musician best known for his role as lead guitarist and vocalist for the English rock band The Kinks....
and El Vez
El Vez
El Vez is the stage name of Robert Lopez, a Mexican-American rock and roll artist, who performs and records original material and covers classic rock songs...
on various projects and also served as music director for Ann Magnuson and Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
. In 2002, he and producer Earle Mankey
Earle Mankey
Earle Mankey was a guitarist for the seminal band Halfnelson, later called Sparks...
crafted a third album of duets, &. http://www.answers.com/topic/kristian-hoffman-1
& includes collaborations such as "Get It Right This Time" with that dog.
That dog.
That Dog is a Los Angeles-based rock band that formed in 1991 and dissolved in 1997, reuniting in 2011. The band consists of Anna Waronker on lead vocals and guitar, Rachel Haden on bass guitar and vocals, her sister Petra Haden on violin and vocals, and Tony Maxwell on drums...
's Anna Waronker
Anna Waronker
Anna Jeanette Waronker is a singer/songwriter, composer, and producer best known as the former frontwoman of That Dog. She is the daughter of producer Lenny Waronker and actress/musician Donna Loren, the sister of session drummer Joey Waronker, and is married to Steven Shane McDonald of Redd...
, "Scarecrow" with Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
http://www.rufuswainwright.com/discography/detail.aspx?pid=1842, and "Devil May Care" with Russell Mael
Russell Mael
Russell Mael is an American singer and songwriter who, with his older brother Ron, is in the band Sparks....
of Sparks. "Revert to Type" features string arrangements from industry legend Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks
Van Dyke Parks is an American composer, arranger, producer, musician, singer, author and actor. Parks is perhaps best known for his contributions as a lyricist on the Beach Boys album Smile....
. "Madison Avenue" is a duet with El Vez
El Vez
El Vez is the stage name of Robert Lopez, a Mexican-American rock and roll artist, who performs and records original material and covers classic rock songs...
, "The Mexican Elvis." There is also a guest appearance from Pee Wee Herman AKA Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens
Paul Reubens is an American actor, writer, film producer, and comedian, best known for his character Pee-wee Herman. Reubens joined the Los Angeles troupe The Groundlings in the 1970s and started his career as an improvisational comedian and stage actor...
. There are team-ups with the Three O'Clock's Michael Quercio
Michael Quercio
Michael Quercio was the founder, bassist and lead singer of The Three O'Clock. He is also notable for being the apparent source of the genre name Paisley Underground, originally a joke. The Three O'Clock were among the most successful artists of the neo-psychedelic movement of the 1980s...
, Maria McKee
Maria McKee
Maria Luisa McKee is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her work with Lone Justice and her 1990 UK solo chart-topping hit, "Show Me Heaven".-Music:...
of Lone Justice, Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
, and Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson
Ann Magnuson is an American actress, performance artist, and nightclub performer who first gained prominence in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan...
. []
Hoffman is also an artist who has designed album cover art for such musicians as The Voltaires, Andrew
Andrew
Andrew is the English form of a given name and surname common in many countries. Alternatives include André, Andrey, Andrei, Andrej, András, Andrés, Andreas, Andreu, Anders and Endrew. ‘Andrew’ is a common name in English-speaking countries. In the 1990s it was among the top ten most popular names...
, and legendary Los Angeles punk band X, and for releases such as eggBERT Records' Hollies tribute "Sing Hollies In Reverse," as well as his own "He Means Well" limited addition 45 cover. Hoffman's art was also highlighted in the books "Two Blocks East of Vine" by Iris Berry http://www.amazon.com/dp/1884615007 and "Incriminating Evidence" by Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch
Lydia Lunch is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress whose career was spawned by the New York No Wave scene...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0867193808. His most famous art composition to date probably remains the notorious "Bendover Girl" from an insert in the original edition of the New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
' first album http://www.variety.com/article/VR118716.html?categoryid=16&cs=1 http://www.dikenga.com/films/phonesex/callers/kristian_hoffman/default.html, since reproduced on tee shirts, tattoos and drum heads all over the world.
In 2005, Hoffman was featured in two separate one-man art shows in Los Angeles galleries—the first an extensive retrospective of thirty years of illustrative work, and the other a showing of several new larger format works. He also designed the poster for the Green Day Documentary Heart Like a Hand Grenade.
In late 2005, a documentary on Klaus Nomi
Klaus Nomi
Klaus Sperber , better known as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona....
, The Nomi Song, directed by Andrew Horn, was released and received wide critical praise and several awards. The documentary has since come out on DVD (a Palm Pictures Release). It features extensive interviews with Hoffman and many of Nomi's other key collaborators, as well as footage of many rare concert and television appearances by Nomi. Four of Hoffman's compositions for Nomi are featured in the film, as well as some original incidental music and some clips of Mumps songs. The DVD extras include an extended interview with Hoffman wherein he details the genesis and thoughts behind each song he composed for Nomi.
Also released in 2005 was How I Saved the World, a newly remastered Mumps compilation, with all the tracks on the original 1995 eggBERT release plus ten extra unreleased tracks, all composed by Hoffman. The compilation also includes a full color 24 page booklet and a companion DVD of vintage Mumps performances at CBGBs and other venues, with optional commentary by Hoffman. This double-disc compilation was released by Sympathy For The Record Industry Records. Press and other historical information can be found at the Mumps official website www.mumpsmusic.com. []http://www.queermusicheritage.us/apr2008.html
Hoffman spent much of the first half of 2006 producing a new full length CD for long-time collaborator Ann Magnuson, called "Pretty Songs and Ugly Stories." Besides playing on the album with his band The Rock Gods, Hoffman also co-wrote ten of the songs with Magnuson. Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
added a one-man chorale to the CD's "Whatever Happened To New York." Other songs on the CD feature performances by the Chapin Sisters, Jonathan Lea of the Jigsaw Seen, DJ Bonebrake of X, and Heather Lockie of Listing Ship. The album was released December 2006. The record release party in the Disney Concert Hall's Redcat Theater was sold out, necessitating the addition of a second show. Guest artists for the shows included Candypants' Lisa Jenio, as well as Prince Poppycock
Prince Poppycock
John Andrew Quale is an American singer, songwriter, and performer best known by the stage name and persona of Prince Poppycock. Quale, who specializes in musical theater and opera, describes Prince Poppycock on his website as a "roguish operatic dandy."...
, aka John Quale, who plays Jesus in the award winning Musical "The Beastly Bombing." Two sold out shows at L.A.'s Steve Allen Theater followed quickly thereafter. http://www.amoeba.com/live-shows/performances/hollywood/2007-march-22/ann-magnuson/artist.html
Throughout 2007, Hoffman continued to be Ann Magnuson's musical director as she played select dates around the country to promote "Pretty Songs."
Hoffman has also served as a regular member of the Mink Stole
Mink Stole
Nancy Paine Stoll better known by the stage name Mink Stole, is an American actress from Baltimore, Maryland. She began her career working for director John Waters, having appeared in all of his feature films to date...
band, the Abby Travis band, the Carolyn Edwards band, and the Jane Wiedlin
Jane Wiedlin
Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and actress. She is best known as the rhythm guitarist of the all-female New Wave band The Go-Go's.-Early life:...
lounge combo Downtown Sensation. In addition, he has appeared as a session musician on albums by Andrew, the Jigsaw Seen, Carolyn Edwards, Blow Up (with Deborah Harry
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
), and El Vez.
For over three years, Hoffman was the keyboard player for the popular Velvet Hammer Burlesque house band, led by the Millionaire (of Combustible Edison fame). The Velvet Hammer Burlesque ran monthly at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles until director/producer Michelle Carr relocated to Germany. The band occasionally played original Hoffman compositions. Hoffman's original compositions were also featured in the film documentary "The Velvet Hammer Burlesque," by filmmaker Augusta. Other regular solo and duet appearances by Hoffman included a series at Hollywood's late Parlour Club, hosted by performance artist Vaginal Creme Davis.
Hoffman reported on his official website, as well as his Myspace and Facebook pages, that he had finished recording his new 17 song album, Fop, in late 2008; that it was being mixed by Earle Mankey; and that its release was expected in mid-2009. http://www.kristianhoffman.com/ http://www.myspace.com/kristianhoffman http://ja-jp.facebook.com/pages/Kristian-Hoffman/59174136664?v=info It released in October 2010. On July 27, 2010, the classical-crossover phenomena Timur and the Dime Museum http://www.timurandthedimemuseum.com released their album, The Collection: Songs from the Operatic Underground,http://www.cdbaby.com/timurandthedimemuseum containing five cover songs by Kristian Hoffman, with Kristian Hoffman, playing the piano on Total Eclipse. http://timurandthedimemuseum.com/track/total-eclipse http://www.theoperaoftimur.com LA Weekly compared Kristian Hoffman's lyrics in the song Lite of the World, as "dark lyrics that wouldn't be out of place on a Thom Yorke album". http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/last-night/live-review-timur-dime-museum/
Hoffman has also served as a DJ on Internet radio station LuxuriaMusic.com. http://www.luxuriamusic.com/djprofiles/kristian-hoffman
Discography
- Ann Magnuson: "Pretty Songs and Ugly Stories" (Produced, arranged and co-written by Kristian Hoffman) (2006)
- Mumps: "How I Saved The World" - 2 disc CD/DVD retrospective (includes 29 Kristian Hoffman compositions) (2005)
- & (2003) (solo album)
- "The Guru Home Demos" (2003) (Website-only CD release of original home demos for "I Don't Love My Guru Anymore")
- "The Am-Fam Variations" (2002) (website only CD release of incidental music recorded for the PBS documentary "A Death In An American Family")
- Earthquake Weather (1996) (solo album)
- "He Means Well/Green Circles" (1995) (7" Preview green vinyl 45 for lead song from "Earthquake Weather", with non-CD B-Side Small Faces cover "Green Circles")
- Congo NorvellCongo NorvellCongo Norvell is a band led by Kid Congo Powers and Sally Norvell. Congo Norvell formed in 1990 after Powers and Norvell met at the deathbed of a friend in Los Angeles....
"Live in the Misson" (1995) (7" yellow vinyl 45 EP, keys & co-writer one song) - Mumps: "Fatal Charm" (1994) (original Mumps compilation on Eggbert Records)
- Congo Norvell "Music To Remember Him By" (1994) (keys, guitar, backing vocals, co-wrote five songs)
- I Don't Love My Guru Anymore (1993) (solo album)
- Congo Norvell "Lullabies" (1992) (keys, co-writerone song)
- Swinging Madisons: "Appearing Nightly" (1980) (Songwriter, lead singer -5 song 12" vinyl EP)
Compilations:
- Lydia Lunch "Deviations on a Theme" (2006) "Best of" career retrospective includes Hoffman duet with Lydia "I Can't Remember My Dreams", co-written with Lydia
- The Definitive Story of CBGBCBGBCBGB was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973, it was originally intended to feature its namesake musical styles, but became a forum for American punk and New Wave bands like Ramones, Misfits, Television, the...
(2006) includes Mumps song "We Ended Up" - New York Rocks (2005) Koch Records - Mumps "Crocodile Tears"
- Apples, Oranges, Nuts, Bolts (2003) "Best of L.A." compilation includes Hoffman duet with Russell Mael "Devil May Care" from "&"
- Sing Hollies In Reverse (1995) Hoffman solo cover of "I'm Alive"
- Melody Fair (1995) Hoffman solo cover of "Lemons Never Forget"
Other Projects:
- Abby Travis "Glittermouth"(2006) keys, backing vocal arrangements, co-writing credits on "Now Was" and "Hunger"
- Carolyn Edwards "Carolyn Edwards" (2005) keys
- Andrew Sandoval "What's It All About" (2005) keys
- The Shakes "Gigantes Del Pop" (2004) The Shakes cover Hoffman composition "Crocdile Tears"
- "Music To Lose Your Knickers By" (2004) Velvet Hammer Burlesque Documentary Soundtrack. 2 instrumental compositions written, recorded, and performed by Hoffman
- Blow-up (with Deborah HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
) "In Technicolor" (2003) keys, guitar - Dave Davies "Bug" (2002) keyboards
- Sally Norvell "Choking Victim" (2002) includes Hoffman/Norvell composition "Murder"
- Rosenstolz "Kassengift" (2002) includes Hoffman composition "Total Eclipse"
- Rosenstolz with Marc AlmondMarc AlmondMarc Almond is an English singer-songwriter and musician, who originally found fame as half of the seminal synthpop/New Wave duo Soft Cell...
"Total Eclipse" (2001) Single Remix of album version of "Total Eclipse" with new lead vocals by Marc Almond - Abby Travis "Cutthroat Standards and Black Pop" (2000) Co-produced and Arranged by Hoffman. Keys, co-writing credit on "October"
- Andrew "A Beautiful Story" (2000) Cover Art, keyboards
- The Jigsaw Seen "Zenith" (2000) keyboards
- "Listen and Learn With Vibra-phonic" (1999) Hoffman produced, arranged, and played keyboards on Ann Magnuson version of David BowieDavid BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "Moonage Daydream". Also includes Hoffman's solo cover of "Green Circles" - Klaus Nomi "Eclipsed" (1999) includes Hoffman compositions Total Eclipse", "After the Fall", Nomi Song" and "Simple Man", and Hoffman arranged songs "Lightning Strikes", "The Twist", "Just One Look" and "Falling In Love Again"
- El Vez "Son of a Lad From Spain" (1999) keyboards
- Dave Davies "Rock Bottom Live" (1997) keyboards
- El Vez " G.I. Ay Ay Blues" (1996)keyboards
- Lydia Lunch "In Limbo" (1984)keyboards
- Lydia Lunch "The Agony Is The Ecstacy"(1982) drums
- James White and the Blacks "Off-White" (1979) vocals, keyboards, co-wrote "Almost Black"
- Gary Valentine "The First One" (1978) Hoffman, along with the rest of Mumps, backs up Gary Valentine on his first solo 45
Filmography
- Rome '78 (Actor, screenwriter)
- The Long Island Four (Actor)
- Vortex (Incidental music)
- Downtown 81 (Actor)
- Love Dolls Superstar (Incidental Music)
- The Nomi Song (Interviewee, songwriter, incidental music)
Sources
L.A. Weekly Interview http://www.laweekly.com/2002-06-27/music/unembarrassedTrouser Press Swinging Madisons Entry http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=swinging_madisons
Encyclopedia.com Congo Norvell entry http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3494000033.html
Kristian Hoffman interviewed by Queer Music Heritage http://www.queermusicheritage.us/apr2008.html
Rolling Stone review http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/kristianhoffman/albums/album/124376/review/5942579/
Discogs Discography http://www.discogs.com/artist/Kristian+Hoffman
All Music Guide entry []
All Music Guide Mumps entry []
Reference.com on Kristian Hoffman http://www.reference.com/browse/Kristian+Hoffman
Kristian Hoffman obituary for Klaus Nomi from the East Village Eye http://nomi.tribe.net/
Kristian Hoffman reviewed in Pop Matters http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/hoffmankristian-and
Los Angeles Times Calendar Article http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jul/21/entertainment/ca-nichols21