Keep up with Elliot here:
Check out our September 2013 Cover Feature interview with Elliot Hoffman of [Car Bomb] here:
(this link will feature Elliot until our next cover feature is released)
Elliot's YouTube Channel:
[Car Bomb] on Facebook:
The inception of Car Bomb started as early as the year 2000, when two bands, 'Neck' and ‘Spooge,’ shared the same rehearsal space underneath a butcher in Rockville Center, New York. Jon recalls, “We called it the Dungeon. It was a hot and muggy cement basement with no windows. Basically, a hole in the earth created for slaughtering animals…but ‘metal’ bands got to jam down there – go figure!!” The two bands found themselves frequenting the other’s rehearsals and developed a mutual respect for their music. Greg and Mike wanted Neck to break out of the conventional and over saturated hardcore scene by being different.
Greg recollects, “We all really dug what Faith No More did, so we tried to emulate that, except heavier and more progressive.” With three releases on various labels and five years of shows up and down the east coast, Neck had established themselves as one of Long Island’s most unique and brutal acts. On the other side of the Dungeon, bassist Jon and drummer Elliot were a part of Spooge, a more technical and stylistic band. Influences of Zappa and early Mr. Bungle can be heard throughout their complex and at most times hilarious epics.
Despite the fact that both bands had broken out of the traditional molds of metal and hardcore, the need to play heavier and more complex music drove Jon to seek out other musicians. In 2002, he recruited Greg to play in a project that would develop into Car Bomb. Jam sessions commenced and would continue for eighteen months with various lineup changes. Mike and Elliot were eventually added to the group and rounded out the final line up. In early 2004, Car Bomb’s first recording began in the house that Greg and Jon currently occupy. With this recording completed, Car Bomb is focused on getting their music out to as many people as possible.
Elliot Hoffman Interview:
SDM: How old were you when you started?
Elliot: I started practicing around 10 y.o., my father always had a kit set up in the house growing up and I learned "THE BEAT" (you know the one)around 5 or 6 but really didn't start to focus until like 10.
SDM: Did you play in a school band or any drum corps?
Elliot: In 7th grade I joined the drum corp. in my junior H.S. in Virginia Beach . They put me on Cymbals and made me stand in "THE IRON CROSS", which was holding 18" crashes fully extended out at my sides for 15 minutes at a clip (to build strength). 2 day's of that and I had enough. Ironically I had several drum set students in my H.S.that were in the Corp and I helped arrange cadences for them quite a bit.
SDM: Ever take any lessons?
Elliot: Sure, I started after about 3 years of seriously playing and it totally changed my world. This Guy Powell Randolph, who was a Berklee grad and a monster, was my first formal teacher. He got me reading and just put me in a different head. Stickings, Technique, Concept all that good stuff. Also, just understanding all the stuff I had been playing by ear was HUGE. Since learning to read I have mostly just gone through books since then. Listening and going to see guys play and in clinic. I did study technique with the great Jim Chapin for a short period (Totally mind-blowing shit). I have Gary Chaffee's "Time Functioning Patterns" open in front of my V-drum kit right next to me as I type this……..:-)
SDM: Who are your top 5 influences?
Elliot:
1. Vinnie Colaiuta
2. Horacio Hernandez
3. Gary Novak
4. Dennis Chambers
5. Thomas Haake
SDM: Assuming that influences doesn't mean favorites, who are your favorites?
Elliot:
1. Steve Shelton (Confessor)
2. Rick Colaluca (watchtower)
3. Sean Rienert (Cynic,Death)
4. Dave Witte (Human Remains,BBTS)
5. Brandon Thomas (Ripping Corpse, DIM MAK)
SDM: Let us know 5 CD's that are in your current rotation
Elliot:
1. Chick Corea Live @ the Blue Note New Years '93 "BOOTLEG" (Vinnie)
2. Allan Holdsworth – Sixteen men of tain ( Gary Novak)
3. John Mclaughlin – Live in Paris (Dennis Chambers)
4. The Crazy Saints – Believe (Trilok Gurtu)
5. Meshuggah – Catch 33 (Thomas Haake)
SDM: Can you remember a night you think was your best playing ever? If yes, when and where?
Elliot: I can remember a bunch of nights where I have been really "ON" and there is nothing like it! I usually have had a nice long warm-up before those gigs. WARM UP!!!
SDM: Do you have a favorite brand of drums or cymbals?
Elliot: Brady Drums are the BOMB SHIT! Zildjian Cymbals! (K'S, A customs, Orientals)
SDM: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Elliot: I try and do at least a ½ hr off double strokes on my thigh before a Metal gig and a few sets of push up's to get the blood flowing a little bit.
SDM: If you could give one piece of advice to young drummers, it would be…
Elliot: Listen to a wide range of players and cop all there licks!!!!!!!!!!!! And stay away from Drugs………
SDM: Who gave the best live performance you've ever seen?
Elliot: Probably Vinnie Colaiuta in Clinic He is an animal!
SDM: If you had to stop drumming, what would you want to do with your life?
Elliot: After the Anti-Depressants kicked in, maybe Engineering/Composition
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