 by Rob van Alstyne
Pete Hofmann, the musician, as presented on his recently unveiled third album Mermaid on the Rocks: smooth, relaxed, lazing about in sun-baked melodies or lounging in the dark corner of a cool jazz club. Pete Hoffman, the interviewee, as experienced first-hand: fast-talking, massively gesticulating, damn near hyperactive. Rarely have I encountered a musician whose personality appeared to contrast so strongly with their album-portrayed selves. Mermaid on the Rocks had me expecting a Minnesota variant on the uber cool sunglasses-wearing beach bum, not the incredibly peppy man who keeps constant eye contact while gleefully delving into the details that led to his musical transformation from another power-pop contender, into a one-of-a-kind-torch-song-crooner.
Download an mp3 of Pete Hofmann’s song Mermaid on the Rocks.
“I’ve sort of got two parallel musical lives going on now because
I don’t really view the Mermaid on the Rocks stuff as an
outgrowth of what I’ve done before—it’s just kind of completely
it’s own thing,” offers Hofmann, 36. “This has come into being
and it’s going to be its own line of music now, that’s how I perceive
it. There’s a fuzzy line between where one starts and the other one ends,
but there’s definitely a different feel. It’s all kind of a bunch
of different feels across the musical spectrum, like maybe a three-dimensional
spectrum. You know what I mean?” Ummm … maybe?
 Hofmann
can be forgiven for lapsing into new-agey speak when attempting to describe
the new and unexpected direction his muse has taken. If it’s hard for
a spectator to imagine the behind-the-scenes machinations of Hofmann’s
musical extreme makeover, it’s clearly equally difficult for Hofmann to
fully explain (and hence the three-dimensional spectrum analogy). Hofmann’s
two previous self-released albums were solid examples of nervey, plucky pop
(1998’s Action Overtime and 2001’s Crawling Tall)
with the finest moments recalling My Aim is True-era Elvis Costello—they
had been critically well-received and there was every reason to expect more
of the same in the future.
Some casual demoing with noted local producer Mike Wisti, however, saw things
taking a decidedly different turn. “It was sort of along the lines of
a demo when I was working with Mike, I had other songs that I had been waiting
a long time to record and then these newer ones in this different vein just
sort of pushed them aside. I remember finishing up ‘Mermaid On the Rocks
Reprise’ and just loving the vibe of it—I asked Mike to burn it
onto a CD for me. He was like, ‘This isn’t really finished, this
is just a demo right?’ Of course I ended up using it on the record!”
 As
the project slowly came together, combining the Wisti sessions with a larger
slate of recordings completed at Third Ear Studios with Jacques Wait and Tom
Herbers, Hofmann was clearly headed into uncharted territory. Soon his smooth,
velvety pipes were singing about sugar spiking rum and little boats wandering
the world, his words set to languidly beautiful (largely piano driven) melodies
combing elements of Brill building pop, children’s music and old-school
R&B. Aided by an ace cast including bassist Heath Henjum (Olympic Hopefuls,
Beatifics, countless others) and longtime drummer Steve “Izzy” Isadore
with some stunning cameos on pedal steel guitar courtesy of Jimmy Johnson, Mermaid’s
dozen cuts run the gamut from swaying gently (the so-light-it-just-might-float-away
“She Balances”) to boogying on down (the brazenly funky instrumental
“Chocolate Bug”). Most of the album favors a dim-the-lights classic
romanticism, the torch ballad “Your Uniform” could pass for a lost
Bacharach classic, but even when operating in the most traditional of music
mediums Hofmann’s lyrical wit puts a fresh spin on the proceedings. The
cutesy “Bookworm,” in which Hofmann attempts to win over a brainy
lady librarian, will undoubtedly charm your pants off (“We don’t
even need to go to town, But I’d take you out of here I’ve got a
library full of beer.”).
 Mermaid’s
already made a large splash (pun intended) on the local scene since its release
in early September and Hofmann’s eager to perform when possible, although
he admits logistics frequently make gigging out with a band easier said than
done. “The blessing and the curse for me is that I’ve never really
had a stable group of backing guys,” explains Hofmann. “It’s
always been changing. I’ve worked with guys who were totally note-perfect
guys who really tried to replicate the stuff from the records and I’ve
played with guys whose approach was the opposite of that. What having that revolving
cast means is that I’m always re-teaching the songs—sort of, ‘these
are the chords, here are some of the changes, this is what I’m looking
for’—but with everybody who comes in I take great pleasure in what
they bring to it as player. It’s sort of like you present them with a
whole palette of colors in a certain range and then they say, ‘Hey! That’s
the color I like, that’s what I’m going to accentuate’ And
I’m pretty much like, ‘hey, that’s cool with me.’ It’s
great in some ways but at the same time I’m always sweating because with
each show I book it’s like, ‘who the hell’s going to play
with me this time?’” For his upcoming gig Hofmann can look towards
newcomer bassist Ben Foote (an experienced jazz musician), guitarist Jeff Waryan
(a man whose resume on the local scene stretches back more than two decades
and who performed with Curtiss A among others) and his ever-ready drummer Steve
Isadore.
Hofmann’s energy and optimism as he speaks about Mermaid and waxes
ecstatically over the talents of his collaborators is palpable. He appears to
have the ceaseless pep of a 10-year-old. Perhaps he gets it from his day job
(Hofmann works as an elementary school music teacher). “The kids are all
extremely motivated and natural,” explains Hofmann. “They’re
not yet completely aware of themselves in the context of other people, they
can’t really be embarrassed yet. Which is a great thing when you’re
dealing with making music. In the process of looking for good music for the
children to play I stumble across just plain old good songs. I also see a lot
of crap, crap to me is music made more for the purpose of making money and self-preservation
than it is for the purpose of self-expression. So I’m sort of constantly
in the process of investigating music, it’s been a very slow and scholarly
approach really. I think that can’t help but influence my craft a little
bit.” ||
Pete Hofmann and the Measured Doses play on Wed., Dec. 1, at the Uptown
Bar as the middle act between opener Rich Mattson of Ol’ Yeller and headlining
act Jan. 9 p.m. 21+. Free. 3018 Hennepin Ave. S., Mpls. 612-823-4719.
Download an mp3 of Pete Hofmann’s song Mermaid
on the Rocks.
Check out Pete Hofmann on his official
website.
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