Family, friends and peers are mourning the loss of Milwaukee music veteran Mike Hoffmann, a guitarist, songwriter and producer who left an enormous mark on the city's music scene.
A member of bands including Semi-Twang, The Delta Routine and Yipes!, to name just a few, Hoffmann had one of the most varied music careers of any musician in the city. In addition to producing artists including The Verve Pipe, Willy Porter, The Spanic Boys and Victor DeLorenzo, he also recorded with K.D. Lang, Herb Alpert, Marshall Crenshaw, Elvis Presley's TCB Band and T-Bone Burnett, and briefly played bass for Marshall Crenshaw on a tour.
Hoffmann's death, which friend confirmed today on social media, came just a week after a grand sendoff for his band Semi-Twang, which played its final show Sunday, Oct. 17, at the Wisconsin Area Music Industry Awards at Turner Hall Ballroom, where the band was inducted into the WAMI Hall of Fame. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett formally recognized the band for the occasion.
On Facebook, his friend Chris Vos of The Record Company called him "one of the greatest friends, heroes, and influences I have ever had the honor of knowing.
"Mike was a giant in the community," Vos wrote. "The coolest of the cool. The most soul-filled of the soulful. The deepest of the deep. An evening hanging with Hoffmann was an evening steeped in conversation about musical and sports history, laughs, fun, beers, endless memories, and music sweet music. I love you Mike. Will miss you forever. I'm going to hit the stage in New York tonight and put one finger towards the sky In memory of you."