A Conversation With Musician/Songwriter Marlon Hoffman, Debut Solo Album "Holy Matters", Kenrose Studio, by James Scarborough

Marlon Hoffman’s debut solo album “Holy Matters” emerges as a powerful exploration of resilience and introspection. Co-produced with Davey Johnstone, the album showcases Hoffman’s raw, outlaw voice against a backdrop of seasoned musicianship. The title track sets a contemplative tone, while collaborations like “Suicide Ride” and “Runnin’ Outta Road” inject a rocker’s energy into the mix. Hoffman’s songwriting, particularly in tracks like “Om Namah Shivaya (Lady in Paris)” and “Grandpa Dave,” reveals a nuanced approach to storytelling. The album’s sound palette, enriched by contributions from Bernard Fowler and an ensemble of accomplished musicians, creates a textured auditory landscape. The album doesn’t shy away from life’s complexities; instead, it embraces them with a wry humor that adds depth to its spiritual undercurrents. This debut marks Hoffman as an artist who can distill diverse musical influences into a cohesive, thought-provoking whole.

JS: How did your collaboration with Davey Johnstone influence the thematic direction of “Holy Matters”?

MH: I think you’re referring to the title song, “Holy Matters,” which is also the name of the album.

Honestly, I’m being micromanaged by myself and Davey. When you combine my experience with his 45 years as the musical director, vocalist, and guitarist for Elton John, this is what you get. The first cut, “Holy Matters,” started as a poem with eight verses. It was a stream-of-consciousness monologue about the journey of a man who has lived his life. Now, he finds it hard to keep moving, but he can still reflect on all the places he’s been and what it all means to him now. Despite everything, he feels lost, unsure of what to do, and continues running with all the spiritual energy he’s gathered.

Davey heard “Holy Matters,” which I created with Major Wynn. He decided to give it a “haircut” by cutting down many of my verses, shaping it into a format he thought was better. Interestingly, he didn’t want to play any music on it because he felt it was just fine as it was. I was flattered by his references to Leonard Cohen and Lou Reed.

We sent it to Davey’s son, Tam Johnstone, in England, who made the video for “Holy Matters.” It’s up on YouTube (See below) and has been getting a lot of great feedback. Personally, I love it because I get to see and hear myself as a poet.

JS: Elaborate on the spiritual elements in your songwriting in tracks like “Om Namah Shivaya (Lady in Paris)” “O salutations to the auspicious one!” or “adoration to Lord Shiva.”

MH: Thanks for asking about “Om Namah Shivaya” (or “Lady in Paris”). I’ve been singing this song since 1989. At that time, I was living in New York City, playing music in the streets, clubs, and doing theater in little black boxes. I was a performing artist in New York for my second or third time—altogether, I’ve spent nine years in New York City, so I’m a sort of “faux New Yorker.” I was in Williamsburg when it was still a barrio, and I spent time all over the city, including Union Square & 14th Street in the ’70s. I love that town.

At the time, I was emotionally challenged after a breakup. One day, while meditating in my little studio, I heard the word “ashram” and noticed a small tape in my apartment with an address on the West Side. I walked across Central Park, knocked on a brownstone door, and told them I was a sober man who taught meditation and played music. I needed a quiet place to stay. They looked at me and said, “Come in,” and they put me in a room upstairs, next to the guru’s room. I ended up staying for three months at the ashram on 84th Street & Riverside, which was part of Siddha Yoga.

“Om Namah Shivaya” means “I bow down to Shiva,” which, for me, translates to “I’m not God, I respect the Higher Power, and I’ll listen, be respectful, and stay quiet to see what’s next.” By that point, I had already spent four years as a post-punk rocker in St. Louis, so I knew how to write a three-chord, two-chord, or even one-chord song. I wrote this song to celebrate the guru as she traveled from town to town with many followers chanting. This song has brought me great opportunities, adventures, and has paved the way for a very magical life. It’s a very powerful song to sing, and with Davey Johnstone and Bernard Fowler harmonizing together on the chorus, I was transported back to the early days of The Who. I’m incredibly fortunate that this song was embraced by these amazing musicians.

JS: How does your background with the Marlon Hoffman Band inform your approach to solo work?

MH: Yes, that’s a great question. Thank you. The two albums, Marlon Hoffman Band: Live at the Village Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, titled Le Happy and La Paix, were both created from a single session at the Village Recorder in Santa Monica, California. This legendary studio has hosted the recording sessions of icons like Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, B.B. King, Bob Dylan, and many more.

At the time, my band had been rehearsing regularly, focusing on playing live for quite a while. We recorded 19 songs during that session with the brilliant engineer, Jeff Gardenbaum. In fact, the studio’s owner, Jeff Greenberg, commented that he had never heard so many songs recorded so well and so quickly.

It took me about four more years to finally release the albums. During that time, I worked on another project, Holy Matters, which was recorded privately in my home studio. Davey Johnstone, who had just finished his own album Deeper Than My Roots in that same space, became a great friend. We met at a benefit for a young boy who had cancer (he’s fine now). Davey once told me I had “that outlaw thing going on,” which was a huge compliment.

A lot of creative energy flowed during that period, leading to the creation of Davey’s album and then mine. These albums are works of love and friendship, recorded with top-notch professionalism and featuring some of the finest musicians out there.

 JS: How do you balance the album’s themes of survival and healing with its “wry sense of humor”?

MH: We all have survival skills, and we all have healing skills that we instinctively know how to use. As an artist, if you’re honest and have the intention of helping others, you naturally want to communicate those skills. That’s what I aim to do.

As for my sense of humor, that’s the child in me—the part that loves poetry, rhyme, and the absurdity of life. I draw inspiration from everything, from Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa to Kinky Friedman, Bob Dylan, Charlie Chaplin, Lenny Bruce, Sam Shepard and Charles Bukowski. I love human beings, especially those who communicate the absurdity of their existence.

I like things that rhyme, and I like things that make you smile. So, I guess those are my two markers: rhyming and smiling. If a song can make me laugh, it might make you laugh too. If it makes me cry, it might make you cry as well. That’s the essence of it.

JS: Discuss the significance of having Bernard Fowler’s vocal direction on this project.

MH: Bernard Fowler and I are best friends—more like brothers, really. Early on, he made me promise that he was a vocal producer for my project. While he was touring with The Rolling Stones, we still managed to get a lot of work done. I’d send him tracks while he was on tour, and he’d give me notes remotely. Then, during breaks from the tour, he would come into the studio to record background vocals and direct me in person.

Bernard has been a professional singer for much longer than I have, and I’ve always appreciated his direction. I’m fortunate to have his guidance and even more grateful for our friendship.

JS: What inspired the juxtaposition of “solemn and intense” tracks with more up-tempo numbers like “Runnin’ Outta Road”?

MH: Honestly, the lyrics for Running Out of Road and Suicide Ride were written by Rick Otto and Davey Johnstone, with the music composed by Davey. I was privileged to be asked to sing both tracks, with my vocals directed by Davey himself. For Suicide Ride, he wanted me to go for a more nasally, Stones-like sound, with some screaming at the end. For Running Out of Road, I sang it my own way.

I’m deeply honored to be the singer on these songs. Running Out of Road feels like it could’ve been a track on a Traveling Wilburys album, while Suicide Ride has the vibe of an early Faces song with Ron Wood. Both are just classic, and I’m thrilled to have them on my album.

The rest of the songs on the album I wrote, and some were collaborated. Especially Holy Matters, Major Wynn laid done the instrumentation I laid down the melody. I couldn’t be more please about how it’s all come together. As for “solemn and intense”, I know our life experiences blend well as does our artistic commitments.

JS: How does the album reflect your evolution as a songwriter since your work with LE HAPPY & LA PAIX?

 MH: Like I mentioned before, having your own studio and working with some of the finest engineers who come to your home to help you tweak and lay things down is an incredible experience. Add to that the best musicians in the world, who not only give you a thumbs up on your songs but also want to contribute and help, and it becomes like creating a slow, beautiful oil painting.

It’s different from just jamming and having fun, which I absolutely love and have a lot of experience with—years of jamming, playing live, and knowing how to do that from my early days. But when you’re laying down a song and listening to these pros talk about production, it’s like learning all the unspoken rules,”less is more” or “cutting the sausage”.

Mary Gauthier told me, “If you take one word out of your chorus, you make $500.” So, I’ve learned to keep trimming the fat, giving it a haircut, and refining it until it’s like a nursery rhyme—prettier and prettier with each pass. I think that’s the secret to the John Frusciante side of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

JS: Explain the creative process behind integrating diverse musical influences into a cohesive album.

MH: That’s a tough process to explain, as it borders on the mysteries of the brain and the mystical. Here’s how I think about it: figure and ground. We’re all figures, and the ground is all the music you’ve ever heard in your life—and maybe even in past lives, who knows? The ground is the foundation, the sum of every song that has left a mark on you in this lifetime.

When I hear a beat, or a guitar, or even something like a ukulele or piano piece, my mind just starts to sing—it naturally begins to create melodies. Some of my best tunes have come like that. For instance, Send Everyone Flowers came to me in one take. My friend Sean Lacefield laid down the guitar progression, and I just started singing over it. There wasn’t much work involved, and many people agree that it’s one of my best songs.

Now, I have a new song for my next album called Find Your Rage. Charlie Johnstone, Davey Johnstone’s son, laid down some beautiful piano work for me, and I just started singing—moving up and down the register, repeating the chorus as it came to me. Honestly, I think Find Your Rage is going to be one of my best songs yet, and I’m really excited about it.

 JS: How does the album serve as a commentary on contemporary social or personal issues?

MH: Dang, another cool question—you’re out of sight! I think life is an inside job, kind of like George Harrison’s Within You Without You. It’s all about perception, and I truly believe we have the power to change the world through our vision, projection, words, and actions.

So, if you hear something in one of my songs that touches on those themes, you’d be right to know it came from within me—just like most of my poems. I always have the intention for my words and vibration to carry a message of hope to others. To encourage them to get back up, survive, and thrive. That’s my goal in all of this. From what I’ve heard from people who’ve enjoyed my shows or listened to my songs, I think I’ve managed to accomplish some of that without being too heavy-handed.

Again, it’s an inside job projected outward. As for the problems in the world, I believe that’s just part of the clash of existence—dark vs. light, good vs. evil. Personally, I believe good will prevail in the end, and light will eventually break through the darkness. That’s not just hope—it’s been my experience.

JS: How do you see this album contributing to the broader landscape of American roots music?

MH: I see myself as someone who just wants to join in on a big circle of dancing folks. Everyone has their own songs and music, and they’re all dancing to the same beat. The beat changes, the melody changes, and everyone’s having fun while finding meaning in the songs. I hope my little song can join in and become part of the playlist that people enjoy.

I just want to be a worker among workers, contributing to the whole. And I’m grateful to be interviewed by you—I really appreciate it. Much Thanks!

For more information on the artist and the album, click here.