"Ooooh-ooh, psychoanalysis. Ooooh-ooh, psychoanalysis."
Yes, the lyrics and traditional power pop sound of Brian Hoffer's "Psychoanalysis" recalls the likes of They Might Be Giants. But the 12 songs on Hoffer's debut disc, "Into the Boulevard," also take cues from the Beatles – his self-avowed biggest influence – and even Chicagoland DIY stalwart Jonny Polonsky.
Hoffer – whose name is familiar to Milwaukee media via his marketing work for Milwaukee Recreation – revealed a side many didn't know existed when he sent out links to a digital download of the record last month.
What we discovered was a cache of charming, well-crafted pop, with lovely, simply piano and guitar lines that often intersect to create surprising moments. The recordings and arrangements are accomplished but the record is winningly endearing for its charm as well as for its melodies, quirky lyrics and ingenuous performances.
I asked Hoffer about how a guy we all think of the fellow that writes press releases about softball leagues and swim classes for kids came to create such a power pop gem.
OnMilwaukee.com: Can you tell me a bit about your musical background?
Brian Hoffer: I have always loved music, and I've wanted to record an album for as long as I can remember. I play the piano and guitar, and I've written over 2,500 songs since I was 7 years old. I don't know how to read notated music, but I understand the concepts of music theory and play by ear.
As a child, I took piano lessons from Sam Randlett of Wauwatosa, who is also well-known for developing the international notation system for origami (with Akira Yoshizana). I never enjoyed playing other people's music, and all I ever wanted was to write my own songs.
Mr. Randlett accepted this and taught me the concepts of music theory without pressuring me to read music. Instead, he would often deconstruct my compositions and help me understand how I had intuitively stumbled upon different concepts in music theory. This helped me to understand what I had written, of course, but it also helped me discover other methods of approaching and developing musical ideas.
I will never forget what Mr. Randlett told me during my first piano lesson: "Consider that you are sitting in front of every piece of Western music that ever was written and ever will be written." That line really blew my mind, as they say, and it continues to inspire me today.
I am a self-taught guitarist, but I feel that my piano lessons made that possible.
OnMilwaukee.com: I'd love to hear about your process. Did you write all these songs and then record them in one go or did you write and record, amassing more material as you went along?
BH: I began this project by listening to 40 hours of song demos that I recorded in the past five or six years. I then made a list of my favorite 30 songs from those demos. Some were complete songs, while others needed verses, choruses or bridges.
One song – which I later developed into "Love & War" – was just the first line: "Slow down woman, don't be so naive; answering your heart anytime it calls." I really liked the words and melody, but that's all I had -- it was just a 10-second blip in the midst of 40 hours!
OMC: So what was the next step?
BH: From those 30 songs and song fragments, I then narrowed the list down to my favorite 11 songs. I took those 11 songs and did everything necessary to turn them into complete, finished songs for my album. One additional song on my album goes back to 1995. I wrote "Childhood Dreams" the summer after graduating from high school; I had the idea while working as a playground leader for the Wauwatosa Recreation Department.
Once I finalized the track listing, I began recording.
OMC: And that, presumably, took some time.
BH: I have a full-time job, so it took me over two years of nights, weekends and vacations to record the songs as I wanted them to sound. I recorded the songs in my home studio using an iMac, Logic Studio and a variety of software instruments. As I was recording, I continued to write more songs, so five tracks actually got bumped from the album in favor of more recent songs.
OMC: Were you able to complete the entire project yourself?
BH: At one point during the recording process, I realized that I had taken things as far as I could on my own. To achieve the professional sound I was after, I needed to hire a producer. Denny Rauen, my guitar luthier, suggested that I contact David Vartanian.
Fortunately, David agreed to produce and engineer my album. David listened to my songs and recommended hiring professional studio musicians to augment my existing tracks. I thought it was great advice, and I couldn't be happier with the results.
On my original recordings, I recorded synth bass and did the drum programming with a really great software package called BFD2. Of course, nothing compares to the real thing, so all of those tracks were replaced by the studio musicians.
I am extremely grateful to David and all of the musicians – they are credited on my Web site, HofferSongs.com – for lending their tremendous talents to my album.
OMC: Who are some of your inspirations?
BH: I think John Lennon and Paul McCartney – together and solo – are the greatest songwriters of all time. Even though I love tons of other music, any other songwriter I could name is a distant second after the Beatles, in my humble opinion.
OMC: What's your goal for the record and will you do another one? Any plans?
BH: My goal for the record has already been accomplished: I recorded it. It's such a great feeling to accomplish a lifelong dream. Anything else that happens now will just be icing on the cake. I'm really proud of the songs, and I certainly hope other people will discover and enjoy them. However, that part is largely out of my control.
I will never stop writing songs because I love the process so much. I would definitely like to record another album.
You can find details on how to hear Hoffer's "Into the Boulevard" on his Web site.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
