Wauwatosa's Brian Hoffer Releases Debut Pop/Rock CD

“Consider that you are sitting in front of every piece of western music that ever was written and ever will be written.” 

The words of his piano teacher and longtime mentor, Sam Randlett, still resonate with songwriter Brian Hoffer.

Hoffer, a Wauwatosa native and 1995 graduate of Wauwatosa East High School, dreamed of one day compiling his best songs into album form. After a 3 1/2-year journey, Hoffer’s dream became reality with the March 12 release of Into the Boulevard, his debut CD of pop/rock songs.

“I don’t really consider myself a performer,” said Hoffer. “I’m really a songwriter at heart, and I haven’t done any live shows yet. Maybe someday I will.”

Working in the studio of his condo on Milwaukee’s East Side, Hoffer went through more than 2,000 of his songs. He arranged, listened and searched for the direction to take his music. Once he was satisfied, he brought David Vartanian (Talking Heads and Crash Test Dummies) on board to produce the album. 

“I’ve probably recorded about 2,500 songs that I’ve written over the years, but I never really took it to the highest professional level that I could,” said Hoffer, who also works in marketing for the Milwaukee Recreation Department. “So with this project, I went through all my songs and picked my 12 favorites.”

An avid listener of radio station WUWM-FM, Hoffer was excited when he heard his song “Superman Somehow” being played. 

 “The song has very smart lyrics and song-structures, and vocally it’s very John Lennon,” said Milwaukee guitarist and music instructor Dan Lloyd. “The general writing hints at McCartney sometimes and, therefore, Billy Joel as well. At times he made me think of Loudon Wainright III and ELO, but without the excess frosting."

Hoffer’s new album is available at the Apple iTunes Store. For more information, visit www.HofferSongs.com.